1988 United States presidential election in Georgia

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1988 United States presidential election in Georgia
Flag of the State of Georgia (1956-2001).svg
  1984 November 8, 1988 1992  
Turnout61.53% [1] (of registered voters)
47.41% (of voting age population)
  VP George Bush crop.jpg Dukakis campaign portrait 3x4.jpg
Nominee George H. W. Bush Michael Dukakis
Party Republican Democratic
Home state Texas Massachusetts
Running mate Dan Quayle Lloyd Bentsen
Electoral vote120
Popular vote1,081,331714,792
Percentage59.75%39.50%

Georgia Presidential Election Results 1988.svg
County results

President before election

Ronald Reagan
Republican

Elected President

George H. W. Bush
Republican

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. Georgia was won by incumbent 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.

Contents

Only two counties failed to give one of the major party nominees an outright majority: Clarke, which gave Dukakis a narrow plurality, and Bibb, which gave Bush a narrow plurality. Bush won four counties that had voted for Walter Mondale in 1984, out of only seven such counties nationwide. [2] [a] Georgia was one of only two states that Bush carried in 1988 which had voted for Jimmy Carter in 1980, the other being Maryland.

Background

Georgia was the only former Confederate state that supported the Democratic presidential nominee in any of the 1980, 1984, and 1988 presidential elections. [3] In 1986, 37% of white voters identified as Democrats. [4]

Mack Mattingly's election to the U.S. Senate in 1980 made him the first Republican statewide official since Reconstruction, but he was defeated by Wyche Fowler in the 1986 election. [5] However, the Republicans increased their seat total in the Georgia General Assembly from 28 to 48 seats between 1980 and 1989. [6]

Primaries

Democratic primary

The racial composition of the Democratic primary electorate was 64% white and 36% black. [7] Al Gore won 53% of the white vote. [8] Jesse Jackson won with a plurality of the vote. [9]

1988 Georgia Democratic presidential primary results [9]
CandidateVote received
#%
Jesse Jackson247,83139.80%
Albert Gore, Jr.201,49032.36%
Michael Dukakis97,17915.61%
Dick Gephardt41,4896.66%
Gary Hart15,8522.55%
Paul Simon8,3881.35%
Uncommitted7,2761.17%
Bruce Babbitt3,2470.52%
Total622,752100%

Republican primary

Among white voters, 49% participated in the Republican primary. [10]

George H. W. Bush won Georgia in the Republican primary, but supporters of Pat Robertson staged a walkout of the state's convention in protest of the delegate selection. Two competing delegate slates were sent to the Republican National Convention. The Georgian delegation was divided equally between the Bush and Robertson supporters to avoid controversy, but John Stuckey Jr., a Bush supporter and chair of the Georgia Republican Party, threatened to resign in protest of the deal. The Robertson delegates attempted to have Brant Frost IV, Robertson's campaign chair for Georgia, be selected as the chair of the Georgia delegation, but was rejected in favor of U.S. Representative Pat Swindall. [11]

Georgia's national committeeman was sought by the Bush-backed Newt Gingrich, Robertson-backed incumbent Carl Gillis, and Joe Rogers. Gillis won the position. Bush's campaign formed a twenty-one-member steering committee for Georgia, which only included two supporters of Robertson. [12] Gillis operated a separate Bush campaign in southern Georgia. [13]

1988 Georgia Republican presidential primary results [9]
CandidateVote received
#%
George H.W. Bush215,51653.75%
Bob Dole 94,74923.63%
Pat Robertson 65,16316.25%
Jack Kemp 23,4095.84%
Pete Du Pont 1,3090.33%
Alexander Haig 7820.20%
Total400,928100.00%

Campaign

Speaker Tom Murphy initially supported Dukakis, but withdrew his support in October due to his stance on capital punishment and gun control. Lester Maddox, a former Democratic governor, criticized Dukakis as a "socialist and revolutionary leftist" and promised to conduct an anti-Dukakis campaign in six southern states. Dukakis planned on conducting a tour of the state in October, but it was canceled as scheduling conflicts prevented state Democratic leaders from joining him. [14]

