1988 United States presidential election in Alabama
The 1988 United States presidential election in Alabama took place on November 8, 1988. All fifty states, and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1988 presidential election. Alabama voters chose nine electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president. Alabama 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.
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 County Results
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| Elections in Alabama |
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 Government |
The vast majority of counties in Alabama voted for Bush, with the major exception being the Black Belt, which with its predominantly African-American populace voted overwhelmingly Democratic. Macon County had been the most Democratic in the nation in 1980 and 1984, and it was Dukakis’ sixth-best county in the nation with a margin of over four-to-one for the Massachusetts Governor.[1]
Campaign
Al Gore won 64% of the white vote.[2] The racial composition of the Democratic primary was 55% white and 45% black.[3] 48% of white voters participated in the Republican primary.[4]
John Baker, the chair of the Alabama Democratic Party, criticized the Democratic campaign stating that he didn't "believe that the Dukakis campaign could have run a worse campaign than they've run". Richard Arrington Jr., the mayor of Birmingham and national co-chair of Dukakis' campaign, stated that the campaign gave up on Alabama.[5] In November The Birmingham News reported that Bush had an approval rating of 51% against a disapproval of 26% among Alabama voters while Dukakis held an approval rating of 28% against a disapproval rating of 43%.[6]
71% of white voters supported Bush while 28% supported Dukakis.[7][8]
The Democrats maintained their control over the Alabama House of Representatives, with 93 seats to the Republican's 12 seats, and Alabama Senate, with 31 seats to the Republican's 4 seats, despite Bush's victory in the presidential race.[9] All five incumbent Democratic members of the United States House of Representatives were reelected.[10]
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
George Bush Republican |
Michael Dukakis Democratic |
Other / Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Birmingham News[11] | August 27–31, 1988 | 502 | 52% | 32% | 15% | |
| The Birmingham News[11] | September 27–29, 1988 | 504 | 54% | 33% | 13% | |
| The Birmingham News[11] | November 2–5, 1988 | 692 (LV) | 57% | 36% | 8% |
Results
| 1988 United States presidential election in Alabama | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Republican | George H. W. Bush | 815,576 | 59.17% | 9 | |
| Democratic | Michael Dukakis | 549,506 | 39.86% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Ron Paul | 8,460 | 0.61% | 0 | |
| Independent | Lenora Fulani | 3,311 | 0.24% | 0 | |
| Independent | James Warren | 656 | 0.05% | 0 | |
| Write-Ins | 506 | 0.04% | 0 | ||
