1988 United States presidential election in New York

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Main article: 1988 United States presidential election
1988 United States presidential election in New York
← 1984 November 8, 1988 1992 →
 
Nominee Michael Dukakis George H. W. Bush
Party Democratic Republican
Alliance Liberal Conservative
Home state Massachusetts Texas
Running mate Lloyd Bentsen Dan Quayle
Electoral vote 36 0
Popular vote 3,347,882 3,081,871
Percentage 51.62% 47.52%
County Results
President before election

Ronald Reagan
Republican

Elected President

George H. W. Bush
Republican

International policy with the buckling Soviet Union was a critical component of the political landscape in the late 1980s. Vice President Bush can be seen here standing with United States President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, on the New York waterfront, 1988.
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The 1988 United States presidential election in New York took place on November 8, 1988, as part of the 1988 United States presidential election. Voters chose 36 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

New York was won by Democratic Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts with 51.62% of the popular vote over Republican Vice President George H. W. Bush of Texas, who took 47.52%, a victory margin of 4.10%.[1] This result made New York roughly 12% more Democratic than the nation-at-large. Dukakis’ statewide victory is largely attributable to winning four of five boroughs of New York City overall with 66.2% of the vote. However, even though losing the city in a landslide, Bush's 32.8% share of the vote was a relatively respectable showing for a Republican in NYC, particularly in retrospect. In the 8 elections that followed 1988, Republican presidential candidates have received only 17% to 24% of the vote in New York City. This would be the last time until 2016 that the state would vote differently than neighboring Pennsylvania.

1988 would mark the end of an era in New York's political history. Since the 1940s, New York had been a Democratic-leaning swing state, usually voting Democratic in close elections, but often by small margins. Republicans would dominate much of upstate New York and populated suburban counties like Nassau County, Suffolk County, and Westchester County. However, they would be narrowly outvoted statewide by the fiercely Democratic and massively populated New York City area, along with some upstate cities like Buffalo, Albany, and the college town of Ithaca. This pattern would endure in 1988 for the final time, allowing Bush to keep the race fairly close, only losing the state to Dukakis by 4%. Bush became the first Republican ever to win the White House without carrying Broome County and the first to win without Montgomery County since Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876.

Results

[edit]
1988 United States presidential election in New York
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Democratic Michael Dukakis 3,255,487 50.19%
Liberal Michael Dukakis 92,395 1.42%
Total Michael Dukakis 3,347,882 51.62% 36
Republican George H. W. Bush 2,838,414 43.76%
Conservative George H. W. Bush 243,457 3.75%
Total George H. W. Bush 3,081,871 47.52% 0
Right to Life William Marra 20,497 0.32% 0
New Alliance Lenora Fulani 15,845 0.24% 0
Libertarian Ron Paul 12,109 0.19% 0
Workers World Larry Holmes 4,179 0.06% 0
Socialist Workers James Warren 3,287 0.05% 0
Write-in Edward Winn 10 0.00% 0
Write-in Willa Kenoyer 3 0.00% 0
Totals 6,485,683 100.0% 36

New York City results

[edit]
1988 Presidential Election in New York City Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total
Democratic-
Liberal 		Michael Dukakis 385,675 218,245 363,916 325,147 47,812 1,340,795 66.17%
76.14% 73.22% 66.28% 59.47% 37.95%
Republican-
Conservative 		George H. W. Bush 115,927 76,043 178,961 217,049 77,427 665,407 32.84%
22.89% 25.51% 32.60% 39.70% 61.46%
New Alliance Lenora Fulani 2,623 2,367 3,289 2,062 161 10,502 0.52%
0.52% 0.79% 0.60% 0.38% 0.13%
Right to Life William Marra 678 718 1557 1355 332 4,640 0.23%
0.13% 0.24% 0.28% 0.25% 0.26%
Libertarian Ron Paul 872 235 482 475 121 2,185 0.11%
0.17% 0.08% 0.09% 0.09% 0.10%
Socialist Workers James Warren 475 266 480 368 72 1,661 0.08%
0.09% 0.09% 0.09% 0.07% 0.06%
Workers’ World Larry Holmes 301 207 334 273 50 1,165 0.06%
0.06% 0.07% 0.06% 0.07% 0.04%
TOTAL 506,551 298,081 549,019 546,729 125,975 2,026,355 100.00%

