Tuesday, November 8, 1988
1988 presidential election results
George H. W. Bush (Republican) and running mate Dan Quayle won with 426 electoral votes and 53.4% of the popular vote.
Tipping-point state: Michigan, R+7.9 (nation R+7.8). It delivered electoral vote number 269 for the winner. What is a tipping-point state?
| Candidate | Running mate | Party | Electoral votes | Popular vote | Share | States won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George H. W. Bush Won (George Bush) | Dan Quayle | Republican | 426 | 48,886,097 | 53.40% | 40 |
| Michael Dukakis | Lloyd Bentsen | Democratic | 111 | 41,809,074 | 45.60% | 11 |
| Total popular votes counted | 91,594,809 | |||||
Electoral College map
Full-screen mapMargin:<55–1010–2020+points. Grey: no popular vote / no data.
* Lloyd Bentsen (Democratic) received one electoral vote from a faithless elector in West Virginia
Results by state
Download CSV| State | George H. W. Bush | Michael Dukakis | Margin | EV | Total votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 59.2% 9 | 39.9% | 19.3 | 9 | 1,378,476 |
| Alaska | 59.6% 3 | 36.3% | 23.3 | 3 | 200,116 |
| Arizona | 60.0% 7 | 38.7% | 21.2 | 7 | 1,171,873 |
| Arkansas | 56.4% 6 | 42.2% | 14.2 | 6 | 827,738 |
| California | 51.1% 47 | 47.6% | 3.6 | 47 | 9,887,065 |
| Colorado | 53.1% 8 | 45.3% | 7.8 | 8 | 1,372,394 |
| Connecticut | 52.0% 8 | 46.9% | 5.1 | 8 | 1,443,394 |
| Delaware | 55.9% 3 | 43.5% | 12.4 | 3 | 249,891 |
| District of Columbia | 14.3% | 82.6% 3 | 68.3 | 3 | 192,877 |
| Florida | 60.9% 21 | 38.5% | 22.4 | 21 | 4,302,313 |
| Georgia | 59.8% 12 | 39.5% | 20.3 | 12 | 1,809,672 |
| Hawaii | 44.8% | 54.3% 4 | 9.5 | 4 | 354,461 |
| Idaho | 62.1% 4 | 36.0% | 26.1 | 4 | 408,968 |
| Illinois | 50.7% 24 | 48.6% | 2.1 | 24 | 4,559,120 |
| Indiana | 59.8% 12 | 39.7% | 20.2 | 12 | 2,168,621 |
| Iowa | 44.5% | 54.7% 8 | 10.2 | 8 | 1,225,614 |
| Kansas | 55.8% 7 | 42.6% | 13.2 | 7 | 993,044 |
| Kentucky | 55.5% 9 | 43.9% | 11.6 | 9 | 1,322,517 |
| Louisiana | 54.3% 10 | 44.1% | 10.2 | 10 | 1,628,202 |
| Maine | 55.3% 4 | 43.9% | 11.5 | 4 | 555,035 |
| Maryland | 51.1% 10 | 48.2% | 2.9 | 10 | 1,714,358 |
| Massachusetts | 45.4% | 53.2% 13 | 7.9 | 13 | 2,632,805 |
| Michigan | 53.6% 20 | 45.7% | 7.9 | 20 | 3,669,163 |
| Minnesota | 45.9% | 52.9% 10 | 7.0 | 10 | 2,096,790 |
| Mississippi | 59.9% 7 | 39.1% | 20.8 | 7 | 931,527 |
| Missouri | 51.8% 11 | 47.8% | 4.0 | 11 | 2,093,713 |
| Montana | 52.1% 4 | 46.2% | 5.9 | 4 | 365,674 |
| Nebraska | 60.2% 5 | 39.2% | 21.0 | 5 | 661,465 |
| Nevada | 58.9% 4 | 37.9% | 20.9 | 4 | 350,067 |
| New Hampshire | 62.4% 4 | 36.3% | 26.1 | 4 | 451,074 |
| New Jersey | 56.2% 16 | 42.6% | 13.6 | 16 | 3,099,553 |
| New Mexico | 51.9% 5 | 46.9% | 5.0 | 5 | 521,287 |
| New York | 47.5% | 51.6% 36 | 4.1 | 36 | 6,485,683 |
| North Carolina | 58.0% 13 | 41.7% | 16.3 | 13 | 2,134,370 |
| North Dakota | 56.0% 3 | 43.0% | 13.1 | 3 | 297,261 |
| Ohio | 55.0% 23 | 44.1% | 10.9 | 23 | 4,393,699 |
| Oklahoma | 57.9% 8 | 41.3% | 16.7 | 8 | 1,171,036 |