| Independent | Edward Winn | 461[lower-alpha 1] | 0.03% | 0 | |
| Totals | 1,378,476 | 100.00% | 9 | ||
Results by county
| County | George H. W. Bush Republican |
Michael Dukakis Democratic |
Ron Paul[12] Libertarian |
Leonora Fulani[12] Independent |
Various candidates[12] Other parties |
Margin | Total votes cast | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Autauga | 7,828 | 67.17% | 3,667 | 31.47% | 143 | 1.23% | 7 | 0.06% | 9 | 0.08% | 4,161 | 35.70% | 11,654 |
| Baldwin | 25,933 | 72.85% | 9,271 | 26.04% | 336 | 0.94% | 21 | 0.06% | 37 | 0.10% | 16,662 | 46.81% | 35,598 |
| Barbour | 4,958 | 55.71% | 3,836 | 43.11% | 83 | 0.93% | 11 | 0.12% | 11 | 0.12% | 1,122 | 12.61% | 8,899 |
| Bibb | 2,885 | 56.06% | 2,244 | 43.61% | 7 | 0.14% | 2 | 0.04% | 8 | 0.16% | 641 | 12.46% | 5,146 |
| Blount | 8,754 | 64.61% | 4,485 | 33.10% | 294 | 2.17% | 5 | 0.04% | 10 | 0.07% | 4,269 | 31.51% | 13,548 |
| Bullock | 1,421 | 31.00% | 3,122 | 68.11% | 24 | 0.52% | 8 | 0.17% | 9 | 0.20% | -1,701 | -37.11% | 4,584 |
| Butler | 3,923 | 52.59% | 3,465 | 46.45% | 61 | 0.82% | 7 | 0.09% | 3 | 0.04% | 458 | 6.14% | 7,459 |
| Calhoun | 19,806 | 58.31% | 12,451 | 36.66% | 360 | 1.06% | 1,325 | 3.90% | 26 | 0.08% | 7,355 | 21.65% | 33,968 |
| Chambers | 7,694 | 59.39% | 5,103 | 39.39% | 115 | 0.89% | 21 | 0.16% | 23 | 0.18% | 2,591 | 20.00% | 12,956 |
| Cherokee | 2,868 | 47.01% | 3,176 | 52.06% | 48 | 0.79% | 1 | 0.02% | 8 | 0.13% | -308 | -5.05% | 6,101 |
| Chilton | 8,761 | 69.41% | 3,820 | 30.26% | 26 | 0.21% | 12 | 0.10% | 4 | 0.03% | 4,941 | 39.14% | 12,623 |
| Choctaw | 3,629 | 50.89% | 3,491 | 48.96% | 5 | 0.07% | 1 | 0.01% | 5 | 0.07% | 138 | 1.94% | 7,131 |
| Clarke | 5,708 | 56.97% | 4,217 | 42.09% | 84 | 0.84% | 2 | 0.02% | 9 | 0.09% | 1,491 | 14.88% | 10,020 |
| Clay | 3,496 | 66.74% | 1,602 | 30.58% | 45 | 0.86% | 91 | 1.74% | 4 | 0.08% | 1,894 | 36.16% | 5,238 |
| Cleburne | 3,071 | 68.40% | 1,383 | 30.80% | 26 | 0.58% | 3 | 0.07% | 7 | 0.16% | 1,688 | 37.59% | 4,490 |
| Coffee | 8,890 | 66.57% | 4,319 | 32.34% | 126 | 0.94% | 15 | 0.11% | 5 | 0.04% | 4,571 | 34.23% | 13,355 |
| Colbert | 7,775 | 42.25% | 10,397 | 56.49% | 208 | 1.13% | 11 | 0.06% | 13 | 0.07% | -2,622 | -14.25% | 18,404 |
| Conecuh | 3,256 | 51.22% | 3,022 | 47.54% | 43 | 0.68% | 16 | 0.25% | 20 | 0.31% | 234 | 3.68% | 6,357 |
| Coosa | 2,405 | 56.15% | 1,860 | 43.43% | 15 | 0.35% | 2 | 0.05% | 1 | 0.02% | 545 | 12.72% | 4,283 |
| Covington | 8,130 | 67.34% | 3,845 | 31.85% | 55 | 0.46% | 30 | 0.25% | 13 | 0.11% | 4,285 | 35.49% | 12,073 |
| Crenshaw | 2,617 | 58.44% | 1,836 | 41.00% | 15 | 0.33% | 5 | 0.11% | 5 | 0.11% | 781 | 17.44% | 4,478 |
| Cullman | 14,351 | 61.87% | 8,517 | 36.72% | 132 | 0.57% | 176 | 0.76% | 21 | 0.09% | 5,834 | 25.15% | 23,197 |
| Dale | 9,266 | 71.80% | 3,476 | 26.94% | 131 | 1.02% | 19 | 0.15% | 13 | 0.10% | 5,790 | 44.87% | 12,905 |
| Dallas | 7,630 | 43.79% | 9,660 | 55.44% | 107 | 0.61% | 18 | 0.10% | 8 | 0.05% | -2,030 | -11.65% | 17,423 |
