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.

1988 United States presidential election in Alaska

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 3 0 Popular vote 119,251 72,584 Percentage 59.59% 36.27%

Borough Results Bush   50-60%   60-70% Dukakis   40-50%

President before election Ronald Reagan Republican Elected President George H. W. Bush Republican

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

See also

• Oil Pipelines in Alaska
• Presidency of George H. W. Bush

References

1. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". Uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
2. "Since 1980s, the Kindest of Tax Cuts for the Rich". The New York Times. 2012-01-18. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
3. Jerry Lanson (2008-11-06). "A historic victory. A changed nation. Now, can Obama deliver?". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2013-07-21.