Michael Dukakis | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Dukakis in 1977 | |
| 65th and 67thGovernor of Massachusetts | |
| In office January 6, 1983 – January 3, 1991 | |
| Lieutenant | John Kerry Evelyn Murphy |
| Preceded by | Edward J. King |
| Succeeded by | Bill Weld |
| In office January 2, 1975 – January 4, 1979 | |
| Lieutenant | Thomas P. O'Neill III |
| Preceded by | Francis W. Sargent |
| Succeeded by | Edward J. King |
| Member of theMassachusetts House of Representatives | |
| In office January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1971 | |
| Preceded by | Sumner Z. Kaplan |
| Succeeded by | Jon Rotenberg |
| Constituency | 10th Norfolk district (1963–1965) 13th Norfolk district (1965–1971) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael Stanley Dukakis (1933-11-03)November 3, 1933 (age 92) Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4, includingJohn (adopted) |
| Relatives | Olympia Dukakis (cousin) |
| Education | Swarthmore College (BA) Harvard University (JD) |
| Awards | Order of Honor (Grand Commander)[1] |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1955–1957 |
| Rank | Specialist |
| Unit | 8020th Administrative Unit[2] |
Michael Stanley Dukakis (/dʊˈkɑːkɪs/duu-KAH-kiss; born November 3, 1933) is an American politician and lawyer who wasgovernor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor inMassachusetts history and the secondGreek-American governor in U.S. history, afterSpiro Agnew. He wasnominated by theDemocratic Party for president in the1988 election, losing to theRepublican nominee, Vice PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush.
Born inBrookline, Massachusetts, to Greek immigrants, Dukakis attendedSwarthmore College before enlisting in theUnited States Army. After graduating fromHarvard Law School, he won election to theMassachusetts House of Representatives, serving from 1963 to 1971. He won the 1974 Massachusetts gubernatorial election but lost his 1978 bid for re-nomination toEdward J. King. He defeated King in the 1982 gubernatorial primary and was again governor from 1983 to 1991, presiding over a period of economic growth known as the "Massachusetts Miracle".
Building on his popularity as governor, Dukakis sought the Democratic presidential nomination for the1988 presidential election. He prevailed in theDemocratic primaries and was formally nominated at the1988 Democratic National Convention. Dukakis chose SenatorLloyd Bentsen of Texas as his running mate, while the Republicans nominated a ticket of George H. W. Bush and SenatorDan Quayle. Dukakis made history as the firstGreek-American andAromanian presidential candidate, firstGreek Orthodox major-party nominee, and the first major-party nominee with ancestry outside Europe.[3][4][a] Although he lost the election, carrying only ten states and Washington, D.C., he improved on the Democratic performances in the previous two elections. After the election, Dukakis announced that he would not seek another term as governor, and he left office in 1991. Since the death ofJimmy Carter in 2024, Dukakis is the oldest living presidential nominee.
Since leaving office, Dukakis has served on the board of directors forAmtrak and taught political science atNortheastern University andUCLA. He was mentioned as a potential appointee to the Senate in 2009 to fill the vacancy caused byTed Kennedy's death, but GovernorDeval Patrick chosePaul G. Kirk. In2012, Dukakis backed the successful Senate campaign ofElizabeth Warren, whom he also supported in the2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries.
