1988 United States presidential election in Tennessee

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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 11 0 Popular vote 947,233 679,794 Percentage 57.89% 41.55%

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

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

The1988 United States presidential election in Tennessee took place on November 8, 1988. All 50 states andthe District of Columbia were part of the1988 United States presidential election. Tennessee voters chose 11 electors to theElectoral College, which selected thepresident andvice president.Tennessee was won by incumbent United StatesVice PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush ofTexas, who was running againstMassachusettsGovernorMichael Dukakis. Bush ran withIndianaSenatorDan Quayle as Vice President, and Dukakis ran withTexasSenatorLloyd Bentsen.

Tennessee weighed in for this election as eight points moreRepublican than the national average. Tennessee was the only state that Bush won a higher percentage of the vote and larger margin of victory thanRonald Reagan in 1984, albeit by a difference of less than a tenth of a percent. As ofthe 2024 presidential election^[update], this was the last time the Republican candidate carriedDavidson County (home ofNashville) andShelby County (home ofMemphis), both of which have become staunch, and the only,Democratic strongholds into the 21st century.^[1]Hardeman County, Tennessee would not vote for a Republican again until the2016 United States presidential election.

TheRepublican presidential nominee had won Tennessee in every presidential election since1968 except forDemocratic nomineeJimmy Carter's victory in1976.^[2]

However, Republican victories in the senatorial elections of1966 and1970 were undone by Democratic victories in1976 and1984.Ned McWherter's victory in1986 gubernatorial election also restored Democratic control since1974. Voter identification among the Democrats fell from 42% to 32% between 1981 and 1985, while identification among the Republicans rose from 25 to 29%.^[3]

U.S. SenatorAl Gore, afavorite son, won Tennessee in the Democratic primary with 72% of the vote.^[4][5] Gore won 87% of the white vote.^[6] The racial composition of the primary was 73% white and 27% black.^[7]

Bill Brock, a former member of the U.S. Senate from Tennessee, served as the chair ofBob Dole's national campaign. McWherter served as the chair of Gore's campaign in the south.^[8] 37% of white voters participated in the Republican primary.^[9]

The regional political divide in Tennessee between the Republican eastern half and Democratic western half dated back to theAmerican Civil War.^[10] Stephanie Chivers, the director of Bush's campaign in the state, stated that they needed a 125,000 margin of victory in the eastern part of the state to counteract Democratic support in the rest of the state.^[11] Both of Bush's visits in the state were in Democratic areas in order for him to be "in there with the Reagan/McWherter Democrats" according to Chivers. Quayle's five visits to the state were in the east.^[12]

Peter Goelz, a Democratic politician from Kansas City, was selected to be the political director of Dukakis's campaign in the state. He did not arrive until August and he lacked knowledge about the state's politics.Chip Forrester, the executive director of theTennessee Democratic Party, criticized Dukakis for not utilizing McWherter during the campaign despite his popularity in rural counties. McWherter and other southern governors filmed an endorsement of Dukakis at the National Governors' Conference meeting, but it was never aired on television in Tennessee.^[5]

Among white voters, 65% supported Bush while 34% supported Dukakis.^[13][14] Bush received 65% of the vote in the east, 55% in the middle, and 53% in the west. Bush won 73 of the state's 95 counties, including the four most populous counties of Shelby, Davidson, Knox, and Hamilton. Dukakis failed to win any metropolitan areas. Incumbent Democratic U.S. SenatorJim Sasser won reelection in the concurrentsenatorial election and the Democrats maintained their control of theTennessee General Assembly despite Bush's victory.^[15]

• Giles
• Lewis

• Hardeman
• Lincoln
• White

^[18][19]

Most counties in Tennessee turned out for Bush, including the highly populatedShelby County andDavidson County, by narrow margins. Those two counties have never voted Republican since this election.^[1]

Tennessee was the only state that Bush improved on Ronald Reagan’s 1984 vote share within, although only by 0.05%.^[20] He became only the second Republican afterRichard Nixon in 1972 to carryLincoln County andHardeman County.^[21]

• 1988 United States Senate election in Tennessee
• 1988 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee
• United States presidential elections in Tennessee
• 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 Tennessee
• 1988 Tennessee elections

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