| Oregon | 46.6% | 51.3% 7 | 4.7 | 7 | 1,201,694 |
| Pennsylvania | 50.7% 25 | 48.4% | 2.3 | 25 | 4,536,251 |
| Rhode Island | 43.9% | 55.6% 4 | 11.7 | 4 | 404,620 |
| South Carolina | 61.5% 8 | 37.6% | 23.9 | 8 | 986,009 |
| South Dakota | 52.8% 3 | 46.5% | 6.3 | 3 | 312,991 |
| Tennessee | 57.9% 11 | 41.5% | 16.3 | 11 | 1,636,250 |
| Texas | 56.0% 29 | 43.3% | 12.6 | 29 | 5,427,410 |
| Utah | 66.2% 5 | 32.0% | 34.2 | 5 | 647,008 |
| Vermont | 51.1% 3 | 47.6% | 3.5 | 3 | 243,328 |
| Virginia | 59.7% 12 | 39.2% | 20.5 | 12 | 2,191,609 |
| Washington | 48.5% | 50.0% 10 | 1.6 | 10 | 1,865,253 |
| West Virginia | 47.5% | 52.2% 5 | 4.7 | 5 | 653,311 |
| Wisconsin | 47.8% | 51.4% 11 | 3.6 | 11 | 2,191,608 |
| Wyoming | 60.5% 3 | 38.0% | 22.5 | 3 | 176,551 |
Shares are of the votes counted for president; bold numbers are electoral votes won. Margin is the winner’s lead over the runner-up in points.
Closest states in 1988
- Washington Michael Dukakis by 29,681 votes (1.59 pts)
- Illinois George H. W. Bush by 94,999 votes (2.08 pts)
- Pennsylvania George H. W. Bush by 105,143 votes (2.32 pts)
- Maryland George H. W. Bush by 49,863 votes (2.91 pts)
- Vermont George H. W. Bush by 8,556 votes (3.52 pts)
- California George H. W. Bush by 352,684 votes (3.57 pts)
- Wisconsin Michael Dukakis by 79,295 votes (3.62 pts)
- Missouri George H. W. Bush by 83,334 votes (3.98 pts)
Flipped since 1984
- Hawaii: Republican → Democratic (4 EV)
- Iowa: Republican → Democratic (8 EV)
- Massachusetts: Republican → Democratic (13 EV)
- New York: Republican → Democratic (36 EV)
- Oregon: Republican → Democratic (7 EV)
- Rhode Island: Republican → Democratic (4 EV)
- Washington: Republican → Democratic (10 EV)
- West Virginia: Republican → Democratic (5 EV)
- Wisconsin: Republican → Democratic (11 EV)
Source: 1988
Questions and answers
Who won the 1988 presidential election?
George H. W. Bush (Republican) won the 1988 election with 426 electoral votes, with Dan Quayle as vice president.
How many electoral votes did each candidate win in 1988?
George H. W. Bush 426; Michael Dukakis 111 (out of 537).
Who won the popular vote in 1988?
George H. W. Bush received the most popular votes: 48,886,097 (53.4%) of 91,594,809 counted.
What was the closest state in 1988?
Washington, which Michael Dukakis won by 29,681 votes (1.59 points).
Which states flipped in 1988?
Compared with 1984, 9 states changed party: Hawaii (to Democratic), Iowa (to Democratic), Massachusetts (to Democratic), New York (to Democratic), Oregon (to Democratic), Rhode Island (to Democratic), Washington (to Democratic), West Virginia (to Democratic) and Wisconsin (to Democratic).
What was the tipping-point state in 1988?
Michigan. Ranking the states by the winner's margin, it delivered electoral vote number 269; it voted Republican by 7.9 points, against Republican by 7.8 points nationally.
Official results As published by The American Presidency Project (UC Santa Barbara) and the state documents it links. How we use this data