1988 United States presidential election in Iowa
|
|
|
County Results
Dukakis
40?50%
50?60%
60?70%
|
Bush
40?50%
50?60%
60?70%
70?80%
| |
|
The
1988 United States presidential election in Iowa
took place on November 8, 1988, as part of the
1988 United States presidential election
. Voters chose eight representatives, or electors to the
Electoral College
, who voted for
president
and
vice president
.
Iowa
was won by
Democratic
Governor
Michael Dukakis
of
Massachusetts
with 54.71% of the popular vote over
Republican
Vice President
George H.W. Bush
's 44.50%, a victory margin of 10.22%, which made Iowa exactly 18% more Democratic than the nation-at-large. This made it one of 10 states (plus the
District of Columbia
) to vote for Dukakis, while Bush won a convincing electoral victory nationwide. Bush became the first Republican to ever win the presidency without carrying Iowa, a feat that would only be repeated once more, when
George W. Bush
2000
lost the state but won the national election by extremely narrow margins. Bush Jr. would go on to carry the state in
2004
, making the elder Bush the only Republican to have won the presidency without ever winning the state, as well as the only Republican to have ever won the national popular vote without winning the state. Dukakis was also the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state since
Lyndon B. Johnson
’s landslide victory in
1964
. The state would not vote for the losing candidate again until 2000, the loser of the popular vote until 2016, and the loser of both the popular and electoral vote until 2020.
Background
[
edit
]
The
farm crisis
of the 1980s under the incumbent Republican administration made the
Midwest
one of the targets for the Dukakis campaign in 1988, which ultimately proved successful in the region with Democrats performing strongly in many farm states. Nowhere was this more evident than in Iowa, which was the second most Democratic state in the nation in 1988 in terms of both vote percentage and victory margin; it was one of just two states (along with
Rhode Island
) to vote Democratic by a double-digit margin. This Democratic support was spread widely across the state, with Dukakis winning 75 of the state's 99 counties, whilst counties carried by Bush were concentrated within the state's typically archconservative western fringe. Iowa was also the only state in the nation where Dukakis won by a larger margin than fellow Democrat
Bill Clinton
would win it by four years later in
1992
; Dukakis won 13 Iowa counties which would vote for Bush in 1992.
While Dukakis personally overperformed in Iowa due to the farm crisis, 1988 was also the beginning of a relatively long-term re-alignment of the state toward the Democratic Party, as the historically-Republican state became a Democratic-leaning
swing state
for a quarter of a century. Iowa had voted Republican in the five preceding elections, and nine of the previous eleven. From 1988 to
2012
, Iowa voted Democratic in six of the seven elections that followed (out of the nine total elections overall), although starting in
2016
, the state again became reliably Republican. Despite this, as of the
2020 presidential election
[update]
, this is the last election in which
Marion County
,
Buena Vista County
,
Sac County
, and
Humboldt County
voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.
[1]
Iowa (with four counties),
Texas
(with three), and
Montana
(with one) are the only states containing counties that Dukakis (as of 2020) was the last Democrat to carry.
As of the
2020 U.S. presidential election
, this is the last time Iowa voted to the left of many modern-day blue states, including California, Connecticut, Hawaii, neighboring Illinois, neighboring
Minnesota
, Maine,
Maryland
, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Washington state, and Vermont.
