1988 United States presidential election in Delaware

1988 United States presidential election in Delaware

← 1984 November 8, 1988 1992 →

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 139,639 108,647 Percentage 55.88% 43.48%

County Results Bush   50–60%   60–70%

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

Elections in Delaware
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The 1988 United States presidential election in Delaware took place on November 8, 1988, as part of the 1988 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. State voters chose three electors to represent them in the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president, via a popular vote pitting incumbent Republican Vice President George H.W. Bush and his running mate, U.S. Senator from Indiana Dan Quayle, against Democratic challenger Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis and his running mate, U.S. Senator from Texas Lloyd Bentsen.

Also on the ballot were Libertarian Party nominee, U.S. Representative from Texas Ron Paul and his running mate Alaska State Representative Andre Marrou. The left-wing New Alliance Party nominated activist and psychologist Lenora Fulani and her running mate, life coach Joyce Dattner.

Vice President Bush won Delaware by 12.4%, making the Blue Hen state about 4.7% more Republican than the nation--a substantial shift with respect to 1984, when Delaware was just about 1% more Republican than the nation. Like Reagan, Bush performed strongly in Delaware's two southernmost counties, Sussex and Kent, both of which gave him over 60% of the vote. However, he carried Delaware's northernmost and by far most populous county, New Castle County, by 7.8%, slightly more than his national margin (whereas Reagan had carried it in 1984 by a few points less than his national margin).

By 1988, Delaware had become a bellwether state, due to the strong contrast between the industrial city of Wilmington in the north of the state and rural poultry farms in the south.^[1] 1988 was the eleventh election in a row in which Delaware voted for the national winner. However, despite New Castle County trending Republican in 1988, it would become powerfully and reliably Democratic from 1992 on, making Delaware part of the Blue Wall. As of 2020, 1988 is the last election in which either Delaware or New Castle County has voted for the Republican nominee.

Partisan background[]

The presidential election of 1988 was a very partisan election for Delaware, with nearly 99.5% of the electorate voting for either the Democratic or Republican parties, and only 4 political parties on the ballot, statewide.^[2]

Results[]

See also[]

• United States presidential elections in Delaware
• Presidency of George H. W. Bush

References[]