1988 United States presidential election in Delaware
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County Results
Bush 50–60% 60–70%
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Elections in Delaware |
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The 1988 United States presidential election in Delaware took place on November 8, 1988, as part of the
Also on the ballot were
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.[1] 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 2020, 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.[2]
Results
1988 United States presidential election in Delaware | |||||
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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 |
By county
County | George H.W. Bush Republican |
Michael Dukakis Democratic |
Various candidates Other 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% | 43,775 |
Totals | 139,639 | 55.88% | 108,647 | 43.48% | 1,605 | 0.64% | 30,992 | 12.40% | 249,891 |
See also
References
- ^ Sullivan, Robert David (June 8, 2015). "How Delaware lost its bellwether mojo and joined the Northeast Corridor". America Magazine. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
- ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". Uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved July 21, 2013.