1988 United States presidential election in West Virginia

rdf:langString 1988 United States presidential election in West Virginia

rdf:langString Michael Dukakis

rdf:langString Lloyd Bentsen

rdf:langString Republican Party

rdf:langString Republican Party

rdf:langString West Virginia

rdf:langString File:Dukakis campaign portrait 3x4.jpg

rdf:langString File:VP George Bush crop.jpg

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rdf:langString County Results Dukakis Bush

rdf:langString West Virginia Presidential Election Results 1988.svg

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rdf:langString Democratic Party

rdf:langString Republican Party

rdf:langString President

rdf:langString presidential

rdf:langString The 1988 United States presidential election in West Virginia took place on November 8, 1988. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. West Virginia voters chose six electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president. West Virginia was won by Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis who was running against incumbent United States Vice President George H. W. Bush of Texas. Dukakis ran with Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen as Vice President, and Bush ran with Indiana Senator Dan Quayle. West Virginia weighed in for this election as 13% more Democratic than the national average. To date this is also the last time the state voted for a losing Democratic presidential candidate. The 1988 election cycle is also the last time that West Virginia did not vote for the same presidential candidate as neighboring Kentucky. As of 2022, this is the last time West Virginia voted to the left of several modern-day Democratic strongholds, namely Illinois, Maryland, New York, and Vermont. The presidential election of 1988 was a very partisan election for West Virginia, with over 99% of the electorate voting for either the Republican or Democratic parties, and only three candidates appearing on the ballot. Dukakis won the election in West Virginia with a 5-point margin. The relatively narrow election results in West Virginia are reflective of a nationwide reconsolidation of the 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 1980s saw a period of economic growth and stability. The hallmark of Reaganomics was, in part, the wide-scale deregulation of corporate interests, and tax cuts for the wealthy. Dukakis ran his campaign on a socially liberal platform, and advocated for higher economic regulation and environmental protection. Bush, alternatively, 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. Additionally, while the economic programs passed under Reagan, and furthered under Bush, may have boosted the economy for a brief period, they are criticized by some analysts as "setting the stage" for economic troubles in the United States after 2007, such as the Great Recession.

rdf:langString 1988 United States presidential election in West Virginia