Dukakis was born inBrookline, Massachusetts, on November 3, 1933.[5] His father Panos was a Greek immigrant fromEdremit in Turkey. Panos Dukakis settled inLowell, Massachusetts, in 1912, and graduated fromHarvard Medical School twelve years later, subsequently working as anobstetrician. Dukakis's mother Euterpe (née Boukis) was born inLarissa, toAromanian parents fromVrysochori.[4][6] She and her family emigrated toHaverhill, Massachusetts, in 1913.[7]
Dukakis attendedBrookline High School in his hometown,[8] where he was an honor student and a member of the basketball, baseball, tennis, and cross-country teams.[9] As a 17-year-old senior in high school, he ran theBoston Marathon.[10] He graduated fromSwarthmore College in 1955 with a Bachelor of Arts inpolitical science. Although Dukakis had been accepted intoHarvard Law School, he chose to enlist in theUnited States Army. After basic training atFort Dix and advanced individual training atCamp Gordon, he was assigned as radio operator to the 8020th Administrative Unit inMunsan, South Korea. The unit was a support group to the United Nations delegation of the Military Armistice Commission[2][11][12] Dukakis served from 1955 to 1957. He then received hisJ.D. degree from Harvard Law School in 1960. Dukakis is also anEagle Scout and recipient of theDistinguished Eagle Scout Award from theBoy Scouts of America.[13] Dukakis began his political career as an elected town meeting member in the town of Brookline.[14] In 1963, he marriedKatherine "Kitty" Dickson (who adopted his surname), and they remained together until Kitty's death in March 2025.[15]
Dukakis had a brother named Stelian, three years his elder. Michael looked up to Stelian as a child, but Stelian suffered amental breakdown and attempted to commitsuicide when Michael was seventeen years old. He was institutionalized for years afterward, but eventually became a teacher for theNorth Attleborough public school system, a professor atBoston State College, and an assistant city manager for the cities ofWaltham andMalden. Despite his own career, Stelian developed a resentment for his brother's successes and unsuccessfully attempted to sabotage Michael's campaign for theMassachusetts House of Representatives in 1964, distributing anti-Michael Dukakis pamphlets in their hometown of Brookline. He also sought electoral office, running unsuccessfully twice for the Brookline Board of Selectmen and once in 1972 for the Massachusetts House of Representatives as aRepublican. In 1973, Stelian was struck by a car while cycling, being critically injured and dying months later. Stelian's death had a significant impact on Dukakis.[16][17][18]
.png)
Dukakis served four terms in theMassachusetts House of Representatives between 1962 and 1970.[19] In 1966, Dukakis unsuccessfully ran forAttorney General of Massachusetts.[20] In1970, Dukakis was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor on a ticket led by Boston mayorKevin White.[19] However, the Democratic ticket lost the 1970 gubernatorial election. After losing his bid for lieutenant governor, Dukakis returned to the private sector, practicing law and becoming a partner atHill and Barlow.[20]
Dukakis was elected governor in 1974, defeating the incumbent RepublicanFrancis Sargent during a period of fiscal crisis. Dukakis won in part by promising to be a "reformer" and pledging a "lead pipe guarantee" of no new taxes to balance the state budget. He would later reverse his position after taking office. He also pledged to dismantle the powerfulMetropolitan District Commission (MDC), a bureaucratic enclave that served as home to hundreds of political patronage employees. The MDC managed state parks, reservoirs, and waterways, as well as the highways and roads abutting those waterways. In addition to its own police force, the MDC had its own maritime patrol force, and an enormous budget from the state, for which it provided minimal accounting. Dukakis's efforts to dismantle the MDC failed in the legislature, where the MDC had many powerful supporters. As a result, the MDC would withhold its critical backing of Dukakis in the 1978 gubernatorial primary.
Governor Dukakis hosted PresidentGerald Ford[21] andBritain's Queen Elizabeth II[22] during their visits to Boston in 1976 to commemorate thebicentennial of the United States. He gained some notice as the only politician in the state government who went to work during theBlizzard of 1978, during which he went to local TV studios in a sweater to announce emergency bulletins.[23] Dukakis is also remembered for his 1977exoneration ofSacco and Vanzetti, two Italian anarchists whose trial sparked protests around the world. During his first term in office, Dukakiscommuted the sentences of 21 first-degree murderers and 23 second-degree murderers.
