1988 United States presidential election in Delaware

none June 2025 September 2023 1988 United States presidential election 1988 United States presidential election in Delaware Delaware presidential no 1984 United States presidential election in Delaware 1984 1992 United States presidential election in Delaware 1992 November 8, 1988 x200px File:VP George Bush crop.jpg George H. W. Bush Republican Party (United States) Texas Dan Quayle 3 139,639 55.88% File:Dukakis campaign portrait 3x4.jpg Michael Dukakis Democratic Party (United States) Massachusetts Lloyd Bentsen 0 108,647 43.48% 120px County results 120px State House district results Bush #E27F90 50–60% #CC2F4A 60–70% Dukakis #86B6F2 50–60% #4389E3 60–70% #0645B4 80–90% President Ronald Reagan Republican Party (United States) George H. W. Bush Republican Party (United States) 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 compared to 1984, when Delaware was only 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%, almost exactly the same as his national margin of victory (whereas Reagan had carried it in 1984 by a few points less than his national margin). In 1988, Delaware was 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.Sullivan Robert David 2015-06-08 How Delaware lost its bellwether mojo and joined the Northeast Corridor https://www.americamagazine.org/content/unconventional-wisdom/how-delaware-lost-its-bellwether-mojo-and-joined-northeast-corridor 2020-11-17 America Magazine en 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 2024, this remains the last election in which either New Castle County or the state of Delaware has voted for the Republican nominee. 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.http://uselectionatlas.org Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections Uselectionatlas.org 2013-07-21 Results 1988 United States presidential election in DelawareDavis Jr. John G. State of Delaware Official Results of General Election 1988 https://elections.delaware.gov/elections/resultsarchive/elect88/pdfs/1988.pdf Delaware Department of Elections 17 December 2025 2 PDF 1989 George H. W. Bush Republican Party (United States) 139,639 55.88% Michael Dukakis Democratic Party (United States) 108,647 43.48% Ron Paul Libertarian Party (United States) 1,162 0.47% Lenora Fulani New Alliance Party 443 0.18% 249,891 100.00% By county County George H. W. BushRepublican Michael DukakisDemocratic Various candidatesOther parties Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % Kent 19,923 60.17% 12,996 39.25% 194 0.58% 6,927 20.92% 33,113 New Castle 92,587 53.52% 79,147 45.75% 1,269 0.73% 13,440 7.77% 173,003 Sussex 27,129 61.97% 16,504 37.70% 142 0.33% 10,625 24.27% 43,775Totals139,63955.88%108,64743.48%1,6050.64%30,99212.40%249,891 See also United States presidential elections in Delaware Presidency of George H. W. Bush References Delaware 1988 Category:1988 Delaware elections