1988 United States presidential election in Maine

Main article: 1988 United States presidential election

1988 United States presidential election in Maine

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 4 0 Popular vote 307,131 243,569 Percentage 55.34% 43.88%

County Results Congressional District Results Municipality Results Bush   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90% Dukakis   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90% Tie

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

The 1988 United States presidential election in Maine took place on November 8, 1988, as part of the 1988 United States presidential election, which was held throughout all 50 states and D.C. Voters chose four representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Maine voted for the Republican nominee, Vice President George H. W. Bush, over the Democratic nominee, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, by a margin of 11.45%. Bush took 55.34% of the vote to Dukakis’ 43.88%, and swept every county in the state.

Bush's comfortable win was expected, due to the state's Republican lean at the time, and the Bush family ties to the state (Bush owned a house in Kennebunkport, Maine). As of the 2024 presidential election^[update], this is the last time that a Republican presidential nominee would carry the state of Maine as a whole, the 1st congressional district, or the counties of Cumberland, Hancock, Knox, Sagadahoc and York.^[1] Like the rest of liberal and secular New England, Maine would subsequently begin to drift towards the Democratic Party as the GOP became increasingly dominated by conservatives, Southerners, and Evangelical Christians, and is now considered a likely blue state.

However, Maine's 2nd congressional district would give its electoral vote to Republican Donald Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024. Androscoggin, Aroostook, Franklin, Kennebec, Oxford, and Somerset counties would not vote Republican again until 2016.

Despite winning every county in the state this election, Bush would not win a single one during his re-election bid in 1992, and would in fact come in third place in the state behind Democrat Bill Clinton and independent candidate Ross Perot.

Results

1988 United States presidential election in Maine[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	George H. W. Bush	307,131	55.34%	4
	Democratic	Michael Dukakis	243,569	43.88%	0
	Libertarian	Ron Paul	2,700	0.49%	0
	New Alliance	Lenora Fulani	1,405	0.25%	0
	No party	Write-ins	230	0.04%	0
Totals			555,035	100.00%	4
Voter Turnout (Voting age/Registered)					62%/65%

By congressional district

Bush won both congressional districts, including one held by a Democrat.

District	Bush	Dukakis	Representative
1st	55.92%	43.29%	Joseph E. Brennan
2nd	54.64%	44.59%	Olympia Snowe

Results by county

County	George H.W. Bush[3] Republican		Michael Dukakis[3] Democratic		Ron Paul[3] Libertarian		Various candidates[3] Other parties		Margin		Total votes cast
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Androscoggin	23,061	51.72%	21,165	47.47%	203	0.46%	156	0.35%	1,896	4.25%	44,585
Aroostook	17,213	53.38%	14,850	46.05%	101	0.31%	82	0.25%	2,363	7.33%	32,246
Cumberland	63,028	52.93%	55,220	46.37%	566	0.48%	261	0.22%	7,808	6.56%	119,075
Franklin	7,180	54.16%	5,960	44.96%	70	0.53%	46	0.35%	1,220	9.20%	13,256
Hancock	12,957	56.07%	9,929	42.97%	146	0.63%	75	0.32%	3,028	13.10%	23,107
Kennebec	27,734	53.60%	23,578	45.57%	220	0.43%	213	0.41%	4,156	8.03%	51,745
Knox	10,156	57.54%	7,343	41.60%	100	0.57%	51	0.29%	2,813	15.94%	17,650
Lincoln	9,837	61.79%	5,939	37.31%	99	0.62%	45	0.28%	3,898	24.48%	15,920
Oxford	13,568	55.91%	10,523	43.37%	108	0.45%	67	0.28%	3,045	12.54%	24,266
Penobscot	34,912	54.76%	28,429	44.59%	241	0.38%	172	0.27%	6,483	10.17%	63,754
Piscataquis	4,788	58.27%	3,323	40.44%	70	0.85%	36	0.44%	1,465	17.83%	8,217
Sagadahoc	8,825	58.22%	6,212	40.98%	70	0.46%	51	0.34%	2,613	17.24%	15,158
Somerset	11,430	56.58%	8,603	42.59%	98	0.49%	70	0.35%	2,827	13.99%	20,201
Waldo	8,236	55.73%	6,402	43.32%	80	0.54%	60	0.41%	1,834	12.41%	14,778
Washington	7,872	56.93%	5,831	42.17%	69	0.50%	56	0.40%	2,041	14.76%	13,828
York	46,334	59.98%	30,262	39.17%	459	0.59%	194	0.25%	16,072	20.81%	77,249
Totals	307,131	55.34%	243,569	43.88%	2,700	0.49%	1,635	0.29%	63,562	11.46%	555,035

See also

• United States presidential elections in Maine
• Presidency of George H. W. Bush

References

1. Sullivan, Robert David; "How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century"; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
2. "1988 Presidential General Election Results – Maine". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
3. Our Campaigns; ME US President Race, November 08, 1988