United States presidential election in North Dakota, 1988

United States presidential election in North Dakota, 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 3 0 Popular vote 166,559 127,739 Percentage 56.03% 42.97%

County Results   Dukakis—60-70%   Dukakis—50-60%   Dukakis—<50%   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 North Dakota took place on November 8, 1988. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. North Dakota voters chose 3 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

North Dakota 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.

North Dakota weighed in for this election as five percent more Republican than the national average, a much smaller margin than usual due to the persistent farm crisis of the 1980s. As of the 2016 presidential election this remains relatively the least Republican the state has been since Nixon's landslide win in 1972,^[1] when a "favorite son" effect with George McGovern from neighbouring South Dakota was a likely influence.

Partisan background

The presidential election of 1988 was a very partisan election for North Dakota, with nearly 99% of the electorate voting for either the Democratic or Republican parties.^[2] All major counties in North Dakota gave pluralities for Bush, including the (relativity) highly populated center of Cass County, which contains the city of Fargo. This is however the only election since 1952 when national bellwether Sargent County in the state's southeast has supported a losing candidate,^[3] with the anomaly most likely due to the Farm crisis.

Republican victory

Bush won the election in North Dakota with a solid 13 point landslide. While North Dakota has typically voted conservative in presidential elections, the election results in North Dakota are also reflective of a nationwide political 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.^[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 North Dakota
Federal government Presidential elections 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: 2004 2008 2016 Republican: 2008 2012 U.S. Senate elections 1952 1956 1958 1962 1964 1968 1970 1974 1976 1980 1982 1986 1988 1992 1994 1998 2000 2004 2006 2010 2012 2016 2018 U.S. House elections 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 Special elections Senate, 1960 Senate, 1992
State government General elections 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 Gubernatorial elections 1921 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 Secretary of State elections 2018
Ballot measures 2004 Constitutional Measure 1

Results

See also

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

References