1988 United States presidential election in Georgia

The 1988 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 8, 1988. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. Georgia voters chose 12 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

1988 United States presidential election in Georgia

November 8, 1988
 
Nominee George H. W. Bush Michael Dukakis
Party Republican Democratic
Home state Texas Massachusetts
Running mate Dan Quayle Lloyd Bentsen
Electoral vote 12 0
Popular vote 1,081,331 714,792
Percentage 59.75% 39.50%

County Results

President before election

Ronald Reagan
Republican

Elected President

George H. W. Bush
Republican

Georgia 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.

Though the Democrats picked The Omni, in Atlanta as the site of the 1988 National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party, Georgia weighed in for this election as about 12% more Republican than the national average. This was also the first time that Georgia voted Republican in consecutive elections.

Partisan background

The presidential election of 1988 was a very partisan election for Georgia, with more than 99 percent of the electorate voting for either the Democratic or Republican parties, and only four parties represented on the statewide ballot.[1] In typical form for the time in Georgia, the Republican party pulled the vast majority of less-populated counties, while areas conglomerate with Atlanta and Savannah, turned out primarily for Dukakis as the Democratic candidate.

Along with neighbouring Tennessee, Georgia was 1 of only 2 states where Bush improved on the GOP margin during Ronald Reagan’s near-50-state landslide from 1984.[2] In fact, Bush won four counties that had voted for Walter Mondale in 1984, out of only 7 such counties nationwide.[2][lower-alpha 1]

As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Terrell County, Jefferson County, Bibb County, Muscogee County, Liberty County, Richmond County, Dougherty County, and Clayton County voted for a Republican presidential candidate.[3]

Republican victory

Bush won the election in Georgia with a 20-point sweep-out landslide. This is one of the first presidential elections where Georgia shares the role of the largest player in the conservative powerhouse of the Deep South with the increasingly important and conservative state of Texas. While Georgia typically votes conservative, the election results in 1988 are also indicative of a nationwide reconsolidation of base for the Republican Party, which took place through the 1980s. Through the passage of legislation, 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 across the board tax cuts.

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.[4]

Results

1988 United States presidential election in Georgia
Party Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican George H. W. Bush Dan Quayle 1,081,331 59.75% 12
Democratic Michael Dukakis Lloyd Bentsen 714,792 39.50% 0
Libertarian Ron Paul Andre Marrou 8,435 0.47% 0
New Alliance Party Lenora Fulani Joyce Dattner 5,099 0.28% 0
Write-Ins 15[lower-alpha 2] >0.01% 0
Totals 1,809,672 100.0% 12

