1988 Pennsylvania Attorney General election

1988 Pennsylvania Attorney General election

← 1984 November 8, 1988 1992  →

Nominee Ernie Preate Edward Mezvinsky Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,183,021 2,040,535 Percentage 50.9% 47.6%

Attorney General before election LeRoy S. Zimmerman Republican Elected Attorney General Ernie Preate Republican

The 1988 Pennsylvania Attorney General election was held on November 8, 1988, in order to elect the Attorney General of Pennsylvania. Republican nominee and Lackawanna County district attorney Ernie Preate defeated Democratic nominee and former U.S. representative in the state of Iowa Edward Mezvinsky. ^[1]

General election

On election day, November 8, 1988, Republican nominee Ernie Preate won the election by a margin of 142,686 votes against his main opponent, Democratic nominee Edward Mezvinsky. ^[2]

Results

Pennsylvania Attorney General election, 1988

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ernie Preate	2,183,021	50.9%
	Democratic	Edward Mezvinsky	2,040,535	47.6%
	Consumer Party	Arthur Liebersohn	31,108	0.7%
	Libertarian	Daniel Mulholland	18,459	0.4%
	Populist	Kathryn Meiner	17,274	0.4%
Total votes			4,193,001	100.00%
	Republican hold

References

1. "ATTORNEY GENERAL CANDIDATES CONDUCT A TWO-FISTED CAMPAIGN ELECTION 88". The Morning Call. November 4, 1988.
2. "1988 Election Results for Pennsylvania -- RightDataUSA.com". www.rightdatausa.com. Retrieved November 20, 2025.