1988 United States presidential election in Delaware

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.

1988 United States presidential election in Delaware

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 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

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.

Delaware was won by Bush in his nationwide landslide where he carried all but ten states and 426 electoral votes to Dukakis' 111. Delaware had previously voted for incumbent President Ronald Reagan in his 1980 and 1984 landslides, and had only voted for a Democratic nominee once since 1968. Up until the realignment election of 1992, where Delaware – and the rest of the Northeast Corridor – would become the most Democratic stronghold in the country, it had been a strong bellwether and swing state, voting for the election winner in every election between 1952 and 1996, 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] Corresponding to Bush's nationwide landslide, he won every county in the state, with his greatest margin in Sussex where he won by 24.3 percentage points.[2]

Delaware weighed in for this election as about 4% more Republican than the national average. As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last time that the Republican nominee carried New Castle County, the state's most populous and home to its largest city of Wilmington, and indeed the last time the state of Delaware itself voted for a Republican presidential 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

1988 United States presidential election in Delaware
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	George H. W. Bush	139,639	55.88%	3
	Democratic	Michael Dukakis	108,647	43.48%	0
	Libertarian	Ron Paul	1,162	0.47%	0
	New Alliance Party	Lenora Fulani	443	0.18%	0
Totals			249,891	100.00%	3

See also

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

References

1. Sullivan, Robert David (2015-06-08). "How Delaware lost its bellwether mojo and joined the Northeast Corridor". America Magazine. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
2. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". Uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2013-07-21.