The 1988 United States presidential election in Maryland took place on November 8, 1988, as part of the 1988 United States presidential election. Voters chose 10 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Maryland was narrowly won by Vice President George H.W. Bush (R-Texas), with 51.11% of the popular vote, over Massachusetts Governor Mike Dukakis (D-Massachusetts) with 48.20% of the popular vote. Bush ultimately won the national vote, defeating Governor Dukakis.

, this remains the last time that the Republican presidential candidate has won the state of Maryland, as well as Baltimore County and Howard County.Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016 Maryland was one of only two states that Bush carried in 1988 which had voted for Jimmy Carter in 1980, the other being Carter's home state of Georgia. This also marks the only occasion since 1952 in which Maryland has given an outright majority to a non-incumbent Republican.

Maryland weighed in for this election as almost 5% more Democratic than the nation-at-large.

As of 2025, this is the last presidential election in which Maryland voted to the right of neighboring West Virginia and neighboring Pennsylvania. This is also the only presidential election since 1952 in which Maryland voted Republican while West Virginia voted Democratic.

Results 1988 United States presidential election in MarylandPartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Republican George H. W. Bush 876,167 51.11% 10 Democratic Mike Dukakis 826,304 48.20% 0 Libertarian Ron Paul 6,748 0.39% 0 New Alliance Lenora Fulani 5,115 0.29% 0 N/A Write-ins 24 <0.01% 0 Totals 1,714,358 100.0% 10

Results by county County George H.W. BushRepublican Michael DukakisDemocratic Various candidatesOther parties Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # %Allegany17,46259.19%11,84440.15%1970.66%5,61819.04%29,503Anne Arundel98,54063.53%55,44035.74%1,1210.73%43,10027.79%155,101Baltimore163,88157.04%121,57042.32%1,8440.64%42,31114.72%287,295Baltimore City59,08925.43%170,81373.51%2,4651.06%-111,724-48.08%232,367Calvert10,95662.98%6,37636.65%650.37%4,58026.33%17,397Caroline4,66165.44%2,44034.26%220.30%2,22131.18%7,123Carroll31,22471.37%12,36828.27%1550.36%18,85643.10%43,747Cecil13,22462.51%7,80736.90%1240.59%5,41725.61%21,155Charles20,82863.57%11,82336.09%1130.34%9,00527.48%32,764Dorchester6,34362.55%3,70936.58%880.87%2,63425.97%10,140Frederick32,57565.32%17,06134.21%2310.47%15,51431.11%49,867Garrett6,66571.81%2,55727.55%600.64%4,10844.26%9,282Harford38,49365.73%19,80333.81%2700.46%18,69031.92%58,566Howard44,15356.22%34,00743.30%3700.48%10,14612.92%78,530Kent3,76155.87%2,92543.45%460.68%83612.42%6,732Montgomery154,19148.05%165,18751.48%1,5180.47%-10,996-3.43%320,896Prince George's86,54538.83%133,81660.04%2,5201.13%-47,271-21.21%222,881Queen Anne's7,80366.68%3,85732.96%430.36%3,94633.72%11,703Somerset4,22258.93%2,91140.63%320.44%1,31118.30%7,165St. Mary's12,76762.92%7,43436.64%890.44%5,33326.28%20,290Talbot8,17066.97%3,94832.36%810.67%4,22234.61%12,199Washington25,91263.76%14,40835.45%3180.79%11,50428.31%40,638Wicomico16,27263.18%9,41336.55%700.27%6,85926.63%25,755Worcester8,43063.57%4,78736.10%450.33%3,64327.47%13,262Totals876,16751.11%826,30448.20%11,8870.69%49,8632.91%1,714,358

County that flipped from Republican to Democratic Montgomery

By congressional district Bush won 4 of 8 congressional districts, including three held by Democrats. Dukakis won the other 4, including one that elected a Republican. District Dukakis Bush Representative 36.4% 63.2%Roy Dyson 37.4% 62.1%Helen Delich Bentley 54.1% 45.2%Ben Cardin 41.9% 57.3%Tom McMillen58.9% 40.0%Steny Hoyer 34.1% 65.4%Beverly Byron81.3% 17.4%Kweisi Mfume53.4% 46.1%Connie Morella

See also United States presidential elections in Maryland 1988 United States presidential election 1988 United States elections

References