United States presidential election in Mississippi, 1988

United States presidential election in Mississippi, 1988

November 8, 1988

Nominee George H. W. Bush Michael Dukakis Party Republican Democratic Home state Texas Massachusetts Running mate Dan Quayle Lloyd Bentsen Electoral vote 7 0 Popular vote 557,890 363,921 Percentage 59.89% 39.07%

County Results   Dukakis—70-80%   Dukakis—60-70%   Dukakis—50-60%   Bush—50-60%   Bush—60-70%   Bush—70-80%

President before election Ronald Reagan Republican Elected President George H. W. Bush Republican

The 1988 United States presidential election in Mississippi took place on November 8, 1988. All fifty states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. Mississippi voters chose seven electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

Mississippi 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.

Mississippi weighed in for this election as thirteen percentage points more Republican than the national average.

Partisan background

The presidential election of 1988 was a very partisan election for Mississippi, with 99 percent of the electorate voting for either the Democratic or Republican parties,^[1] although conservative pineywoods George County saw Ku Klux Klan member David Duke win his largest proportion nationally (though still only around 4%) and saw the largest proportionate third-party vote of any county nationwide.^[2] As of the 2016 presidential election, this is the last presidential election where Jackson's highly populated Hinds County gave an absolute majority to the Republican candidate, although Bush would win a plurality in 1992 before the county turned solidly Democratic.^[3] During this election, the vast majority of counties in Mississippi voted mainly Republican, except for the notable Democratic stronghold of counties bordering the Mississippi River itself, which tended to vote Democratic during this time.

As of the 2016 presidential election, this is the last election in which Adams County, Kemper County, Washington County, and Leflore County voted for a Republican presidential candidate.^[3]

Republican victory

Bush won the election in Mississippi with a solid 20 point sweep-out landslide. During this election, Mississippi continued the trend of voting in par with its sister states in the Deep South, a trend which has continued unbroken since 1960. Though Mississippi tends to vote conservative, the election results in Mississippi for this year are also 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 1980s 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.^[4]

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 State after 2007, such as the Great Recession.^[5]

Elections in Mississippi
Federal government Presidential Elections 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 Presidential Primaries Democratic 2008 2016 Republican 2008 2012 2016 U.S. Senate elections 1972 1976 1978 1982 1984 1988 1990 1994 1996 2000 2002 2006 2008 2008 Special 2012 2014 2018 2018 Special U.S. House elections 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 Special Elections 4th district, 1981 1st district, 2008 1st district, 2015
State government State elections 2003 2007 2011 2015 Gubernatorial elections 1873 1877 1881 1885 1889 1895 1899 1903 1907 1911 1915 1919 1923 1927 1931 1935 1939 1943 1947 1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019
Ballot measures 2004 Amendment 1
City of Jackson Mayoral elections 2005 2009 2013 2014 2017

Results

See also

• Gulf War
• Presidency of George H. W. Bush

References