1988 United States presidential election in Connecticut

The 1988 United States presidential election in Connecticut took place on November 8, 1988, as part of the 1988 United States presidential election, which was held throughout all 50 states and D.C. Voters chose eight representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1988 United States presidential election in Connecticut

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 8 0 Popular vote 750,241 676,584 Percentage 51.98% 46.87%

County Results Bush   50-60% Dukakis   50-60%

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

Connecticut voted for the Republican nominee, Vice President George H. W. Bush, over the Democratic nominee, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, by a margin of 5.10%. Bush took 51.98% of the vote to Dukakis's 46.87%.

Although Dukakis won only Hartford County, he took 47-49% of the vote in 5 other counties, making it a close race statewide. He came much closer to winning the state than Walter Mondale, who had lost the state by over 20 points four years earlier. Dukakis's gains reflected liberal New England's drift as a whole toward the Democratic Party, as the Republican Party became increasingly conservative and oriented toward the South. This would be the last time that a Republican presidential candidate would win Connecticut's electoral votes, as the state has gone Democratic in every election since. As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which the counties of New Haven, New London, Middlesex and Tolland voted for the Republican candidate.

Results

1988 United States presidential election in Connecticut[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	George H. W. Bush	750,241	51.98%	8
	Democratic	Michael Dukakis	676,584	46.87%	0
	Libertarian	Ron Paul	14,071	0.97%	0
	New Alliance	Lenora Fulani	2,491	0.17%	0
	No party	William A. Marra (Write-in)	7	0.00%	0
Totals			1,443,394	100.00%	8
Voter Turnout (Voting age/Registered)					58%/80%

Results by county

	George Herbert Walker Bush Republican		Michael Stanley Dukakis Democratic		Various candidates Other parties		Total
County	%	#	%	#	%	#	#
Fairfield	59.04%	221,316	39.91%	149,630	1.05%	3,932	374,878
Hartford	45.95%	173,031	53.08%	199,857	0.97%	3,648	376,536
Litchfield	55.97%	44,637	42.91%	34,227	1.12%	893	79,757
Middlesex	50.01%	34,682	48.95%	33,946	1.03%	716	69,344
New Haven	50.90%	174,251	47.66%	163,153	1.45%	4,957	342,361
New London	51.22%	52,681	47.53%	48,882	1.25%	1,288	102,851
Tolland	50.80%	28,375	48.13%	26,884	1.08%	602	55,861
Windham	50.88%	21,268	47.86%	20,005	1.26%	526	41,799

See also

• United States presidential elections in Connecticut

References

1. "1988 Presidential General Election Results - Connecticut". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved 2013-02-07.