Bush won 134 counties and all of the metropolitan areas in the state. Dukakis won 25 counties, 15 of which had a majority black population and six of which had a black population of 40%-50%. [15] Among white voters, 72% supported Bush, while 27% supported Dukakis. [16] [17] However, the Democrats retained control of the state legislature and nine of the state's ten seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. [6]

Results

1988 United States presidential election in Georgia
PartyCandidateRunning mateVotesPercentageElectoral votes
Republican George H. W. Bush Dan Quayle 1,081,33159.75%12
Democratic Michael Dukakis Lloyd Bentsen 714,79239.50%0
Libertarian Ron Paul Andre Marrou 8,4350.47%0
New Alliance Party Lenora Fulani Joyce Dattner5,0990.28%0
Write-Ins15 [b] >0.01%0
Totals1,809,672100.0%12

Results by county

CountyGeorge H.W. Bush
Republican
Michael Dukakis
Democratic
Ron Paul [18]
Libertarian
Leonora Fulani [18]
New Alliance
MarginTotal votes cast
# %# %# %# %# %
Appling 3,00061.74%1,83737.81%130.27%90.19%1,16323.93%4,859
Atkinson 1,12655.60%88743.80%50.25%70.35%23911.80%2,025
Bacon 1,40764.13%78035.55%50.23%20.09%62728.58%2,194
Baker 62946.66%70752.45%100.74%20.15%-78-5.79%1,348
Baldwin 5,85259.05%4,00840.44%260.26%250.25%1,84418.61%9,911
Banks 1,59061.58%98438.11%30.12%50.19%60623.47%2,582
Barrow 4,73865.64%2,44233.83%320.44%60.08%2,29631.81%7,218
Bartow 8,03961.63%4,88437.44%1130.87%80.06%3,15524.19%13,044
Ben Hill 2,00551.17%1,86747.65%320.82%140.36%1383.52%3,918
Berrien 2,03059.36%1,38140.38%70.20%20.06%64918.98%3,420
Bibb 22,17949.96%22,08449.74%780.18%550.12%950.22%44,396
Bleckley 1,95062.14%1,17537.44%90.29%40.13%77524.70%3,138
Brantley 1,53951.18%1,45048.22%100.33%80.27%892.96%3,007
Brooks 2,13658.54%1,50041.11%60.16%70.19%63617.43%3,649
Bryan 2,80266.16%1,42333.60%50.12%50.12%1,37932.56%4,235
Bulloch 6,35464.88%3,41734.89%190.19%40.04%2,93729.99%9,794
Burke 2,98850.89%2,86148.72%100.17%130.22%1272.17%5,872
Butts 2,18455.66%1,73044.09%40.10%60.15%45411.57%3,924
Calhoun 64441.52%90158.09%60.39%00.00%-257-16.57%1,551
Camden 2,91357.68%2,09041.39%350.69%120.24%82316.29%5,050
Candler 1,26158.82%87740.90%40.19%20.09%38417.92%2,144
Carroll 10,75469.20%4,70630.28%490.32%320.21%6,04838.92%15,541
Catoosa 9,31972.02%3,58827.73%210.16%120.09%5,73144.29%12,940
Charlton 1,32757.60%94340.93%180.78%160.69%38416.67%2,304
Chatham 35,62358.12%25,06340.89%3360.55%2670.44%10,56017.23%61,289
Chattahoochee 45455.57%36244.31%10.12%00.00%9211.26%817
Chattooga 3,66562.17%2,20637.42%220.37%20.03%1,45924.75%5,895
Cherokee 14,59376.45%4,37822.94%1010.53%160.08%10,21553.51%19,088
Clarke 11,15049.66%11,15449.68%1090.49%390.17%-4-0.02%22,452
Clay 39840.04%59559.86%10.10%00.00%-197-19.82%994
Clayton 28,22565.43%14,68934.05%1670.39%560.13%13,53631.38%43,137
Clinch 86358.91%59440.55%40.27%40.27%26918.36%1,465
Cobb 106,62172.70%39,29726.79%6070.41%1330.09%67,32445.91%146,658
Coffee 4,01958.91%2,77740.71%200.29%60.09%1,24218.20%6,822
