 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "1988 Republican National Convention" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(June 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
1988 presidential election | |
  Nominees Bush and Quayle | |
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | August 15–18, 1988 |
| City | New Orleans,Louisiana |
| Venue | Louisiana Superdome |
| Keynote speaker | Thomas Kean |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential nominee | George H. W. Bush ofTexas |
| Vice-presidential nominee | Dan Quayle ofIndiana |
| ‹ 1984 · 1992 › | |
The1988 Republican National Convention was held in theLouisiana Superdome inNew Orleans,Louisiana, from August 15 to August 18, 1988. It was the second time that a major party held its convention in one of the five states known as theDeep South, coming on the heels of the1988 Democratic National Convention, which was held inAtlanta,Georgia.
Theconvention nominatedVice PresidentGeorge Bush forpresident, as expected. The second spot on the ticket was not publicly known before the convention. As late as August 13, Bush had six people tabbed for consideration: House RepresentativeJack Kemp ofNew York, formerUnited States Secretary of TransportationElizabeth Dole,United States SenatorsBob Dole ofKansas,Pete Domenici ofNew Mexico,Alan Simpson ofWyoming, andJames Danforth "Dan" Quayle ofIndiana. Others considered were GovernorsJim Thompson ofIllinois andGeorge Deukmejian ofCalifornia, but each declined consideration.[1][2]
On August 16, Quayle was selected as Bush's vice presidential running mate. The revelation of Quayle's selection asrunning mate did not come until the second day of the convention, whenNBC News broke the story. Until the2024 Republican National Convention, it was the last time a major party's presidential candidate announced his vice presidential choice during his party's convention.
The convention featured speeches byJoe Paterno,Helen Hayes,Pat Robertson, a keynote address byNew Jersey GovernorThomas Kean, and the music of theJimmy Maxwell Orchestra.
The convention manager was Bill R. Phillips, former Chief of Staff of the Republican National Committee.
Republicans were seeking a host city that could provide a convention venue accommodating 17,000 and 20,000 hotel rooms.[3][4]
On January 20, 1987, the site selection committee voted 6–3 in recommending New Orleans to serve as the site of the party's 1988 presidential nominating convention. The runner-up wasKansas City.[4] Kansas City put forthKemper Arena and the newBartle Hall as prospective venues, with Bartle Hall seeming the more likely of the two facilities. The city's bid, however, was challenged by its lack of the 20,000 hotel rooms sought by the Republican Party, with the city only being able to offer around 15,000 hotel rooms.[5] A third city,Atlanta, had been ruled out of consideration because the maximum capacity configuration that theOmni Coliseum could offer would accommodate only 15,000 seats, while the Republicans were seeking a minimum of 17,000 seats.[4]
This was the first major party presidential nominating convention to be held in New Orleans. The size of the venue, theLouisiana Superdome, excited party officials, with Party ChairmanFrank Fahrenkopf declaring that its size would allow a more extravagant convention to be staged. A factor that made New Orleans appealing to the Republican Party as a location included a significant supply of big hotels near the Superdome. The location choice was also intentionally reflective of the desire of the party to make further political inroads in theSouthern United States.[4]
In their contract with the city, the Republican Party included the clause forbidding the city from hosting another party's convention. This would prevent the Democratic Party from being able to choose New Orleans as their site too. New Orleans had been bidding for the Democratic Convention as well, and Republicans feared that if the Democratic Convention was held in the same city that the host committee would treat them with second-preference. Therefore, they required the city to withdraw from bidding for the Democratic convention. New Orleans attempted to negotiate on this, but the Republicans would not cede.[4][6]
The convention was the first to be held in a domed sports stadium. A 900-by-90 feet curtain, installed by Superdome management in 1986 to enable the venue to hold events like political conventions, was utilized to partition half of the venue off.[7]
| City | Venue | Previous major party conventions hosted by city |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta, Georgia | Omni Coliseum | — |
| Kansas City,Missouri | Bartle Hall orKemper Arena | Democratic:1900 Republican:1928 and1976 |
| New Orleans,Louisiana | Louisiana Superdome | — |
The convention is perhaps best known for Bush's "thousand points of light" speech[8] accepting the nomination. Written byPeggy Noonan and Craig R. Smith, it included the "read my lips: no new taxes" pledge that was the most popularsound bite coming out of the convention. The successful speech gave him a "bounce" that he was able to capitalize on to win the1988 presidential election.
PresidentRonald andNancy Reagan were honored on August 15. Reagan made a major speech[9] on the opening night of the convention, as he would for the last time in 1992.
During the presidential roll call vote, several seconding speeches were delivered, showcasing a number of speakers from varying ethnic backgrounds. Seconding speeches were delivered by American football CoachJoe Paterno, ActressHelen Hayes, CongressmanBob Dornan, restaurateurNinfa Laurenzo, Kansas City (Missouri) City Council Member Joanne Collins, and Federal Maritime CommissionerElaine Chao.[10]
Other speakers includedBob Dole,Elizabeth Dole, Arizona junior senatorJohn McCain,Jeane Kirkpatrick and formerPresidentGerald Ford.
The Balloting:
The presidential roll call began with Bush's name being placed into nomination by SenatorPhil Gramm of Texas.[10]
| Candidates |  |
|---|---|
| Name | George H. W. Bush |
| Certified Votes | 2,044 (100%) |
| total: | 2,044 |
With rumblings of opposition to the Quayle nomination, it was decided to have it ratified by voice vote, something that the Republicans had never done before, but would become standard practice in the decades to come.
| Preceded by 1984 Dallas, Texas | 1988 New Orleans, Louisiana | Succeeded by 1992 Houston, Texas |
