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1988 United States presidential election in Florida

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Field	Value
election_name	1988 United States presidential election in Florida
country	Florida
type	presidential
ongoing	no
turnout	71%
previous_election	1984 United States presidential election in Florida
previous_year	1984
next_election	1992 United States presidential election in Florida
next_year	1992
election_date	November 8, 1988
image_size	x200px
image1	File:VP George Bush crop.jpg
nominee1	George H. W. Bush
party1	Republican Party (United States)
home_state1	Texas
running_mate1	Dan Quayle
electoral_vote1	21
popular_vote1	2,618,885
percentage1	60.87%
image2	File:Dukakis campaign portrait 3x4.jpg
nominee2	Michael Dukakis
party2	Democratic Party (United States)
home_state2	Massachusetts
running_mate2	Lloyd Bentsen
electoral_vote2	0
popular_vote2	1,656,701
percentage2	38.51%
map_image	350px
map_size	350px
map_caption	County Results
title	President
before_election	Ronald Reagan
before_party	Republican Party (United States)
after_election	George H. W. Bush
after_party	Republican Party (United States)

Main article: 1988 United States presidential election

Bush Dukakis

The 1988 United States presidential election in Florida took place on November 8, 1988. All fifty states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. Florida voters chose twenty-one electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

Florida was won by incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush, running with U.S Senator Dan Quayle, against Governor Michael Dukakis, running with U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen. This was Bush's fifth strongest state in the 1988 election after Utah, New Hampshire, Idaho and South Carolina.

Bush won every county in the state, with the exception of North Florida's majority-black Gadsden County, which voted for Dukakis. This was the last time until 2008 that Orange County voted for the national winner.

Until 2024, this was the last time Miami-Dade County (then known simply as Dade County) voted for a Republican candidate or any candidate won the state by double digits. As of 2024, this is also the last election in which Broward County, Palm Beach County, Alachua County, or Leon County voted for a Republican presidential candidate.

Background

The Republican presidential nominee had won Florida in seven of the nine presidential elections since 1952. By the 1980s the Republicans had also won the governorship and enough seats in the state legislature to maintain a veto. From 1979 to 1986, the percentage of voters affiliated with the Democratic Party fell from 45% to 32% while the Republicans rose from 26% to 38%. Florida was one of the states that designated the second Tuesday of March as the date for their presidential primary as a part of Super Tuesday.

Primaries

Five of the seven Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida endorsed George H. W. Bush in 1987, and Governor Bob Martinez served as his national co-chair. Bush won all but three counties in the primary, with the remainder being won by Pat Robertson; 45% of white voters participated in the Republican primary.

Florida was one of the southern Super Tuesday states that Michael Dukakis focused on as he could receive the support of Hispanics and northerners. His campaign had twenty paid staffers in the state during the primary, but later reduced the number to ten during the general campaign and were transferred to Illinois. Dukakis won 53% of the white vote. The racial composition of the primary was 82% white, 18% black, and 1% Hispanic. White people raised outside the state made up 56% of the electorate, the highest in any southern state.

Primary results

Republican

Candidate	Vote received	#
George H.W. Bush	559,397	62.1%
Bob Dole	191,494	21.3%
Pat Robertson	95,037	10.6%
Jack Kemp	41,762	4.6%
Pete Du Pont	6,718	0.7%
Alexander M. Haig, Jr.	5,849	0.6%

Democratic

Candidate	Vote received	#
Michael Dukakis	520,948	40.9%
Jesse Jackson	254,825	20.0%
Dick Gephardt	182,809	14.4%
Al Gore	161,116	12.7%
Undecided	79,407	6.2%
Gary Hart	36,291	2.9%
Paul Simon	27,592	2.2%
Bruce Babbitt	10,277	0.8%

Campaign

Florida gave Bush his second highest-percentage amount of support in the south, only behind South Carolina, and the fifth-highest nationally. Exit polls conducted by NBC showed that Bush received 64% of the vote from Hispanics aged 18 to 34 and 55% from Hispanics over 65. Among white voters, 67% supported Bush while 33% supported Dukakis.

The Republicans won the concurrent U.S. Senate election and increased their share of the U.S. House delegate to nine Republicans against ten Democrats. Representative James W. Grant joined the Republicans in 1989, giving them a majority of the U.S. House delegation.