[2]
[3]
Results
[
edit
]
Results by county
[
edit
]
County
[5]
|
Michael Dukakis
Democratic
|
George H.W. Bush
Republican
|
Lyndon LaRouche
Independent
|
Ron Paul
Libertarian
|
Various candidates
Other parties
|
Margin
|
Total votes cast
|
#
|
%
|
#
|
%
|
#
|
%
|
#
|
%
|
#
|
%
|
#
|
%
|
Adair
|
2,261
|
54.84%
|
1,833
|
44.46%
|
7
|
0.17%
|
5
|
0.12%
|
17
|
0.41%
|
428
|
10.38%
|
4,123
|
Adams
|
1,283
|
53.91%
|
1,080
|
45.38%
|
4
|
0.17%
|
5
|
0.21%
|
8
|
0.34%
|
203
|
8.53%
|
2,380
|
Allamakee
|
2,768
|
46.17%
|
3,186
|
53.14%
|
12
|
0.20%
|
11
|
0.18%
|
18
|
0.30%
|
-418
|
-6.97%
|
5,995
|
Appanoose
|
3,209
|
52.71%
|
2,779
|
45.65%
|
62
|
1.02%
|
15
|
0.25%
|
23
|
0.38%
|
430
|
7.06%
|
6,088
|
Audubon
|
1,863
|
55.27%
|
1,478
|
43.84%
|
16
|
0.47%
|
4
|
0.12%
|
10
|
0.30%
|
385
|
11.43%
|
3,371
|
Benton
|
5,873
|
58.87%
|
4,011
|
40.20%
|
44
|
0.44%
|
15
|
0.15%
|
34
|
0.34%
|
1,862
|
18.67%
|
9,977
|
Black Hawk
|
31,657
|
56.36%
|
24,112
|
42.93%
|
143
|
0.25%
|
82
|
0.15%
|
177
|
0.32%
|
7,545
|
13.43%
|
56,171
|
Boone
|
7,232
|
61.89%
|
4,381
|
37.49%
|
44
|
0.38%
|
11
|
0.09%
|
18
|
0.15%
|
2,851
|
24.40%
|
11,686
|
Bremer
|
4,961
|
49.12%
|
5,079
|
50.29%
|
24
|
0.24%
|
18
|
0.18%
|
17
|
0.17%
|
-118
|
-1.17%
|
10,099
|
Buchanan
|
4,778
|
57.42%
|
3,495
|
42.00%
|
6
|
0.07%
|
15
|
0.18%
|
27
|
0.32%
|
1,283
|
15.42%
|
8,321
|
Buena Vista
|
4,580
|
51.90%
|
4,170
|
47.25%
|
16
|
0.18%
|
35
|
0.40%
|
24
|
0.27%
|
410
|
4.65%
|
8,825
|
Butler
|
2,593
|
42.19%
|
3,523
|
57.32%
|
12
|
0.20%
|
6
|
0.10%
|
12
|
0.20%
|
-930
|
-15.13%
|
6,146
|
Calhoun
|
2,990
|
54.31%
|
2,474
|
44.94%
|
15
|
0.27%
|
14
|
0.25%
|
12
|
0.22%
|
516
|
9.37%
|
5,505
|
Carroll
|
5,437
|
58.63%
|
3,701
|
39.91%
|
79
|
0.85%
|
22
|
0.24%
|
34
|
0.37%
|
1,736
|
18.72%
|
9,273
|
Cass
|
2,934
|
42.11%
|
3,962
|
56.86%
|
43
|
0.62%
|
12
|
0.17%
|
17
|
0.24%
|
-1,028
|
-14.75%
|
6,968
|
Cedar
|
4,032
|
53.91%
|
3,373
|
45.10%
|
10
|
0.13%
|
16
|
0.21%
|
48
|
0.64%
|
659
|
8.81%
|
7,479
|
Cerro Gordo
|
12,857
|
57.49%
|
9,358
|
41.84%
|
74
|
0.33%
|
36
|
0.16%
|
40
|
0.18%
|
3,499
|
15.65%
|
22,365
|
Cherokee
|
3,574
|
52.14%
|
3,218
|
46.94%
|
26
|
0.38%
|
15
|
0.22%
|
22
|
0.32%
|
356
|
5.20%
|
6,855
|
Chickasaw
|
3,530
|
