1988 United States presidential election in North Dakota

1988 United States presidential election in North Dakota

← 1984 November 8, 1988 1992 →

Nominee George H. W. Bush Michael Dukakis Party Republican Democratic–NPL Home state Texas Massachusetts Running mate Dan Quayle Lloyd Bentsen Electoral vote 3 0 Popular vote 166,559 127,739 Percentage 56.03% 42.97%

County Results Bush   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% Dukakis   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%

President before election Ronald Reagan Republican Elected President George H. W. Bush Republican

Elections in North Dakota
Federal government Presidential 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Presidential primaries Democratic 1996 2004 2008 2016 2020 Republican 2004 2008 2012 2024 U.S. Senate 1889 1891 1893 1897 1899 1903 1905 1909 1911 1911 sp 1914 1916 1920 1922 1926 1926 sp 1928 1932 1934 1938 1940 1944 1946 1946 sp 1950 1952 1956 1958 1960 sp 1962 1964 1968 1970 1974 1976 1980 1982 1986 1988 1992 1992 sp 1994 1998 2000 2004 2006 2010 2012 2016 2018 2022 2024 U.S. House 1889 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1917 1st sp 1918 1920 1922 1924 2nd sp 1926 1928 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1963 1st sp 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
State government State elections 2006 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 Gubernatorial elections 1889 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1921 (recall) 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Secretary of State elections 2018 2022 Attorney General elections 2022 State Treasurer elections 2024 State Auditor elections 2024 State Senate elections 2020 2022 2024 House of Representatives elections 2020 2022 2024
Ballot measures 2004 Constitutional Measure 1 2022 Constitutional Measure 1
Fargo City elections 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 Mayoral elections 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2015 2018 2022
Bismarck City elections 2020 2022 2024 2026 Mayoral elections 2022
Grand Forks City elections 2020 2024 Mayoral elections 2020 2024
v t e

The 1988 United States presidential election in North Dakota took place on November 8, 1988. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. State voters chose three electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

North Dakota was won by incumbent United States Vice President George H. W. Bush of Texas, who was running against Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. Bush ran with Indiana Senator Dan Quayle as Vice President, and Dukakis ran with Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen. Bush won the election in North Dakota with a solid 13-point landslide.

The election was very partisan, with nearly 99 percent of the electorate voting for either the Democratic or Republican parties.^[1] All major counties in North Dakota gave pluralities for Bush, including the relatively highly populated center of Cass County, which contains the city of Fargo. As has been typical ever since the 1960s, however, Dukakis gained large majorities in the two predominantly Native American counties of Rolette in the north and Sioux in the south, and he also carried by smaller margins a number of other counties in the northern and eastern portions of the state. This is one of only two elections (the other being 2020) since 1952 where national bellwether Sargent County in the state's southeast supported a losing candidate,^[2] with the anomaly most likely due to the farm crisis.

North Dakota weighed in for this election as five percent more Republican than the national average, a much smaller margin than usual due to the persistent farm crisis of the 1980s. As of the 2020 presidential election^[update] this remains the least Republican the state has been relative to the nation since Nixon's landslide win in 1972,^[3] when a "favorite son" effect with George McGovern from neighboring South Dakota was a likely influence.