United States presidential election in Wyoming, 1988

United States presidential election in Wyoming, 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 106,867 67,113 Percentage 60.53% 38.01%

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

Wyoming 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.

Wyoming weighed in for this election as 7% more Republican than the national average.

Partisan background

The presidential election of 1988 was a very partisan election for Wyoming, with nearly 98% of the electorate voting for either the Democratic or Republican parties, and only 4 candidates on the ballot.^[1]

Republican victory

Bush won the election in Wyoming with a solid 22 point sweep-out landslide. While Wyoming tends to vote conservative during presidential elections, these election results in Wyoming 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.^[2]

Dukakis ran his campaign 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.^[3]

Elections in Wyoming
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 Primary elections Democratic caucuses 2008 2016 Republican caucuses 2008 2012 2016 United States Senate elections 1970 1976 1988 1994 1996 2000 2002 2006 2008 2012 2014 2018 House elections 1984 1986 1988 1989 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 Special elections Senate, 2008
State government General elections 2014 2016 Gubernatorial elections 1890 1892 1894 1898 1902 1904 1906 1910 1914 1918 1922 1924 1926 1930 1934 1938 1942 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 Secretary of State elections 1962 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 2014 2018 State Senate elections 2016 2018

Results

See also

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

References