1988 United States presidential election in New Jersey


The 1988 United States presidential election in New Jersey took place on November 8, 1988. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. New Jersey voters chose 16 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president. As of 2020 this is the last time a Republican presidential nominee carried the state of New Jersey.
New Jersey was won by incumbent Republican Vice President George H. W. Bush of Texas, who was running against Democratic Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. Bush ran with Indiana Senator Dan Quayle while Dukakis ran with Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen.
Bush carried New Jersey with 56.24% of the vote, while Dukakis received 42.60% a 13.64% margin of victory.
New Jersey weighed in for this election as almost 6% points more Republican than the national average.
Bush won 18 of New Jersey's 21 counties, with Dukakis only winning the heavily Democratic counties of Mercer, Essex, and Hudson. This remains the last election in which a Republican presidential candidate has won the following counties: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Middlesex, and Union. All of these counties would become reliably Democratic in every election that has followed as suburban voters shifted away from the GOP in the 1990s. Consequently, this would also be the last time that New Jersey as a whole would cast its electoral votes for a Republican presidential nominee, and New Jersey would subsequently become regarded as a solid blue state in every subsequent presidential election.

Partisan background

The presidential election of 1988 was a very partisan election for New Jersey, with more than 99% of the electorate voting for either the Democratic or Republican parties, though a total of 11 parties did appear on the ballot.

Republican victory

Bush won the election in New Jersey with a strong 13.6 point margin. This is the most recent presidential election where New Jersey sent Republican electors to the Electoral College. The election results in New Jersey are reflective of a nationwide political re-consolidation of base for the Republican Party, which took place in the through the 1980s. Through the passage of some very controversial economic programs, spearheaded by then President Ronald Reagan, the mid-to-late 1980s arguably 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.
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.

Results

Results by county