The 1988 United States presidential election in New Hampshire took place on November 8, 1988, as part of the 1988 United States presidential election, which was held throughout all 50 states and D.C. Voters chose four representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

New Hampshire voted for the Republican nominee, Vice President George H. W. Bush, over the Democratic nominee, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, by a landslide margin of 26.16%. Bush took 62.49% of the vote to Dukakis's 36.33%.

Compared to the rest of liberal New England, New Hampshire historically had a strong fiscal conservative streak to its politics, and Bush's pledge not to raise taxes played well to the state's anti-tax electorate. This election would prove to be the GOP's high point in New Hampshire, as the state gave Bush his second-strongest win in the nation, behind only Utah.

In the following years, the state would drift to the left, though more on social issues than on economic issues. As the Republican Party moved to embrace the Christian right and became increasingly Southern, the GOP would suffer a rapid decline in its fortunes in New Hampshire. Despite the scale of Bush's victory in 1988, no Republican has since won even a majority of the state's votes, although his son George W. Bush would eke out a narrow 48–47 plurality in 2000.

, this is the last election in which a Republican has been able to win every county within the state as well as the last time the counties of Cheshire, Grafton, Merrimack and Strafford voted for a Republican presidential candidate.Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016 This is also the last time that New Hampshire was won by double digits by either party, (although future Democratic candidates in both Bill Clinton, and later Barack Obama came incredibly close to doing so during their landslide victories in 1996, along with 2008).

Primaries

1988 New Hampshire Republican presidential primary 1988 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary

Results 1988 United States presidential election in New HampshirePartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Republican George H. W. Bush 281,537 62.49% 4 Democratic Michael Dukakis 163,696 36.33% 0 Libertarian Ron Paul 4,502 1.00% 0 New Alliance Lenora Fulani 790 0.18% 0 Totals 450,525 100.00% 4 Voter Turnout (Voting age/Registered) 55%/69%

Results by county CountyGeorge H.W. BushOur Campaigns; NH US President Race, November 08, 1988RepublicanMichael DukakisDemocraticRon PaulLibertarianLeonora FulaniNew AllianceMarginTotal votes cast # % # % # % # % # % Belknap 14,454 67.92% 6,603 31.03% 203 0.95%200.09% 7,851 36.89% 21,280 Carroll 12,983 70.78% 5,153 28.09% 157 0.86%510.28% 7,830 42.69% 18,344 Cheshire 15,002 54.53% 12,339 44.85% 125 0.45%460.17% 2,663 9.68% 27,512 Coös 8,763 63.32% 4,981 35.99% 61 0.44%350.25% 3,782 27.33% 13,840 Grafton 19,033 62.00% 11,484 37.41% 143 0.47%390.13% 7,549 24.59% 30,699 Hillsborough 88,261 65.00% 45,799 33.73% 1,525 1.12%1930.14% 42,462 31.27% 135,778 Merrimack 29,535 60.66% 18,637 38.28% 433 0.89%810.17% 10,898 22.38% 48,686 Rockingham 64,034 63.15% 35,775 35.28% 1,401 1.38%1950.19% 28,259 27.87% 101,405 Strafford 20,636 54.74% 16,547 43.89% 401 1.06%1140.30% 4,089 10.85% 37,698 Sullivan 8,836 57.82% 6,378 41.73% 53 0.35%160.10% 2,458 16.09% 15,283Totals281,53762.49%163,69636.33%4,5021.00%7900.18%117,84126.16%450,525

See also Presidency of George H. W. Bush United States presidential elections in New Hampshire

References