1988 Republican Party presidential primaries
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2,044 delegates to the 1988 Republican National Convention 1,023 (majority) votes needed to win | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Gold denotes a state won by George H. W. Bush. Green denotes a state won by Pat Robertson. Purple denotes a state won by Bob Dole. Grey denotes a territory that did not hold a primary. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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From January 14 to June 14, 1988, Republican voters chose their nominee for president in the 1988 United States presidential election. Incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1988 Republican National Convention held from August 15 to August 18, 1988, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Bush selected Indiana Senator Dan Quayle as his running mate, and the Republican ticket went on to win the general election against the Democratic ticket of Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen by a wide margin. It was the third consecutive Republican victory in a presidential election, marking the first time since President Harry S. Truman's surprise 1948 victory that any party held the White House for more than two terms.
Primary race
Vice President George H. W. Bush had the private support of President Ronald Reagan and publicly pledged to continue Reagan's policies, but also pledged a "kinder and gentler nation"[1] in an attempt to win over some more moderate voters. Bush faced some prominent challengers for the GOP nomination, despite his front-runner status.
In 1987,
Robertson's campaign got off to a strong second-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, ahead of Bush. Robertson did poorly in the subsequent New Hampshire primary, however, and was unable to be competitive once the multiple-state primaries like Super Tuesday began. Robertson ended his campaign before the primaries were finished. His best finish was in Washington, winning the majority of caucus delegates. However, his controversial win has been credited to procedural manipulation by Robertson supporters who delayed final voting until late into the evening when other supporters had gone home. He later spoke at the 1988 Republican National Convention in New Orleans and told his remaining supporters to cast their votes for Bush, who ended up winning the nomination and the election. He then returned to the Christian Broadcasting Network and would remain there as a religious broadcaster until his death in 2023.
Bush unexpectedly came in third in the
Once the multiple-state primaries began, Bush's organizational strength and fundraising lead were impossible for the other candidates to match, and the nomination was his. The Republican party convention was held in
In his acceptance speech, Bush made an energetic pledge, "
Candidates
Nominee
Candidate | Most recent office | Home State | Campaign
Withdrawal date |
Popular vote | Contests won | Running mate | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
George Bush | Vice President of the United States (1981–1989) |
Texas |
(Campaign) Secured nomination: April 26, 1988 |
8,253,512 (67.90%) |
42 | Dan Quayle |
Withdrew before convention
Candidate | Most recent office | Home State | Campaign
Withdrawal date |
Popular vote | Contests won | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bob Dole | U.S. Senator from Kansas (1969–1996) |
Kansas |
(campaign) |
2,333,375 (19.19%) |
5 | ||
Pat Robertson | Chair of CBN | Virginia |
(campaign) |
1,097,446 (9.02%) |
4 | ||
Jack Kemp | U.S. Representative (1971–1989) |
New York |
(campaign) |
331,333 (2.72%) |
0 |
Candidates who received less than 1%
-
Former
(Withdrew Feb. 18) -