His first term performance proved to be insufficient to offset a backlash against the state's high sales and property tax rates, which turned out to be the predominant issue in the1978 gubernatorial campaign. Dukakis, despite being the incumbent Democratic governor, was refused renomination by his own party. Thestate's Democratic Party chose to support Director of theMassachusetts Port AuthorityEdward J. King in theprimary, partly because King rode the wave against high property taxes, but more significantly because state Democratic Party leaders lost confidence in Dukakis's ability to govern effectively. King also enjoyed the support of the power brokers at the MDC, who were unhappy with Dukakis's attempts to dismantle their powerful bureaucracy. King also had support from state police and public employee unions. Dukakis suffered a scathing defeat in the primary, a disappointment that his wife Kitty called "a public death".[24]
| The First Dukakis Cabinet | ||
|---|---|---|
| OFFICE | NAME | TERM |
| Governor | Michael Dukakis | 1975–1979 |
| Lt. Governor | Thomas P. O'Neill III | 1975–1979 |
| Secretary of Transportation | Frederick P. Salvucci | 1975–1979 |
| Secretary of Communities and Development | William G. Flynn | 1975–1979 |
| Secretary of Environmental Affairs | Evelyn Murphy | 1975–1979 |
| Secretary of Consumer Affairs | Lola Dickerman Christine Sullivan | 1975–1976 1976–1979 |
| Secretary of Human Services | Lucy W. Benson Jerald Stevens | 1975–1975 1975–1979 |
| Secretary of Elder Affairs | James H. Callahan | 1977–1979 |
| Secretary of Administration & Finance | John R. Buckley | 1975–1979 |
| Secretary of Public Safety | Charles V. Barry | 1975–1979 |
| Secretary of Economic Affairs | Howard N. Smith | 1977–1979 |
| Secretary of Energy | Henry Lee | 1975–1979 |
| Secretary of Education | Paul Parks | 1975–1979 |
Following his first governorship, Dukakis taught atHarvard University'sJohn F. Kennedy School of Government.[20] In 1980, Dukakis published his bookState and Cities: The Massachusetts Experience.[20]
Four years later, having made peace with the state Democratic Party, MDC, the state police and public employee unions, Dukakis defeated King in a re-match in the 1982 Democratic primary. He went on to defeat his Republican opponent,John Winthrop Sears, in the November election. Future United States senator,2004 Democratic presidential nominee, and US Secretary of StateJohn Kerry was electedlieutenant governor on the same ballot with Dukakis, and served in the Dukakis administration from 1983 to 1985.
Dukakis served as governor during which time he presided over a high-tech boom and a period of prosperity in Massachusetts while simultaneously earning a reputation as a 'technocrat'.[25] The National Governors Association voted Dukakis the most effective governor in 1986. Residents of the city of Boston and its surrounding areas remember him for the improvements he made to Boston'smass transit system, especially major renovations to thecity's trains and buses. He was known for riding thesubway to work every day as governor.[26][27]
In 1988, Dukakis andRosabeth Moss Kanter, his economic adviser in the 1988 presidential elections, wrote a book entitledCreating the Future: the Massachusetts Comeback and Its Promise for America, an examination of theMassachusetts Miracle.[28][29]
| The Second Dukakis Cabinet | ||
|---|---|---|
| OFFICE | NAME | TERM |
| Governor | Michael Dukakis | 1983–1991 |
| Lt. Governor | John Kerry Evelyn Murphy | 1983–1985 1987–1991 |
| Secretary of Transportation | Frederick P. Salvucci | 1983–1991 |
| Secretary of Communities and Development | Amy S. Anthony | 1983–1991 |
| Secretary of Environmental Affairs | James Hoyte John DeVillars | 1983–1988 1988–1991 |
| Secretary of Consumer Affairs | Paula W. Gold Mary Ann Walsh | 1983–1989 1989–1991 |
| Secretary of Human Services | Manuel C. Carballo Philip W. Johnston | 1983–1984 1984–1991 |
| Secretary of Elder Affairs | Richard H. Rowland Paul J. Lanzikos | 1983–1987 1987–1991 |
| Secretary of Labor | Paul Eustace | 1983–1991 |
| Secretary of Administration & Finance | Frank Keefe L. Edward Lashman | 1983–1988 1988–1991 |
| Secretary of Public Safety | Charles V. Barry | 1983–1991 |
| Secretary of Economic Affairs | Evelyn Murphy Joseph Alviani Grady Hedgespeth Alden S. Raine | 1983–1986 1986–1989 1989–1989 1989–1991 |
| Secretary of Energy | Sharon Pollard | 1983–1989 |
