United States presidential election in New Mexico, 1988

United States presidential election in New Mexico, 1988

November 8, 1988
Nominee George H. W. Bush Michael Dukakis Party Republican Democratic Home state Texas Massachusetts Running mate Dan Quayle Lloyd Bentsen Electoral vote 5 0 Popular vote 270,341 244,497 Percentage 51.86% 46.90%
County Results   Dukakis—70-80%   Dukakis—60-70%   Dukakis—50-60%   Bush—<50%   Bush—50-60%   Bush—60-70%
President before election Ronald Reagan Republican Elected President George H. W. Bush Republican

The 1988 United States presidential election in New Mexico took place on November 8, 1988. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. New Mexico voters chose 5 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the President and Vice President.

New Mexico 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.

New Mexico weighed in for this election as 2% more Democratic than the national average.

Partisan background

The presidential election of 1988 was a very partisan election for New Mexico, with 98% of the electorate voting for either the Democratic or Republican parties.^[1] This is one of the last Presidential elections in New Mexico in which you see the highly populated counties of Bernalillo and Los Alamos turning out primarily Republican. The Democratic stronghold in the northern part of the state is evident during this election, and remains largely intact from this point onward to current political times.

Republican victory

Bush won the election in New Mexico with a solid 5 point margin. The election results in New Mexico are reflective of a nationwide reconsolidation of base for the Republican Party, which took place through the 1980s. Through the passage of some very controversial economic programs, spearheaded by then President Ronald Reagan (called, collectively, "Reaganomics"), the mid-to-late 1980's saw a period of economic growth and stability. The hallmark for Reaganomics was, in part, the wide-scale deregulation of corporate interests, and tax cuts for the wealthy.^[2]

Dukakis ran on a socially liberal agenda, and advocated for economic reform and governmental transparency. Bush, on the other hand, ran on a campaign of continuing the social and economic policies of former President Reagan - which gained him much support with social conservatives and people living in rural areas, who largely associated the Republican Party with the economic growth of the 1980s. Additionally, while the economic programs passed under Reagan, and furthered under Bush and Clinton, may have boosted the economy for a brief period, they are criticized by many analysts as "setting the stage" for economic troubles in the United State after 2007, such as the Great Recession.^[3]

Elections in New Mexico
General elections 2014
Federal elections Presidential elections 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 Presidential primaries Democratic 2004 2008 Republican 2008 2012 Senate elections 1964 1970 1976 1982 1988 1990 1994 1996 2000 2002 2006 2008 2012 2014 House of Representatives elections 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018
State elections Gubernatorial elections 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018
City of Albuquerque Mayoral elections 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017

Results

See also

• Gulf War
• Presidency of George H. W. Bush

References