Akashic
1876–2024
Elections / 1988 · President

George H. W. Bush defeated Michael Dukakis.

Michael Dukakis (D) vs George H. W. Bush (R). Every state below links to its full contest page with county-level results.

Nominees: Michael Dukakis (D) · George H. W. Bush (R)

1988 presidential election
BushR+7.7
1988 presidential margin by stateA map of the United States with each state filled by its 1988 result — deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), and gold where an independent or third-party candidate carried the state.Alabama · R+19.3 · 9 electoral votesAlaska · R+23.3 · 3 electoral votesArizona · R+21.2 · 7 electoral votesColorado · R+7.8 · 8 electoral votesFlorida · R+22.4 · 21 electoral votesGeorgia · R+20.3 · 12 electoral votesIndiana · R+20.2 · 12 electoral votesKansas · R+13.2 · 7 electoral votesMaine · R+11.5 · 4 electoral votesMassachusetts · D+7.9 · 13 electoral votesMinnesota · D+7.0 · 10 electoral votesNew Jersey · R+13.6 · 16 electoral votesNorth Carolina · R+16.3 · 13 electoral votesNorth Dakota · R+13.1 · 3 electoral votesOklahoma · R+16.6 · 8 electoral votesPennsylvania · R+2.3 · 25 electoral votesSouth Dakota · R+6.3 · 3 electoral votesTexas · R+12.6 · 29 electoral votesWyoming · R+22.5 · 3 electoral votesConnecticut · R+5.1 · 8 electoral votesMissouri · R+4.0 · 11 electoral votesWest Virginia · D+4.7 · 6 electoral votesIllinois · R+2.1 · 24 electoral votesNew Mexico · R+5.0 · 5 electoral votesArkansas · R+14.2 · 6 electoral votesCalifornia · R+3.6 · 47 electoral votesDelaware · R+12.4 · 3 electoral votesDistrict of Columbia · D+68.3 · 3 electoral votesHawaii · D+9.5 · 4 electoral votesIowa · D+10.2 · 8 electoral votesKentucky · R+11.6 · 9 electoral votesMaryland · R+2.9 · 10 electoral votesMichigan · R+7.9 · 20 electoral votesMississippi · R+20.8 · 7 electoral votesMontana · R+5.9 · 4 electoral votesNew Hampshire · R+26.2 · 4 electoral votesNew York · D+4.1 · 36 electoral votesOhio · R+10.9 · 23 electoral votesOregon · D+4.7 · 7 electoral votesTennessee · R+16.3 · 11 electoral votesUtah · R+34.2 · 5 electoral votesVirginia · R+20.5 · 12 electoral votesWashington · D+1.6 · 10 electoral votesWisconsin · D+3.6 · 11 electoral votesNebraska · R+21.0 · 5 electoral votesSouth Carolina · R+23.9 · 8 electoral votesIdaho · R+26.1 · 4 electoral votesNevada · R+20.9 · 4 electoral votesVermont · R+3.5 · 3 electoral votesLouisiana · R+10.2 · 10 electoral votesRhode Island · D+11.7 · 4 electoral votes
1988presidential margin
D+60
R+60
Fifty states and DC, each filled by its 1988 result. Hover any state for the detail and its electoral votes.
Smaller states, enlarged
VTR+3.53 EVNHR+26.24 EVMAD+7.913 EVRID+11.74 EVCTR+5.18 EVNJR+13.616 EVDER+12.43 EVMDR+2.910 EVDCD+68.33 EV
Blue and red show the Democratic-vs-Republican margin; gold marks a state an independent or third-party candidate carried.
Electoral college
538 electors · 270 for a majority

Bush won 426 of 538 electoral votes.

Dukakis111Bush426Others1
One West Virginia elector swapped the ticket, voting Bentsen for president.
National popular vote
91,588,188 votes counted
Dukakis (D)
41,809,470
45.6%
Bush (R)
48,886,564
53.4%
All others
892,152
1.0%
Margin
R+7.7
The county map
3,142 county-level results on record for 1988

Democrats carried 820 counties, Republicans 2,321, third-party candidates 1. 506 counties flipped parties from the previous cycle.

Biggest county swings: Washita County, OK (D+40.0 swing) · Rush County, KS (D+40.0 swing) · Ellis County, KS (D+37.4 swing) · Ness County, KS (D+36.7 swing) · Shackelford County, TX (D+35.9 swing) · Menard County, TX (D+34.7 swing)

Results by state
Every row links to the state's contest page with its county map.
StateWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
AlaskaR
−23.3%
72,585119,250200,116
AlabamaR
−19.3%
549,506815,5761,377,970
ArkansasR
−14.2%
349,237466,578827,738
ArizonaR
−21.2%
454,029702,5411,171,873
CaliforniaR
−3.6%
4,702,2335,054,9179,887,064
ColoradoR
−7.8%
621,453728,1771,372,394
ConnecticutR
−5.1%
676,568750,2181,443,348
District of ColumbiaD
+68.3%
159,40727,590192,877
DelawareR
−12.4%
108,647139,639249,891
FloridaR
−22.4%
1,656,7012,618,8854,302,313
GeorgiaR
−20.3%
714,7921,081,3311,809,657
HawaiiD
+9.5%
192,364158,625354,461
IowaD
+10.2%
670,557545,3551,225,614
IdahoR
−26.1%
147,272253,881408,968
IllinoisR
−2.1%
2,215,9402,310,9394,559,120
IndianaR
−20.2%
860,6431,297,7632,168,621
KansasR
−13.2%
422,636554,049993,044
KentuckyR
−11.6%
580,368734,2811,322,517
LouisianaR
−10.2%
717,460883,7021,628,202
MassachusettsD
+7.9%
1,401,4151,194,6352,632,805
MarylandR
−2.9%
826,304876,1671,714,358
MaineR
−11.5%
243,569307,131555,035
MichiganR
−7.9%
1,675,7831,965,4863,669,163
MinnesotaD
+7.0%
1,109,471962,3372,093,176
MissouriR
−4.0%
1,001,6191,084,9532,093,234
MississippiR
−20.8%
363,921557,890931,527
MontanaR
−5.9%
168,936190,412365,674
North CarolinaR
−16.3%
890,1671,237,2582,134,370
North DakotaR
−13.1%
127,739166,559297,261
NebraskaR
−21.0%
259,646398,447662,372
New HampshireR
−26.2%
163,696281,537450,525
New JerseyR
−13.6%
1,320,3521,743,1923,099,553
New MexicoR
−5.0%
244,497270,341521,287
NevadaR
−20.9%
132,738206,040350,067
New YorkD
+4.1%
3,347,8823,081,8716,485,683
OhioR
−10.9%
1,939,6292,416,5494,393,699
OklahomaR
−16.6%
483,423678,3671,171,036
OregonD
+4.7%
616,206560,1261,201,694
PennsylvaniaR
−2.3%
2,194,9442,300,0874,536,251
Rhode IslandD
+11.7%
225,123177,761404,569
South CarolinaR
−23.9%
370,554606,443986,009
South DakotaR
−6.3%
145,560165,415312,991
TennesseeR
−16.3%
679,794947,2331,636,251
TexasR
−12.6%
2,352,7483,036,8295,427,410
UtahR
−34.2%
207,343428,442647,008
VirginiaR
−20.5%
859,7991,309,1622,191,609
VermontR
−3.5%
115,775124,331243,333
WashingtonD
+1.6%
933,516903,8351,865,253
WisconsinD
+3.6%
1,126,7941,047,4992,189,335
West VirginiaD
+4.7%
341,016310,065653,311
WyomingR
−22.5%
67,113106,867176,551