Results

United States presidential election in Florida, 1988	Party	Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Republican	George H. W. Bush	2,618,885	60.87%	21
Democratic	Michael Dukakis	1,656,701	38.51%	0
Libertarian	Ron Paul	19,796	0.46%	0
New Alliance Party	Lenora Fulani	6,655	0.15%	0
Write-Ins		276	0.01%	0
Totals		4,302,313		100.0%	21

Results by county

County	George H.W. Bush
Republican	Michael Dukakis
Democratic	Various candidates
Other parties	Margin	Total	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	Totals	2,618,885	60.87%	1,656,701	38.51%	26,727	0.62%	962,184	22.36%	4,302,313
	Alachua		30,153		50.08%		29,396		48.82%		664		1.10%		757		1.26%		60,213
	Baker		3,418		71.49%		1,355		28.34%		8		0.17%		2,063		43.15%		4,781
	Bay		31,796		72.51%		11,603		26.46%		452		1.03%		20,193		46.05%		43,851
	Bradford		4,221		63.61%		2,386		35.96%		29		0.44%		1,835		27.65%		6,636
	Brevard		104,854		70.30%		43,004		28.83%		1,301		0.87%		61,850		41.47%		149,159
	Broward		220,316		50.00%		218,274		49.54%		2,015		0.46%		2,042		0.46%		440,605
	Calhoun		2,422		64.01%		1,329		35.12%		33		0.87%		1,093		28.89%		3,784
	Charlotte		28,893		63.98%		15,974		35.37%		292		0.65%		12,919		28.61%		45,159
	Citrus		21,072		62.95%		12,184		36.40%		218		0.65%		8,888		26.55%		33,474
	Clay		25,942		76.67%		7,773		22.97%		122		0.36%		18,169		53.70%		33,837
	Collier		38,920		74.87%		12,769		24.57%		291		0.56%		26,151		50.30%		51,980
	Columbia		7,761		65.13%		4,073		34.18%		82		0.69%		3,688		30.95%		11,916
	Dade		270,937		55.26%		216,970		44.26%		2,358		0.48%		53,967		11.00%		490,265
	DeSoto		4,243		65.64%		2,181		33.74%		40		0.62%		2,062		31.90%		6,464
	Dixie		2,031		59.79%		1,366		40.21%		0		0.00%		665		19.58%		3,397
	Duval		128,081		62.79%		74,894		36.72%		1,004		0.49%		53,187		26.07%		203,979
	Escambia		64,959		68.05%		29,977		31.40%		524		0.55%		34,982		36.65%		95,460
	Flagler		6,504		60.32%		4,244		39.36%		34		0.32%		2,260		20.96%		10,782
	Franklin		1,913		58.52%		1,283		39.25%		73		2.23%		630		19.27%		3,269
	Gadsden		5,992		47.64%		6,372		50.66%		213		1.69%		-380		-3.02%		12,577
	Gilchrist		1,855		61.59%		1,137		37.75%		20		0.66%		718		23.84%		3,012
	Glades		1,547		59.66%		1,034		39.88%		12		0.46%		513		19.78%		2,593
	Gulf		3,042		62.44%		1,688		34.65%		142		2.91%		1,354		27.79%		4,872
	Hamilton		2,062		60.72%		1,318		38.81%		16		0.47%		744		21.91%		3,396
	Hardee		3,640		66.96%		1,688		31.05%		108		1.99%		1,952		35.91%		5,436
	Hendry		3,965		65.70%		2,036		33.74%		34		0.56%		1,929		31.96%		6,035
	Hernando		21,195		57.50%		15,437		41.88%		231		0.63%		5,758		15.62%		36,863
	Highlands		16,723		67.05%		8,091		32.44%		127		0.51%		8,632		34.61%		24,941
	Hillsborough		150,151		59.89%		99,014		39.49%		1,551		0.62%		51,137		20.40%		250,716
	Holmes		4,225		71.61%		1,639		27.78%		36		0.61%		2,586		43.83%		5,900
	Indian River		24,630		69.71%		10,451		29.58%		252		0.71%		14,179		40.13%		35,333
	Jackson		8,405		62.20%		5,008		37.06%		100		0.74%		3,397		25.14%		13,513
	Jefferson		2,326		52.89%		2,055		46.73%		17		0.39%		271		6.16%		4,398
	Lafayette		1,451		66.41%		722		33.04%		12		0.55%		729		33.37%		2,185
	Lake		37,327		68.40%		16,766		30.72%		479		0.88%		20,561		37.68%		54,572