Results by county

[edit]
County Michael Dukakis
Democratic 		George H.W. Bush
Republican 		Various candidates
Other parties 		Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # %
Albany 86,564 58.70% 59,534 40.37% 1,363 0.92% 27,030 18.33% 147,461
Allegany 5,614 31.85% 11,880 67.40% 132 0.75% -6,266 -35.55% 17,626
Bronx 218,245 73.22% 76,043 25.51% 3,793 1.27% 142,202 47.71% 298,081
Broome 48,130 49.95% 47,610 49.41% 625 0.65% 520 0.54% 96,365
Cattaraugus 12,447 38.38% 19,691 60.72% 290 0.89% -7,244 -22.34% 32,428
Cayuga 15,044 46.60% 16,934 52.45% 307 0.95% -1,890 -5.85% 32,285
Chautauqua 25,814 44.61% 31,642 54.68% 411 0.71% -5,828 -10.07% 57,867
Chemung 15,966 42.99% 20,951 56.41% 222 0.60% -4,985 -13.42% 37,139
Chenango 8,021 40.30% 11,727 58.92% 154 0.77% -3,706 -18.62% 19,902
Clinton 12,670 44.36% 15,702 54.97% 191 0.67% -3,032 -10.61% 28,563
Columbia 11,585 43.03% 15,111 56.12% 228 0.85% -3,526 -13.09% 26,924
Cortland 7,673 40.88% 10,934 58.26% 162 0.86% -3,261 -17.38% 18,769
Delaware 7,463 39.26% 11,391 59.92% 156 0.82% -3,928 -20.66% 19,010
Dutchess 38,968 38.22% 62,165 60.97% 826 0.81% -23,197 -22.75% 101,959
Erie 238,779 55.43% 188,796 43.83% 3,217 0.75% 49,983 11.60% 430,792
Essex 6,623 38.70% 10,350 60.48% 140 0.82% -3,727 -21.78% 17,113
Franklin 7,928 46.11% 9,135 53.14% 129 0.75% -1,207 -7.03% 17,192
Fulton 9,012 43.06% 11,757 56.17% 162 0.77% -2,745 -13.11% 20,931
Genesee 9,945 40.87% 14,182 58.29% 205 0.84% -4,237 -17.42% 24,332
Greene 7,265 37.61% 11,874 61.46% 180 0.93% -4,609 -23.85% 19,319
Hamilton 976 29.42% 2,320 69.94% 21 0.63% -1,344 -40.52% 3,317
Herkimer 12,694 45.30% 15,104 53.90% 224 0.80% -2,410 -8.60% 28,022
Jefferson 14,137 42.05% 19,304 57.41% 181 0.54% -5,167 -15.36% 33,622
Kings 363,916 66.28% 178,961 32.60% 6,142 1.12% 184,955 33.68% 549,019
Lewis 4,252 41.94% 5,787 57.08% 99 0.98% -1,535 -15.14% 10,138
Livingston 9,506 40.11% 14,004 59.10% 187 0.79% -4,498 -18.99% 23,697
Madison 10,665 41.41% 14,902 57.86% 187 0.73% -4,237 -16.45% 25,754
Monroe 153,650 49.33% 155,271 49.85% 2,545 0.82% -1,621 -0.52% 311,466
Montgomery 11,371 50.13% 11,128 49.05% 186 0.82% 243 1.08% 22,685
Nassau 250,130 42.22% 337,430 56.96% 4,858 0.82% -87,300 -14.74% 592,418
New York 385,675 76.14% 115,927 22.89% 4,949 0.98% 269,748 53.25% 506,551
Niagara 43,801 50.42% 42,537 48.97% 530 0.61% 1,264 1.45% 86,868
Oneida 47,665 46.07% 55,039 53.20% 757 0.73% -7,374 -7.13% 103,461
Onondaga 94,751 47.26% 104,080 51.91% 1,654 0.82% -9,329 -4.65% 200,485
Ontario 17,341 43.97% 21,780 55.23% 314 0.80% -4,439 -11.26% 39,435
Orange 38,465 36.70% 65,446 62.44% 899 0.86% -26,981 -25.74% 104,810
Orleans 5,913 39.28% 9,028 59.97% 114 0.76% -3,115 -20.69% 15,055
Oswego 18,430 41.69% 25,362 57.37% 419 0.95% -6,932 -15.68% 44,211
