1988 United States presidential election in Alaska
The 1988 United States presidential election in Alaska took place on November 8, 1988. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. Alaska voters chose 3 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.
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 Borough Results
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| Elections in Alaska |
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Alaska 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.
Alaska weighed in for this election as 16% more Republican than the national average.
Partisan background
The presidential election of 1988 was a rather multi-partisan election for Alaska, with nearly 5% of the votes going to third party candidates.[1] Leading the third party turnout in Alaska, and with one of their best turnouts nationwide, Texas Congressman Ron Paul with running-mate and Alaska Legislator Andre Marrou were able to pull nearly 3% of votes in the state on the Libertarian Party ticket.
Republican victory
Bush won the election in Alaska with a resounding 23 point sweep-out landslide. Alaska has sent Republican electors to the electoral college during every election in its history - except in 1964, for Lyndon B. Johnson. The election results in Alaska are reflective of a nationwide reconsolidation of base for the Republican Party, which took place through the 1980s. Through the passage of some very controversial economic programs, spearheaded by then President Ronald Reagan (called, collectively, "Reaganomics"), the mid-to-late 1980s saw a period of economic growth and stability. The hallmark for Reaganomics was, in part, the wide-scale deregulation of corporate interests, and tax cuts for the wealthy.[2]
Dukakis ran on a socially liberal platform, and advocated for higher economic regulation and environmental protection. Bush, alternatively, ran on a campaign of continuing the social and economic policies of former President Reagan - which gained him much support with social conservatives and people living in rural areas. Additionally, while the economic programs passed under Reagan, and furthered under Bush and Clinton, may have boosted the economy for a brief period, they are criticized by many analysts as "setting the stage" for economic troubles in the United States after 2007, such as the Great Recession.[3]
Results
| 1988 United States presidential election in Alaska | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Republican | George H. W. Bush | 119,251 | 59.59% | 3 | |
| Democratic | Michael Dukakis | 72,584 | 36.27% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Ron Paul | 5,484 | 2.74% | 0 | |
| New Alliance Party | Lenora Fulani | 1,024 | 0.51% | 0 | |
| Write-Ins | 957 | 0.48% | 0 | ||
| Democrats for Economic Recovery | Lyndon LaRouche | 816 | 0.41% | 0 | |
| Totals | 200,116 | 100.0% | 3 | ||
References
- "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". Uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
- "Since 1980s, the Kindest of Tax Cuts for the Rich". The New York Times. 2012-01-18. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
- Jerry Lanson (2008-11-06). "A historic victory. A changed nation. Now, can Obama deliver?". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
