1988 United States presidential election in Tennessee

none June 2025 September 2023 1988 United States presidential election 1988 United States presidential election in Tennessee Tennessee presidential no 1984 United States presidential election in Tennessee 1984 1992 United States presidential election in Tennessee 1992 November 8, 1988 x200px File:VP George Bush crop.jpg George H. W. Bush Republican Party (United States) Texas Dan Quayle 11 947,233 57.89% File:Dukakis campaign portrait 3x4.jpg Michael Dukakis Democratic Party (United States) Massachusetts Lloyd Bentsen 0 679,794 41.55% 350px County results 350px Congressional district results 350px Bush #f2b3be 40–50% #e27f90 50–60% #cc2f4a 60–70% #d40000 70–80% Dukakis #b9d7ff 40–50% #86b6f2 50–60% #4389e3 60–70% President Ronald Reagan Republican Party (United States) George H. W. Bush Republican Party (United States) The 1988 United States presidential election in Tennessee took place on November 8, 1988. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. Tennessee voters chose 11 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president. Tennessee 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. Tennessee weighed in for this election as eight points more Republican than the national average. Tennessee was the only state that Bush won a higher percentage of the vote and larger margin of victory than Ronald Reagan in 1984, albeit by a difference of less than a tenth of a percent. 2020 11 As of the 2024 presidential election, this was the last time the Republican candidate carried Davidson County (home of Nashville) and Shelby County (home of Memphis), both of which have become staunch, and the only, Democratic strongholds into the 21st century. Hardeman County, Tennessee would not vote for a Republican again until the 2016 United States presidential election. Background The Republican presidential nominee had won Tennessee in every presidential election since 1968 except for Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter's victory in 1976.Moreland Steed Baker 1991 202 However, Republican victories in the senatorial elections of 1966 and 1970 were undone by Democratic victories in 1976 and 1984. Ned McWherter's victory in 1986 gubernatorial election also restored Democratic control since 1974. Voter identification among the Democrats fell from 42% to 32% between 1981 and 1985, while identification among the Republicans rose from 25 to 29%.Moreland Steed Baker 1991 202-203 Campaign Primary U.S. Senator Al Gore, a favorite son, won Tennessee in the Democratic primary with 72% of the vote.Moreland Steed Baker 1991 10Moreland Steed Baker 1991 205 Gore won 87% of the white vote.Black Black 1992 266 The racial composition of the primary was 73% white and 27% black.Black Black 1992 263 Bill Brock, a former member of the U.S. Senate from Tennessee, served as the chair of Bob Dole's national campaign. McWherter served as the chair of Gore's campaign in the south.Moreland Steed Baker 1991 204-206 37% of white voters participated in the Republican primary.Black Black 1992 288 General The regional political divide in Tennessee between the Republican eastern half and Democratic western half dated back to the American Civil War.Moreland Steed Baker 1991 201 Stephanie Chivers, the director of Bush's campaign in the state, stated that they needed a 125,000 margin of victory in the eastern part of the state to counteract Democratic support in the rest of the state.Moreland Steed Baker 1991 204 Both of Bush's visits in the state were in Democratic areas in order for him to be "in there with the Reagan/McWherter Democrats" according