See main article: 1988 United States presidential election.
| Election Name: | 1988 United States presidential election in New Jersey |
| Country: | New Jersey |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1984 United States presidential election in New Jersey |
| Previous Year: | 1984 |
| Next Election: | 1992 United States presidential election in New Jersey |
| Next Year: | 1992 |
| Election Date: | November 8, 1988 |
| 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: | 16 |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,743,192 |
| Percentage1: | 56.24% |
| Nominee2: | Michael Dukakis |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Home State2: | Massachusetts |
| Running Mate2: | Lloyd Bentsen |
| Electoral Vote2: | 0 |
| Popular Vote2: | 1,320,352 |
| Percentage2: | 42.60% |
| Map Size: | 350px |
| President | |
| Before Election: | Ronald Reagan |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| After Election: | George H. W. Bush |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
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. Voters chose 16 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president. 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.[1] 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.
As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last time that New Jersey would vote Republican in a presidential election, as well as the last time that the Republican nominee has carried the following counties: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Middlesex, and Union.[2] All of these counties would become reliably Democratic in every election that has followed, as northern suburban voters shifted away from the GOP in the 1990s.
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.[3] Bush won the election in New Jersey with a strong 13.6-point margin.
| 1988 United States presidential election in New Jersey[4] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | ||
| Republican | George H. W. Bush | 1,743,192 | 56.24% | 16 | ||
| Democratic | Michael Dukakis | 1,320,352 | 42.60% | 0 | ||
| Peace and Freedom Party | Herbert Lewin | 9,953 | 0.32% | 0 | ||
| Libertarian | Ron Paul | 8,421 | 0.27% | 0 | ||
| New Alliance Party | Lenora Fulani | 5,139 | 0.17% | 0 | ||
| Progressive | Eugene McCarthy | 3,454 | 0.11% | 0 | ||
| Socialist | Willa Kenoyer | 2,587 | 0.08% | 0 | ||
| America First | David Duke | 2,446 | 0.08% | 0 | ||
| Socialist Workers Party | James Warren | 2,298 | 0.07% | 0 | ||
| Workers World | Larry Holmes | 1,020 | 0.03% | 0 | ||
| Socialist Equality Party | Edward Winn | 691 | 0.02% | 0 | ||
| Totals | 3,099,553 | 100.0% | 16 | |||
| Voter Turnout (Voting age/Registered) | 52%/77% | |||||
| County | George H.W. Bush Republican | Michael Dukakis Democratic | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total votes cast | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | ||||||||||||||||
| 44,748 | 56.33% | 34,047 | 42.86% | 647 | 0.81% | 10,701 | 13.47% | 79,442 | |||||||||||
| 226,885 | 58.19% | 160,655 | 41.20% | 2,393 | 0.61% | 66,230 | 16.99% | 389,933 | |||||||||||
| 87,416 | 58.30% | 61,140 | 40.77% | 1,393 | 0.93% | 26,276 | 17.53% | 149,949 | |||||||||||
| 100,072 | 51.98% | 90,704 | 47.12% | 1,739 | 0.90% | 9,368 | 4.86% | 192,515 | |||||||||||
| 28,738 | 65.14% | 15,105 | 34.24% | 274 | 0.62% | 13,633 | 30.90% | 44,117 | |||||||||||
| 26,024 | 53.83% | 21,869 | 45.23% | 456 | 0.94% | 4,155 | 8.60% | 48,349 | |||||||||||
| 111,491 | 40.25% | 156,098 | 56.36% | 9,378 | 3.39% | -44,607 | -16.11% | 276,967 | |||||||||||
| 51,708 | 58.68% | 35,479 | 40.26% | 930 | 1.06% | 16,229 | 18.42% | 88,117 | |||||||||||
| 84,334 | 45.72% | 98,507 | 53.40% | 1,622 | 0.88% | -14,173 | -7.68% | 184,463 | |||||||||||
| 31,907 | 69.09% | 13,758 | 29.79% | 517 | 1.12% | 18,149 | 39.30% | 46,182 | |||||||||||
| 65,384 | 48.31% | 68,712 | 50.77% | 1,249 | 0.92% | -3,328 | -2.46% | 135,345 | |||||||||||
| 143,422 | 54.30% | 117,149 | 44.35% | 3,548 | 1.34% | 26,273 | 9.95% | 264,119 | |||||||||||
| Monmouth | 147,320 | 61.14% | 91,844 | 38.12% | 1,793 | 0.74% | 55,476 | 23.02% | 240,957 | ||||||||||
| 127,420 | 68.05% | 58,721 | 31.36% | 1,108 | 0.59% | 68,699 | 36.69% | 187,249 | |||||||||||
| 124,587 | 65.38% | 64,474 | 33.83% | 1,497 | 0.79% | 60,113 | 31.55% | 190,558 | |||||||||||
| 88,070 | 55.91% | 66,254 | 42.06% | 3,189 | 2.02% | 21,816 | 13.85% | 157,513 | |||||||||||
| 15,240 | 59.52% | 9,956 | 38.88% | 410 | 1.60% | 5,284 | 20.64% | 25,606 | |||||||||||
| 67,658 | 63.71% | 37,406 | 35.22% | 1,129 | 1.06% | 30,252 | 28.49% | 106,193 | |||||||||||
| 36,086 | 71.94% | 13,676 | 27.26% | 398 | 0.79% | 22,410 | 44.68% | 50,160 | |||||||||||
| 112,967 | 54.27% | 93,158 | 44.75% | 2,028 | 0.97% | 19,809 | 9.52% | 208,153 | |||||||||||
| 21,715 | 64.50% | 11,640 | 34.57% | 311 | 0.92% | 10,075 | 29.93% | 33,666 | |||||||||||
| Totals | 1,743,192 | 56.24% | 1,320,352 | 42.60% | 36,009 | 1.16% | 422,840 | 13.64% | 3,099,553 | ||||||||||
Bush won 12 of 14 congressional districts, including six that elected Democrats.[5]
| District | Dukakis | Bush | Representative | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47.5% | 52.5% | James Florio | ||||
| 41.2% | 58.8% | William J. Hughes | ||||
| 37.5% | 62.5% | James J. Howard | ||||
| Frank Pallone | ||||||
| - align=center | 44.2% | 55.8% | Chris Smith | |||
| 33.3% | 66.7% | Marge Roukema | ||||
| 46.7% | 53.3% | Bernard J. Dwyer | ||||
| 40.7% | 59.3% | |||||
| 45.5% | 54.5% | Robert A. Roe | ||||
| 46.4% | 53.6% | Robert Torricelli | ||||
| 74.3% | 19.7% | Peter Rodino | ||||
| Donald M. Payne | ||||||
| 35.2% | 64.8% | Dean Gallo | ||||
| 37.7% | 62.3% | Jim Courter | ||||
| 38.2% | 61.8% | Jim Saxton | ||||
| 55.1% | 44.9% | Frank Guarini |