| DeKalb | 11,478 | 60.60% | 7,333 | 38.72% | 106 | 0.56% | 14 | 0.07% | 9 | 0.05% | 4,145 | 21.88% | 18,940 |
| Elmore | 10,852 | 69.84% | 4,501 | 28.97% | 160 | 1.03% | 13 | 0.08% | 13 | 0.08% | 6,351 | 40.87% | 15,539 |
| Escambia | 6,807 | 62.14% | 4,020 | 36.70% | 66 | 0.60% | 35 | 0.32% | 26 | 0.24% | 2,787 | 25.44% | 10,954 |
| Etowah | 17,828 | 49.67% | 17,762 | 49.49% | 155 | 0.43% | 114 | 0.32% | 32 | 0.09% | 66 | 0.18% | 35,891 |
| Fayette | 4,338 | 57.40% | 3,186 | 42.16% | 15 | 0.20% | 6 | 0.08% | 12 | 0.16% | 1,152 | 15.24% | 7,557 |
| Franklin | 5,146 | 50.25% | 4,961 | 48.44% | 121 | 1.18% | 8 | 0.08% | 5 | 0.05% | 185 | 1.81% | 10,241 |
| Geneva | 5,703 | 67.32% | 2,685 | 31.69% | 45 | 0.53% | 27 | 0.32% | 12 | 0.14% | 3,018 | 35.62% | 8,472 |
| Greene | 1,048 | 23.94% | 3,295 | 75.28% | 29 | 0.66% | 3 | 0.07% | 2 | 0.05% | -2,247 | -51.34% | 4,377 |
| Hale | 2,414 | 42.71% | 3,187 | 56.39% | 35 | 0.62% | 10 | 0.18% | 6 | 0.11% | -773 | -13.68% | 5,652 |
| Henry | 3,613 | 61.82% | 2,206 | 37.75% | 13 | 0.22% | 6 | 0.10% | 6 | 0.10% | 1,407 | 24.08% | 5,844 |
| Houston | 19,989 | 73.87% | 7,001 | 25.87% | 44 | 0.16% | 15 | 0.06% | 12 | 0.04% | 12,988 | 48.00% | 27,061 |
| Jackson | 6,090 | 44.55% | 7,418 | 54.27% | 147 | 1.08% | 8 | 0.06% | 6 | 0.04% | -1,328 | -9.72% | 13,669 |
| Jefferson | 148,879 | 57.74% | 107,766 | 41.80% | 781 | 0.30% | 282 | 0.11% | 73 | 0.03% | 41,113 | 15.95% | 257,833 |
| Lamar | 3,214 | 58.48% | 2,274 | 41.38% | 5 | 0.09% | 1 | 0.02% | 2 | 0.04% | 940 | 17.10% | 5,496 |
| Lauderdale | 12,942 | 49.43% | 12,862 | 49.13% | 325 | 1.24% | 11 | 0.04% | 88 | 0.34% | 80 | 0.31% | 26,180 |
| Lawrence | 3,616 | 42.96% | 4,646 | 55.20% | 83 | 0.99% | 63 | 0.75% | 0 | 0.00% | -1,030 | -12.24% | 8,417 |
| Lee | 17,180 | 64.39% | 9,078 | 34.02% | 393 | 1.47% | 19 | 0.07% | 19 | 0.07% | 8,102 | 30.36% | 26,683 |
| Limestone | 9,086 | 61.56% | 5,455 | 36.96% | 186 | 1.26% | 23 | 0.16% | 14 | 0.09% | 3,631 | 24.60% | 14,760 |
| Lowndes | 1,405 | 29.42% | 3,328 | 69.68% | 31 | 0.65% | 7 | 0.15% | 10 | 0.21% | -1,923 | -40.26% | 4,776 |
| Macon | 1,304 | 16.81% | 6,351 | 81.88% | 40 | 0.52% | 53 | 0.68% | 8 | 0.10% | -5,047 | -65.07% | 7,756 |
| Madison | 53,575 | 67.06% | 25,800 | 32.29% | 353 | 0.44% | 108 | 0.14% | 58 | 0.07% | 27,775 | 34.76% | 79,894 |
| Marengo | 4,241 | 48.61% | 4,402 | 50.45% | 65 | 0.74% | 14 | 0.16% | 3 | 0.03% | -161 | -1.85% | 8,725 |
| Marion | 5,955 | 56.73% | 4,505 | 42.92% | 17 | 0.16% | 4 | 0.04% | 16 | 0.15% | 1,450 | 13.81% | 10,497 |
| Marshall | 12,148 | 60.90% | 7,357 | 36.88% | 264 | 1.32% | 66 | 0.33% | 112 | 0.56% | 4,791 | 24.02% | 19,947 |
| Mobile | 72,203 | 60.88% | 45,524 | 38.39% | 766 | 0.65% | 74 | 0.06% | 30 | 0.03% | 26,679 | 22.50% | 118,597 |
| Monroe | 5,379 | 60.07% | 3,509 | 39.19% | 45 | 0.50% | 17 | 0.19% | 4 | 0.04% | 1,870 | 20.88% | 8,954 |
| Montgomery | 41,131 | 58.43% | 28,709 | 40.79% | 471 | 0.67% | 66 | 0.09% | 14 | 0.02% | 12,422 | 17.65% | 70,391 |
