United States presidential election in Michigan, 1988
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County Results
Dukakis—70-80%
Dukakis—60-70%
Dukakis—50-60%
Bush—50-60%
Bush—60-70%
Bush—70-80% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections in Michigan | ||||||||||
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The 1988 United States presidential election in Michigan took place on November 8, 1988. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. Michigan voters chose 20 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.
Michigan was won by incumbent United States Vice President George H. W. Bush of Texas, who was running against Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. Bush ran with Indiana Senator Dan Quayle as Vice President, and Dukakis ran with Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen.
Michigan weighed in for this election as 0.1% more Republican than the national average. This was the last time that the state of Michigan would be won by a Republican presidential candidate until Donald Trump won the state in 2016.
Partisan background
The presidential election of 1988 was a very partisan election for Michigan, with more than 99% of the electorate voting for either the Democratic or Republican parties.[1] Typical for elections in the 1980s, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan turned out mainly Democratic, and the Lower Peninsula turned out mainly Republican, with the notable exception of Detroit's highly populated Wayne County, which voted mainly Democratic. As of the 2016 presidential election, this is the last election in which Ingham County, Kalamazoo County, and Muskegon County voted for the Republican candidate.
Republican victory
Bush won the election in Michigan with a solid 8 point margin. The election of 1988 was, however, the final election where Michigan was won by the Republican Party until 2016, having consistently voted Democratic since 1992. Bush's victory in this rapidly liberalizing state is reflective of a nationwide reconsolidation of base for the Republican Party, which took place through the 1980s. Through the passage of some very controversial economic programs, spearheaded by then President Ronald Reagan (called, collectively, "Reaganomics"), the mid-to-late 1980's saw a period of economic growth and stability. The hallmark for Reaganomics was, in part, the wide-scale deregulation of corporate interests, and tax cuts for the wealthy.[2]
Dukakis ran on a socially liberal platform, and advocated for higher economic regulation and environmental protection. Bush, alternatively, ran on a campaign of continuing the social and economic policies of former President Reagan - which gained him much support with social conservatives and people living in rural areas. Additionally, while the economic programs passed under Reagan, and furthered under Bush and Clinton, may have boosted the economy for a brief period, they are criticized by many analysts as "setting the stage" for economic troubles in the United States after 2007, such as the Great Recession.[3]
Results
United States presidential election in Michigan, 1988 | |||||
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Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
Republican | George H. W. Bush | 1,965,486 | 53.57% | 20 | |
Democratic | Michael Dukakis | 1,675,783 | 45.67% | 0 | |
Libertarian | Ron Paul | 18,336 | 0.50% | 0 | |
New Alliance Party | Lenora Fulani | 2,513 | 0.07% | 0 | |
Minnesota Progressive Party | Eugene McCarthy | 2,497 | 0.07% | 0 | |
Socialist Equality Party | Edward Winn | 1,958 | 0.05% | 0 | |
Write-Ins | 902 | 0.02% | 0 | ||
Socialist Workers Party | James Warren | 819 | 0.02% | 0 | |
Workers World | Larry Holmes | 804 | 0.02% | 0 | |
America First | David Duke | 60 | >0.01% | 0 | |
Totals | 3,669,158 | 100.0% | 20 |
See also
References
- ↑ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". Uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
- ↑ "Since 1980s, the Kindest of Tax Cuts for the Rich". The New York Times. 2012-01-18. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
- ↑ Jerry Lanson (2008-11-06). "A historic victory. A changed nation. Now, can Obama deliver?". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2013-07-21.