1988 United States presidential election in Iowa
The 1988 United States presidential election in Iowa took place on November 8, 1988, as part of the 1988 United States presidential election. Voters chose eight representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
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 County Results
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| Elections in Iowa |
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 State government |
Iowa was won by Democratic Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts with 54.71% of the popular vote over Republican Vice President George H.W. Bush's 44.50%, a victory margin of 10.22%. This made it one of 10 states (plus the District of Columbia) to vote for Dukakis, while Bush won a convincing electoral victory nationwide. It was the first time that a Democratic presidential candidate won the popular vote in the state since Lyndon B. Johnson won the state back in 1964.
The farm crisis of the 1980s under the incumbent Republican administration made the Midwest one of the targets for the Dukakis campaign in 1988, which ultimately proved successful in the region with Democrats performing strongly in many farm states. Nowhere was this more evident than in Iowa, which was the second most Democratic state in the nation in 1988 in terms of both vote percentage and victory margin; it was one of just two states (along with Rhode Island) to vote Democratic by a double-digit margin. This Democratic support was spread widely across the state, with Dukakis winning 75 of the state's 99 counties, whilst counties carried by Bush were concentrated within the state's typically archconservative western fringe. Iowa was also the only state in the nation where Dukakis won by a larger margin than fellow Democrat Bill Clinton would win it by four years later in 1992; Dukakis won 13 Iowa counties which would vote for Bush in 1992.
While Dukakis personally overperformed in Iowa due to the farm crisis, 1988 was also the beginning of a long-term re-alignment of the state toward the Democratic Party, as the historically-Republican state became a Democratic-leaning swing state for a quarter of a century. Iowa had voted Republican in the five preceding elections, and nine of the previous eleven. From 1988 to 2012, Iowa voted Democratic in six of the seven elections that followed (out of the nine total elections overall). Despite this, as of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Marion County, Buena Vista County, Sac County, and Humboldt County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.