1988 United States presidential election in Wisconsin

none June 2025 September 2023 1988 United States presidential election in Wisconsin Wisconsin presidential no 1984 United States presidential election in Wisconsin 1984 1992 United States presidential election in Wisconsin 1992 November 8, 1988 x200px File:Dukakis campaign portrait 3x4.jpg Michael Dukakis Democratic Party (United States) Massachusetts Lloyd Bentsen 11 1,126,794 51.41% File:VP George Bush crop.jpg George H. W. Bush Republican Party (United States) Texas Dan Quayle 0 1,047,499 47.80% 300px Dukakis #b9d7ff 40–50% #86b6f2 50–60% #4389e3 60–70% #1666cb 70–80% Bush #f2b3be 40–50% #e27f90 50–60% #cc2f4a 60–70% President Ronald Reagan Republican Party (United States) George H. W. Bush Republican Party (United States) 300px County results 300px Precinct results The 1988 United States presidential election in Wisconsin took place on November 8, 1988. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. State voters chose 11 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president. Wisconsin was won by Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis who was running against incumbent United States Vice President George H. W. Bush of Texas. Dukakis ran with Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen as Vice President, and Bush ran with Indiana Senator Dan Quayle. Dukakis won the election in Wisconsin with a four-point margin, likely due to the 1980s farm crisis which devastated rural areas of Wisconsin. The state has since consistently voted for the Democratic Party, until the narrow victory of Republican Donald Trump in 2016 and again in 2024. This is also the last time Wisconsin would vote differently to fellow Rust Belt swing states Michigan and Pennsylvania, as all three had Democratic winning streaks from 1992 to 2012, with all three states flipping simultaneously in 2016, 2020, and 2024 as well as the last time Wisconsin was the most Democratic-leaning of the three Rust Belt swing states until 2024. The election was very partisan, with over 99 percent of the electorate voting for either the Republican or Democratic parties, although five additional candidates were on the ballot.1988 Presidential General Election Results – Wisconsin https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1988&fips=55&f=0&off=0&elect=0&minper=0 Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections 2013-07-21 Dukakis and Bush almost evenly split Wisconsin's seventy-two counties – Dukakis won 37 and Bush won 35. Dukakis won the large urban counties containing Madison (Dane County), Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha, alongside almost entirely Native American Menominee County and the heavily unionized Scandinavian-American counties of the northwest. Bush won the suburban "WOW counties" and the more conservative, historically German Catholic, counties of the rural eastern half of the state.Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 381-382, 414 978-0-691-16324-6 Over the state as a whole, Dukakis did best, as usual, in Menominee County, and Bush did best in Ozaukee County. Results 1988 United States presidential election in WisconsinParty Candidate Votes PercentageElectoral votes Democratic Michael Dukakis 1,126,794 51.41% 11 Republican George H. W. Bush 1,047,499 47.80% 0 Independent Ron Paul 5,157 0.24% 0 Independent David Duke 3,056 0.14% 0 Independent James Warren 2,574"notseparated" Votes for this candidate were not separated by county but listed only as a statewide total.https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=2149 Our Campaigns WI US President Race, November 08, 1988 0.12% 0 Independent Lyndon LaRouche 2,302"notseparated" 0.11% 0 Write-ins 2,273"notseparated" 0.10% 0 Independent Lenora Fulani 1,953"notseparated" 0.09% 0 Totals 2,191,608 100.0% 11 Results by county County Michael DukakisDemocratic