	Lee		87,303		67.71%		40,725		31.59%		908		0.70%		46,578		36.12%		128,936
	Leon		36,055		51.39%		33,472		47.71%		631		0.90%		2,583		3.68%		70,158
	Levy		5,253		59.75%		3,434		39.06%		104		1.18%		1,819		20.69%		8,791
	Liberty		1,421		65.27%		709		32.57%		47		2.16%		712		32.70%		2,177
	Madison		2,563		56.59%		1,951		43.08%		15		0.33%		612		13.51%		4,529
	Manatee		51,187		65.53%		26,624		34.08%		302		0.39%		24,563		31.45%		78,113
	Marion		41,501		66.38%		20,685		33.09%		334		0.53%		20,816		33.29%		62,520
	Martin		31,279		72.60%		11,488		26.66%		316		0.73%		19,791		45.94%		43,083
	Monroe		15,928		60.32%		10,157		38.47%		320		1.21%		5,771		21.85%		26,405
	Nassau		8,374		66.59%		4,143		32.95%		58		0.46%		4,231		33.64%		12,575
	Okaloosa		40,389		80.04%		9,753		19.33%		320		0.63%		30,636		60.71%		50,462
	Okeechobee		4,736		60.79%		3,007		38.60%		48		0.62%		1,729		22.19%		7,791
	Orange		117,237		67.86%		54,023		31.27%		1,510		0.87%		63,214		36.59%		172,770
	Osceola		21,355		68.05%		9,812		31.27%		214		0.68%		11,543		36.78%		31,381
	Palm Beach		181,495		55.47%		144,199		44.07%		1,523		0.47%		37,296		11.40%		327,217
	Pasco		63,820		55.59%		50,385		43.89%		598		0.52%		13,435		11.70%		114,803
	Pinellas		211,049		57.76%		152,420		41.72%		1,901		0.52%		58,629		16.04%		365,370
	Polk		77,104		66.45%		38,249		32.96%		687		0.59%		38,855		33.49%		116,040
	Putnam		11,624		57.24%		8,575		42.23%		108		0.53%		3,049		15.01%		20,307
	St. Johns		19,228		70.14%		8,029		29.29%		158		0.58%		11,199		40.85%		27,415
	St. Lucie		32,319		64.54%		17,446		34.84%		314		0.63%		14,873		29.70%		50,079
	Santa Rosa		18,973		77.85%		5,254		21.56%		143		0.59%		13,719		56.29%		24,370
	Sarasota		84,602		66.40%		42,099		33.04%		708		0.56%		42,503		33.36%		127,409
	Seminole		60,401		72.20%		22,635		27.06%		622		0.74%		37,766		45.14%		83,658
	Sumter		5,936		59.98%		3,900		39.41%		60		0.61%		2,036		20.57%		9,896
	Suwannee		5,863		64.27%		3,129		34.30%		130		1.43%		2,734		29.97%		9,122
	Taylor		4,057		69.06%		1,763		30.01%		55		0.94%		2,294		39.05%		5,875
	Union		1,644		69.99%		691		29.42%		14		0.60%		953		40.57%		2,349
	Volusia		74,195		56.56%		55,469		42.28%		1,518		1.16%		18,726		14.28%		131,182
	Wakulla		3,158		65.72%		1,605		33.40%		42		0.87%		1,553		32.32%		4,805
	Walton		7,490		69.30%		3,235		29.93%		83		0.77%		4,255		39.37%		10,808
	Washington		4,374		66.64%		2,144		32.66%		46		0.70%		2,230		33.98%		6,564

Results by congressional district

Bush carried 18 of the 19 congressional districts.

Bush
1st	73.2%	26.8%
2nd	59.7%	40.3%
3rd	60%	40%
4th	64.1%	35.9%
5th	69%	31%
6th	61.1%	38.9%
7th	58.3%	41.7%
8th	56%	44%
9th	60.5%	39.5%
10th	66.4%	33.6%
11th	71%	29%
12th	64.6%	35.4%
13th	68%	32%
14th	53.1%	46.9%
15th	53.3%	46.7%
16th	55.6%	44.4%
17th	40.9%	59.1%
18th	58%	42%
19th	58.9%	41.1%

References

Works cited

References

(2021). "Voter Turnout".
"1988 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
"March 8, 1988 Presidential Preference Primary: Republican Primary".
"March 8, 1988 Presidential Preference Primary: Democratic Primary".
"1988 United States Presidential Election, Results by Congressional District".

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