1988 United States presidential election in North Dakota

1988 United States presidential election in North Dakota
Bush 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%	Dukakis 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%
President before election; Ronald Reagan ; Republican	Elected President; George H. W. Bush ; Republican

Last updated December 04, 2024

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

North Dakota 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. Bush won the election in North Dakota with a solid 13-point landslide.

The election was very partisan, with nearly 99 percent of the electorate voting for either the Democratic or Republican parties.^[1] All major counties in North Dakota gave pluralities for Bush, including the relatively highly populated center of Cass County, which contains the city of Fargo. As has been typical ever since the 1960s, however, Dukakis gained large majorities in the two predominantly Native American counties of Rolette in the north and Sioux in the south, and he also carried by smaller margins a number of other counties in the northern and eastern portions of the state. This is one of only two elections (the other being 2020) since 1952 where national bellwether Sargent County in the state's southeast supported a losing candidate,^[2] with the anomaly most likely due to the farm crisis.

North Dakota weighed in for this election as five percent more Republican than the national average, a much smaller margin than usual due to the persistent farm crisis of the 1980s. As of the 2020 presidential election ^[update] this remains the least Republican the state has been relative to the nation since Nixon's landslide win in 1972,^[3] when a "favorite son" effect with George McGovern from neighboring South Dakota was a likely influence.

Primaries

North Dakota held the last primary of the election season on June 14, by which time the party nominations had effectively already been secured. Libertarian candidate Ron Paul entered due to it being an open primary,^[4] receiving 985 votes. For the Republicans, Bush received 37,062 votes to 2,372 for perennial candidate Mary Jane Rachner of Minnesota^[5] while Dukakis garnered 2,890 votes compared to 515 for Jesse Jackson.^[6]

Results

1988 United States presidential election in North Dakota
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	George H. W. Bush	166,559	56.03%	3
	Democratic-NPL	Michael Dukakis	127,739	42.97%	0
	Libertarian	Ron Paul	1,315	0.44%	0
	National Economic Recovery	Lyndon LaRouche	905	0.30%	0
	New Alliance Party	Lenora Fulani	396	0.13%	0
	Socialist Workers Party	James Warren	347	0.12%	0
Totals			297,261	100.0%	3