Using the phenomenon termed the "Massachusetts Miracle" to promote his campaign, Dukakis sought theDemocratic Party nomination for President of the United States in the1988 United States presidential election, prevailing over a primary field that includedJesse Jackson,Dick Gephardt,Paul Simon,Gary Hart,Joe Biden andAl Gore, among others. ComposerJohn Williams wrote "Fanfare for Michael Dukakis" in 1988 at the request of Dukakis's father-in-law, Harry Ellis Dickson. The piece was premiered under the baton of Dickson (then the Associate Conductor of theBoston Pops) at that year'sDemocratic National Convention. Dukakis won the Democratic nomination, with 2,877 out of 4,105 delegates. He chose SenatorLloyd Bentsen of Texas to be his vice presidential running mate. Dukakis was pro-choice on the issue of abortion.[30]
Dukakis made history as the first non-Western European American nominated for president by a major party, and was, until President Obama's nomination in 2008, the only major presidential nominee in history withancestry from outside Northwestern Europe. Every United States presidential nominee except for Martin Van Buren (who was of entirely Dutch ancestry) has had ancestry from theBritish Isles.[31] As the firstethnic Greek nominated for the presidency by a major party, Dukakis enjoyed strong support among theGreek American community. The Associated Press reported in April 1988 that there was an "outpouring of pride in Dukakis", which was especially strong and sentimental among older generations of Greek Americans.[32] Dukakis stressed his working-class background as the son of impoverished immigrants, and his fluency inGreek among several other languages. Touching on his immigrant roots, Dukakis usedNeil Diamond's ode to immigrants, "America", as the theme song for his campaign. This was seen as a sharp departure from his previous political campaigns in heavily white Massachusetts, in which theWashington Post reported that Dukakis rarely, if at all, made a point of his ethnicity (hence the reported colloquial saying "I knew Michael Dukakis before he was Greek").[33] Although George H.W Bush's campaign did not make a point of it in theirattack ads, researchers and pollsters often discussed the vulnerability of Dukakis embracing his heritage. Conservative analystWilliam Schneider Jr. said that Dukakis' Greekness was the "great unspoken issue" of the election.[33] ThePost assessed that Bush's desirability as aWASP would inevitably make a victory more difficult for Dukakis in the long run.[33]
Regardless of community support, Dukakis had trouble with the personality that he projected to the voting public. His reserved and stoic nature was easily interpreted to be a lack of passion; Dukakis was often referred to as "Zorba the Clerk".[34] Nevertheless, Dukakis is considered to have done well in the first presidential debate with George H.W. Bush, withThe New York Times reporting, "Democratic and Republican analysts generally agreed that Mr. Dukakis had turned in the better performance in the first of two Presidential debates, frequently managing to put Mr. Bush on the defensive."[35] In the second debate, his performance was poor and played to his reputation as being cold.[36]
During the campaign, Dukakis's mental health became an issue when he refused to release his full medical history and there were, according toThe New York Times, "persistent suggestions" that he had undergone psychiatric treatment in the past.[37] The issue gained further traction after a White House press conference, during which PresidentRonald Reagan flippantly referred to Dukakis as an "invalid".[38] In the 2008 filmBoogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story, journalistRobert Novak revealed that Republican strategistLee Atwater had personally tried to get him to spread these mental health rumors.[39] Editors atThe Washington Times contributed to these rumors when they ran a story headlined "Dukakis Kin Hints at Sessions", suggesting that a member of the Dukakis family had said "it is possible" that Dukakis saw a psychiatrist. A week later the reporter,Gene Grabowski, revealed thatTimes editors had taken the full quote out of context. The full quote was "It's possible, but I doubt it."[40]
Dukakis's general election campaign was subject to several criticisms and gaffes on issues such ascapital punishment,the pledge of allegiance in schools, and aphotograph of Dukakis in a tank which was intended to portray him as a sound choice forcommander-in-chief but which was widely perceived to have backfired. Like the allegations of psychiatric problems, these were vulnerabilities which Atwater identified and exploited. In 1991, shortly before his death from a brain tumor, Atwater apologized to Dukakis for the "naked cruelty" of the 1988 campaign.[41][42]
