1988 United States presidential election in Florida
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County Results
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The 1988 United States presidential election in Florida took place on November 8, 1988. All fifty states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. Florida voters chose twenty-one electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.
Florida 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.
Florida weighed in for this election as 14% more Republican than the national average. Bush's 60.87% of the popular vote made it his fifth strongest state in the 1988 election after Utah, New Hampshire, Idaho and South Carolina.[1] This was also the last time Florida was decided by double digits. This is the last time that a Republican won a majority of the vote in Pinellas County.
Partisan background[]
The presidential election of 1988 was a very partisan election for Florida, with more than 99% of the electorate voting for either the Democratic or Republican parties, and only four candidates appearing on the ballot.[2] Bush won every county in the state, with the exception for North Florida’s majority-black Gadsden County, which voted narrowly for Dukakis.
As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Miami-Dade County, Broward County, Palm Beach County, Alachua County, and Leon County voted for a Republican presidential candidate.[3]
Republican victory[]
Bush won the election in Florida with a 22-point sweep-out landslide. This is the last election where Florida voted reliably Republican, afterward becoming a regular swing state. The election results in Florida 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 conservative 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 businesses, and deep tax cuts.[4]
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.
Elections in Florida |
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Government |
Results[]
United States presidential election in Florida, 1988 | |||||
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Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
Republican | George H. W. Bush | 2,618,885 | 60.87% | 21 | |
Democratic | Michael Dukakis | 1,656,701 | 38.51% | 0 | |
Libertarian | Ron Paul | 19,796 | 0.46% | 0 | |
New Alliance Party | Lenora Fulani | 6,655 | 0.15% | 0 | |
Write-Ins | 276 | 0.01% | 0 | ||
Totals | 4,302,313 | 100.0% | 21 |
Results by county[]
County | George Herbert Walker Bush Republican |
Michael Stanley Dukakis Democratic |
Various candidates Other parties |
Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
Alachua | 30,153 | 50.08% | 29,396 | 48.82% | 664 | 1.10% | 757 | 1.26% | 60,213 |
Baker | 3,418 | 71.49% | 1,355 | 28.34% | 8 | 0.17% | 2,063 | 43.15% | 4,781 |
Bay | 31,796 | 72.51% | 11,603 | 26.46% | 452 | 1.03% | 20,193 | 46.05% | 43,851 |
Bradford | 4,221 | 63.61% | 2,386 | 35.96% | 29 | 0.44% | 1,835 | 27.65% | 6,636 |
