1988 United States presidential election in Connecticut
{{Short description|none}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Main|1988 United States presidential election}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 1988 United States presidential election in Connecticut
| country = Connecticut
| type = presidential
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 1984 United States presidential election in Connecticut
| previous_year = 1984
| next_election = 1992 United States presidential election in Connecticut
| 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 = 8
| popular_vote1 = 750,241
| percentage1 = 51.98%
| 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 = 676,584
| percentage2 = 46.87%
| map_image = {{switcher|250px
|County Results
|Municipality Results
|default=1}}
| map_caption=
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
Bush
{{legend|#F2B3BE|40–50%}}
{{legend|#E27F90|50–60%}}
{{legend|#CC2F4A|60–70%}}
{{legend|#D40000|70–80%}}
{{col-2}}
Dukakis
{{legend|#b9d7ff|40–50%}}
{{legend|#86b6f2|50–60%}}
{{legend|#4389e3|60–70%}}
{{legend|#1666CB|70–80%}}
{{col-end}}
| title = President
| before_election = Ronald Reagan
| before_party = Republican Party (United States)
| after_election = George H. W. Bush
| after_party = Republican Party (United States)
}}
{{Elections in Connecticut sidebar}}
The 1988 United States presidential election in Connecticut 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 eight representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Connecticut voted for the Republican nominee, Vice President George H. W. Bush, over the Democratic nominee, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, by a margin of 5.10%. Bush took 51.98% of the vote to Dukakis's 46.87%. This result nonetheless made Connecticut 2.7% more Democratic than the nation-at-large.
Although Dukakis won only Hartford County, he took 47–49% of the vote in five other counties, making it a close race statewide. He came much closer to winning the state than Walter Mondale, who had lost the state by over 20 points four years earlier. Dukakis's gains reflected liberal New England's drift as a whole toward the Democratic Party, as the Republican Party became increasingly conservative and oriented toward the South. This would be the last time that a Republican presidential candidate would win Connecticut's electoral votes, as the state has gone Democratic in every election since, and also one of the last times that a Republican won a statewide federal election there.
To date, this is the last election in which the counties of New Haven, New London, Middlesex and Tolland voted for the Republican candidate, as well as the last time that the cities of Norwalk, Stamford, and Waterbury and the towns of Branford, Canaan, Canton, Chester, Clinton, Cromwell, Deep River, East Lyme, Farmington, Glastonbury, Groton, Guilford, Stratford, Kent, Norfolk, Old Lyme, Pomfret, Salisbury, Sharon, South Windsor, Stonington, Tolland, Vernon, Washington, Waterford, Westport, Wethersfield, and Woodbridge voted Republican.
Results
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;" |
| colspan="6" | 1988 United States presidential election in Connecticut{{cite web |url=http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1988&fips=9&f=0&off=0&elect=0&minper=0 |title=1988 Presidential General Election Results - Connecticut|access-date=2013-02-07 |publisher=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections}} |
|---|
| colspan="2" style="width: 15em" |Party
! style="width: 17em" |Candidate ! style="width: 5em" |Votes ! style="width: 7em" |Percentage ! style="width: 5em" |Electoral votes |
| style="background-color:#FF3333; width: 3px" |
| style="width: 130px" | Republican | align="right" | 750,241 | align="right" | 51.98% | align="right" | 8 |
| style="background-color:#3333FF; width: 3px" |
| style="width: 130px" | Democratic | align="right" | 676,584 | align="right" | 46.87% | align="right" | 0 |
| style="background-color:#FFCC00; width: 3px" |
| style="width: 130px" | Libertarian | Ron Paul | align="right" | 14,071 | align="right" | 0.97% | align="right" | 0 |
| style="background-color:#FF00FF; width: 3px" |
| style="width: 130px" | New Alliance | align="right" | 2,491 | align="right" | 0.17% | align="right" | 0 |
| style="background-color:#FFFFFF; width: 3px" |
| style="width: 130px" | No party | align="right" | 7 | align="right" | 0.00% | align="right" | 0 |
| bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| colspan="3" align="right" | Totals | align="right" | 1,443,394 | align="right" | 100.00% | align="right" | 8 |
| bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| colspan="5" align="right" | Voter Turnout (Voting age/Registered) | colspan="1" align="right" | 58%/80% |
=Results by county=