to Chivers. Quayle's five visits to the state were in the east.Moreland Steed Baker 1991 206 Peter Goelz, a Democratic politician from Kansas City, was selected to be the political director of Dukakis's campaign in the state. He did not arrive until August and he lacked knowledge about the state's politics. Chip Forrester, the executive director of the Tennessee Democratic Party, criticized Dukakis for not utilizing McWherter during the campaign despite his popularity in rural counties. McWherter and other southern governors filmed an endorsement of Dukakis at the National Governors' Conference meeting, but it was never aired on television in Tennessee.Moreland Steed Baker 1991 205 Among white voters, 65% supported Bush while 34% supported Dukakis.Black Black 1992 295Black Black 1992 335 Bush received 65% of the vote in the east, 55% in the middle, and 53% in the west. Bush won 73 of the state's 95 counties, including the four most populous counties of Shelby, Davidson, Knox, and Hamilton. Dukakis failed to win any metropolitan areas. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Jim Sasser won reelection in the concurrent senatorial election and the Democrats maintained their control of the Tennessee General Assembly despite Bush's victory.Moreland Steed Baker 1991 214-216 Polling Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error GeorgeBushRepublican MichaelDukakisDemocratic Other /UndecidedMason-Dixon Polling & StrategyMoreland Steed Baker 1991 208October 3–5, 1988829 RV46%41%13%Mason-Dixon Polling & StrategyMoreland Steed Baker 1991 208October 26–28, 1988813 LV51%41%8% Results 1988 United States presidential election in TennesseePartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Republican George H. W. Bush 947,233 57.89% 11 Democratic Michael Dukakis 679,794 41.55% 0 Independent Ron Paul 2,041 0.12% 0 Independent David Duke 1,807 0.11% 0 Independent Earl Dodge 1,807 0.11% 0 Independent Lenora Fulani 1,334 0.08% 0 Independent Lyndon LaRouche 873 0.05% 0 Independent James Warren 718 0.04% 0 Independent Willa Kenoyer 358 0.02% 0 Write-Ins 285 0.02% 0 Totals 1,636,250 100.0% 11 Results by county CountyOur Campaigns https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=2142 TN US President, November 08, 1988 George H. W. BushRepublican Michael DukakisDemocratic Ron PaulIndependent David DukeIndependent Margin Total votescast # % # % # % # % # % Anderson 15,056 60.74% 9,589 38.68% 35 0.14% 108 0.44% 5,467 22.06% 24,788 Bedford 4,856 54.32% 4,046 45.26% 9 0.10% 28 0.31% 810 9.06% 8,939 Benton 2,167 43.26% 2,826 56.42% 1 0.02% 15 0.30% -659 -13.16% 5,009 Bledsoe 1,858 58.48% 1,274 40.10% 5 0.16% 40 1.26% 584 18.38% 3,177 Blount 20,027 67.26% 9,602 32.25% 38 0.13% 109 0.37% 10,425 35.01% 29,776 Bradley 15,829 71.85% 6,122 27.79% 16 0.07% 64 0.29% 9,707 44.06% 22,031 Campbell 5,197 55.19% 4,188 44.48% 5 0.05% 26 0.28% 1,009 10.71% 9,416 Cannon 1,604 47.91% 1,726 51.55% 4 0.12% 14 0.42% -122 -3.64% 3,348 Carroll 5,635 57.32% 4,151 42.23% 3 0.03% 41 0.42% 1,484 15.09% 9,830 Carter 12,036 71.74% 4,634 27.62% 18 0.11% 90 0.54% 7,402 44.12% 16,778 Cheatham 4,132 56.99% 3,067 42.30% 15 0.21% 36 0.50% 1,065 14.69% 7,250 Chester 2,781 61.05% 1,757 38.57% 2 0.04% 15 0.33% 1,024 22.48% 4,555 Claiborne 4,071 57.48% 2,977 42.04% 6 0.08% 28 0.40% 1,094 15.44% 7,082 Clay 1,291 51.78% 1,183 47.45% 19 0.76% 0 0.00% 108 4.33% 2,493 Cocke 5,430 71.65% 2,115 27.91% 9 0.12% 25 0.33% 3,315 43.74% 7,579 Coffee 7,837 57.56% 5,686 41.76% 29 0.21% 63 0.46% 2,151 15.80% 13,615 Crockett 2,214 55.77% 1,742 43.88% 14 0.35% 0 0.00% 472 11.89% 3,970 Cumberland 7,557 65.18% 3,964 34.19% 22 0.19% 