[1]Additionally, this was also the last time a candidate from either party would win the state of Iowa without winning the popular vote, until Donald Trump did so in 2016 (although he won the general election). This was also however the most recent election when Iowa voted for the candidate who lost both the popular, and electoral vote until 2020.
Iowa, with four counties, Texas, with three, and Montana (with Lincoln County) are the only states as of 2021 where there exist counties that haven't voted Democratic since 1988.
Results
| 1988 United States presidential election in Iowa[2] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Michael Dukakis | 670,557 | 54.71% | 8 | |
| Republican | George H.W. Bush | 545,355 | 44.50% | 0 | |
| Independent | Lyndon LaRouche | 3,526 | 0.29% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Ron Paul | 2,494 | 0.20% | 0 | |
| N/A | Write-ins | 1,613 | 0.13% | 0 | |
| America First | David Duke | 755[lower-alpha 1] | 0.06% | 0 | |
| New Alliance | Lenora Fulani | 540[lower-alpha 1] | 0.04% | 0 | |
| Socialist | Willa Kenoyer | 334[lower-alpha 1] | 0.03% | 0 | |
| Socialist Equality | Edward Winn | 235[lower-alpha 1] | 0.02% | 0 | |
| Socialist Workers | James Warren | 205[lower-alpha 1] | 0.02% | 0 | |
| Totals | 1,225,614 | 100.00% | 8 | ||
| Voter Turnout (Voting age/Registered) | 59%/73% | ||||
Results by county
| County[3] | Michael Stanley Dukakis Democratic |
George Herbert Walker Bush Republican |
Lyndon Hermyle La Rouche Independent |
Various candidates Other parties |
Various candidates Other parties |
Margin | Total votes cast | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adair | 2,261 | 54.84% | 1,833 | 44.46% | 7 | 0.17% | 5 | 0.12% | 17 | 0.41% | 428 | 10.38% | 4,123 |
| Adams | 1,283 | 53.88% | 1,081 | 45.40% | 4 | 0.17% | 5 | 0.21% | 8 | 0.34% | 202 | 8.48% | 2,381 |
| Allamakee | 2,768 | 46.17% | 3,186 | 53.14% | 12 | 0.20% | 11 | 0.18% | 18 | 0.30% | -418 | -6.97% | 5,995 |
| Appanoose | 3,209 | 52.71% | 2,779 | 45.65% | 62 | 1.02% | 15 | 0.25% | 23 | 0.38% | 430 | 7.06% | 6,088 |
| Audubon | 1,863 | 55.27% | 1,478 | 43.84% | 16 | 0.47% | 4 | 0.12% | 10 | 0.30% | 385 | 11.42% | 3,371 |
| Benton | 5,872 | 58.86% | 4,011 | 40.21% | 44 | 0.44% | 15 | 0.15% | 34 | 0.34% | 1,861 | 18.65% | 9,976 |
| Black Hawk | 31,657 | 56.36% | 24,112 | 42.93% | 143 | 0.25% | 82 | 0.15% | 177 | 0.32% | 7,545 | 13.43% | 56,171 |
| Boone | 7,232 | 61.89% | 4,381 | 37.49% | 44 | 0.38% | 11 | 0.09% | 18 | 0.15% | 2,851 | 24.40% | 11,686 |