Former U.S. Secretary of State
Alexander Haig
of Pennsylvania
(Withdrew Feb. 12[10])
(Endorsed Bob Dole) -
-
-
Declined to seek nomination
Endorsements
George H. W. Bush
- President Ronald Reagan (announced May 12, 1988)
- Former Senator and 1964 Presidential nominee Barry Goldwater of Arizona[11]
- Reverend Jerry Falwell[11]
- Texas Governor Bill Clements[12]
- Representative Bob Dornan of California[13]
- New Hampshire Governor John Sununu[14]
Bob Dole
- Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina[11]
- Former Governor of Texas John Connally[15]
- Former Secretary of State and former presidential candidate Alexander Haig
- Senator Warren Rudman of New Hampshire[16]
Jack Kemp
- House Minority Whip Trent Lott of Mississippi[11]
- Representative Newt Gingrich of Georgia
- Representative Bob Smith of New Hampshire[17]
- Senator Gordon Humphrey of New Hampshire[18]
Pete duPont
Polling
National polling
Poll source | Publication date | George Bush
|
Bob Dole
|
Pete DuPont
|
Al Haig
|
Jack Kemp
|
Pat Robertson
|
Others/Undecided
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gallup[20] | Jun. 10, 1985 | 39% | 8% | – | – | 5% | – | 48% |
Gallup[20] | Jan. 13, 1986 | 46% | 10% | – | – | 5% | – | 39% |
Gallup[20] | Apr. 14, 1986 | 40% | 10% | – | 2% | 6% | 4% | 38% |
Gallup[20] | Jul. 14, 1986 | 41% | 8% | – | 3% | 3% | 6% | 39% |
Gallup[20] | Oct. 27, 1986 | 42% | 8% | 1% | 3% | 5% | 6% | 35% |
Gallup[20] | Jan. 19, 1987 | 33% | 14% | 1% | 3% | 5% | 5% | 39% |
Gallup[20] | Apr. 13, 1987 | 34% | 18% | 2% | 7% | 9% | 4% | 26% |
Gallup[20] | June 14, 1987 | 39% | 21% | 2% | 6% | 8% | 5% | 19% |
Gallup[20] | July 13, 1987 | 40% | 18% | 3% | 7% | 10% | 5% | 17% |
Gallup[20] | Sep. 2, 1987 | 40% | 19% | 2% | 4% | 9% | 8% | 18% |
Gallup[20] | Sep. 2, 1987 | 47% | 22% | 1% | 4% | 4% | 7% | 15% |
Gallup[20] | Jan. 24, 1988 | 45% | 30% | 2% | 2% | 5% | 8% | 8% |
Results
Statewide
Date (daily totals) |
Total pledged delegates |
Contest | Delegates won and popular vote | Total | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
George Bush | Bob Dole | Pat Robertson | Others | ||||
January 14 | 81 | Michigan | 47 919 (56.55%) |
54 (3.32%) |
19 360 (22.15%) |
15 292 (17.97%) |
1,625 |
February 4 | 23 | Hawaii | 147 (8.73%) |
153 (9.09%) |
23 1,368 (81.28%) |
15 (8.91%) |
1,683 |
February 7 | 34 | Kansas | — | 34 203 (95.75%) |
3 (1.42%) |
6 (2.83%) |
212 |
February 8 | 38 | Iowa caucus
|
7 20,218 (18.59%) |
14 40,629 (37.35%) |
7 26,729 (24.57%) |
7 21,194 (19.49%) |
108,770 |
February 16 | 23 | New Hampshire primary | 10 59,290 (37.67%) |
7 44,797 (28.46%) |
14,775 (9.39%) |
6 38,514 (24.47%) |
157,376 |
February 18 | 23 | Nevada | 6 1,320 (26.61%) |
5 1,112 (22.41%) |
3 714 (14.39%) |
8 1,815 (36.59%) |
4,961 |
February 23 (54) |
34 | Minnesota | 4 5,979 (10.64%) |
14 23,923 (42.56%) |
10 15,969 (28.41%) |
6 10,340 (18.39%) |
56,211 |
20 | South Dakota | 4 17,404 (18.63%) |
12 51,599 (55.24%) |
4 18,310 (19.60%) |
6,092 (6.52%) |
93,405 | |
February 24 | 20 | Wyoming | 5 98 (23.00%) |
9 195 (45.77%) |
2 46 (10.80%) |
4 87 (20.42%) |
426 |
February 28 | 23 | Maine | 16 700 (65.30%) |
88 (8.21%) |
3 147 (13.71%) |
3 137 (12.78%) |
1,072 |
March 1 (40) |
20 | Alaska | 5 487 (23.82%) |
4 395 (19.68%) |
10 941 (46.89%) |
184 (9.17%) |
2,007 |
20 | Vermont | 11 23,565 (52.75%) |
9 18,655 (41.76%) |
2,452 (5.49%) |
— | 44,672 | |
March 5 | 38 | South Carolina | 18 94,738 (48.51%) |
8 40,265 (20.62%) |
7 37,261 (19.08%) |
4 23,028 (11.79%) |
195,292 |
March 8 (Super Tuesday) (855) |
41 | Alabama | 28 137,113 (64.46%) |
7 34,777 (16.35%) |
6 29,552 (13.89%) |
11,266 (5.30%) |
212,708 |
31 | Arkansas | 16 32,114 (47.02%) |
9 17,667 (25.86%) |
6 12,918 (18.91%) |
5,606 (8.21%) |
68,305 | |
85 | Florida | 56 559,397 (62.14%) |
19 191,494 (21.27%) |