51 0.44% 3,593 30.99% 11,594 Davidson 98,599 52.18% 89,270 47.25% 299 0.16% 778 0.41% 9,329 4.93% 188,946 Decatur 2,286 54.55% 1,880 44.86% 7 0.17% 18 0.43% 406 9.69% 4,191 DeKalb 2,098 45.80% 2,452 53.53% 6 0.13% 25 0.55% -354 -7.73% 4,581 Dickson 5,343 50.71% 5,129 48.68% 13 0.12% 51 0.48% 214 2.03% 10,536 Dyer 6,508 63.54% 3,690 36.02% 5 0.05% 40 0.39% 2,818 27.52% 10,243 Fayette 3,573 51.63% 3,292 47.57% 11 0.16% 45 0.65% 281 4.06% 6,921 Fentress 3,103 62.16% 1,856 37.18% 2 0.04% 31 0.62% 1,247 24.98% 4,992 Franklin 5,381 49.43% 5,442 49.99% 16 0.15% 47 0.43% -61 -0.56% 10,886 Gibson 8,415 52.47% 7,542 47.03% 16 0.10% 65 0.41% 873 5.44% 16,038 Giles 3,518 47.04% 3,918 52.39% 10 0.13% 32 0.43% -400 -5.35% 7,478 Grainger 2,734 65.50% 1,423 34.09% 5 0.12% 12 0.29% 1,311 31.41% 4,174 Greene 11,947 69.73% 5,077 29.63% 44 0.26% 64 0.37% 6,870 40.10% 17,132 Grundy 1,429 37.05% 2,415 62.61% 13 0.34% 0 0.00% -986 -25.56% 3,857 Hamblen 10,418 66.93% 5,061 32.52% 27 0.17% 59 0.38% 5,357 34.41% 15,565 Hamilton 68,111 62.08% 40,990 37.36% 157 0.14% 451 0.41% 27,121 24.72% 109,709 Hancock 1,303 62.58% 737 35.40% 8 0.38% 34 1.63% 566 27.18% 2,082 Hardeman 3,547 49.69% 3,526 49.40% 13 0.18% 52 0.73% 21 0.29% 7,138 Hardin 4,252 59.98% 2,808 39.61% 5 0.07% 24 0.34% 1,444 20.37% 7,089 Hawkins 9,356 63.88% 5,212 35.59% 24 0.16% 54 0.37% 4,144 28.29% 14,646 Haywood 2,687 47.64% 2,923 51.83% 3 0.05% 27 0.48% -236 -4.19% 5,640 Henderson 5,418 69.29% 2,296 29.36% 21 0.27% 84 1.07% 3,122 39.93% 7,819 Henry 4,784 47.96% 5,138 51.51% 3 0.03% 50 0.50% -354 -3.55% 9,975 Hickman 2,246 45.67% 2,643 53.74% 14 0.28% 15 0.31% -397 -8.07% 4,918 Houston 882 37.26% 1,467 61.98% 4 0.17% 14 0.59% -585 -24.72% 2,367 Humphreys 2,132 41.09% 3,037 58.54% 1 0.02% 18 0.35% -905 -17.45% 5,188 Jackson 1,168 37.15% 1,962 62.40% 5 0.16% 9 0.29% -794 -25.25% 3,144 Jefferson 6,832 67.85% 3,168 31.46% 13 0.13% 56 0.56% 3,664 36.39% 10,069 Johnson 3,715 73.14% 1,329 26.17% 3 0.06% 32 0.63% 2,386 46.97% 5,079 Knox 73,092 63.27% 41,829 36.21% 190 0.16% 410 0.35% 31,263 27.06% 115,521 Lake 806 46.06% 935 53.43% 1 0.06% 8 0.46% -129 -7.37% 1,750 Lauderdale 3,308 49.83% 3,296 49.65% 4 0.06% 31 0.47% 12 0.18% 6,639 Lawrence 6,273 56.09% 4,903 43.84% 7 0.06% 0 0.00% 1,370 12.25% 11,183 Lewis 1,324 47.95% 1,419 51.39% 8 0.29% 10 0.36% -95 -3.44% 2,761 Lincoln 4,288 53.49% 3,672 45.80% 21 0.26% 36 0.45% 616 7.69% 8,017 Loudon 7,122 66.69% 3,480 32.59% 14 0.13% 63 0.59% 3,642 34.10% 10,679 Macon 2,962 65.37% 1,538 33.94% 5 0.11% 26 0.57% 1,424 31.43% 4,531 Madison 16,952 60.46% 11,001 39.23% 3 0.01% 83 0.30% 5,951 21.23% 28,039 Marion 4,407 51.14% 4,175 48.45% 6 0.07% 30 0.35% 232 2.69% 8,618 Marshall 2,975 51.37% 2,795 48.26% 2 0.03% 19 0.33% 180 3.11% 5,791 Maury 8,397 56.78% 6,280 42.47% 11 0.07% 100 0.68% 2,117 14.31% 14,788 McMinn 8,462 64.70% 4,568 34.93% 19 0.15% 29 0.22% 3,894 29.77% 13,078 McNairy 4,625 56.46% 3,510 42.85% 10 0.12% 46 0.56% 1,115 13.61% 8,191 Meigs 1,507 58.68% 1,048 40.81% 2 0.08% 11 0.43% 459 17.87% 2,568 Monroe 6,355 61.15% 4,000 38.49% 9 0.09% 29 0.28% 2,355 22.66% 10,393 Montgomery 12,599 57.65% 9,145 41.84% 24 0.11% 88 0.40% 3,454 15.81% 21,856 Moore 786 51.37% 731 47.78% 3 0.20% 10 0.65% 55 3.59% 1,530 Morgan 2,576 56.67% 1,941 42.70% 2 0.04% 27 0.59% 635 13.97% 4,546 Obion 6,037 55.60% 4,785 44.07% 8 0.07% 28 0.26% 1,252 11.53% 10,858 Overton 1,873 42.60% 2,511 57.11% 1 0.02% 12 0.27% -638 -14.51% 4,397 Perry 854 41.14% 1,208 58.19% 3 0.14% 11 0.53% -354 -17.05% 2,076 Pickett 1,118 63.67% 634 36.10% 4 0.23% 0 0.00% 484 27.57% 1,756 Polk 2,297 52.31% 2,073 47.21% 3 0.07% 18 0.41% 224 5.10% 4,391 Putnam 9,547 