| Bremer | 4,961 | 49.12% | 5,079 | 50.29% | 24 | 0.24% | 18 | 0.18% | 17 | 0.17% | -118 | -1.17% | 10,099 |
| Buchanan | 4,778 | 57.42% | 3,495 | 42.00% | 6 | 0.07% | 15 | 0.18% | 27 | 0.32% | 1,283 | 15.42% | 8,321 |
| Buena Vista | 4,580 | 51.90% | 4,170 | 47.25% | 16 | 0.18% | 35 | 0.40% | 24 | 0.27% | 410 | 4.65% | 8,825 |
| Butler | 2,593 | 42.19% | 3,523 | 57.32% | 12 | 0.20% | 6 | 0.10% | 12 | 0.20% | -930 | -15.13% | 6,146 |
| Calhoun | 2,990 | 54.31% | 2,474 | 44.94% | 15 | 0.27% | 14 | 0.25% | 12 | 0.22% | 516 | 9.37% | 5,505 |
| Carroll | 5,437 | 58.63% | 3,701 | 39.91% | 79 | 0.85% | 22 | 0.24% | 34 | 0.37% | 1,736 | 18.72% | 9,273 |
| Cass | 2,937 | 42.13% | 3,962 | 56.84% | 43 | 0.62% | 12 | 0.17% | 17 | 0.24% | -1,025 | -14.70% | 6,971 |
| Cedar | 4,032 | 53.91% | 3,373 | 45.10% | 10 | 0.13% | 16 | 0.21% | 48 | 0.64% | 659 | 8.81% | 7,479 |
| Cerro Gordo | 12,857 | 57.49% | 9,358 | 41.84% | 74 | 0.33% | 36 | 0.16% | 40 | 0.18% | 3,499 | 15.64% | 22,365 |
| Cherokee | 3,574 | 52.14% | 3,218 | 46.94% | 26 | 0.38% | 15 | 0.22% | 22 | 0.32% | 356 | 5.19% | 6,855 |
| Chickasaw | 3,530 | 57.53% | 2,549 | 41.54% | 25 | 0.41% | 6 | 0.10% | 26 | 0.42% | 981 | 15.99% | 6,136 |
| Clarke | 2,262 | 57.50% | 1,631 | 41.46% | 3 | 0.08% | 1 | 0.03% | 37 | 0.94% | 631 | 16.04% | 3,934 |
| Clay | 4,173 | 53.02% | 3,641 | 46.26% | 30 | 0.38% | 13 | 0.17% | 13 | 0.17% | 532 | 6.76% | 7,870 |
| Clayton | 4,320 | 52.41% | 3,839 | 46.58% | 30 | 0.36% | 18 | 0.22% | 35 | 0.42% | 481 | 5.84% | 8,242 |
| Clinton | 12,549 | 54.56% | 10,243 | 44.53% | 116 | 0.50% | 55 | 0.24% | 39 | 0.17% | 2,306 | 10.03% | 23,002 |
| Crawford | 3,868 | 52.91% | 3,375 | 46.16% | 28 | 0.38% | 21 | 0.29% | 19 | 0.26% | 493 | 6.74% | 7,311 |
| Dallas | 7,501 | 60.40% | 4,858 | 39.12% | 6 | 0.05% | 19 | 0.15% | 35 | 0.28% | 2,643 | 21.28% | 12,419 |
| Davis | 2,246 | 58.35% | 1,563 | 40.61% | 12 | 0.31% | 7 | 0.18% | 21 | 0.55% | 683 | 17.74% | 3,849 |
| Decatur | 2,192 | 60.44% | 1,406 | 38.76% | 4 | 0.11% | 9 | 0.25% | 16 | 0.44% | 786 | 21.67% | 3,627 |
| Delaware | 3,947 | 53.11% | 3,425 | 46.08% | 26 | 0.35% | 11 | 0.15% | 23 | 0.31% | 522 | 7.02% | 7,432 |
| Des Moines | 11,593 | 59.84% | 7,652 | 39.50% | 62 | 0.32% | 26 | 0.13% | 41 | 0.21% | 3,941 | 20.34% | 19,374 |
| Dickinson | 3,342 | 47.06% | 3,678 | 51.80% | 41 | 0.58% | 19 | 0.27% | 21 | 0.30% | -336 | -4.73% | 7,101 |
| Dubuque | 23,797 | 61.74% | 14,530 | 37.69% | 88 | 0.23% | 60 | 0.16% | 72 | 0.19% | 9,267 | 24.04% | 38,547 |
| Emmet | 2,778 | 55.82% | 2,173 | 43.66% | 9 | 0.18% | 12 | 0.24% | 5 | 0.10% | 605 | 12.16% | 4,977 |