10 95,037 (10.56%) |
54,329 (6.03%) |
900,257 | |
52 | Georgia | 30 215,516 (53.75%) |
13 94,749 (23.63%) |
9 65,163 (16.25%) |
25,500 (6.36%) |
400,928 | |
41 | Kentucky | 26 72,020 (59.32%) |
10 27,868 (22.96%) |
5 13,526 (11.14%) |
7,988 (6.58%) |
121,402 | |
45 | Louisiana | 28 83,684 (57.80%) |
9 25,624 (21.11%) |
9 26,294 (21.66%) |
9,171 (6.33%) |
144,773 | |
45 | Maryland | 28 107,026 (53.31%) |
17 64,987 (32.37%) |
12,860 (6.41%) |
15,881 (7.91%) |
200,754 | |
56 | Massachusetts | 34 141,113 (57.39%) |
15 63,392 (25.78%) |
10,891 (4.43%) |
7 30,489 (12.40%) |
245,885 | |
34 | Mississippi | 23 104,814 (65.99%) |
6 27,004 (17.00%) |
5 21,485 (13.53%) |
5,526 (3.48%) |
158,829 | |
49 | Missouri | 22 168,812 (42.17%) |
21 164,394 (41.07%) |
6 44,705 (11.17%) |
22,389 (5.59%) |
400,300 | |
56 | North Carolina | 30 124,260 (45.38%) |
26 107,032 (39.09%) |
26,861 (9.81%) |
15,647 (5.71%) |
273,800 | |
38 | Oklahoma | 15 78,224 (37.44%) |
14 73,016 (34.95%) |
9 44,067 (21.09%) |
13,631 (6.52%) |
208,938 | |
23 | Rhode Island | 15 10,401 (64.82%) |
5 3,628 (22.61%) |
— | 3 2,016 (12.56%) |
16,045 | |
49 | Tennessee | 31 152,515 (60.22%) |
11 55,027 (21.73%) |
7 32,015 (12.64%) |
13,695 (5.41%) |
253,252 | |
113 | Texas | 78 648,178 (63.86%) |
17 140,795 (13.87%) |
19 155,449 (15.32%) |
70,534 (6.95%) |
1,014,956 | |
52 | Virginia | 30 124,738 (53.27%) |
15 60,921 (26.02%) |
8 32,173 (13.74%) |
16,310 (6.97%) |
234,142 | |
45 | Washington | 11 3,694 (24.29%) |
12 3,955 (26.00%) |
18 5,934 (39.01%) |
5 1,627 (10.70%) |
15,210 | |
March 15 | 95 | Illinois | 57 469,151 (54.64%) |
38 309,253 (36.02%) |
59,087 (6.88%) |
21,146 (2.46%) |
858,637 |
March 29 | 38 | Connecticut | 30 73,501 (70.56%) |
8 21,005 (20.16%) |
3,191 (3.06%) |
6,474 (6.21%) |
104,171 |
April 4 | 38 | Colorado | 32 11,628 (76.31%) |
— | 1,450 (9.51%) |
6 2,160 (14.17%) |
15,238 |
April 5 | 49 | Wisconsin | 49 295,295 (82.28%) |
28,460 (7.93%) |
24,798 (6.91%) |
10,345 (2.88%) |
358,898 |
April 19 | 139 | New York | 115 1,101 (81.74%) |
— | 17 (1.26%) |
24 229 (17.00%) |
1,347 |
April 26 | 99 | Pennsylvania | 86 687,323 (78.95%) |
13 103,753 (11.92%) |
79,463 (9.13%) |
— | 870,539 |
May 3 (157) |
13 | District of Columbia
|
13 5,890 (87.65%) |
469 (6.98%) |
268 (3.99%) |
93 (1.38%) |
6,720 |
52 | Indiana | 52 351,829 (80.39%) |
42,878 (9.80%) |
28,712 (6.56%) |
14,236 (3.25%) |
437,655 | |
92 | Ohio | 80 643,907 (81.00%) |
12 94,650 (11.91%) |
56,347 (7.09%) |
— | 794,904 | |
May 10 (58) |
27 | Nebraska | 20 138,784 (68.33%) |
7 45,572 (22.44%) |
10,334 (5.09%) |
8,423 (4.15%) |
203,113 |
31 | West Virginia | 27 110,705 (77.34%) |
4 15,309 (10.70%) |
10,417 (7.28%) |
6,709 (4.69%) |
143,140 | |
May 17 | 34 | Oregon | 27 199,938 (72.84%) |
7 49,128 (17.90%) |
21,212 (7.73%) |
4,208 (1.53%) |
274,486 |
May 24 | 23 | Idaho | 20 55,464 (81.24%) |
— | 5,876 (8.61%) |
3 6,935 (10.16%) |
68,275 |
June 7 (295) |
178 | California | 154 1,856,273 (82.86%) |
24 286,220 (12.78%) |
94,779 (4.23%) |
— | 2,240,272 |
23 | Montana | 18 63,098 (73.07%) |
5 16,762 (19.41%) |
— | 6,493 (7.52%) |
86,353 | |
67 | New Jersey | 67 241,033 (100.00%) |
— | — | — | 241,033 | |
27 | New Mexico | 24 69,359 (78.16%) |
3 9,305 (10.49%) |
5,350 (6.03%) |
4,730 (5.33%) |
88,744 | |
June 14 | 20 | North Dakota | 20 37,062 (93.98%) |
— | — | 2,372 (6.01%) |
39,434 |
Total | 2,408 | 1,525 8,299,833 (67.9%) |
463 2,404,162 (19.2%) |
207 1,149,306 (9.0%) |
101 517,862 (3.9%) |
12,371,163 |
Nationwide
Popular vote results:[11]
- George H. W. Bush - 8,253,512 (67.90%)
- Bob Dole - 2,333,375 (19.19%)
- Pat Robertson - 1,097,446 (9.02%)
- Jack Kemp - 331,333 (2.72%)
- Unpledged - 756,990 (4.48%)
- Pierre S. du Pont IV - 49,783 (0.41%)
- Alexander Haig - 26,619 (0.22%)
- Harold Stassen - 2,682 (0.01%)