Brevard | 104,854 | 70.30% | 43,004 | 28.83% | 1,301 | 0.87% | 61,850 | 41.47% | 149,159 |
Broward | 220,316 | 50.00% | 218,274 | 49.54% | 2,015 | 0.46% | 2,042 | 0.46% | 440,605 |
Calhoun | 2,422 | 64.01% | 1,329 | 35.12% | 33 | 0.87% | 1,093 | 28.88% | 3,784 |
Charlotte | 28,893 | 63.98% | 15,974 | 35.37% | 292 | 0.65% | 12,919 | 28.61% | 45,159 |
Citrus | 21,072 | 62.95% | 12,184 | 36.40% | 218 | 0.65% | 8,888 | 26.55% | 33,474 |
Clay | 25,942 | 76.67% | 7,773 | 22.97% | 122 | 0.36% | 18,169 | 53.70% | 33,837 |
Collier | 38,920 | 74.87% | 12,769 | 24.57% | 291 | 0.56% | 26,151 | 50.31% | 51,980 |
Columbia | 7,761 | 65.13% | 4,073 | 34.18% | 82 | 0.69% | 3,688 | 30.95% | 11,916 |
DeSoto | 4,243 | 65.64% | 2,181 | 33.74% | 40 | 0.62% | 2,062 | 31.90% | 6,464 |
Dixie | 2,031 | 59.79% | 1,366 | 40.21% | 0 | 0.00% | 665 | 19.58% | 3,397 |
Duval | 128,081 | 62.79% | 74,894 | 36.72% | 1,004 | 0.49% | 53,187 | 26.07% | 203,979 |
Escambia | 64,959 | 68.05% | 29,977 | 31.40% | 524 | 0.55% | 34,982 | 36.65% | 95,460 |
Flagler | 6,504 | 60.32% | 4,244 | 39.36% | 34 | 0.32% | 2,260 | 20.96% | 10,782 |
Franklin | 1,913 | 58.52% | 1,283 | 39.25% | 73 | 2.23% | 630 | 19.27% | 3,269 |
Gadsden | 5,992 | 47.64% | 6,372 | 50.66% | 213 | 1.69% | -380 | -3.02% | 12,577 |
Gilchrist | 1,855 | 61.59% | 1,137 | 37.75% | 20 | 0.66% | 718 | 23.84% | 3,012 |
Glades | 1,547 | 59.66% | 1,034 | 39.88% | 12 | 0.46% | 513 | 19.78% | 2,593 |
Gulf | 3,042 | 62.44% | 1,688 | 34.65% | 142 | 2.91% | 1,354 | 27.79% | 4,872 |
Hamilton | 2,062 | 60.72% | 1,318 | 38.81% | 16 | 0.47% | 744 | 21.91% | 3,396 |
Hardee | 3,640 | 66.96% | 1,688 | 31.05% | 108 | 1.99% | 1,952 | 35.91% | 5,436 |
Hendry | 3,965 | 65.70% | 2,036 | 33.74% | 34 | 0.56% | 1,929 | 31.96% | 6,035 |
Hernando | 21,195 | 57.50% | 15,437 | 41.88% | 231 | 0.63% | 5,758 | 15.62% | 36,863 |
Highlands | 16,723 | 67.05% | 8,091 | 32.44% | 127 | 0.51% | 8,632 | 34.61% | 24,941 |
Hillsborough | 150,151 | 59.89% | 99,014 | 39.49% | 1,551 | 0.62% | 51,137 | 20.40% | 250,716 |
Holmes | 4,225 | 71.61% | 1,639 | 27.78% | 36 | 0.61% | 2,586 | 43.83% | 5,900 |
Indian River | 24,630 | 69.71% | 10,451 | 29.58% | 252 | 0.71% | 14,179 | 40.13% | 35,333 |
Jackson | 8,405 | 62.20% | 5,008 | 37.06% | 100 | 0.74% | 3,397 | 25.14% | 13,513 |
Jefferson | 2,326 | 52.89% | 2,055 | 46.73% | 17 | 0.39% | 271 | 6.16% | 4,398 |
Lafayette | 1,451 | 66.41% | 722 | 33.04% | 12 | 0.55% | 729 | 33.36% | 2,185 |
Lake | 37,327 | 68.40% | 16,766 | 30.72% | 479 | 0.88% | 20,561 | 37.68% | 54,572 |
Lee | 87,303 | 67.71% | 40,725 | 31.59% | 908 | 0.70% | 46,578 | 36.12% | 128,936 |
Leon | 36,055 | 51.39% | 33,472 | 47.71% | 631 | 0.90% | 2,583 | 3.68% | 70,158 |
Levy | 5,253 | 59.75% | 3,434 | 39.06% | 104 | 1.18% | 1,819 | 20.69% | 8,791 |
Liberty | 1,421 | 65.27% | 709 | 32.57% | 47 | 2.16% | 712 | 32.71% | 2,177 |
Madison | 2,563 | 56.59% | 1,951 | 43.08% | 15 | 0.33% | 612 | 13.51% | 4,529 |
Manatee | 51,187 | 65.53% | 26,624 | 34.08% | 302 | 0.39% | 24,563 | 31.45% | 78,113 |