| Fayette | 5,304 | 51.56% | 4,921 | 47.84% | 17 | 0.17% | 30 | 0.29% | 15 | 0.15% | 383 | 3.72% | 10,287 |
| Floyd | 4,377 | 56.60% | 3,266 | 42.23% | 53 | 0.69% | 11 | 0.14% | 26 | 0.34% | 1,111 | 14.37% | 7,733 |
| Franklin | 2,594 | 52.39% | 2,320 | 46.86% | 21 | 0.42% | 9 | 0.18% | 7 | 0.14% | 274 | 5.53% | 4,951 |
| Fremont | 1,547 | 43.86% | 1,946 | 55.17% | 18 | 0.51% | 5 | 0.14% | 11 | 0.31% | -399 | -11.31% | 3,527 |
| Greene | 3,011 | 58.31% | 2,091 | 40.49% | 32 | 0.62% | 10 | 0.19% | 20 | 0.39% | 920 | 17.82% | 5,164 |
| Grundy | 2,211 | 38.91% | 3,433 | 60.42% | 19 | 0.33% | 10 | 0.18% | 9 | 0.16% | -1,222 | -21.51% | 5,682 |
| Guthrie | 2,910 | 58.40% | 2,005 | 40.24% | 35 | 0.70% | 23 | 0.46% | 10 | 0.20% | 905 | 18.16% | 4,983 |
| Hamilton | 4,156 | 55.46% | 3,277 | 43.73% | 23 | 0.31% | 14 | 0.19% | 24 | 0.32% | 879 | 11.73% | 7,494 |
| Hancock | 2,831 | 50.62% | 2,731 | 48.83% | 17 | 0.30% | 6 | 0.11% | 8 | 0.14% | 100 | 1.79% | 5,593 |
| Hardin | 5,088 | 56.53% | 3,856 | 42.84% | 14 | 0.16% | 18 | 0.20% | 25 | 0.28% | 1,232 | 13.69% | 9,001 |
| Harrison | 2,883 | 47.83% | 3,108 | 51.57% | 7 | 0.12% | 8 | 0.13% | 21 | 0.35% | -225 | -3.73% | 6,027 |
| Henry | 3,754 | 48.39% | 3,951 | 50.93% | 9 | 0.12% | 18 | 0.23% | 26 | 0.34% | -197 | -2.54% | 7,758 |
| Howard | 2,330 | 53.87% | 1,970 | 45.55% | 5 | 0.12% | 3 | 0.07% | 17 | 0.39% | 360 | 8.32% | 4,325 |
| Humboldt | 2,713 | 50.64% | 2,594 | 48.42% | 31 | 0.58% | 9 | 0.17% | 10 | 0.19% | 119 | 2.22% | 5,357 |
| Ida | 1,787 | 47.29% | 1,951 | 51.63% | 19 | 0.50% | 11 | 0.29% | 11 | 0.29% | -164 | -4.34% | 3,779 |
| Iowa | 3,338 | 49.93% | 3,247 | 48.57% | 42 | 0.63% | 21 | 0.31% | 37 | 0.55% | 91 | 1.36% | 6,685 |
| Jackson | 4,864 | 59.08% | 3,237 | 39.32% | 102 | 1.24% | 22 | 0.27% | 8 | 0.10% | 1,627 | 19.76% | 8,233 |
| Jasper | 8,940 | 56.82% | 6,703 | 42.60% | 20 | 0.13% | 22 | 0.14% | 48 | 0.31% | 2,237 | 14.22% | 15,733 |
| Jefferson | 3,594 | 49.26% | 3,614 | 49.53% | 8 | 0.11% | 40 | 0.55% | 40 | 0.55% | -20 | -0.27% | 7,296 |
| Johnson | 28,759 | 64.41% | 15,453 | 34.61% | 22 | 0.05% | 149 | 0.33% | 264 | 0.59% | 13,306 | 29.80% | 44,647 |
| Jones | 4,641 | 56.70% | 3,496 | 42.71% | 5 | 0.06% | 8 | 0.10% | 35 | 0.43% | 1,145 | 13.99% | 8,185 |
| Keokuk | 2,899 | 55.43% | 2,278 | 43.56% | 29 | 0.55% | 12 | 0.23% | 12 | 0.23% | 621 | 11.87% | 5,230 |
| Kossuth | 5,088 | 55.87% | 3,938 | 43.24% | 60 | 0.66% | 13 | 0.14% | 8 | 0.09% | 1,150 | 12.63% | 9,107 |
| Lee | 10,911 | 63.11% | 6,228 | 36.02% | 89 | 0.51% | 41 | 0.24% | 21 | 0.12% | 4,683 | 27.09% | 17,290 |