Otsego 11,069 45.49% 13,021 53.51% 245 1.01% -1,952 -8.02% 24,335
Putnam 12,158 33.31% 24,086 65.99% 256 0.70% -11,928 -32.68% 36,500
Queens 325,147 59.47% 217,049 39.70% 4,533 0.83% 108,098 19.77% 546,729
Rensselaer 33,066 47.79% 35,412 51.18% 719 1.04% -2,346 -3.39% 69,197
Richmond 47,812 37.95% 77,427 61.46% 736 0.58% -29,615 -23.51% 125,975
Rockland 47,634 42.42% 63,825 56.83% 842 0.75% -16,191 -14.41% 112,301
St. Lawrence 18,921 47.92% 20,290 51.39% 270 0.68% -1,369 -3.47% 39,481
Saratoga 31,684 41.81% 43,498 57.39% 606 0.80% -11,814 -15.58% 75,788
Schenectady 36,483 51.83% 33,364 47.40% 539 0.77% 3,119 4.43% 70,386
Schoharie 5,389 42.99% 7,008 55.90% 139 1.11% -1,619 -12.91% 12,536
Schuyler 2,900 40.04% 4,291 59.25% 51 0.70% -1,391 -19.21% 7,242
Seneca 6,215 45.80% 7,221 53.21% 135 0.99% -1,006 -7.41% 13,571
Steuben 12,824 33.34% 25,359 65.93% 283 0.74% -12,535 -32.59% 38,466
Suffolk 199,215 38.73% 311,242 60.51% 3,893 0.76% -112,027 -21.78% 514,350
Sullivan 11,635 42.20% 15,713 57.00% 220 0.80% -4,078 -14.80% 27,568
Tioga 8,102 38.68% 12,670 60.49% 174 0.83% -4,568 -21.81% 20,946
Tompkins 21,455 58.46% 14,932 40.69% 312 0.85% 6,523 17.77% 36,699
Ulster 30,744 42.37% 41,173 56.75% 640 0.88% -10,429 -14.38% 72,557
Warren 8,580 34.85% 15,860 64.41% 182 0.74% -7,280 -29.56% 24,622
Washington 8,201 36.42% 14,103 62.64% 211 0.94% -5,902 -26.22% 22,515
Wayne 12,959 38.22% 20,613 60.80% 330 0.97% -7,654 -22.58% 33,902
Westchester 169,860 45.78% 197,956 53.36% 3,192 0.86% -28,096 -7.58% 371,008
Wyoming 5,228 35.17% 9,451 63.59% 184 1.24% -4,223 -28.42% 14,863
Yates 3,507 38.65% 5,488 60.48% 79 0.87% -1,981 -21.83% 9,074
Totals 3,347,882 51.62% 3,081,871 47.52% 55,930 0.86% 266,011 4.10% 6,485,683

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

[edit]

Analysis

[edit]

This was the last election in which a Republican presidential nominee won heavily populated Westchester County, as well as Monroe, Onondaga, and Ulster Counties,[2] and also the last election in which New York was decided by a single-digit margin. Beginning in 1992, the Democrats would make substantial inroads in the suburbs around New York City as well as parts of upstate, making New York a solid blue state that has gone Democratic by double-digit margins in every election since, consequently, this is the last time a Democrat lost the state outside of the five boroughs of New York City. Rensselaer, Franklin, and St. Lawrence counties would not vote Republican again until 2016. Nassau County would not vote Republican again until 2024.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "1988 Presidential General Election Results - New York". U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  2. ^ Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
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