Results by county

County^[7]	George H.W. Bush Republican		Michael Dukakis Democratic-NPL		Ron Paul Libertarian		Lyndon LaRouche National Economic Recovery		Lenora Fulani New Alliance		James Warren Socialist Workers		Margin		Total votes cast
County^[7]	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	Total votes cast
Adams	1,018	58.61%	708	40.76%	1	0.06%	4	0.23%	4	0.23%	2	0.12%	310	17.85%	1,737
Barnes	3,631	55.47%	2,858	43.66%	24	0.37%	17	0.26%	8	0.12%	8	0.12%	773	11.81%	6,546
Benson	1,316	43.42%	1,691	55.79%	5	0.16%	13	0.43%	6	0.20%	0	0.00%	-375	-12.37%	3,031
Billings	437	66.31%	211	32.02%	11	1.67%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	226	34.29%	659
Bottineau	2,530	59.52%	1,684	39.61%	17	0.40%	17	0.40%	3	0.07%	0	0.00%	846	19.91%	4,251
Bowman	1,111	59.51%	737	39.48%	8	0.43%	7	0.37%	3	0.16%	1	0.05%	374	20.03%	1,867
Burke	971	57.46%	693	41.01%	11	0.65%	11	0.65%	2	0.12%	2	0.12%	278	16.45%	1,690
Burleigh	18,000	61.89%	10,760	37.00%	132	0.45%	101	0.35%	53	0.18%	38	0.13%	7,240	24.89%	29,084
Cass	26,699	54.34%	22,107	44.99%	181	0.37%	75	0.15%	36	0.07%	39	0.08%	4,592	9.35%	49,137
Cavalier	2,096	60.63%	1,333	38.56%	8	0.23%	9	0.26%	6	0.17%	5	0.14%	763	22.07%	3,457
Dickey	2,064	61.87%	1,249	37.44%	14	0.42%	6	0.18%	1	0.03%	2	0.06%	815	24.43%	3,336
Divide	869	49.15%	875	49.49%	5	0.28%	15	0.85%	4	0.23%	0	0.00%	-6	-0.34%	1,768
Dunn	1,263	57.99%	892	40.96%	5	0.23%	10	0.46%	5	0.23%	3	0.14%	371	17.03%	2,178
Eddy	891	53.74%	748	45.11%	8	0.48%	3	0.18%	3	0.18%	5	0.30%	143	8.63%	1,658
Emmons	1,634	62.94%	925	35.63%	10	0.39%	16	0.62%	8	0.31%	3	0.12%	709	27.31%	2,596
Foster	1,218	58.84%	837	40.43%	5	0.24%	7	0.34%	1	0.05%	2	0.10%	381	18.41%	2,070
Golden Valley	781	66.02%	388	32.80%	6	0.51%	8	0.68%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	393	33.22%	1,183
Grand Forks	14,801	53.76%	12,494	45.38%	133	0.48%	45	0.16%	26	0.09%	32	0.12%	2,307	8.38%	27,531
Grant	1,351	66.13%	654	32.01%	16	0.78%	15	0.73%	1	0.05%	6	0.29%	697	34.12%	2,043
Griggs	1,020	54.11%	846	44.88%	13	0.69%	3	0.16%	2	0.11%	1	0.05%	174	9.23%	1,885
Hettinger	1,395	66.08%	698	33.06%	5	0.24%	8	0.38%	4	0.19%	1	0.05%	697	33.02%	2,111
Kidder	1,039	59.00%	678	38.50%	23	1.31%	13	0.74%	4	0.23%	4	0.23%	361	20.50%	1,761
LaMoure	1,642	56.60%	1,223	42.16%	10	0.34%	10	0.34%	8	0.28%	8	0.28%	419	14.44%	2,901
Logan	1,111	66.49%	540	32.32%	11	0.66%	4	0.24%	1	0.06%	4	0.24%	571	34.17%	1,671
McHenry	1,888	52.69%	1,665	46.47%	14	0.39%	9	0.25%	2	0.06%	5	0.14%	223	6.22%	3,583
McIntosh	1,726	73.54%	598	25.48%	9	0.38%	11	0.47%	1	0.04%	2	0.09%	1,128	48.06%	2,347
McKenzie	1,949	59.91%	1,273	39.13%	14	0.43%	12	0.37%	1	0.03%	4	0.12%	676	20.78%	3,253
McLean	2,906	53.85%	2,428	45.00%	30	0.56%	21	0.39%	5	0.09%	6	0.11%	478	8.85%	5,396
Mercer	3,013	61.46%	1,843	37.60%	22	0.45%	17	0.35%	4	0.08%	3	0.06%	1,170	23.86%	4,902
Morton	5,588	53.49%	4,708	45.07%	68	0.65%	50	0.48%	17	0.16%	16	0.15%	880	8.42%	10,447
Mountrail	1,443	41.73%	1,977	57.17%	17	0.49%	12	0.35%	5	0.14%	4	0.12%	-534	-15.44%	3,458
Nelson	1,078	48.06%	1,151	51.32%	5	0.22%	3	0.13%	2	0.09%	4	0.18%	-73	-3.26%	2,243
Oliver	696	56.27%	526	42.52%	4	0.32%	8	0.65%	2	0.16%	1	0.08%	170	13.75%	1,237
Pembina	2,471	59.56%	1,616	38.95%	40	0.96%	13	0.31%	6	0.14%	3	0.07%	855	20.61%	4,149
Pierce	1,422	57.41%	1,008	40.69%	22	0.89%	16	0.65%	3	0.12%	6	0.24%	414	16.72%	2,477
Ramsey	3,103	53.12%	2,665	45.63%	22	0.38%	31	0.53%	12	0.21%	8	0.14%	438	7.49%	5,841
Ransom	1,362	47.66%	1,459	51.05%	13	0.45%	9	0.31%	10	0.35%	5	0.17%	-97	-3.39%	2,858
Renville	893	51.03%	837	47.83%	5	0.29%	8	0.46%	1	0.06%	6	0.34%	56	3.20%	1,750
Richland	4,670	56.44%	3,523	42.58%	31	0.37%	26	0.31%	10	0.12%	14	0.17%	1,147	13.86%	8,274
Rolette	1,126	31.23%	2,426	67.28%	22	0.61%	18	0.50%	7	0.19%	7	0.19%	-1,300	-36.05%	3,606
Sargent	1,119	45.94%	1,306	53.61%	4	0.16%	5	0.21%	1	0.04%	1	0.04%	-187	-7.67%	2,436
Sheridan	885	67.15%	428	32.47%	1	0.08%	3	0.23%	1	0.08%	0	0.00%	457	34.68%	1,318
Sioux	325	31.19%	701	67.27%	7	0.67%	5	0.48%	3	0.29%	1	0.10%	-376	-36.08%	1,042
Slope	315	59.43%	202	38.11%	7	1.32%	3	0.57%	2	0.38%	1	0.19%	113	21.32%	530
Stark	6,137	61.35%	3,678	36.77%	59	0.59%	65	0.65%	47	0.47%	17	0.17%	2,459	24.58%	10,003
Steele	690	43.26%	895	56.11%	5	0.31%	3	0.19%	1	0.06%	1	0.06%	-205	-12.85%	1,595
Stutsman	5,375	55.59%	4,214	43.58%	29	0.30%	16	0.17%	19	0.20%	16	0.17%	1,161	12.01%	9,669
Towner	946	48.91%	970	50.16%	7	0.36%	2	0.10%	5	0.26%	4	0.21%	-24	-1.25%	1,934
Traill	2,562	56.20%	1,940	42.55%	26	0.57%	18	0.39%	5	0.11%	8	0.18%	622	13.65%	4,559
Walsh	3,250	54.48%	2,646	44.35%	42	0.70%	14	0.23%	9	0.15%	5	0.08%	604	10.13%	5,966
Ward	13,179	56.74%	9,906	42.65%	71	0.31%	46	0.20%	11	0.05%	15	0.06%	3,273	14.09%	23,228
Wells	1,901	58.65%	1,317	40.64%	8	0.25%	9	0.28%	2	0.06%	4	0.12%	584	18.01%	3,241
Williams	5,653	57.87%	4,004	40.99%	49	0.50%	35	0.36%	14	0.14%	13	0.13%	1,649	16.88%	9,768
Totals	166,559	56.03%	127,739	42.97%	1,315	0.44%	905	0.30%	396	0.13%	347	0.12%	38,820	13.06%	297,261