Results by county

County George Herbert Walker Bush
Republican
Michael Stanley Dukakis
Democratic
Ronald Ernest Paul[5]
Libertarian
Leonora Branch Fulani[5]
New Alliance
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # %
Appling 3,000 61.74% 1,837 37.81% 13 0.27% 9 0.19% 1,163 23.93% 4,859
Atkinson 1,126 55.60% 887 43.80% 5 0.25% 7 0.35% 239 11.80% 2,025
Bacon 1,407 64.13% 780 35.55% 5 0.23% 2 0.09% 627 28.58% 2,194
Baker 629 46.66% 707 52.45% 10 0.74% 2 0.15% -78 -5.79% 1,348
Baldwin 5,852 59.05% 4,008 40.44% 26 0.26% 25 0.25% 1,844 18.61% 9,911
Banks 1,590 61.58% 984 38.11% 3 0.12% 5 0.19% 606 23.47% 2,582
Barrow 4,738 65.64% 2,442 33.83% 32 0.44% 6 0.08% 2,296 31.81% 7,218
Bartow 8,039 61.63% 4,884 37.44% 113 0.87% 8 0.06% 3,155 24.19% 13,044
Ben Hill 2,005 51.17% 1,867 47.65% 32 0.82% 14 0.36% 138 3.52% 3,918
Berrien 2,030 59.36% 1,381 40.38% 7 0.20% 2 0.06% 649 18.98% 3,420
Bibb 22,179 49.96% 22,084 49.74% 78 0.18% 55 0.12% 95 0.21% 44,396
Bleckley 1,950 62.14% 1,175 37.44% 9 0.29% 4 0.13% 775 24.70% 3,138
Brantley 1,539 51.18% 1,450 48.22% 10 0.33% 8 0.27% 89 2.96% 3,007
Brooks 2,136 58.54% 1,500 41.11% 6 0.16% 7 0.19% 636 17.43% 3,649
Bryan 2,802 66.16% 1,423 33.60% 5 0.12% 5 0.12% 1,379 32.56% 4,235
Bulloch 6,354 64.88% 3,417 34.89% 19 0.19% 4 0.04% 2,937 29.99% 9,794
Burke 2,988 50.89% 2,861 48.72% 10 0.17% 13 0.22% 127 2.16% 5,872
Butts 2,184 55.66% 1,730 44.09% 4 0.10% 6 0.15% 454 11.57% 3,924
Calhoun 644 41.52% 901 58.09% 6 0.39% 0 0.00% -257 -16.57% 1,551
Camden 2,913 57.68% 2,090 41.39% 35 0.69% 12 0.24% 823 16.30% 5,050
Candler 1,261 58.82% 877 40.90% 4 0.19% 2 0.09% 384 17.91% 2,144
Carroll 10,754 69.20% 4,706 30.28% 49 0.32% 32 0.21% 6,048 38.92% 15,541
Catoosa 9,319 72.02% 3,588 27.73% 21 0.16% 12 0.09% 5,731 44.29% 12,940
Charlton 1,327 57.60% 943 40.93% 18 0.78% 16 0.69% 384 16.67% 2,304
Chatham 35,623 58.12% 25,063 40.89% 336 0.55% 267 0.44% 10,560 17.23% 61,289
Chattahoochee 454 55.57% 362 44.31% 1 0.12% 0 0.00% 92 11.26% 817
Chattooga 3,665 62.17% 2,206 37.42% 22 0.37% 2 0.03% 1,459 24.75% 5,895
Cherokee 14,593 76.45% 4,378 22.94% 101 0.53% 16 0.08% 10,215 53.52% 19,088
Clarke 11,150 49.66% 11,154 49.68% 109 0.49% 39 0.17% -4 -0.02% 22,452
Clay 398 40.04% 595 59.86% 1 0.10% 0 0.00% -197 -19.82% 994
Clayton 28,225 65.43% 14,689 34.05% 167 0.39% 56 0.13% 13,536 31.38% 43,137
Clinch 863 58.91% 594 40.55% 4 0.27% 4 0.27% 269 18.36% 1,465
Cobb 106,621 72.70% 39,297 26.79% 607 0.41% 133 0.09% 67,324 45.91% 146,658
Coffee 4,019 58.91% 2,777 40.71% 20 0.29% 6 0.09% 1,242 18.21% 6,822
Colquitt 5,653 65.04% 2,998 34.50% 24 0.28% 16 0.18% 2,655 30.55% 8,691
Columbia 16,401 77.75% 4,617 21.89% 56 0.27% 20 0.09% 11,784 55.86% 21,094
Cook 1,555 55.69% 1,226 43.91% 4 0.14% 7 0.25% 329 11.78% 2,792
Coweta 9,668 69.41% 4,212 30.24% 33 0.24% 16 0.11% 5,456 39.17% 13,929
Crawford 1,235 47.55% 1,340 51.60% 14 0.54% 8 0.31% -105 -4.04% 2,597
Crisp 2,916 62.94% 1,690 36.48% 15 0.32% 12 0.26% 1,226 26.46% 4,633
Dade 2,539 69.16% 1,120 30.51% 6 0.16% 6 0.16% 1,419 38.65% 3,671