Running mate
After Bush locked up the nomination in March,
Bush's running mate, however, would not be revealed until August 16, allowing speculation to intensify all the way to the national convention. Bob Dole, who was considered a leading contender based on his second-place finish in the primaries, expressed impatience with the wait but nonetheless made plain his keen desire for the job.[24] So too did Jack Kemp, who confidently told reporters that he would make "a terrific campaigner and a terrific candidate and a terrific vice president".[24] Both men were thought to rank high on Bush's list of potential picks.[25]
Other highly rated prospects included two people quite close to Dole. His wife,
U.S. Senator Alan Simpson of Wyoming was also widely believed to be a possible selection, but he publicly stated that he wasn't interested in the position. This placed him in the company of Baker and others who had declared that they did not want to be considered, such as the Governor of California George Deukmejian and the Governor of Illinois Jim Thompson. Shortly ahead of the convention, however, Bush reopened speculation about all of them when he implied that he would not necessarily give up on any demurring prospects.[24]
Long-shot possibilities included several Republicans who were popular in their home states but held limited name recognition nationally, such as U.S. Representative
Bush announced his selection of 41-year-old Dan Quayle on the second day of the convention.[27]
See also
References
- ^ "George H.W. Bush: 1988 Republican National Convention Acceptance Address". American Rhetoric. Aug 18, 1988.
- ^ "Donald Trump's Been Saying The Same Thing For 30 Years". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
- ^ "Donald Trump: Campaigns and Elections | Miller Center". millercenter.org. 2017-04-11. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
- ^ a b Kruse, Michael. "The True Story of Donald Trump's First Campaign Speech—in 1987". POLITICO Magazine. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
- ^ Meacham, Jon (2015). Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush (illustrated ed.). Random House. p. 326. ISBN 1400067650.
- ^ Bradner, Eric (8 November 2015). "Trump says Bush 41 adviser approached him about becoming VP". CNN. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
- ^ Dillin, John (February 18, 1988). "Even with win, Bush seen to be vulnerable". Christian Science Monitor. p. 1.
- ^ Clifford, Frank (13 February 1988). "Haig Drops Out of GOP Race, Endorses Dole". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ a b c d e Our Campaigns - US President - R Primaries Race - Feb 01, 1988
- ^ "Nomination Bush Pres Candidate, Aug 17 1988 (Video)". C-Span. August 17, 1988. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- ISBN 0-446-51424-1.
And Bush had the active and aggressive support of Governor Sununu.
- ^ "Dole gains Connally endorsement". The Galveston Daily News. Galveston, TX. AP. February 27, 1988. Retrieved October 22, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ISBN 0-446-51424-1.
Dole's chief sponsor in the state, Senator Warren Rudman
- ISBN 0-446-51424-1.
He had a respectable ground operation and the support of the two most prominent hard-line conservatives in the state, Senator Gordon Humphrey and Representative Robert Smith.
- ISBN 0-446-51424-1.
He had a respectable ground operation and the support of the two most prominent hard-line conservatives in the state, Senator Gordon Humphrey and Representative Robert Smith.
- ISBN 0-446-51424-1.
Pete duPont had captured the endorsement of the Union Leader.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "US President - R Primaries". OurCampaigns.com. 20 Dec 2017. Retrieved 6 Apr 2022.
- ^
- ^
- ^