1988 New Hampshire Republican presidential primary

1988 New Hampshire Republican presidential primary

February 16, 1988 (1988-02-16)

Candidate George H. W. Bush Bob Dole Jack Kemp Home state Texas Kansas New York Popular vote 59,290 44,797 20,114 Percentage 37.7% 28.5% 12.8%   Candidate Pete du Pont Pat Robertson Home state Delaware Virginia Popular vote 15,885 14,775 Percentage 10.1% 9.4%

Results by county Bush:      30-40%      40-50% Dole:      30-40%

Main article: 1988 Republican Party presidential primaries

The 1998 New Hampshire Republican presidential primary took place on February 16, 1988, as one of the Republican Party's statewide nomination contests ahead of the 1988 United States presidential election. George H. W. Bush won with 37.7% of the vote, finishing 9.2 percentage points ahead of his nearest competitor, Bob Dole.^[1]

Details

After being dealt a crushing third pace finish in the Iowa Caucuses behind Kansas senator Bob Dole and televangelist Pat Robertson, Vice President George H. W. Bush appeared to be in trouble.^[2] His momentum had collapsed after falling short in a state he won in 1980, and his lead in new Hampshire had collapsed. However, the Bush campaign responded by running television commercials portraying Dole as a tax raiser, while Governor John H. Sununu stumped for Bush - enabling a victory by the incumbent Vice President.^[3][4]

Regaining footing with his win in New Hampshire, Bush's organizational strength and fundraising lead were impossible for the other candidates to match as the primaries went into multiple states across the country. Bush was resoundingly elected as the Republican nominee, and went on to win the general election against Democrat Michael Dukakis.

References

1. New Hampshire. Dept. of State (1989). Manual for the General Court. University of New Hampshire Library. Concord, N.H. : Dept. of State. pp. 132, 134.
2. Jr, R. W. Apple; Times, Special To the New York (February 9, 1988). "Stunning Result Carries a Grim Message for Bush". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
3. Griffith, Tom (December 1, 2018). "'88 NH win helped catapult George H.W. Bush to White House". WMUR.
4. "NH Elections Database » 1988 President Republican Primary". NH Elections Database. Retrieved April 7, 2024.