During the campaign, Vice PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush, the Republican nominee, criticized Dukakis for his traditionally liberal positions on many issues, calling him a "card-carrying member of theACLU". Dukakis's support for aprison furlough program was a major election subject. During his first term as governor, he had vetoed a bill that would have stopped furloughs for first-degree murderers.[43] During his second term, that program resulted in the release of convicted murdererWillie Horton, who committed a rape and assault in Maryland after being furloughed.[44] George H. W. Bush mentioned Horton by name in a speech in June 1988, and a conservativepolitical action committee (PAC) affiliated with the Bush campaign, the National Security Political Action Committee, aired an ad entitled "Weekend Passes", which used amug shot image of Horton. The Bush campaign refused to repudiate the ad. It was followed by a separate Bush campaign ad, "Revolving Door", criticizing Dukakis over the furlough program without mentioning Horton. The legislature canceled the program during Dukakis's last term.
Dukakis was criticized during the campaign for a perceived softness on defense issues, particularly the controversial "Star Wars" program, which he promised to weaken. In response to this, Dukakis orchestrated what would become the key image of his campaign, although it turned out quite differently from what he intended. On September 13, 1988, Dukakis visited theGeneral DynamicsLand Systems plant inSterling Heights, Michigan, to take part in aphoto op in anM1 Abrams tank. Theprime minister of the United Kingdom,Margaret Thatcher, had been photographed in 1986 riding in aChallenger tank while wearing a scarf, which turned out very successfully and helped in her 1987 reelection.[45][46] General Dynamics protocol requires one to wear the protective helmet for safety and communication when the tank is running at full speed, although Dukakis campaign staffers were aware that a politician putting on any headgear was a faux pas. A member of the press did photograph Dukakis without the helmet when the tank exited the garage at a slow speed, but the rest of the photographers snapped shots of Dukakis wearing a helmet when the tank made a high speed pass.[47][48]
The image of Dukakis wearing a helmet while riding the tank was ridiculed by Bush and the media. The following week, a poll found that 25 percent of respondents said they were less likely to support him because of the tank ride.[47] Footage of Dukakis in the tank was used in a television ad by the Bush campaign which aired during theWorld Series. The Dukakis campaign produced a 60-second response ad that featured a television set playing Bush's ad, which is flicked off the screen by a finger later revealed to be Dukakis as he proclaims that he is fed up with "George Bush's negative TV ads", but this "pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey advertising"[clarification needed] only ended up drawing further attention to the tank ride.[47]
The phrase "Dukakis in the tank" remains a shorthand for backfiredpublic relations outings.[49] In 2008, when asked about the photograph, Dukakis said "Should I have been in the tank? Probably not, in retrospect. But these days when people ask me, 'Did you get here in a tank?' I always respond by saying, 'No, and I've neverthrown up all over the Japanese prime minister'."[47]
The Dukakis/Bentsen ticket lost the election by a decisive margin in theElectoral College toGeorge H. W. Bush andDan Quayle, carrying only 10 states and theDistrict of Columbia. Many believed he should have been campaigning across the country. During this time, his 17-point lead in opinion polls completely disappeared, as his lack of visibility allowed Bush to define the issues of the campaign. A large number of Democrats believed that the loss was to blame on Dukakis's delayed response to Bush and underestimating Bush's strength as a candidate.[50] Dukakis has since stated that the main reason he lost was his decision "not to respond to the Bush attack campaign, and in retrospect it was a pretty dumb decision."[51]
Despite Dukakis's loss, his performance was a marked improvement over the previous two Democratic efforts, both in the popular vote and the Electoral College. Though Bush still won a majority of the popular vote, Dukakis's margin of loss (7.8%) nationally was narrower than Jimmy Carter's in1980 (9.7%) or Walter Mondale's in1984 (18.2%), and earned 41.8 million votes nationally.
