1988 United States presidential election in North Dakota

1988 United States presidential election in North Dakota

← 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 166,559 127,739 Percentage 56.03% 42.97%

County Results Bush   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% Dukakis   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%

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

Elections in North Dakota
show Federal government Presidential 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 2020 Presidential primaries Democratic 1996 2004 2008 2016 2020 Republican 2008 2012 U.S. Senate 1889 1891 1893 1897 1899 1903 1905 1909 1911 1914 1916 1920 1922 1926 1928 1932 1934 1938 1940 1944 1946 1950 1952 1956 1958 1962 1964 1968 1970 1974 1976 1980 1982 1986 1988 1992 1994 1998 2000 2004 2006 2010 2012 2016 2018 2022 2024 U.S. House 1889 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 Special elections Senate 1911 1926 1946 1960 1992 House 1st 1917 1963 2nd 1924
show State government State elections 2006 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 Gubernatorial elections 1889 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1921 (recall) 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 Secretary of State elections 2018 State Senate elections 2020 House of Representatives elections 2020
show Ballot measures 2004 Constitutional Measure 1
v t

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. State voters chose three 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. 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 were 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 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.^[1]

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 Ronald 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 Bill 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 States after 2007, such as the Great Recession.^[2]

The election was very partisan, with nearly 99 percent of the electorate voting for either the Democratic or Republican parties.^[3] All major counties in North Dakota gave pluralities for Bush, including the relatively highly populated center of Cass County, which contains the city of Fargo. As has been typical ever since the 1960s, however, Dukakis gained large majorities in the two predominantly Native American counties of Rolette in the north and Sioux in the south, and he also carried by smaller margins a number of other counties in the northern and eastern portions of the state. This is one of only two elections since 1952 where national bellwether Sargent County in the state's southeast supported a losing candidate,^[4] with the anomaly most likely due to the farm crisis.

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 2020 presidential election this remains relatively the least Republican the state has been since Nixon's landslide win in 1972,^[5] when a "favorite son" effect with George McGovern from neighboring South Dakota was a likely influence.

Primary[]

North Dakota held the last primary of the election season on June 14th, by which time the party nominations had effectively already been secured. Libertarian candidate Ron Paul entered due to it being an open primary,^[6] receiving 985 votes. For the Republicans, Bush received 37,062 votes to 2,372 for perennial candidate Mary Jane Rachner of Minnesota^[7] while Dukakis garnered 2,890 votes compared to 515 for Jesse Jackson.^[8]

Results[]

Results by county[]

See also[]

• Presidency of George H. W. Bush

References[]