Dawson 1,908 71.03% 761 28.33% 16 0.60% 1 0.04% 1,147 42.70% 2,686
Decatur 3,866 61.95% 2,348 37.62% 9 0.14% 18 0.29% 1,518 24.32% 6,241
DeKalb 90,179 48.94% 92,521 50.21% 945 0.51% 605 0.33% -2,342 -1.27% 184,250
Dodge 2,677 54.95% 2,164 44.42% 15 0.31% 16 0.33% 513 10.53% 4,872
Dooly 1,386 45.88% 1,613 53.39% 18 0.60% 4 0.13% -227 -7.51% 3,021
Dougherty 15,520 50.86% 12,579 41.22% 1,415 4.64% 1,003 3.29% 2,941 9.64% 30,517
Douglas 13,493 72.24% 5,086 27.23% 77 0.41% 22 0.12% 8,407 45.01% 18,678
Early 1,918 58.46% 1,359 41.42% 2 0.06% 2 0.06% 559 17.04% 3,281
Echols 422 62.99% 245 36.57% 2 0.30% 1 0.15% 177 26.42% 670
Effingham 3,933 67.13% 1,905 32.51% 14 0.24% 7 0.12% 2,028 34.61% 5,859
Elbert 2,796 56.77% 2,118 43.01% 11 0.22% 0 0.00% 678 13.77% 4,925
Emanuel 3,530 58.95% 2,387 39.86% 54 0.90% 17 0.28% 1,143 19.09% 5,988
Evans 1,707 62.01% 1,023 37.16% 14 0.51% 9 0.33% 684 24.85% 2,753
Fannin 4,271 66.45% 2,123 33.03% 27 0.42% 6 0.09% 2,148 33.42% 6,427
Fayette 16,443 77.84% 4,593 21.74% 73 0.35% 14 0.07% 11,850 56.10% 21,123
Floyd 14,697 62.85% 8,548 36.55% 111 0.47% 30 0.13% 6,149 26.29% 23,386
Forsyth 7,947 76.83% 2,347 22.69% 42 0.41% 8 0.08% 5,600 54.14% 10,344
Franklin 2,615 58.57% 1,842 41.25% 6 0.13% 2 0.04% 773 17.31% 4,465
Fulton 91,785 42.75% 120,752 56.25% 906 0.42% 1,246 0.58% -28,967 -13.49% 214,689
Gilmer 3,353 70.65% 1,363 28.72% 24 0.51% 6 0.13% 1,990 41.93% 4,746
Glascock 580 73.42% 210 26.58% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 370 46.84% 790
Glynn 11,126 63.18% 6,339 35.99% 78 0.44% 68 0.39% 4,787 27.18% 17,611
Gordon 6,051 71.65% 2,369 28.05% 18 0.21% 7 0.08% 3,682 43.60% 8,445
Grady 2,989 61.10% 1,883 38.49% 10 0.20% 10 0.20% 1,106 22.61% 4,892
Greene 1,432 43.93% 1,818 55.77% 9 0.28% 1 0.03% -386 -11.84% 3,260
Gwinnett 66,372 75.47% 20,948 23.82% 523 0.59% 97 0.11% 45,424 51.65% 87,940
Habersham 4,871 69.45% 2,114 30.14% 22 0.31% 7 0.10% 2,757 39.31% 7,014
Hall 17,415 68.71% 7,782 30.71% 110 0.43% 37 0.15% 9,633 38.01% 25,344
Hancock 621 23.99% 1,947 75.20% 11 0.42% 10 0.39% -1,326 -51.22% 2,589
Haralson 4,529 65.17% 2,404 34.59% 15 0.22% 2 0.03% 2,125 30.58% 6,950
Harris 3,414 63.94% 1,905 35.68% 17 0.32% 3 0.06% 1,509 28.26% 5,339
Hart 3,044 54.88% 2,476 44.64% 20 0.36% 7 0.13% 568 10.24% 5,547
Heard 1,551 63.77% 874 35.94% 3 0.12% 4 0.16% 677 27.84% 2,432
Henry 10,882 71.11% 4,348 28.41% 57 0.37% 17 0.11% 6,534 42.69% 15,304
Houston 15,748 64.02% 8,664 35.22% 106 0.43% 79 0.32% 7,084 28.80% 24,597
Irwin 1,226 57.00% 918 42.68% 4 0.19% 3 0.14% 308 14.32% 2,151
Jackson 4,407 62.56% 2,607 37.00% 17 0.24% 14 0.20% 1,800 25.55% 7,045
Jasper 1,474 55.08% 1,188 44.39% 10 0.37% 4 0.15% 286 10.69% 2,676
Jeff Davis 2,050 62.03% 1,242 37.58% 7 0.21% 6 0.18% 808 24.45% 3,305
Jefferson 2,788 54.13% 2,346 45.54% 10 0.19% 7 0.14% 442 8.58% 5,151
Jenkins 1,288 57.30% 953 42.39% 7 0.31% 0 0.00% 335 14.90% 2,248
Johnson 1,567 62.83% 927 37.17% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 640 25.66% 2,494
Jones 3,618 57.41% 2,662 42.24% 11 0.17% 11 0.17% 956 15.17% 6,302
Lamar 2,035 57.83% 1,416 40.24% 53 1.51% 15 0.43% 619 17.59% 3,519
