1988 United States presidential election in Vermont

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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 3 0 Popular vote 124,331 115,775 Percentage 51.10% 47.58%

County Results Municipality Results Bush   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90% Dukakis   40–50%   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 Vermont took place on November 8, 1988, as part of the1988 United States presidential election, which was held throughout all 50 states andD.C. Voters chose three representatives, or electors to theElectoral College, who voted forpresident andvice president.

Vermont voted for theRepublican nominee,Vice PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush, over theDemocratic nominee,Massachusetts GovernorMichael Dukakis, by a narrow margin of 3.52%. Bush took 51.10% of the vote to Dukakis's 47.58%. This was one of only two times in the state's history (the other beingWilliam Howard Taft's 1.91% victory margin in1912) that Vermont was decided by a margin of less than 5.00%, as the state spent little time as a swing state during its transition from being the most historically Republican state to the most Democratic.

While the Republicans held onto Vermont's three electoral votes once more, the closeness of the race represented a turning point in the state's political history. Vermont had once been one of the most Republican areas in the country, historically having voted Republican more times than any other state, often by landslide margins. From1856 to1984, the state had gone Republican in every presidential election except for the1964 Democratic landslide. Despite this history, Vermont was considered aswing state in 1988, and the Dukakis campaign targeted it in its electoral strategy.^[1] In this election, the state weighed in as about 4% more Democratic than the nation. With the exception ofLyndon Johnson in 1964, Dukakis’ performance was the best of any Democratic presidential candidate in Vermont untilBill Clinton won the state in1992.

Bush lost Addison and Windham counties, which had only voted Democratic once, in 1964, thus he became the first Republican to ever win without either of those counties. Like the rest ofliberal andsecularNew England, Vermont in the 1980s began moving to the Democratic Party as the Republican Party became increasingly dominated byconservatives,Southerners, andEvangelical Christians. As of the2024 presidential election, this is the last time that a Republican would carry the state of Vermont in a presidential election, and in the following three decades, it would become regarded as one of the bluest ofblue states. It would also be the last time the Republicans would carry the counties ofBennington,Lamoille,Rutland,Washington andWindsor.^[2] This is also the last time that a Republican has won over 60% of the vote in any county in Vermont, which Bush did in the counties ofCaledonia andEssex.

To date, this is the last time that the cities ofRutland andVergennes, as well as the towns ofAlbany,Arlington,Berlin,Bethel,Bolton,Brandon,Brookline,Cambridge,Chester,Colchester,Dover,East Montpelier,Elmore,Essex,Fairlee,Goshen,Grafton,Grand Isle,Granville,Halifax,Hardwick,Hartford,Hartland,Hubbardton,Hyde Park,Jamaica,Jericho,Johnson,Killington,Kirby,Ludlow,Middletown Springs,Moretown,Morristown,Mount Holly,Peacham,Pomfret,Proctor,Randolph,Reading,Rochester,Salisbury,Shaftsbury,Sharon,Shelburne,Shrewsbury,South Hero,Springfield,St. Albans,St. George,Stockbridge,Stowe,Sudbury,Townshend,Waitsfield,Walden,Waltham,Waterbury,Weathersfield,West Windsor,Williston,Wilmington,Winhall,Wolcott, andWoodstock voted Republican.

• Addison
• Chittenden
• Franklin
• Grand Isle
• Windham

• United States presidential elections in Vermont

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

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