| width="60%" class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" | |||||||||
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"| County
! style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| George H.W. Bush ! style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Michael Dukakis ! style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Various candidates ! style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Margin ! style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"| Total votes cast | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="text-align:center;" data-sort-type="number"| #
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-type="number"| % ! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-type="number"| # ! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-type="number"| % ! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-type="number"| # ! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-type="number"| % ! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-type="number"| # ! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-type="number"| % | |||||||||
| style="text-align:center;"
| {{party shading/Republican}}| Fairfield | {{party shading/Republican}}| 221,316 | {{party shading/Republican}}| 59.04% | {{party shading/Democratic}}| 149,630 | {{party shading/Democratic}}| 39.91% | {{party shading/Others}}| 3,932 | {{party shading/Others}}| 1.05% | {{party shading/Republican}}| 71,686 | {{party shading/Republican}}| 19.13% | {{party shading/Republican}}| 374,878 | |||||||||
| style="text-align:center;"
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| Hartford | {{party shading/Republican}}| 173,031 | {{party shading/Republican}}| 45.95% | {{party shading/Democratic}}| 199,857 | {{party shading/Democratic}}| 53.08% | {{party shading/Others}}| 3,648 | {{party shading/Others}}| 0.97% | {{party shading/Democratic}}| -26,826 | {{party shading/Democratic}}| -7.13% | {{party shading/Democratic}}| 376,536 | |||||||||
| style="text-align:center;"
| {{party shading/Republican}}| Litchfield | {{party shading/Republican}}| 44,637 | {{party shading/Republican}}| 55.97% | {{party shading/Democratic}}| 34,227 | {{party shading/Democratic}}| 42.91% | {{party shading/Others}}| 893 | {{party shading/Others}}| 1.12% | {{party shading/Republican}}| 10,410 | {{party shading/Republican}}| 13.06% | {{party shading/Republican}}| 79,757 | |||||||||
| style="text-align:center;"
| {{party shading/Republican}}| Middlesex | {{party shading/Republican}}| 34,682 | {{party shading/Republican}}| 50.01% | {{party shading/Democratic}}| 33,946 | {{party shading/Democratic}}| 48.95% | {{party shading/Others}}| 716 | {{party shading/Others}}| 1.04% | {{party shading/Republican}}| 736 | {{party shading/Republican}}| 1.06% | {{party shading/Republican}}| 69,344 | |||||||||
| style="text-align:center;"
| {{party shading/Republican}}| New Haven | {{party shading/Republican}}| 174,251 | {{party shading/Republican}}| 50.90% | {{party shading/Democratic}}| 163,153 | {{party shading/Democratic}}| 47.66% | {{party shading/Others}}| 4,957 | {{party shading/Others}}| 1.44% | {{party shading/Republican}}| 11,098 | {{party shading/Republican}}| 3.24% | {{party shading/Republican}}| 342,361 | |||||||||
| style="text-align:center;"
| {{party shading/Republican}}| New London | {{party shading/Republican}}| 52,681 | {{party shading/Republican}}| 51.22% | {{party shading/Democratic}}| 48,882 | {{party shading/Democratic}}| 47.53% | {{party shading/Others}}| 1,288 | {{party shading/Others}}| 1.25% | {{party shading/Republican}}| 3,799 | {{party shading/Republican}}| 3.69% | {{party shading/Republican}}| 102,851 | |||||||||
| style="text-align:center;"
| {{party shading/Republican}}| Tolland | {{party shading/Republican}}| 28,375 | {{party shading/Republican}}| 50.80% | {{party shading/Democratic}}| 26,884 | {{party shading/Democratic}}| 48.13% | {{party shading/Others}}| 602 | {{party shading/Others}}| 1.07% | {{party shading/Republican}}| 1,491 | {{party shading/Republican}}| 2.67% | {{party shading/Republican}}| 55,861 | |||||||||
| style="text-align:center;"
| {{party shading/Republican}}| Windham | {{party shading/Republican}}| 21,268 | {{party shading/Republican}}| 50.88% | {{party shading/Democratic}}| 20,005 | {{party shading/Democratic}}| 47.86% | {{party shading/Others}}| 526 | {{party shading/Others}}| 1.26% | {{party shading/Republican}}| 1,263 | {{party shading/Republican}}| 3.02% | {{party shading/Republican}}| 41,799 | |||||||||
| Totals | 750,241 | 51.98% | 676,584 | 46.87% | 16,569 | 1.15% | 73,657 | 5.11% | 1,443,394 |
== Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic ==
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Connecticut elections}}
{{United States elections}}
{{State results of the 1988 U.S. presidential election}}