Lanier 725 50.81% 698 48.91% 1 0.07% 3 0.21% 27 1.89% 1,427
Laurens 6,929 57.89% 4,879 40.76% 133 1.11% 29 0.24% 2,050 17.13% 11,970
Lee 2,875 74.04% 995 25.62% 10 0.26% 3 0.08% 1,880 48.42% 3,883
Liberty 3,100 51.24% 2,906 48.03% 32 0.53% 12 0.20% 194 3.21% 6,050
Lincoln 1,417 60.97% 893 38.43% 8 0.34% 6 0.26% 524 22.55% 2,324
Long 858 55.32% 681 43.91% 4 0.26% 8 0.52% 177 11.41% 1,551
Lowndes 10,855 62.63% 6,427 37.08% 35 0.20% 16 0.09% 4,428 25.55% 17,333
Lumpkin 2,688 67.20% 1,286 32.15% 19 0.48% 7 0.18% 1,402 35.05% 4,000
Macon 1,412 38.19% 2,268 61.35% 7 0.19% 10 0.27% -856 -23.15% 3,697
Madison 3,724 69.10% 1,639 30.41% 15 0.28% 11 0.20% 2,085 38.69% 5,389
Marion 804 48.67% 844 51.09% 2 0.12% 2 0.12% -40 -2.42% 1,652
McDuffie 3,231 65.04% 1,704 34.30% 12 0.24% 21 0.42% 1,527 30.74% 4,968
McIntosh 1,273 45.08% 1,527 54.07% 13 0.46% 11 0.39% -254 -8.99% 2,824
Meriwether 3,101 51.31% 2,934 48.54% 9 0.15% 0 0.00% 167 2.76% 6,044
Miller 1,105 68.00% 515 31.69% 2 0.12% 3 0.18% 590 36.31% 1,625
Mitchell 2,590 53.29% 2,260 46.50% 5 0.10% 5 0.10% 330 6.79% 4,860
Monroe 2,570 56.38% 1,970 43.22% 11 0.24% 7 0.15% 600 13.16% 4,558
Montgomery 1,228 57.49% 903 42.28% 5 0.23% 0 0.00% 325 15.22% 2,136
Morgan 2,108 58.10% 1,508 41.57% 12 0.33% 0 0.00% 600 16.54% 3,628
Murray 3,996 70.11% 1,679 29.46% 16 0.28% 9 0.16% 2,317 40.65% 5,700
Muscogee 23,058 54.90% 18,772 44.70% 112 0.27% 58 0.14% 4,286 10.20% 42,000
Newton 5,809 64.77% 3,111 34.69% 35 0.39% 14 0.16% 2,698 30.08% 8,969
Oconee 4,265 67.89% 1,990 31.68% 26 0.41% 1 0.02% 2,275 36.21% 6,282
Oglethorpe 1,951 62.61% 1,154 37.03% 7 0.22% 4 0.13% 797 25.58% 3,116
Paulding 7,329 72.63% 2,717 26.92% 36 0.36% 9 0.09% 4,612 45.70% 10,091
Peach 2,782 48.00% 2,972 51.28% 20 0.35% 22 0.38% -190 -3.28% 5,796
Pickens 3,021 67.52% 1,430 31.96% 14 0.31% 9 0.20% 1,591 35.56% 4,474
Pierce 1,947 55.49% 1,558 44.40% 1 0.03% 3 0.09% 389 11.09% 3,509
Pike 2,074 63.35% 1,176 35.92% 23 0.70% 1 0.03% 898 27.43% 3,274
Polk 5,454 64.46% 2,977 35.18% 23 0.27% 7 0.08% 2,477 29.28% 8,461
Pulaski 1,400 48.48% 1,476 51.11% 7 0.24% 5 0.17% -76 -2.63% 2,888
Putnam 2,111 57.74% 1,532 41.90% 7 0.19% 6 0.16% 579 15.84% 3,656
Quitman 296 40.11% 436 59.08% 4 0.54% 2 0.27% -140 -18.97% 738
Rabun 2,278 63.14% 1,301 36.06% 16 0.44% 13 0.36% 977 27.08% 3,608
Randolph 1,319 48.94% 1,369 50.80% 4 0.15% 3 0.11% -50 -1.86% 2,695
Richmond 27,566 57.12% 20,489 42.46% 118 0.24% 85 0.18% 7,077 14.66% 48,258
Rockdale 12,413 73.77% 4,330 25.73% 65 0.39% 18 0.11% 8,083 48.04% 16,826
Schley 635 58.91% 439 40.72% 3 0.28% 1 0.09% 196 18.18% 1,078
Screven 2,178 59.52% 1,461 39.93% 12 0.33% 8 0.22% 717 19.60% 3,659
Seminole 1,469 55.54% 1,171 44.27% 2 0.08% 3 0.11% 298 11.27% 2,645
Spalding 7,730 63.68% 4,318 35.57% 57 0.47% 33 0.27% 3,412 28.11% 12,138
Stephens 4,329 66.09% 2,185 33.36% 27 0.41% 9 0.14% 2,144 32.73% 6,550
Stewart 832 42.17% 1,136 57.58% 3 0.15% 2 0.10% -304 -15.41% 1,973
Sumter 4,289 55.93% 3,332 43.45% 23 0.30% 24 0.31% 957 12.48% 7,668
Talbot 802 38.93% 1,248 60.58% 6 0.29% 4 0.19% -446 -21.65% 2,060