| Linn | 42,993 | 56.04% | 33,129 | 43.18% | 57 | 0.07% | 178 | 0.23% | 361 | 0.47% | 9,864 | 12.86% | 76,718 |
| Louisa | 2,268 | 51.78% | 2,060 | 47.03% | 10 | 0.23% | 15 | 0.34% | 27 | 0.62% | 208 | 4.75% | 4,380 |
| Lucas | 2,454 | 57.84% | 1,776 | 41.86% | 2 | 0.05% | 3 | 0.07% | 8 | 0.19% | 678 | 15.98% | 4,243 |
| Lyon | 1,706 | 32.41% | 3,517 | 66.81% | 26 | 0.49% | 8 | 0.15% | 7 | 0.13% | -1,811 | -34.40% | 5,264 |
| Madison | 3,421 | 58.36% | 2,410 | 41.11% | 8 | 0.14% | 8 | 0.14% | 15 | 0.26% | 1,011 | 17.25% | 5,862 |
| Mahaska | 4,451 | 47.76% | 4,798 | 51.48% | 41 | 0.44% | 16 | 0.17% | 14 | 0.15% | -347 | -3.72% | 9,320 |
| Marion | 6,922 | 53.44% | 5,914 | 45.65% | 83 | 0.64% | 9 | 0.07% | 26 | 0.20% | 1,008 | 7.78% | 12,954 |
| Marshall | 9,760 | 55.62% | 7,657 | 43.63% | 21 | 0.12% | 41 | 0.23% | 70 | 0.40% | 2,103 | 11.98% | 17,549 |
| Mills | 2,092 | 38.96% | 3,212 | 59.82% | 27 | 0.50% | 25 | 0.47% | 13 | 0.24% | -1,120 | -20.86% | 5,369 |
| Mitchell | 2,870 | 54.66% | 2,338 | 44.52% | 27 | 0.51% | 7 | 0.13% | 9 | 0.17% | 532 | 10.13% | 5,251 |
| Monona | 2,408 | 53.62% | 2,068 | 46.05% | 4 | 0.09% | 2 | 0.04% | 9 | 0.20% | 340 | 7.57% | 4,491 |
| Monroe | 2,338 | 63.76% | 1,313 | 35.81% | 4 | 0.11% | 4 | 0.11% | 8 | 0.22% | 1,025 | 27.95% | 3,667 |
| Montgomery | 1,898 | 37.22% | 3,166 | 62.08% | 18 | 0.35% | 8 | 0.16% | 10 | 0.20% | -1,268 | -24.86% | 5,100 |
| Muscatine | 7,059 | 50.06% | 6,904 | 48.96% | 78 | 0.55% | 29 | 0.21% | 32 | 0.23% | 155 | 1.10% | 14,102 |
| O'Brien | 2,768 | 39.14% | 4,241 | 59.97% | 29 | 0.41% | 18 | 0.25% | 16 | 0.23% | -1,473 | -20.83% | 7,072 |
| Osceola | 1,277 | 39.12% | 1,951 | 59.77% | 15 | 0.46% | 4 | 0.12% | 17 | 0.52% | -674 | -20.65% | 3,264 |
| Page | 2,185 | 32.12% | 4,583 | 67.37% | 9 | 0.13% | 7 | 0.10% | 19 | 0.28% | -2,398 | -35.25% | 6,803 |
| Palo Alto | 3,377 | 61.82% | 2,041 | 37.36% | 29 | 0.53% | 5 | 0.09% | 11 | 0.20% | 1,336 | 24.46% | 5,463 |
| Plymouth | 4,220 | 43.93% | 5,316 | 55.33% | 34 | 0.35% | 22 | 0.23% | 15 | 0.16% | -1,096 | -11.41% | 9,607 |
| Pocahontas | 2,722 | 58.51% | 1,871 | 40.22% | 22 | 0.47% | 24 | 0.52% | 13 | 0.28% | 851 | 18.29% | 4,652 |
| Polk | 84,476 | 59.01% | 57,854 | 40.42% | 71 | 0.05% | 282 | 0.20% | 461 | 0.32% | 26,622 | 18.60% | 143,144 |
| Pottawattamie | 14,958 | 46.16% | 17,193 | 53.06% | 136 | 0.42% | 57 | 0.18% | 61 | 0.19% | -2,235 | -6.90% | 32,405 |
| Poweshiek | 4,876 | 56.53% | 3,683 | 42.70% | 17 | 0.20% | 26 | 0.30% | 23 | 0.27% | 1,193 | 13.83% | 8,625 |