57.53%
|
2,549
|
41.54%
|
25
|
0.41%
|
6
|
0.10%
|
26
|
0.42%
|
981
|
15.99%
|
6,136
|
Clarke
|
2,262
|
57.50%
|
1,631
|
41.46%
|
3
|
0.08%
|
1
|
0.03%
|
37
|
0.94%
|
631
|
16.04%
|
3,934
|
Clay
|
4,173
|
53.02%
|
3,641
|
46.26%
|
30
|
0.38%
|
13
|
0.17%
|
13
|
0.17%
|
532
|
6.76%
|
7,870
|
Clayton
|
4,320
|
52.41%
|
3,839
|
46.58%
|
30
|
0.36%
|
18
|
0.22%
|
35
|
0.42%
|
481
|
5.83%
|
8,242
|
Clinton
|
12,549
|
54.56%
|
10,243
|
44.53%
|
116
|
0.50%
|
55
|
0.24%
|
39
|
0.17%
|
2,306
|
10.03%
|
23,002
|
Crawford
|
3,868
|
52.91%
|
3,375
|
46.16%
|
28
|
0.38%
|
21
|
0.29%
|
19
|
0.26%
|
493
|
6.75%
|
7,311
|
Dallas
|
7,501
|
60.40%
|
4,858
|
39.12%
|
6
|
0.05%
|
19
|
0.15%
|
35
|
0.28%
|
2,643
|
21.28%
|
12,419
|
Davis
|
2,246
|
58.35%
|
1,563
|
40.61%
|
12
|
0.31%
|
7
|
0.18%
|
21
|
0.55%
|
683
|
17.74%
|
3,849
|
Decatur
|
2,192
|
60.44%
|
1,406
|
38.76%
|
4
|
0.11%
|
9
|
0.25%
|
16
|
0.44%
|
786
|
21.68%
|
3,627
|
Delaware
|
3,947
|
53.11%
|
3,425
|
46.08%
|
26
|
0.35%
|
11
|
0.15%
|
23
|
0.31%
|
522
|
7.03%
|
7,432
|
Des Moines
|
11,593
|
59.84%
|
7,652
|
39.50%
|
62
|
0.32%
|
26
|
0.13%
|
41
|
0.21%
|
3,941
|
20.34%
|
19,374
|
Dickinson
|
3,342
|
47.06%
|
3,678
|
51.80%
|
41
|
0.58%
|
19
|
0.27%
|
21
|
0.30%
|
-336
|
-4.74%
|
7,101
|
Dubuque
|
23,797
|
61.74%
|
14,530
|
37.69%
|
88
|
0.23%
|
60
|
0.16%
|
72
|
0.19%
|
9,267
|
24.05%
|
38,547
|
Emmet
|
2,778
|
55.82%
|
2,173
|
43.66%
|
9
|
0.18%
|
12
|
0.24%
|
5
|
0.10%
|
605
|
12.16%
|
4,977
|
Fayette
|
5,304
|
51.56%
|
4,921
|
47.84%
|
17
|
0.17%
|
30
|
0.29%
|
15
|
0.15%
|
383
|
3.72%
|
10,287
|
Floyd
|
4,377
|
56.60%
|
3,266
|
42.23%
|
53
|
0.69%
|
11
|
0.14%
|
26
|
0.34%
|
1,111
|
14.37%
|
7,733
|
Franklin
|
2,594
|
52.39%
|
2,320
|
46.86%
|
21
|
0.42%
|
9
|
0.18%
|
7
|
0.14%
|
274
|
5.53%
|
4,951
|
Fremont
|
1,547
|
43.86%
|
1,946
|
55.17%
|
18
|
0.51%
|
5
|
0.14%
|
11
|
0.31%
|
-399
|
-11.31%
|
3,527
|
Greene
|
3,011
|
58.31%
|
2,091
|
40.49%
|
32
|
0.62%
|
10
|
0.19%
|
20
|
0.39%
|
920
|
17.82%
|
5,164
|
Grundy
|
2,211
|
38.91%
|
3,433
|
60.42%
|
19
|
0.33%
|
10
|
0.18%
|
9
|
0.16%
|
-1,222
|
-21.51%
|
5,682
|
Guthrie
|
2,910
|
58.40%
|
2,005
|
40.24%
|
35
|
0.70%
|
23
|
0.46%
|
10
|
0.20%
|
905
|
18.16%
|
4,983
|
Hamilton
|
4,156
|
55.46%