58.62% 6,606 40.56% 24 0.15% 108 0.66% 2,941 18.06% 16,285 Rhea 5,144 66.15% 2,595 33.37% 6 0.08% 31 0.40% 2,549 32.78% 7,776 Roane 10,881 62.19% 6,535 37.35% 6 0.03% 75 0.43% 4,346 24.84% 17,497 Robertson 5,714 48.95% 5,884 50.41% 12 0.10% 62 0.53% -170 -1.46% 11,672 Rutherford 20,397 62.18% 12,245 37.33% 34 0.10% 125 0.38% 8,152 24.85% 32,801 Scott 2,562 61.10% 1,611 38.42% 3 0.07% 17 0.41% 951 22.68% 4,193 Sequatchie 1,659 57.83% 1,196 41.69% 2 0.07% 12 0.42% 463 16.14% 2,869 Sevier 11,920 76.26% 3,643 23.31% 13 0.08% 55 0.35% 8,277 52.95% 15,631 Shelby 157,457 50.96% 149,759 48.47% 375 0.12% 1,397 0.45% 7,698 2.49% 308,988 Smith 2,138 45.63% 2,522 53.82% 2 0.04% 24 0.51% -384 -8.19% 4,686 Stewart 1,302 39.50% 1,979 60.04% 2 0.06% 13 0.39% -677 -20.54% 3,296 Sullivan 32,996 64.73% 17,396 34.13% 33 0.06% 552 1.08% 15,600 30.60% 50,977 Sumner 19,523 62.20% 11,702 37.28% 41 0.13% 123 0.39% 7,821 24.92% 31,389 Tipton 6,052 61.02% 3,824 38.56% 6 0.06% 36 0.36% 2,228 22.46% 9,918 Trousdale 969 44.59% 1,193 54.90% 1 0.05% 10 0.46% -224 -10.31% 2,173 Unicoi 3,664 66.79% 1,794 32.70% 5 0.09% 23 0.42% 1,870 34.09% 5,486 Union 2,110 59.20% 1,431 40.15% 3 0.08% 20 0.56% 679 19.05% 3,564 Van Buren 780 49.37% 796 50.38% 4 0.25% 0 0.00% -16 -1.01% 1,580 Warren 4,529 49.13% 4,646 50.40% 5 0.05% 38 0.41% -117 -1.27% 9,218 Washington 19,615 65.63% 10,087 33.75% 63 0.21% 122 0.41% 9,528 31.88% 29,887 Wayne 3,405 68.77% 1,516 30.62% 3 0.06% 27 0.55% 1,889 38.15% 4,951 Weakley 5,701 57.07% 4,239 42.44% 15 0.15% 34 0.34% 1,462 14.63% 9,989 White 2,646 50.41% 2,562 48.81% 10 0.19% 31 0.59% 84 1.60% 5,249 Williamson 20,847 72.33% 7,864 27.28% 52 0.18% 60 0.21% 12,983 45.05% 28,823 Wilson 13,317 61.11% 8,360 38.36% 24 0.11% 92 0.42% 4,957 22.75% 21,793Totals947,23357.89%679,79441.55%2,0410.12%1,8070.11%267,43916.34%1,636,250 Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Giles Lewis Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Hardeman Lincoln White 1984 Presidential General Election Results - Tennessee https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1984&fips=47&f=0&off=0&elect=0 Dave Leip's election atlas1988 Presidential General Election Results - Tennessee https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1988&fips=47&off=0&elect=0&f=0 Dave Leip's election atlas Analysis Most counties in Tennessee turned out for Bush, including the highly populated Shelby County and Davidson County, by narrow margins. Those two counties have never voted Republican since this election.Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016 Tennessee was the only state that Bush improved on Ronald Reagan’s 1984 vote share within, although only by 0.05%.Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, p. 111 0786422173 He became only the second Republican after Richard Nixon in 1972 to carry Lincoln County and Hardeman County.Menendez; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, pp. 298-303 See also 1988 United States Senate election in Tennessee 1988 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee United States presidential elections in Tennessee Presidency of George H. W. Bush References Works cited Black Earl Earl Black (political scientist) Black Merle Merle Black The Vital South: How Presidents Are Elected Harvard University Press 1992 https://archive.org/details/vitalsouthhowpre0000blac 0674941306 Moreland Laurence Steed Robert Baker Tod The 1988 Presidential Election in the South: Continuity Amidst Change in Southern Party Politics Praeger Publishers 1991 https://archive.org/details/1988presidential0000unse 0275931455 Tennessee 1988 Category:1988 Tennessee elections