Colquitt 5,65365.04%2,99834.50%240.28%160.18%2,65530.54%8,691
Columbia 16,40177.75%4,61721.89%560.27%200.09%11,78455.86%21,094
Cook 1,55555.69%1,22643.91%40.14%70.25%32911.78%2,792
Coweta 9,66869.41%4,21230.24%330.24%160.11%5,45639.17%13,929
Crawford 1,23547.55%1,34051.60%140.54%80.31%-105-4.05%2,597
Crisp 2,91662.94%1,69036.48%150.32%120.26%1,22626.46%4,633
Dade 2,53969.16%1,12030.51%60.16%60.16%1,41938.65%3,671
Dawson 1,90871.03%76128.33%160.60%10.04%1,14742.70%2,686
Decatur 3,86661.95%2,34837.62%90.14%180.29%1,51824.33%6,241
DeKalb 90,17948.94%92,52150.21%9450.51%6050.33%-2,342-1.27%184,250
Dodge 2,67754.95%2,16444.42%150.31%160.33%51310.53%4,872
Dooly 1,38645.88%1,61353.39%180.60%40.13%-227-7.51%3,021
Dougherty 15,52050.86%12,57941.22%1,4154.64%1,0033.29%2,9419.64%30,517
Douglas 13,49372.24%5,08627.23%770.41%220.12%8,40745.01%18,678
Early 1,91858.46%1,35941.42%20.06%20.06%55917.04%3,281
Echols 42262.99%24536.57%20.30%10.15%17726.42%670
Effingham 3,93367.13%1,90532.51%140.24%70.12%2,02834.62%5,859
Elbert 2,79656.77%2,11843.01%110.22%00.00%67813.76%4,925
Emanuel 3,53058.95%2,38739.86%540.90%170.28%1,14319.09%5,988
Evans 1,70762.01%1,02337.16%140.51%90.33%68424.85%2,753
Fannin 4,27166.45%2,12333.03%270.42%60.09%2,14833.42%6,427
Fayette 16,44377.84%4,59321.74%730.35%140.07%11,85056.10%21,123
Floyd 14,69762.85%8,54836.55%1110.47%300.13%6,14926.30%23,386
Forsyth 7,94776.83%2,34722.69%420.41%80.08%5,60054.14%10,344
Franklin 2,61558.57%1,84241.25%60.13%20.04%77317.32%4,465
Fulton 91,78542.75%120,75256.25%9060.42%1,2460.58%-28,967-13.50%214,689
Gilmer 3,35370.65%1,36328.72%240.51%60.13%1,99041.93%4,746
Glascock 58073.42%21026.58%00.00%00.00%37046.84%790
Glynn 11,12663.18%6,33935.99%780.44%680.39%4,78727.19%17,611
Gordon 6,05171.65%2,36928.05%180.21%70.08%3,68243.60%8,445
Grady 2,98961.10%1,88338.49%100.20%100.20%1,10622.61%4,892
Greene 1,43243.93%1,81855.77%90.28%10.03%-386-11.84%3,260
Gwinnett 66,37275.47%20,94823.82%5230.59%970.11%45,42451.65%87,940
Habersham 4,87169.45%2,11430.14%220.31%70.10%2,75739.31%7,014
Hall 17,41568.71%7,78230.71%1100.43%370.15%9,63338.00%25,344
Hancock 62123.99%1,94775.20%110.42%100.39%-1,326-51.21%2,589
Haralson 4,52965.17%2,40434.59%150.22%20.03%2,12530.58%6,950
Harris 3,41463.94%1,90535.68%170.32%30.06%1,50928.26%5,339
Hart 3,04454.88%2,47644.64%200.36%70.13%56810.24%5,547
Heard 1,55163.77%87435.94%30.12%40.16%67727.83%2,432
Henry 10,88271.11%4,34828.41%570.37%170.11%6,53442.70%15,304
Houston 15,74864.02%8,66435.22%1060.43%790.32%7,08428.80%24,597
Irwin 1,22657.00%91842.68%40.19%30.14%30814.32%2,151
Jackson 4,40762.56%2,60737.00%170.24%140.20%1,80025.56%7,045
Jasper 1,47455.08%1,18844.39%100.37%40.15%28610.69%2,676
Jeff Davis 2,05062.03%1,24237.58%70.21%60.18%80824.45%3,305
Jefferson 2,78854.13%2,34645.54%100.19%70.14%4428.59%5,151
Jenkins 1,28857.30%95342.39%70.31%00.00%33514.91%2,248
Johnson 1,56762.83%92737.17%00.00%00.00%64025.66%2,494
