1988 New Jersey Democratic presidential primary

none July 2025 July 2025 1988 New Jersey Democratic presidential primaries New Jersey 1984 New Jersey Democratic presidential primary 1984 1992 New Jersey Democratic presidential primary 1992 MT NM June 7, 1988 yes Presidential delegate primary primary Yes 118 Democratic National Convention delegates 250px File:Michael Dukakis 1988 DNC (2).jpg Michael Dukakis Massachusetts a59400 66 Jesse Jackson Illinois 34 Jesse Jackson For President Crop.jpg 73638c yes primary Presidential preference primary (non-binding) No Democratic National Convention delegates File:Michael Dukakis 1988 DNC (2).jpg Michael Dukakis Massachusetts 414,829 63.4% a59400 Jesse Jackson Illinois 213,705 32.7% Jesse Jackson For President Crop.jpg 73638c 200px Preference primary results by county 1988 Democratic Party presidential primaries The 1988 New Jersey Democratic presidential primary was held on June 7, 1988, in New Jersey as one of the Democratic Party's statewide nomination contests ahead of the 1988 United States presidential election. Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis won over civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, winning 63 percent of the vote and the bulk of the state's 110 pledged delegates.1988 New Jersey primary results https://nj.gov/state/elections/assets/pdf/election-results/1988/1988-primary-election-results-president.pdf nj.gov Dukakis's victory came near the end of a long primary campaign and, along with a victory in the California primary on the same day, put him on the precipice of the nomination. He was ultimately carried over the top at the 1988 Democratic National Convention by the support of superdelegates. After the primary, state Democratic leaders awarded Jackson additional delegates to provide him representation proportional to his popular vote in the state. Background Entering the 1988 New Jersey primary, Michael Dukakis had cemented his position as the front-runner for the party nomination over Jesse Jackson, following the withdrawal of other contenders like Al Gore. Although he still had not won sufficient delegate pledges to secure the nomination on the first ballot, Dukakis had been the leading candidate in the race for weeks and his nomination was considered inevitable.1988-06-08 Front-Runner Status Helps Bring Dukakis a Sweep of Jersey Vote (Published 1988) https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/08/us/front-runner-status-helps-bring-dukakis-a-sweep-of-jersey-vote.html 2025-11-16 en Candidates David Duke, Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan (also running as Populist nominee) Michael Dukakis, Governor of Massachusetts Jesse Jackson, Baptist minister and activist Lyndon LaRouche, perennial candidate and activist William A. Marra, anti-abortion activist (also running as Right to Life nominee) Withdrew Al Gore, U.S. senator from Tennessee Endorsements Michael Dukakis U.S. senators Bill Bradley, U.S. senator since 1979https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/06/us/dukakis-preaches-family-work-and-community.html June 6, 1988 November 16, 2025 Toner Robin The New York Times Dukakis Preaches Family, Work and Community State senators John F. Russo, president of the New Jersey Senate, state senator from the 10th district, and candidate for governor in 1985 Campaign A February straw poll of business leaders taken at the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce convention found Dukakis leading with 32 percent of the vote, followed by Jackson with 16 percent, U.S. senator Paul Simon of Illinois with 15 percent, former Arizona governor Bruce Babbitt with 11 percent; U.S. representative Dick Gephardt of Missouri with10 percent, and Al Gore and Gary Hart each with 8 percent.1988-02-07 FROM NEW JERSEY, A POLITICAL TRAIN (Published 1988) https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/07/nyregion/from-new-jersey-a-political-train.html 2025-11-17 en Results 1988 New Jersey Democratic presidential primary Michael Dukakis Democratic Party (US) 414,829 63.40% Jesse Jackson Democratic Party (US) 213,705 32.66% Al Gore (withdrew) Democratic Party (US) 18,062 2.76% Lyndon LaRouche Democratic Party (US) 2,621 0.40% William A. Marra Democratic Party (US) 2,594 0.40% David Duke Democratic Party (US) 2,491 0.38% 654,302 100.00% Exit polling An exit poll conducted by The New York Times and CBS News indicated that Dukakis had improved his standing with blue-collar voters, with each candidate getting about half, and white voters, with Dukakis winning about 89 percent. Unlike previous New Jersey primaries, most voters decided on a candidate well in advance, with 76 percent reporting that they had decided on a candidate more than two weeks before the primary. Among those who had decided before the beginning of the year, Jackson won 60 percent. Despite Jackson's emphasis of on poverty and drugs, Dukakis won voters who cited each as their top issue. Jackson improved with black New Jersey voters over his performance in 1984, but performed worse with white voters than he had in 1984 and performed significantly worse with white voters than he had in the earlier primaries in neighboring Pennsylvania and New York. Aftermath The 1988 primary was one of the least competitive in New Jersey in the modern era, leading to calls to move the New Jersey primary earlier in the cycle.1988-07-10 Getting A Bigger Voice In the Primaries (Published 1988) https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/10/nyregion/getting-a-bigger-voice-in-the-primaries.html 2025-11-17 en After the primary, Jackson's supporters challenged the system which awarded him only 12 percent of the delegates despite getting 33 percent of the statewide popular vote. In response, the state Democratic Party awarded him an additional eight delegates on June 21 to the nine he won at the primary, for a total of seventeen.Archives L. A. Times 1988-06-22 N.J. Dispute Settled: Jackson Will Get 8 More Delegates https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-22-mn-4749-story.html 2025-11-17 Los Angeles Times en-US Academy Award-winning actress Olympia Dukakis, the candidate's cousin, was named an at-large delegate. References New Jersey Category:1988 New Jersey elections 1988