|
3,277
|
43.73%
|
23
|
0.31%
|
14
|
0.19%
|
24
|
0.32%
|
879
|
11.73%
|
7,494
|
Hancock
|
2,831
|
50.62%
|
2,731
|
48.83%
|
17
|
0.30%
|
6
|
0.11%
|
8
|
0.14%
|
100
|
1.79%
|
5,593
|
Hardin
|
5,088
|
56.53%
|
3,856
|
42.84%
|
14
|
0.16%
|
18
|
0.20%
|
25
|
0.28%
|
1,232
|
13.69%
|
9,001
|
Harrison
|
2,883
|
47.83%
|
3,108
|
51.57%
|
7
|
0.12%
|
8
|
0.13%
|
21
|
0.35%
|
-225
|
-3.74%
|
6,027
|
Henry
|
3,754
|
48.39%
|
3,951
|
50.93%
|
9
|
0.12%
|
18
|
0.23%
|
26
|
0.34%
|
-197
|
-2.54%
|
7,758
|
Howard
|
2,330
|
53.87%
|
1,970
|
45.55%
|
5
|
0.12%
|
3
|
0.07%
|
17
|
0.39%
|
360
|
8.32%
|
4,325
|
Humboldt
|
2,713
|
50.64%
|
2,594
|
48.42%
|
31
|
0.58%
|
9
|
0.17%
|
10
|
0.19%
|
119
|
2.22%
|
5,357
|
Ida
|
1,787
|
47.29%
|
1,951
|
51.63%
|
19
|
0.50%
|
11
|
0.29%
|
11
|
0.29%
|
-164
|
-4.34%
|
3,779
|
Iowa
|
3,338
|
49.93%
|
3,247
|
48.57%
|
42
|
0.63%
|
21
|
0.31%
|
37
|
0.55%
|
91
|
1.36%
|
6,685
|
Jackson
|
4,864
|
59.08%
|
3,237
|
39.32%
|
102
|
1.24%
|
22
|
0.27%
|
8
|
0.10%
|
1,627
|
19.76%
|
8,233
|
Jasper
|
8,940
|
56.82%
|
6,703
|
42.60%
|
20
|
0.13%
|
22
|
0.14%
|
48
|
0.31%
|
2,237
|
14.22%
|
15,733
|
Jefferson
|
3,594
|
49.26%
|
3,614
|
49.53%
|
8
|
0.11%
|
40
|
0.55%
|
40
|
0.55%
|
-20
|
-0.27%
|
7,296
|
Johnson
|
28,759
|
64.41%
|
15,453
|
34.61%
|
22
|
0.05%
|
149
|
0.33%
|
264
|
0.59%
|
13,306
|
29.80%
|
44,647
|
Jones
|
4,641
|
56.70%
|
3,496
|
42.71%
|
5
|
0.06%
|
8
|
0.10%
|
35
|
0.43%
|
1,145
|
13.99%
|
8,185
|
Keokuk
|
2,899
|
55.43%
|
2,278
|
43.56%
|
29
|
0.55%
|
12
|
0.23%
|
12
|
0.23%
|
621
|
11.87%
|
5,230
|
Kossuth
|
5,088
|
55.87%
|
3,938
|
43.24%
|
60
|
0.66%
|
13
|
0.14%
|
8
|
0.09%
|
1,150
|
12.63%
|
9,107
|
Lee
|
10,911
|
63.11%
|
6,228
|
36.02%
|
89
|
0.51%
|
41
|
0.24%
|
21
|
0.12%
|
4,683
|
27.09%
|
17,290
|
Linn
|
42,993
|
56.04%
|
33,129
|
43.18%
|
57
|
0.07%
|
178
|
0.23%
|
361
|
0.47%
|
9,864
|
12.86%
|
76,718
|
Louisa
|
2,268
|
51.78%
|
2,060
|
47.03%
|
10
|
0.23%
|
15
|
0.34%
|
27
|
0.62%
|
208
|
4.75%
|
4,380
|
Lucas
|
2,454
|
57.84%
|
1,776
|
41.86%
|
2
|
0.05%
|
3
|
0.07%
|
8
|
0.19%
|
678
|
15.98%
|
4,243
|
Lyon
|
1,706
|
32.41%
|
3,517
|
66.81%
|
26
|
0.49%
|
8
|
0.15%
|
7
|
0.13%
|
-1,811
|
-34.40%
|
5,264
|
Madison
|
3,421
|
58.36%
|
2,410
|
41.11%
|
8