Jones 3,61857.41%2,66242.24%110.17%110.17%95615.17%6,302
Lamar 2,03557.83%1,41640.24%531.51%150.43%61917.59%3,519
Lanier 72550.81%69848.91%10.07%30.21%271.90%1,427
Laurens 6,92957.89%4,87940.76%1331.11%290.24%2,05017.13%11,970
Lee 2,87574.04%99525.62%100.26%30.08%1,88048.42%3,883
Liberty 3,10051.24%2,90648.03%320.53%120.20%1943.21%6,050
Lincoln 1,41760.97%89338.43%80.34%60.26%52422.54%2,324
Long 85855.32%68143.91%40.26%80.52%17711.41%1,551
Lowndes 10,85562.63%6,42737.08%350.20%160.09%4,42825.55%17,333
Lumpkin 2,68867.20%1,28632.15%190.48%70.18%1,40235.05%4,000
Macon 1,41238.19%2,26861.35%70.19%100.27%-856-23.16%3,697
Madison 3,72469.10%1,63930.41%150.28%110.20%2,08538.69%5,389
Marion 80448.67%84451.09%20.12%20.12%-40-2.42%1,652
McDuffie 3,23165.04%1,70434.30%120.24%210.42%1,52730.74%4,968
McIntosh 1,27345.08%1,52754.07%130.46%110.39%-254-8.99%2,824
Meriwether 3,10151.31%2,93448.54%90.15%00.00%1672.77%6,044
Miller 1,10568.00%51531.69%20.12%30.18%59036.31%1,625
Mitchell 2,59053.29%2,26046.50%50.10%50.10%3306.79%4,860
Monroe 2,57056.38%1,97043.22%110.24%70.15%60013.16%4,558
Montgomery 1,22857.49%90342.28%50.23%00.00%32515.21%2,136
Morgan 2,10858.10%1,50841.57%120.33%00.00%60016.53%3,628
Murray 3,99670.11%1,67929.46%160.28%90.16%2,31740.65%5,700
Muscogee 23,05854.90%18,77244.70%1120.27%580.14%4,28610.20%42,000
Newton 5,80964.77%3,11134.69%350.39%140.16%2,69830.08%8,969
Oconee 4,26567.89%1,99031.68%260.41%10.02%2,27536.21%6,282
Oglethorpe 1,95162.61%1,15437.03%70.22%40.13%79725.58%3,116
Paulding 7,32972.63%2,71726.92%360.36%90.09%4,61245.71%10,091
Peach 2,78248.00%2,97251.28%200.35%220.38%-190-3.28%5,796
Pickens 3,02167.52%1,43031.96%140.31%90.20%1,59135.56%4,474
Pierce 1,94755.49%1,55844.40%10.03%30.09%38911.09%3,509
Pike 2,07463.35%1,17635.92%230.70%10.03%89827.43%3,274
Polk 5,45464.46%2,97735.18%230.27%70.08%2,47729.28%8,461
Pulaski 1,40048.48%1,47651.11%70.24%50.17%-76-2.63%2,888
Putnam 2,11157.74%1,53241.90%70.19%60.16%57915.84%3,656
Quitman 29640.11%43659.08%40.54%20.27%-140-18.97%738
Rabun 2,27863.14%1,30136.06%160.44%130.36%97727.08%3,608
Randolph 1,31948.94%1,36950.80%40.15%30.11%-50-1.86%2,695
Richmond 27,56657.12%20,48942.46%1180.24%850.18%7,07714.66%48,258
Rockdale 12,41373.77%4,33025.73%650.39%180.11%8,08348.04%16,826
Schley 63558.91%43940.72%30.28%10.09%19618.19%1,078
Screven 2,17859.52%1,46139.93%120.33%80.22%71719.59%3,659
Seminole 1,46955.54%1,17144.27%20.08%30.11%29811.27%2,645
Spalding 7,73063.68%4,31835.57%570.47%330.27%3,41228.11%12,138
Stephens 4,32966.09%2,18533.36%270.41%90.14%2,14432.73%6,550
Stewart 83242.17%1,13657.58%30.15%20.10%-304-15.41%1,973
Sumter 4,28955.93%3,33243.45%230.30%240.31%95712.48%7,668
Talbot 80238.93%1,24860.58%60.29%40.19%-446-21.65%2,060
Taliaferro 30639.38%46960.36%10.13%10.13%-163-20.98%777
Tattnall 3,17265.03%1,69434.73%80.16%40.08%1,47830.30%4,878
Taylor 1,14550.13%1,13449.65%30.13%20.09%110.48%2,284
Telfair 1,80550.21%1,76549.10%130.36%120.33%401.11%3,595