Taliaferro 306 39.38% 469 60.36% 1 0.13% 1 0.13% -163 -20.98% 777
Tattnall 3,172 65.03% 1,694 34.73% 8 0.16% 4 0.08% 1,478 30.30% 4,878
Taylor 1,145 50.13% 1,134 49.65% 3 0.13% 2 0.09% 11 0.48% 2,284
Telfair 1,805 50.21% 1,765 49.10% 13 0.36% 12 0.33% 40 1.11% 3,595
Terrell 1,517 52.22% 1,383 47.61% 2 0.07% 3 0.10% 134 4.61% 2,905
Thomas 6,572 64.78% 3,530 34.80% 24 0.24% 19 0.19% 3,042 29.99% 10,145
Tift 4,760 65.80% 2,446 33.81% 16 0.22% 12 0.17% 2,314 31.99% 7,234
Toombs 4,433 78.89% 1,152 20.50% 25 0.44% 9 0.16% 3,281 58.39% 5,619
Towns 1,783 65.12% 942 34.40% 11 0.40% 2 0.07% 841 30.72% 2,738
Treutlen 970 57.19% 726 42.81% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 244 14.39% 1,696
Troup 9,484 67.31% 4,562 32.38% 36 0.26% 7 0.05% 4,922 34.94% 14,089
Turner 1,312 50.52% 1,122 43.20% 90 3.47% 73 2.81% 190 7.32% 2,597
Twiggs 1,261 41.96% 1,730 57.57% 9 0.30% 5 0.17% -469 -15.61% 3,005
Union 2,396 65.39% 1,258 34.33% 10 0.27% 0 0.00% 1,138 31.06% 3,664
Upson 4,614 63.05% 2,666 36.43% 26 0.36% 12 0.16% 1,948 26.62% 7,318
Walker 10,487 68.63% 4,753 31.11% 31 0.20% 9 0.06% 5,734 37.53% 15,280
Walton 5,974 65.56% 3,091 33.92% 31 0.34% 16 0.18% 2,883 31.64% 9,112
Ware 4,819 52.59% 4,292 46.84% 26 0.28% 26 0.28% 527 5.75% 9,163
Warren 897 44.78% 1,091 54.47% 6 0.30% 9 0.45% -194 -9.69% 2,003
Washington 2,752 51.12% 2,615 48.58% 5 0.09% 11 0.20% 137 2.55% 5,383
Wayne 3,340 57.93% 2,417 41.92% 8 0.14% 1 0.02% 923 16.01% 5,766
Webster 361 45.70% 427 54.05% 2 0.25% 0 0.00% -66 -8.35% 790
Wheeler 709 51.64% 658 47.92% 4 0.29% 2 0.15% 51 3.71% 1,373
White 2,648 71.65% 1,028 27.81% 19 0.51% 1 0.03% 1,620 43.83% 3,696
Whitfield 12,761 73.12% 4,618 26.46% 40 0.23% 32 0.18% 8,143 46.66% 17,451
Wilcox 1,235 53.26% 1,079 46.53% 5 0.22% 0 0.00% 156 6.73% 2,319
Wilkes 1,810 53.71% 1,549 45.96% 8 0.24% 3 0.09% 261 7.74% 3,370
Wilkinson 1,546 45.30% 1,831 53.65% 25 0.73% 11 0.32% -285 -8.35% 3,413
Worth 2,668 66.55% 1,311 32.70% 20 0.50% 10 0.25% 1,357 33.85% 4,009
Totals1,081,33159.75%714,79239.50%8,4350.47%5,0990.28%366,53920.25%1,809,657

See also

Notes

  1. These seven counties that voted for Mondale in 1984 and Bush in 1988 were Lincoln County and Hardeman County, Tennessee – in both of which Bush was only the second-ever GOP winner after Richard Nixon in 1972Strom Thurmond’s home county of Edgefield, South Carolina, and the four Georgia counties of Bibb, Taylor, Telfair and Mitchell.
  2. These write-in votes were not separated by county but given only as a state-wide total.[5]

References

  1. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". Uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  2. Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, p. 111 ISBN 0786422173
  3. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  4. Jerry Lanson (2008-11-06). "A historic victory. A changed nation. Now, can Obama deliver?". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  5. "GA US President Race, November 08, 1988". Our Campaigns.
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