| Morgan | 18,679 | 63.54% | 10,594 | 36.04% | 73 | 0.25% | 24 | 0.08% | 27 | 0.09% | 8,085 | 27.50% | 29,397 |
| Perry | 2,107 | 36.59% | 3,574 | 62.07% | 52 | 0.90% | 13 | 0.23% | 12 | 0.21% | -1,467 | -25.48% | 5,758 |
| Pickens | 3,851 | 55.16% | 3,107 | 44.50% | 11 | 0.16% | 4 | 0.06% | 9 | 0.13% | 744 | 10.66% | 6,982 |
| Pike | 5,897 | 60.04% | 3,813 | 38.82% | 90 | 0.92% | 7 | 0.07% | 14 | 0.14% | 2,084 | 21.22% | 9,821 |
| Randolph | 4,625 | 64.02% | 2,462 | 34.08% | 128 | 1.77% | 1 | 0.01% | 8 | 0.11% | 2,163 | 29.94% | 7,224 |
| Russell | 6,333 | 48.40% | 6,589 | 50.35% | 134 | 1.02% | 16 | 0.12% | 14 | 0.11% | -256 | -1.96% | 13,086 |
| Shelby | 27,052 | 78.84% | 7,138 | 20.80% | 72 | 0.21% | 26 | 0.08% | 26 | 0.08% | 19,914 | 58.03% | 34,314 |
| St. Clair | 10,604 | 70.71% | 4,335 | 28.91% | 36 | 0.24% | 8 | 0.05% | 14 | 0.09% | 6,269 | 41.80% | 14,997 |
| Sumter | 2,212 | 33.36% | 4,390 | 66.21% | 11 | 0.17% | 7 | 0.11% | 10 | 0.15% | -2,178 | -32.85% | 6,630 |
| Talladega | 12,973 | 60.32% | 8,291 | 38.55% | 126 | 0.59% | 76 | 0.35% | 40 | 0.19% | 4,682 | 21.77% | 21,506 |
| Tallapoosa | 8,502 | 63.93% | 4,598 | 34.58% | 176 | 1.32% | 9 | 0.07% | 13 | 0.10% | 3,904 | 29.36% | 13,298 |
| Tuscaloosa | 27,396 | 59.87% | 18,166 | 39.70% | 118 | 0.26% | 46 | 0.10% | 32 | 0.07% | 9,230 | 20.17% | 45,758 |
| Walker | 11,011 | 48.51% | 11,338 | 49.95% | 156 | 0.69% | 179 | 0.79% | 16 | 0.07% | -327 | -1.44% | 22,700 |
| Washington | 3,741 | 52.23% | 3,402 | 47.49% | 8 | 0.11% | 8 | 0.11% | 4 | 0.06% | 339 | 4.73% | 7,163 |
| Wilcox | 1,739 | 33.98% | 3,369 | 65.83% | 3 | 0.06% | 2 | 0.04% | 5 | 0.10% | -1,630 | -31.85% | 5,118 |
| Winston | 6,235 | 67.59% | 2,954 | 32.02% | 16 | 0.17% | 9 | 0.10% | 11 | 0.12% | 3,281 | 35.57% | 9,225 |
| Totals | 815,576 | 59.18% | 549,506 | 39.88% | 8,460 | 0.61% | 3,311 | 0.24% | 1,162 | 0.08% | 266,070 | 19.31% | 1,378,015 |
Notes
- These votes for Winn were not listed by county but only as a state-wide total.[12]
References
- "1988 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.
- Black & Black 1992, p. 266.
- Black & Black 1992, p. 263.
- Black & Black 1992, p. 288.
- Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 40-41.
- Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 44.
- Black & Black 1992, p. 295.
- Black & Black 1992, p. 335.
- Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. xii.
- Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 45.
- Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 41.
- "AL US President Race, November 08, 1988". Our Campaigns.
Works cited
- Black, Earl; Black, Merle (1992). The Vital South: How Presidents Are Elected. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674941306.
- Moreland, Laurence; Steed, Robert; Baker, Tod, eds. (1991). The 1988 Presidential Election in the South: Continuity Amidst Change in Southern Party Politics. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0275931455.