Terrell 1,51752.22%1,38347.61%20.07%30.10%1344.61%2,905
Thomas 6,57264.78%3,53034.80%240.24%190.19%3,04229.98%10,145
Tift 4,76065.80%2,44633.81%160.22%120.17%2,31431.99%7,234
Toombs 4,43378.89%1,15220.50%250.44%90.16%3,28158.39%5,619
Towns 1,78365.12%94234.40%110.40%20.07%84130.72%2,738
Treutlen 97057.19%72642.81%00.00%00.00%24414.38%1,696
Troup 9,48467.31%4,56232.38%360.26%70.05%4,92234.93%14,089
Turner 1,31250.52%1,12243.20%903.47%732.81%1907.32%2,597
Twiggs 1,26141.96%1,73057.57%90.30%50.17%-469-15.61%3,005
Union 2,39665.39%1,25834.33%100.27%00.00%1,13831.06%3,664
Upson 4,61463.05%2,66636.43%260.36%120.16%1,94826.62%7,318
Walker 10,48768.63%4,75331.11%310.20%90.06%5,73437.52%15,280
Walton 5,97465.56%3,09133.92%310.34%160.18%2,88331.64%9,112
Ware 4,81952.59%4,29246.84%260.28%260.28%5275.75%9,163
Warren 89744.78%1,09154.47%60.30%90.45%-194-9.69%2,003
Washington 2,75251.12%2,61548.58%50.09%110.20%1372.54%5,383
Wayne 3,34057.93%2,41741.92%80.14%10.02%92316.01%5,766
Webster 36145.70%42754.05%20.25%00.00%-66-8.35%790
Wheeler 70951.64%65847.92%40.29%20.15%513.72%1,373
White 2,64871.65%1,02827.81%190.51%10.03%1,62043.84%3,696
Whitfield 12,76173.12%4,61826.46%400.23%320.18%8,14346.66%17,451
Wilcox 1,23553.26%1,07946.53%50.22%00.00%1566.73%2,319
Wilkes 1,81053.71%1,54945.96%80.24%30.09%2617.75%3,370
Wilkinson 1,54645.30%1,83153.65%250.73%110.32%-285-8.35%3,413
Worth 2,66866.55%1,31132.70%200.50%100.25%1,35733.85%4,009
Totals1,081,33159.75%714,79239.50%8,4350.47%5,0990.28%366,53920.25%1,809,672

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

[19] [20]

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. [18]

References

  1. "Georgia Official and Statistical Register - page 676" (PDF). Digital Library of Georgia.
  2. Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, p. 111 ISBN   0786422173
  3. Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 23.
  4. Black & Black 2002, p. 125.
  5. Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 58.
  6. 1 2 Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 69.
  7. Black & Black 1992, p. 263.
  8. Black & Black 1992, p. 266.
  9. 1 2 3 "Georgia Secretary of State - Results of the March 8, 1988 Preference Primary" (PDF). Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  10. Black & Black 1992, p. 288.
  11. Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 59-60.
  12. Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 60.
  13. Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 63.
  14. Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 65.
  15. Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 67.
  16. Black & Black 1992, p. 295.
  17. Black & Black 1992, p. 335.
  18. 1 2 3 "GA US President Race, November 08, 1988". Our Campaigns.
  19. "1984 Presidential General Election Results - Georgia". Dave Leip's election atlas.
  20. "1988 Presidential General Election Results - Georgia". Dave Leip's election atlas.

Works cited