George H. W. BushRepublican Ron PaulIndependent David DukeIndependent Margin Total votescast # % # % # % # % # % Adams 3,598 52.27% 3,258 47.33% 8 0.12% 19 0.28% 340 4.94% 6,883 Ashland 4,526 60.49% 2,926 39.11% 10 0.13% 20 0.27% 1,600 21.38% 7,482 Barron 8,951 50.94% 8,527 48.53% 45 0.26% 47 0.27% 424 2.41% 17,570 Bayfield 4,323 57.96% 3,095 41.50% 12 0.16% 28 0.38% 1,228 16.46% 7,458 Brown 41,788 48.62% 43,625 50.75% 196 0.23% 344 0.40% -1,837 -2.13% 85,953 Buffalo 3,481 55.14% 2,783 44.08% 23 0.36% 26 0.41% 698 11.06% 6,313 Burnett 3,537 54.71% 2,884 44.61% 11 0.17% 33 0.51% 653 10.10% 6,465 Calumet 6,481 44.06% 8,107 55.12% 21 0.14% 99 0.67% -1,626 -11.06% 14,708 Chippewa 11,447 53.61% 9,757 45.69% 53 0.25% 97 0.45% 1,690 7.92% 21,354 Clark 6,642 50.95% 6,296 48.30% 19 0.15% 79 0.61% 346 2.65% 13,036 Columbia 9,132 46.28% 10,475 53.09% 45 0.23% 78 0.40% -1,343 -6.81% 19,730 Crawford 3,608 52.34% 3,238 46.98% 22 0.32% 25 0.36% 370 5.36% 6,893 Dane 105,414 59.92% 69,143 39.30% 543 0.31% 834 0.47% 36,271 20.62% 175,934 Dodge 12,663 42.31% 17,003 56.81% 66 0.22% 195 0.65% -4,340 -14.50% 29,927 Door 5,425 43.67% 6,907 55.60% 20 0.16% 70 0.56% -1,482 -11.93% 12,422 Douglas 13,907 68.01% 6,440 31.49% 34 0.17% 68 0.33% 7,467 36.52% 20,449 Dunn 9,205 55.47% 7,273 43.83% 37 0.22% 79 0.48% 1,932 11.64% 16,594 Eau Claire 21,150 54.20% 17,664 45.27% 60 0.15% 149 0.38% 3,486 8.93% 39,023 Florence 1,018 47.53% 1,106 51.63% 4 0.19% 14 0.65% -88 -4.10% 2,142 Fond du Lac 15,887 41.62% 21,985 57.59% 86 0.23% 217 0.57% -6,098 -15.97% 38,175 Forest 2,142 53.43% 1,845 46.02% 4 0.10% 18 0.45% 297 7.41% 4,009 Grant 9,421 48.12% 10,049 51.32% 44 0.22% 66 0.34% -628 -3.20% 19,580 Green 5,153 43.27% 6,636 55.73% 41 0.34% 78 0.66% -1,483 -12.46% 11,908 Green Lake 3,033 36.55% 5,205 62.72% 21 0.25% 40 0.48% -2,172 -26.17% 8,299 Iowa 4,268 49.93% 4,240 49.60% 13 0.15% 27 0.32% 28 0.33% 8,548 Iron 2,090 56.26% 1,599 43.04% 5 0.13% 21 0.57% 491 13.22% 3,715 Jackson 3,924 52.20% 3,555 47.29% 11 0.15% 27 0.36% 369 4.91% 7,517 Jefferson 11,816 44.86% 14,309 54.32% 74 0.28% 143 0.54% -2,493 -9.46% 26,342 Juneau 3,734 43.11% 4,869 56.21% 18 0.21% 41 0.47% -1,135 -13.10% 8,662 Kenosha 30,089 57.72% 21,661 41.55% 120 0.23% 259 0.50% 8,428 16.17% 52,129 Kewaunee 4,786 52.14% 4,330 47.17% 8 0.09% 55 0.60% 456 4.97% 9,179 La Crosse 22,204 50.39% 21,548 48.90% 100 0.23% 214 0.49% 656 1.49% 44,066 Lafayette 3,521 48.70% 3,665 50.69% 15 0.21% 29 0.40% -144 -1.99% 7,230 Langlade 4,254 46.31% 4,884 53.17% 16 0.17% 32 0.35% -630 -6.86% 9,186 Lincoln 5,819 52.06% 5,257 47.03% 33 0.30% 69 0.62% 562 5.03% 11,178 Manitowoc 19,680 54.69% 16,020 44.52% 63 0.18% 224 0.62% 3,660 10.17% 35,987 Marathon 24,658 49.79% 24,482 49.44% 125 0.25% 256 0.52% 176 0.35% 49,521 Marinette 8,030 45.20% 9,637 54.25% 26 0.15% 71 0.40% -1,607 -9.05% 17,764 Marquette 2,463 44.24% 3,059 54.95% 15 0.27% 30 0.54% -596 -10.71% 5,567 Menominee 1,028 72.55% 381 26.89% 0 0.00% 8 0.56% 647 45.66% 1,417 Milwaukee 268,287 61.04% 168,363 38.30% 1,082 0.25% 1,813 0.41% 99,924 22.74% 439,545 Monroe 6,437 47.38% 7,073 52.06% 29 0.21% 46 0.34% -636 -4.68% 13,585 Oconto 6,549 47.75% 7,084 51.65% 23 0.17% 60 0.44% -535 -3.90% 13,716 Oneida 7,414 47.31% 8,130 51.88% 55 0.35% 71 0.45% -716 -4.57% 15,670 Outagamie 27,771 45.32% 33,113 54.04% 103 0.17% 291 0.47% -5,342 -8.72% 61,278 Ozaukee 12,661 35.35% 22,899 63.94% 107 0.30% 145 0.40% -10,238 -28.59% 35,812 Pepin 1,906 58.68% 1,311 40.36% 8 0.25% 23 0.71% 595 18.32% 3,248 Pierce 8,659 58.55% 6,045 40.87% 33 0.22% 52 0.35% 2,614 17.68% 14,789 Polk 8,981 56.22% 6,866 42.98% 43 0.27% 85 0.53% 2,115 13.24% 15,975 Portage 16,317 57.18% 12,057 42.25% 48 0.17% 113 0.40% 4,260 14.93% 28,535 Price 3,987 53.18% 3,450 46.02% 12 0.16% 48 0.64% 537 7.16% 7,497 Racine 39,631 51.72% 36,342 47.42% 213 0.28% 445 0.58% 3,289 4.30% 76,631 Richland 3,643 47.26% 4,026 52.23% 16 0.21% 23 