Marion | 41,501 | 66.38% | 20,685 | 33.09% | 334 | 0.53% | 20,816 | 33.29% | 62,520 |
Martin | 31,279 | 72.60% | 11,488 | 26.66% | 316 | 0.73% | 19,791 | 45.94% | 43,083 |
Miami-Dade | 270,937 | 55.26% | 216,970 | 44.26% | 2,358 | 0.48% | 53,967 | 11.0% | 490,265 |
Monroe | 15,928 | 60.32% | 10,157 | 38.47% | 320 | 1.21% | 5,771 | 21.86% | 26,405 |
Nassau | 8,374 | 66.59% | 4,143 | 32.95% | 58 | 0.46% | 4,231 | 33.65% | 12,575 |
Okaloosa | 40,389 | 80.04% | 9,753 | 19.33% | 320 | 0.63% | 30,636 | 60.71% | 50,462 |
Okeechobee | 4,736 | 60.79% | 3,007 | 38.60% | 48 | 0.62% | 1,729 | 22.19% | 7,791 |
Orange | 117,237 | 67.86% | 54,023 | 31.27% | 1,510 | 0.87% | 63,214 | 36.59% | 172,770 |
Osceola | 21,355 | 68.05% | 9,812 | 31.27% | 214 | 0.68% | 11,543 | 36.78% | 31,381 |
Palm Beach | 181,495 | 55.47% | 144,199 | 44.07% | 1,523 | 0.47% | 37,296 | 11.40% | 327,217 |
Pasco | 63,820 | 55.59% | 50,385 | 43.89% | 598 | 0.52% | 13,435 | 11.70% | 114,803 |
Pinellas | 211,049 | 57.76% | 152,420 | 41.72% | 1,901 | 0.52% | 58,629 | 16.05% | 365,370 |
Polk | 77,104 | 66.45% | 38,249 | 32.96% | 687 | 0.59% | 38,855 | 33.48% | 116,040 |
Putnam | 11,624 | 57.24% | 8,575 | 42.23% | 108 | 0.53% | 3,049 | 15.01% | 20,307 |
St. Johns | 19,228 | 70.14% | 8,029 | 29.29% | 158 | 0.58% | 11,199 | 40.85% | 27,415 |
St. Lucie | 32,319 | 64.54% | 17,446 | 34.84% | 314 | 0.63% | 14,873 | 29.70% | 50,079 |
Santa Rosa | 18,973 | 77.85% | 5,254 | 21.56% | 143 | 0.59% | 13,719 | 56.29% | 24,370 |
Sarasota | 84,602 | 66.40% | 42,099 | 33.04% | 708 | 0.56% | 42,503 | 33.36% | 127,409 |
Seminole | 60,401 | 72.20% | 22,635 | 27.06% | 622 | 0.74% | 37,766 | 45.14% | 83,658 |
Sumter | 5,936 | 59.98% | 3,900 | 39.41% | 60 | 0.61% | 2,036 | 20.57% | 9,896 |
Suwannee | 5,863 | 64.27% | 3,129 | 34.30% | 130 | 1.43% | 2,734 | 29.97% | 9,122 |
Taylor | 4,057 | 69.06% | 1,763 | 30.01% | 55 | 0.94% | 2,294 | 39.05% | 5,875 |
Union | 1,644 | 69.99% | 691 | 29.42% | 14 | 0.60% | 953 | 40.57% | 2,349 |
Volusia | 74,195 | 56.56% | 55,469 | 42.28% | 1,518 | 1.16% | 18,726 | 14.27% | 131,182 |
Wakulla | 3,158 | 65.72% | 1,605 | 33.40% | 42 | 0.87% | 1,553 | 32.32% | 4,805 |
Walton | 7,490 | 69.30% | 3,235 | 29.93% | 83 | 0.77% | 4,255 | 39.37% | 10,808 |
Washington | 4,374 | 66.64% | 2,144 | 32.66% | 46 | 0.70% | 2,230 | 33.97% | 6,564 |
Totals | 2,618,885 | 60.87% | 1,656,701 | 38.51% | 26,727 | 0.62% | 962,184 | 22.36% | 4,302,313 |
See also[]
- Presidency of George H. W. Bush
References[]
- ^ "1988 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
- ^ "1988 Presidential General Election Results – Florida". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
- ^ Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
- ^ "Since 1980s, the Kindest of Tax Cuts for the Rich". The New York Times. 2012-01-18. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
- 1988 United States presidential election by state
- United States presidential elections in Florida
- 1988 Florida elections