|
0.14%
|
8
|
0.14%
|
15
|
0.26%
|
1,011
|
17.25%
|
5,862
|
Mahaska
|
4,451
|
47.76%
|
4,798
|
51.48%
|
41
|
0.44%
|
16
|
0.17%
|
14
|
0.15%
|
-347
|
-3.72%
|
9,320
|
Marion
|
6,922
|
53.44%
|
5,914
|
45.65%
|
83
|
0.64%
|
9
|
0.07%
|
26
|
0.20%
|
1,008
|
7.79%
|
12,954
|
Marshall
|
9,760
|
55.62%
|
7,657
|
43.63%
|
21
|
0.12%
|
41
|
0.23%
|
70
|
0.40%
|
2,103
|
11.99%
|
17,549
|
Mills
|
2,092
|
38.96%
|
3,212
|
59.82%
|
27
|
0.50%
|
25
|
0.47%
|
13
|
0.24%
|
-1,120
|
-20.86%
|
5,369
|
Mitchell
|
2,870
|
54.66%
|
2,338
|
44.52%
|
27
|
0.51%
|
7
|
0.13%
|
9
|
0.17%
|
532
|
10.14%
|
5,251
|
Monona
|
2,408
|
53.62%
|
2,068
|
46.05%
|
4
|
0.09%
|
2
|
0.04%
|
9
|
0.20%
|
340
|
7.57%
|
4,491
|
Monroe
|
2,338
|
63.76%
|
1,313
|
35.81%
|
4
|
0.11%
|
4
|
0.11%
|
8
|
0.22%
|
1,025
|
27.95%
|
3,667
|
Montgomery
|
1,898
|
37.22%
|
3,166
|
62.08%
|
18
|
0.35%
|
8
|
0.16%
|
10
|
0.20%
|
-1,268
|
-24.86%
|
5,100
|
Muscatine
|
7,059
|
50.06%
|
6,904
|
48.96%
|
78
|
0.55%
|
29
|
0.21%
|
32
|
0.23%
|
155
|
1.10%
|
14,102
|
O'Brien
|
2,768
|
39.14%
|
4,241
|
59.97%
|
29
|
0.41%
|
18
|
0.25%
|
16
|
0.23%
|
-1,473
|
-20.83%
|
7,072
|
Osceola
|
1,277
|
39.12%
|
1,951
|
59.77%
|
15
|
0.46%
|
4
|
0.12%
|
17
|
0.52%
|
-674
|
-20.65%
|
3,264
|
Page
|
2,185
|
32.12%
|
4,583
|
67.37%
|
9
|
0.13%
|
7
|
0.10%
|
19
|
0.28%
|
-2,398
|
-35.25%
|
6,803
|
Palo Alto
|
3,377
|
61.82%
|
2,041
|
37.36%
|
29
|
0.53%
|
5
|
0.09%
|
11
|
0.20%
|
1,336
|
24.46%
|
5,463
|
Plymouth
|
4,220
|
43.93%
|
5,316
|
55.33%
|
34
|
0.35%
|
22
|
0.23%
|
15
|
0.16%
|
-1,096
|
-11.40%
|
9,607
|
Pocahontas
|
2,722
|
58.51%
|
1,871
|
40.22%
|
22
|
0.47%
|
24
|
0.52%
|
13
|
0.28%
|
851
|
18.29%
|
4,652
|
Polk
|
84,476
|
59.01%
|
57,854
|
40.42%
|
71
|
0.05%
|
282
|
0.20%
|
461
|
0.32%
|
26,622
|
18.59%
|
143,144
|
Pottawattamie
|
14,958
|
46.16%
|
17,193
|
53.06%
|
136
|
0.42%
|
57
|
0.18%
|
61
|
0.19%
|
-2,235
|
-6.90%
|
32,405
|
Poweshiek
|
4,876
|
56.53%
|
3,683
|
42.70%
|
17
|
0.20%
|
26
|
0.30%
|
23
|
0.27%
|
1,193
|
13.83%
|
8,625
|
Ringgold
|
1,609
|
58.92%
|
1,110
|
40.64%
|
3
|
0.11%
|
1
|
0.04%
|
8
|
0.29%
|
499
|
18.28%
|
2,731
|
Sac
|
2,613
|
51.47%
|
2,411
|
47.49%
|
21
|
0.41%
|
14
|
0.28%
|
18
|
0.35%
|
202
|
3.98%
|
5,077
|
Scott
|
34,415
|