0.30% -383 -4.97% 7,708 Rock 29,576 50.83% 28,178 48.43% 158 0.27% 276 0.47% 1,398 2.40% 58,188 Rusk 3,888 55.51% 3,063 43.73% 18 0.26% 35 0.50% 825 11.78% 7,004 Sauk 8,324 44.54% 10,225 54.72% 35 0.19% 103 0.55% -1,901 -10.18% 18,687 Sawyer 3,231 49.43% 3,260 49.88% 20 0.31% 25 0.38% -29 -0.45% 6,536 Shawano 6,587 43.78% 8,362 55.57% 21 0.14% 77 0.51% -1,775 -11.79% 15,047 Sheboygan 23,429 49.66% 23,471 49.75% 86 0.18% 191 0.40% -42 -0.09% 47,177 St. Croix 11,392 52.90% 9,960 46.25% 62 0.29% 119 0.55% 1,432 6.65% 21,533 Taylor 3,785 46.73% 4,254 52.52% 15 0.19% 46 0.57% -469 -5.79% 8,100 Trempealeau 6,212 55.59% 4,902 43.87% 16 0.14% 45 0.40% 1,310 11.72% 11,175 Vernon 5,754 51.94% 5,226 47.17% 35 0.32% 63 0.57% 528 4.77% 11,078 Vilas 3,781 38.89% 5,842 60.09% 21 0.22% 78 0.80% -2,061 -21.20% 9,722 Walworth 12,203 39.77% 18,259 59.50% 91 0.30% 132 0.43% -6,056 -19.73% 30,685 Washburn 3,393 52.15% 3,074 47.25% 13 0.20% 26 0.40% 319 4.90% 6,506 Washington 15,907 39.24% 24,328 60.01% 109 0.27% 195 0.48% -8,421 -20.77% 40,539 Waukesha 57,598 38.68% 90,467 60.76% 402 0.27% 426 0.29% -32,869 -22.08% 148,893 Waupaca 7,078 37.74% 11,559 61.62% 30 0.16% 90 0.48% -4,481 -23.88% 18,757 Waushara 3,535 41.33% 4,953 57.91% 18 0.21% 47 0.55% -1,418 -16.58% 8,553 Winnebago 28,508 44.54% 35,085 54.82% 119 0.19% 294 0.46% -6,577 -10.28% 64,006 Wood 16,074 48.93% 16,549 50.38% 52 0.16% 173 0.53% -475 -1.45% 32,848Totals1,126,79451.41%1,047,49947.80%5,1570.24%3,0560.14%79,2953.61%2,191,608 Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic 20em Adams Barron Buffalo Burnett Chippewa Clark Crawford Dunn Eau Claire Forest Iowa Jackson Kewaunee La Crosse Lincoln Marathon Pierce Polk Price Racine Rock Rusk St. Croix Trempealeau Vernon Washburn Analysis Wisconsin weighed in for this election as 12 points more Democratic than the national average. 2020 11 As of 2024, this is the last election in which Green County voted for a Republican presidential candidate,Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016 in which the state would vote to the left of neighboring Illinois, and in which the Democratic candidate won Wisconsin while simultaneously losing Illinois. It was also the last election until 2016 in which both Wisconsin and Illinois voted differently. Additionally, it was the last election until 2024 in which Wisconsin voted to the left of both neighboring Michigan and fellow Rust Belt state Pennsylvania, as well as the most recent election where Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania all did not vote for the same candidate.https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/17/politics/blue-wall-states-harris-trump-analysis/index.html Why these three states are the most consistent tipping point in American politics CNN Brownstein Ronald September 16, 2024 September 16, 2024 It was also the first time since 1960 that Wisconsin would back the losing candidate in a presidential election.https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/compare.php?year=1988&fips=55&f=0&off=0&elect=0&type=state Presidential General Election Results Comparison – Wisconsin Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas It was also the first time since 1848 that the state would back a losing Democrat in a presidential election and this feat would be reprised by Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004. It was also the first time ever that the state would back a Democrat while a Republican won the presidency and this feat would be reprised by George W. Bush, Bush's son, in 2000 and 2004. Conversely, this was the first time since 1924 that a Republican won without the state. Grant, Sauk, and Lafayette counties would not vote Republican again until 2016. See also Presidency of George H. W. Bush United States presidential elections in Wisconsin Notes References Wisconsin 1988 Category:1988 Wisconsin elections