Dukakis made some strong showings in states that had voted for RepublicansRonald Reagan andGerald Ford. He managed to pull off a close win in New York, which at the time was the second largest state in terms of electoral votes; he also scored victories in Rhode Island, Hawaii, his home state of Massachusetts, Oregon, and Washington.Walter Mondale had lost all six states, and since then, all six states have remained in the Democratic column at presidential elections.[52] He swept Iowa, winning by 10 points in a state that had voted Republican in the last five presidential elections. His proportion of the popular vote would not be matched by any subsequent Democratic presidential candidate in South Dakota (46.51%),[53] Kansas (42.56%),[54] Oklahoma (41.28%),[55] Wyoming (38.01%),[56] or Idaho (36.01%).[57]
Although Dukakis cut into the Republican hold in the Midwest, he failed to dent the emerging GOP stronghold in the South that had been forming since the end of World War II with a temporary reprieve withJimmy Carter (along with future President andSouthern DemocratBill Clinton, albeit to a much lesser extent). He lost most of the South by a wide margin, with Bush's popular vote margins exceeding 15% in most states.[58] He carried most of the southern-central parishes of Louisiana,[58] which was also his best Southern popular vote margin. His second-lowest Southern margin was Texas, where four overwhelminglyMexican-American counties ofSouth Texas delivered more than 81% of the vote to Dukakis, and were among his top five counties or county-equivalents nationally.[58]
In 2008, Dukakis stated during an interview withKatie Couric that he "owe[d] the American people an apology" because "if I had beaten the old man [i.e. George H. W. Bush], we never would have heard of the kid [i.e. George W. Bush], and we wouldn't be in this mess."[59]
.jpg)
His final two years as governor were marked by increased criticism of his policies and significant tax increases to cover the economic effects of the U.S. economy's "soft landing" at the end of the 1980s and the recession of 1990. He announced in early 1989 that he would not seek reelection to a fourth term.[60]
After the end of his term, Dukakis served on the board of directors forAmtrak, and became a professor ofpolitical science atNortheastern University, a visiting professor of political science atLoyola Marymount University, and visiting professor in the Department of Public Policy at the Luskin School of Public Affairs atUCLA.[61] He had retired from his teaching roles by 2021.[62] Along with a number of other notable Greek-Americans, he is a founding member of The Next Generation Initiative: a leadership program aimed at getting students involved in public affairs. In November 2008, Northeastern named its Center for Urban and Regional Policy after Michael Dukakis and his wife Kitty.[63] Dukakis is a member of the ReFormers Caucus ofIssue One.[64] Dukakis retired from Northeastern at age 90 in 2024.[65]Dukakis: Recipe for Democracy, a documentary film about Dukakis's life as professor at Northeastern, premiered on October 22, 2024.[66][67]
In August 2009, the 75-year-old Dukakis was mentioned as one of two leading candidates as a possible interim successor toTed Kennedy in the U.S. Senate, after Kennedy's death.[68][69] Instead, Gov. Patrick namedPaul G. Kirk, the other leading candidate and favorite of the Kennedy family who promised not to run in the special election, to fill the seat.[70]
Dukakis has also been an advocate for effective public transportation and high-speed rail as a solution to automobile congestion and the lack of space at airports; and for extended learning time initiative in public schools.[71][72]
Dukakis stated on January 31, 2014, that he was not in favor of an effort to renameSouth Station as the "Gov. Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center", although it was later renamed to that name. He went on to state that he would not object to the naming of the as-yet unbuiltNorth-South Rail Link after him.[73]