52.12%
|
31,025
|
46.98%
|
249
|
0.38%
|
188
|
0.28%
|
158
|
0.24%
|
3,390
|
5.14%
|
66,035
|
Shelby
|
2,806
|
47.88%
|
3,019
|
51.52%
|
9
|
0.15%
|
12
|
0.20%
|
14
|
0.24%
|
-213
|
-3.64%
|
5,860
|
Sioux
|
2,923
|
22.00%
|
10,270
|
77.29%
|
49
|
0.37%
|
12
|
0.09%
|
34
|
0.26%
|
-7,347
|
-55.29%
|
13,288
|
Story
|
19,051
|
57.55%
|
13,782
|
41.63%
|
73
|
0.22%
|
92
|
0.28%
|
107
|
0.32%
|
5,269
|
15.92%
|
33,105
|
Tama
|
4,584
|
57.21%
|
3,362
|
41.96%
|
20
|
0.25%
|
21
|
0.26%
|
25
|
0.31%
|
1,222
|
15.25%
|
8,012
|
Taylor
|
1,671
|
50.15%
|
1,647
|
49.43%
|
1
|
0.03%
|
1
|
0.03%
|
12
|
0.36%
|
24
|
0.72%
|
3,332
|
Union
|
3,236
|
53.57%
|
2,751
|
45.54%
|
31
|
0.51%
|
9
|
0.15%
|
14
|
0.23%
|
485
|
8.03%
|
6,041
|
Van Buren
|
1,612
|
48.35%
|
1,692
|
50.75%
|
6
|
0.18%
|
9
|
0.27%
|
15
|
0.45%
|
-80
|
-2.40%
|
3,334
|
Wapello
|
10,177
|
64.93%
|
5,350
|
34.14%
|
90
|
0.57%
|
24
|
0.15%
|
32
|
0.20%
|
4,827
|
30.79%
|
15,673
|
Warren
|
9,627
|
59.68%
|
6,424
|
39.82%
|
30
|
0.19%
|
14
|
0.09%
|
36
|
0.22%
|
3,203
|
19.86%
|
16,131
|
Washington
|
3,776
|
49.58%
|
3,741
|
49.12%
|
49
|
0.64%
|
28
|
0.37%
|
22
|
0.29%
|
35
|
0.46%
|
7,616
|
Wayne
|
1,988
|
57.18%
|
1,467
|
42.19%
|
6
|
0.17%
|
16
|
0.46%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
521
|
14.99%
|
3,477
|
Webster
|
10,267
|
59.03%
|
6,926
|
39.82%
|
121
|
0.70%
|
26
|
0.15%
|
53
|
0.30%
|
3,341
|
19.21%
|
17,393
|
Winnebago
|
2,804
|
49.17%
|
2,863
|
50.20%
|
11
|
0.19%
|
7
|
0.12%
|
18
|
0.32%
|
-59
|
-1.03%
|
5,703
|
Winneshiek
|
4,443
|
50.92%
|
4,194
|
48.07%
|
28
|
0.32%
|
25
|
0.29%
|
35
|
0.40%
|
249
|
2.85%
|
8,725
|
Woodbury
|
20,153
|
51.38%
|
18,790
|
47.90%
|
136
|
0.35%
|
56
|
0.14%
|
90
|
0.23%
|
1,363
|
3.48%
|
39,225
|
Worth
|
2,440
|
61.28%
|
1,488
|
37.37%
|
3
|
0.08%
|
9
|
0.23%
|
42
|
1.05%
|
952
|
23.91%
|
3,982
|
Wright
|
3,353
|
55.38%
|
2,658
|
43.90%
|
8
|
0.13%
|
21
|
0.35%
|
14
|
0.23%
|
695
|
11.48%
|
6,054
|
Totals
|
670,557
|
54.71%
|
545,355
|
44.50%
|
3,526
|
0.29%
|
2,494
|
0.20%
|
3,682
|
0.30%
|
125,202
|
10.21%
|
1,225,614
|
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Votes for this candidate were not separated by county and only given as a state-wide total.
[5]
References
[
edit
]