1988 United States presidential election in Mississippi

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Nominee George H. W. Bush Michael Dukakis Party Republican Democratic Home state Texas Massachusetts Running mate Dan Quayle Lloyd Bentsen Electoral vote 7 0 Popular vote 557,890 363,921 Percentage 59.89% 39.07%

County results Congressional district results Bush   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% Dukakis   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%

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

The1988 United States presidential election in Mississippi took place on November 8, 1988. All fifty states andthe District of Columbia, were part of the1988 United States presidential election. Mississippi voters chose seven electors to theElectoral College, which selected thepresident andvice president.

Mississippi was won by incumbent Vice PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush, running with U.S. SenatorDan Quayle, against GovernorMichael Dukakis, running with U.S SenatorLloyd Bentsen.

Notably, however,George County, in Mississippi'sPine Belt, gave formerKu Klux KlanGrand WizardDavid Duke his largest vote share of any county in the country (about 4%). George County also gave third parties in the aggregate their largest vote share of any county in the country.^[1]

As of the2024 presidential election^[update], this is the last election in whichAdams County,Kemper County,Washington County, andLeflore County voted for the Republican presidential nominee; and the last in whichHinds County, the most populous in the state, gave a Republican an outright majority.^[2]

Thad Cochran's victory in the1978 election made him the first Republican elected to theUnited States Senate since the end of Reconstruction. However, the Democrats maintained control over all state-level offices.^[3]

The racial composition of the Democratic primary was 55% white and 45% black.^[4] Gore won 64% of the white vote,^[5] and 44% of white voters participated in the Republican primary.^[6]

Dukakis was the first presidential candidate to visit theNeshoba County Fair sinceRonald Reagan during the 1980 election.^[7] Among white voters, 76% supported Bush while 23% supported Dukakis.^[8][9]

Democratic nomineeWayne Dowdy lost in the concurrentU.S. Senate election resulting in Mississippi having two Republican senators for the first time since Reconstruction.^[3] However, the Democrats controlled four of the state's five seats in theUnited States House of Representatives.^[10]

Harry Allen,Rhesa Barksdale, Robbie Hughes, Henry Paris, Fred Reeder, Michael Allred, and Ed Weeks were the Republican electors that cast their ballots for Bush and Quayle. Allred was selected to replace John Palmer as Palmer was unable to cast his ballot.^[11]

• Benton
• Clay
• Issaquena
• Jefferson Davis
• Sunflower
• Tallahatchie

^[14][15]

• Presidency of George H. W. Bush

• 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.

• 1988 United States presidential election by state
• United States presidential elections in Mississippi
• 1988 Mississippi elections

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