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 United States presidential election</span>

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References

↑ "1988 Presidential General Election Results – North Dakota". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
↑ Political Graveyard; Sargent County, North Dakota
↑ Counting the Votes; North Dakota
↑ "Ron Paul Primary Showing" (PDF). Ballot Access News. Vol. 3, no. 12. June 15, 1988. p. 2.
↑ "St. Paul's colorful — and longtime — political candidate Maryjane Reagan dies at 87". January 6, 2009.
↑ "North Dakota Primary Election - Official Abstract of Votes cast at the Primary Election June 14, 1988" (PDF). North Dakota Secretary of State.
↑ "ND US President Race, November 08, 1988". Our Campaigns.

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[1] "1988 Presidential General Election Results – North Dakota". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved July 21, 2013.

[2] Political Graveyard; Sargent County, North Dakota

[3] Counting the Votes; North Dakota

[4] "Ron Paul Primary Showing" (PDF). Ballot Access News. Vol. 3, no. 12. June 15, 1988. p. 2.

[5] "St. Paul's colorful — and longtime — political candidate Maryjane Reagan dies at 87". January 6, 2009.

[6] "North Dakota Primary Election - Official Abstract of Votes cast at the Primary Election June 14, 1988" (PDF). North Dakota Secretary of State.

[7] "ND US President Race, November 08, 1988". Our Campaigns.

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v t e (1986 ←) 1988 United States elections (→ 1990)
President	1988 United States presidential election
U.S. Senate	Arizona California Connecticut Delaware Florida Hawaii Indiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Jersey New Mexico New York North Dakota Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
U.S. House	Alabama Alaska Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois 21st sp Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana 4th sp Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey 3rd sp New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee 2nd sp 5th sp Texas Utah Vermont Virginia 5th sp Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
State governors	Delaware Indiana Missouri Lt. Gov Montana New Hampshire North Carolina Lt. Gov North Dakota Rhode Island Utah Vermont Washington West Virginia
State legislatures	Arizona Arizona House Arizona Senate California Senate Iowa Senate Minnesota House
Mayors	Baton Rouge, LA Irvine, CA Orlando, FL San Diego, CA San Juan, PR

v t e Elections in North Dakota
General	1950 1952 1953 1954 1956 1958 1959 1960 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1972 1973 1974 1976 1980 1988 1992 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020
Governor	1889 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1921 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
U.S. President	1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
U.S. Senate	1889 1891 1893 1897 1899 1903 1905 1909 1911 1911 (special) 1914 1916 1920 1922 1926 1928 1932 1934 1938 1940 1944 1946 (special) 1946 1950 1952 1956 1958 1960 (special) 1962 1964 1968 1970 1974 1976 1980 1982 1986 1988 1992 1992 (special) 1994 1998 2000 2004 2006 2010 2012 2016 2018 2022 2024
U.S. House	1889 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2020 2022 2024
See also: Political party strength in North Dakota