| Ringgold | 1,609 | 58.92% | 1,110 | 40.64% | 3 | 0.11% | 1 | 0.04% | 8 | 0.29% | 499 | 18.27% | 2,731 |
| Sac | 2,613 | 51.47% | 2,411 | 47.49% | 21 | 0.41% | 14 | 0.28% | 18 | 0.35% | 202 | 3.98% | 5,077 |
| Scott | 34,415 | 52.12% | 31,025 | 46.98% | 249 | 0.38% | 188 | 0.28% | 158 | 0.24% | 3,390 | 5.13% | 66,035 |
| Shelby | 2,806 | 47.88% | 3,019 | 51.52% | 9 | 0.15% | 12 | 0.20% | 14 | 0.24% | -213 | -3.63% | 5,860 |
| Sioux | 2,923 | 22.00% | 10,270 | 77.29% | 49 | 0.37% | 12 | 0.09% | 34 | 0.26% | -7,347 | -55.29% | 13,288 |
| Story | 19,051 | 57.55% | 13,782 | 41.63% | 73 | 0.22% | 92 | 0.28% | 107 | 0.32% | 5,269 | 15.92% | 33,105 |
| Tama | 4,584 | 57.21% | 3,362 | 41.96% | 20 | 0.25% | 21 | 0.26% | 25 | 0.31% | 1,222 | 15.25% | 8,012 |
| Taylor | 1,671 | 50.15% | 1,647 | 49.43% | 1 | 0.03% | 1 | 0.03% | 12 | 0.36% | 24 | 0.72% | 3,332 |
| Union | 3,236 | 53.57% | 2,751 | 45.54% | 31 | 0.51% | 9 | 0.15% | 14 | 0.23% | 485 | 8.03% | 6,041 |
| Van Buren | 1,612 | 48.35% | 1,692 | 50.75% | 6 | 0.18% | 9 | 0.27% | 15 | 0.45% | -80 | -2.40% | 3,334 |
| Wapello | 10,177 | 64.93% | 5,350 | 34.14% | 90 | 0.57% | 24 | 0.15% | 32 | 0.20% | 4,827 | 30.80% | 15,673 |
| Warren | 9,627 | 59.68% | 6,424 | 39.82% | 30 | 0.19% | 14 | 0.09% | 36 | 0.22% | 3,203 | 19.86% | 16,131 |
| Washington | 3,776 | 49.58% | 3,741 | 49.12% | 49 | 0.64% | 28 | 0.37% | 22 | 0.29% | 35 | 0.46% | 7,616 |
| Wayne | 1,988 | 57.18% | 1,467 | 42.19% | 6 | 0.17% | 16 | 0.46% | 0 | 0.00% | 521 | 14.98% | 3,477 |
| Webster | 10,267 | 59.03% | 6,926 | 39.82% | 121 | 0.70% | 26 | 0.15% | 53 | 0.30% | 3,341 | 19.21% | 17,393 |
| Winnebago | 2,804 | 49.17% | 2,863 | 50.20% | 11 | 0.19% | 7 | 0.12% | 18 | 0.32% | -59 | -1.03% | 5,703 |
| Winneshiek | 4,443 | 50.92% | 4,194 | 48.07% | 28 | 0.32% | 25 | 0.29% | 35 | 0.40% | 249 | 2.85% | 8,725 |
| Woodbury | 20,153 | 51.38% | 18,790 | 47.90% | 136 | 0.35% | 56 | 0.14% | 90 | 0.23% | 1,363 | 3.47% | 39,225 |
| Worth | 2,440 | 61.28% | 1,488 | 37.37% | 3 | 0.08% | 9 | 0.23% | 42 | 1.05% | 952 | 23.91% | 3,982 |
| Wright | 3,353 | 55.38% | 2,658 | 43.90% | 8 | 0.13% | 21 | 0.35% | 14 | 0.23% | 695 | 11.48% | 6,054 |
| Totals | 670,557 | 54.53% | 545,355 | 44.35% | 3,526 | 0.29% | 2,510 | 0.20% | 5,735 | 0.47% | 125,202 | 10.18% | 1,229,752 |
Notes
- Votes for this candidate were not separated by county and only given as a state-wide total.[3]
References
- Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
- "1988 Presidential General Election Results - Iowa". U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
- "IA US President Race, November 03, 1988". Our Campaigns.
