1988 United States presidential election

The **1988 United States presidential election** happened on November 8, 1988. George H. W. Bush, the Republican candidate and Vice President of the United States, won the election. He defeated the Democratic candidate, Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts.

This presidential election was the first since 1948, as well as the most recent one to date, in which a political party won a third presidential election in a row. This also remains the most recent in which a candidate won over 400 electoral votes. Since the 1988 election, no candidate has managed to equal or surpass Bush's number of electoral votes won or popular vote percentage.

Bush ran an aggressive campaign taking advantage of a good economy, a stable international stage, and President Ronald Reagan's popularity. Meanwhile, Dukakis's campaign suffered from several miscues, including failure to defend from Bush's attacks. This allowed Bush to win with a substantial margin of the popular vote; while winning the Electoral College by a landslide.

Bush won the election by 426 electoral votes. Governor of Massachusetts Michael Dukakis got 111 electoral votes. Lloyd Bentsen got 1 electoral vote by a West Virginia faithless elector.

### Republican Party

|style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#CE2029; width:200px;"|George H. W. Bush|style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#CE2029; width:200px;"|Dan Quayle|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|colspan="30" style="background:#f1f1f1;"|<big>**1988 Republican Party Ticket**</big>|||
|style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:#FFD0D7; width:200px;"|***for President***|style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:#FFD0D7; width:200px;"|***for Vice President***|
|43rd Vice President of the United States <small>(1981–1989)</small>|U.S. Senator from Indiana <small>(1981–1989)</small>|||
|colspan="2"||||
Republican candidates:
- George H. W. Bush, 43rd Vice President of the United States from Texas <small>(198</small><small>1-1989) _(Nominee)_</small>
- Bob Dole, U.S. senator from Kansas <small>(19</small><small>69-1996)</small>
- Pat Robertson, televangelist from Virginia <small>(19</small><small>66-2023)</small>
- Jack Kemp, U.S. representative from New York <small>(198</small><small>3-1989)</small>
- Pete du Pont, former Governor of Delaware <small>(19</small><small>77-1985)</small>
- Alexander Haig, former Secretary of State from Pennsylvania <small>(198</small><small>1-1982)</small>
- Ben Fernandez, former Special Ambassador to Paraguay from California <small>(19</small><small>73)</small>
- Paul Laxalt, former U.S. Senator from Nevada <small>(19</small><small>74-1987)</small>
- Donald Rumsfeld, former Secretary of Defense from Illinois <small>(19</small><small>75-1977)</small>
- Harold E. Stassen, former Governor of Minnesota <small>(19</small><small>39-1943)</small>
- Isabell Masters, perennial candidate from Kansas

### Democratic Party

|style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#34AAE0; width:200px;"|Michael Dukakis|style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#34AAE0; width:200px;"|Lloyd Bentsen|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|colspan="29" style="background:#f1f1f1;"|<big>**1988 Democratic Party Ticket**</big>|||
|style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:#C8EBFF; width:200px;"|***for President***|style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:#C8EBFF; width:200px;"|***for Vice President***|
|65th & 67th Governor of Massachusetts <small>(1975-1979, 1983-1991)</small>|U.S. Senator from Texas <small>(1971-1993)</small>|||
|colspan="2"||||
Democratic candidates:
- Michael Dukakis, governor of Massachusetts <small>(19</small><small>75-1979, 1983-1991) _(Nominee)_</small>
- Jesse Jackson, reverend <small>(1968-present)</small> and civil rights leader from South Carolina <small>(19)</small>
- Al Gore, U.S. senator from Tennessee
- Dick Gephardt, U.S. representative from Missouri
- Paul Simon, U.S. senator from Illinois
- Gary Hart, former U.S. senator from Colorado
- Bruce Babbitt, former governor of Arizona
- Joe Biden, U.S. senator from Delaware
- Lyndon LaRouche, activist from Virginia
- David Duke, activist from Louisiana
- James Traficant, U.S. representative from Ohio
- Douglas Applegate, U.S. representative from Ohio
- Andy Martin, perennial candidate from Connecticut

## Infobox (election)

- **election name**: 1988 United States presidential election
- **country**: United States
- **flag year**: 1960
- **type**: presidential
- **previous election**: 1984 United States presidential election
- **previous year**: 1984
- **election date**: November 8, 1988
- **next election**: 1992 United States presidential election
- **next year**: 1992
- **votes for election**: 538 members of the Electoral College (United States), Electoral College
- **needed votes**: 270 electoral
- **turnout**: 50.2%  3.1 percentage point, pp
- **image size**: x200px
- **image1**: 1988 Bush (cropped).jpg
- **nominee1**: **George H. W. Bush**
- **party1**: Republican Party (United States)
- **home state1**: Texas
- **running mate1**: **Dan Quayle**
- **electoral vote1**: **426**
- **states carried1**: **40**
- **popular vote1**: **48,886,597**
- **percentage1**: ****
- **image2**: Michael Dukakis 1988 DNC (cropped).jpg
- **nominee2**: Michael Dukakis
- **party2**: Democratic Party (United States)
- **home state2**: Massachusetts
- **running mate2**: Lloyd Bentsen
- **electoral vote2**: 111
- **states carried2**: 10 + Washington D.C., DC
- **popular vote2**: 41,809,074
- **map size**: 350px
- **map caption**: Presidential election results map. <span style="color:red;">Red</span> denotes states won by Bush/Quayle and <span style="color:blue;">blue</span> denotes those won by Dukakis/Bentsen. <span style="color:#BBCFEC;">Light blue</span> is the electoral vote for Bentsen/Dukakis by a West Virginia faithless elector. Numbers indicate electoral votes cast by each state and the District of Columbia.
- **title**: President
- **before election**: Ronald Reagan
- **before party**: Republican Party (United States)
- **after election**: George H. W. Bush
- **after party**: Republican Party (United States)
- **ongoing**: No