In2012, Dukakis worked to support the successful candidacy of fellow DemocratElizabeth Warren to the U.S. Senate.[74] During the2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Dukakis endorsedthe campaign ofHillary Clinton.[75] Dukakis endorsedSetti Warren's unsuccessful2018 candidacy for the Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial nomination.[76] Dukakis endorsed Elizabeth Warren'scandidacy in the2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries.[77] He later endorsed Democratic nominee,Joe Biden during the general election.[78] He and his wife also endorsedEd Markey for reelection to his Massachusetts U.S. senate seatin 2020 during both the primary and general elections.[79]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Michael Dukakis | 992,284 | 53.50 | |
| Republican | Francis W. Sargent (incumbent) | 784,353 | 42.29 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Edward J. King | 442,174 | 51.07 | |
| Democratic | Michael Dukakis (incumbent) | 365,417 | 42.21 | |
| Democratic | Barbara Ackermann | 58,220 | 6.72 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Michael Dukakis | 631,911 | 53.50 | |
| Democratic | Edward J. King (incumbent) | 549,335 | 46.51 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Michael Dukakis | 1,219,109 | 59.48 | |
| Republican | John Winthrop Sears | 749,679 | 36.57 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Michael Dukakis (incumbent) | 1,157,786 | 68.75 | |
| Republican | George Kariotis | 525,364 | 31.20 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Michael Dukakis | 9,817,185 | 42.75 | |
| Democratic | Jesse Jackson | 6,685,699 | 29.12 | |
| Democratic | Al Gore | 3,134,516 | 13.65 | |
| Democratic | Dick Gephardt | 1,388,356 | 6.05 | |
| Democratic | Paul M. Simon | 1,018,136 | 4.43 | |
| Democratic | Gary Hart | 389,003 | 1.69 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Michael Dukakis | 2,877 | 70.09 | |
| Democratic | Jesse Jackson | 1,219 | 29.70 | |
| Democratic | Richard H. Stallings | 3 | 0.07 | |
| Democratic | Joe Biden | 2 | 0.05 | |
| Democratic | Dick Gephardt | 2 | 0.05 | |
| Democratic | Lloyd Bentsen | 1 | 0.02 | |
| Democratic | Gary Hart | 1 | 0.02 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | George H. W. Bush | 48,886,597 | 53.4 | |
| Democratic | Michael Dukakis | 41,809,476 | 45.6 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | George H. W. Bush | 426 | 79 | |
| Democratic | Michael Dukakis | 111 | 21 | |
.jpg)
Dukakis was married toKitty Dukakis (née Dickson) for 61 years, from June 20, 1963, until her death on March 21, 2025.[5] Their first child together, a daughter, died fromanencephaly soon after being born.[5] They later had two daughters, Andrea and Kara.[5] A son,John Dukakis (né Chaffetz) was born in 1958 to Kitty and her first husband, Phoenix businessman John Chaffetz (who later fathered former CongressmanJason Chaffetz); Michael Dukakis adopted John Jr.[87][88][89] Dukakis is the cousin of Academy Award–winning actressOlympia Dukakis.[90] In 1988, Michael and Kitty Dukakis said that they attended bothGreek Orthodox and Jewish worship services out of respect for both of the spouses' faiths.[91]
The Dukakises primarily lived in a home they had bought in the early 1970s in their shared hometown ofBrookline, Massachusetts. However, they also maintained a home in Los Angeles during his teaching career at UCLA.[92]
Informal references
Citations
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Definitions from Wiktionary
Media from Commons
News from Wikinews
Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Resources from Wikiversity| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Joseph McGuire | Democratic nominee forLieutenant Governor of Massachusetts 1970 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Massachusetts 1974 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Edward King | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Massachusetts 1982,1986 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theDemocratic Governors Association 1986–1987 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democraticnominee for President of the United States 1988 | |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Massachusetts 1975–1979 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Massachusetts 1983–1991 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Senator | Order of precedence of the United States Within Massachusetts | Succeeded byas Former Governor |
| Preceded byas Former Governor | Order of precedence of the United States Outside Massachusetts | |
| Colony (1629–1686) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Dominion (1686–1689) | ||
| Province (1692–1776) | ||
| Commonwealth (since 1776) |
| |
| ||
