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 County Results
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The1988 United States presidential election in Alabama took place on November 8, 1988. All fifty states, andthe District of Columbia, were part of the1988 presidential election. Alabama voters chose nine electors to theElectoral College, which selected thepresident andvice president. Alabama was won by incumbent United StatesVice PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush ofTexas, who was running againstMassachusetts GovernorMichael Dukakis. Bush ran withIndiana SenatorDan Quayle as Vice President, and Dukakis ran withTexas SenatorLloyd Bentsen.
The vast majority of counties in Alabama voted for Bush, with the major exception beingthe Black Belt, which with its predominantly African-American populace voted overwhelmingly Democratic.Macon County had been the most Democratic in the nation in 1980 and 1984, and it was Dukakis’ sixth-best county in the nation with a margin of over four-to-one for the Massachusetts Governor.[1]
Al Gore won 64% of the white vote.[2] The racial composition of the Democratic primary was 55% white and 45% black,[3] and 48% of white voters participated in the Republican primary.[4]
John Baker, the chair of theAlabama Democratic Party, criticized the Democratic campaign stating that he didn't "believe that the Dukakis campaign could have run a worse campaign than they've run".Richard Arrington Jr., the mayor of Birmingham and national co-chair of Dukakis' campaign, stated that the campaign gave up on Alabama.[5] In NovemberThe Birmingham News reported that Bush had an approval rating of 51% against a disapproval of 26% among Alabama voters while Dukakis held an approval rating of 28% against a disapproval rating of 43%.[6]
Among white voters, 71% supported Bush while 28% supported Dukakis.[7][8]
The Democrats maintained their control over theAlabama House of Representatives, with 93 seats to the Republican's 12 seats, andAlabama Senate, with 31 seats to the Republican's 4 seats, despite Bush's victory in the presidential race.[9] All five incumbent Democratic members of theUnited States House of Representatives were reelected.[10]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | George Bush Republican | Michael Dukakis Democratic | Other / Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Birmingham News[11] | August 27–31, 1988 | 502 | 52% | 32% | 15% | |
| The Birmingham News[11] | September 27–29, 1988 | 504 | 54% | 33% | 13% | |
| The Birmingham News[11] | November 2–5, 1988 | 692 (LV) | 57% | 36% | 8% |
| Source | Rating | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[12] | Solid R | September 24, 1988 |
| 1988 United States presidential election in Alabama | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Republican | George H. W. Bush | 815,576 | 59.17% | 9 | |
| Democratic | Michael Dukakis | 549,506 | 39.86% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Ron Paul | 8,460 | 0.61% | 0 | |
| Independent | Lenora Fulani | 3,311 | 0.24% | 0 | |
| Independent | James Warren | 656 | 0.05% | 0 | |
| Write-Ins | 506 | 0.04% | 0 | ||
| Independent | Edward Winn | 461[a] | 0.03% | 0 | |
| Totals | 1,378,476 | 100.0% | 9 | ||
| County | George H.W. Bush Republican | Michael Dukakis Democratic | Ron Paul[13] Libertarian | Leonora Fulani[13] Independent | Various candidates[13] Other parties | Margin | Total votes cast | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Autauga | 7,828 | 67.17% | 3,667 | 31.47% | 143 | 1.23% | 7 | 0.06% | 9 | 0.08% | 4,161 | 35.70% | 11,654 |
| Baldwin | 25,933 | 72.85% | 9,271 | 26.04% | 336 | 0.94% | 21 | 0.06% | 37 | 0.10% | 16,662 | 46.81% | 35,598 |
| Barbour | 4,958 | 55.71% | 3,836 | 43.11% | 83 | 0.93% | 11 | 0.12% | 11 | 0.12% | 1,122 | 12.60% | 8,899 |
| Bibb | 2,885 | 56.06% | 2,244 | 43.61% | 7 | 0.14% | 2 | 0.04% | 8 | 0.16% | 641 | 12.45% | 5,146 |
| Blount | 8,754 | 64.61% | 4,485 | 33.10% | 294 | 2.17% | 5 | 0.04% | 10 | 0.07% | 4,269 | 31.51% | 13,548 |
| Bullock | 1,421 | 31.00% | 3,122 | 68.11% | 24 | 0.52% | 8 | 0.17% | 9 | 0.20% | -1,701 | -37.11% | 4,584 |
| Butler | 3,923 | 52.59% | 3,465 | 46.45% | 61 | 0.82% | 7 | 0.09% | 3 | 0.04% | 458 | 6.14% | 7,459 |
| Calhoun | 19,806 | 58.31% | 12,451 | 36.66% | 360 | 1.06% | 1,325 | 3.90% | 26 | 0.08% | 7,355 | 21.65% | 33,968 |
| Chambers | 7,694 | 59.39% | 5,103 | 39.39% | 115 | 0.89% | 21 | 0.16% | 23 | 0.18% | 2,591 | 20.00% | 12,956 |
| Cherokee | 2,868 | 47.01% | 3,176 | 52.06% | 48 | 0.79% | 1 | 0.02% | 8 | 0.13% | -308 | -5.05% | 6,101 |
| Chilton | 8,761 | 69.41% | 3,820 | 30.26% | 26 | 0.21% | 12 | 0.10% | 4 | 0.03% | 4,941 | 39.15% | 12,623 |
| Choctaw | 3,629 | 50.89% | 3,491 | 48.96% | 5 | 0.07% | 1 | 0.01% | 5 | 0.07% | 138 | 1.93% | 7,131 |
| Clarke | 5,708 | 56.97% | 4,217 | 42.09% | 84 | 0.84% | 2 | 0.02% | 9 | 0.09% | 1,491 | 14.88% | 10,020 |
| Clay | 3,496 | 66.74% | 1,602 | 30.58% | 45 | 0.86% | 91 | 1.74% | 4 | 0.08% | 1,894 | 36.16% | 5,238 |
| Cleburne | 3,071 | 68.40% | 1,383 | 30.80% | 26 | 0.58% | 3 | 0.07% | 7 | 0.16% | 1,688 | 37.60% | 4,490 |
| Coffee | 8,890 | 66.57% | 4,319 | 32.34% | 126 | 0.94% | 15 | 0.11% | 5 | 0.04% | 4,571 | 34.23% | 13,355 |
| Colbert | 7,775 | 42.25% | 10,397 | 56.49% | 208 | 1.13% | 11 | 0.06% | 13 | 0.07% | -2,622 | -14.24% | 18,404 |
| Conecuh | 3,256 | 51.22% | 3,022 | 47.54% | 43 | 0.68% | 16 | 0.25% | 20 | 0.31% | 234 | 3.68% | 6,357 |
| Coosa | 2,405 | 56.15% | 1,860 | 43.43% | 15 | 0.35% | 2 | 0.05% | 1 | 0.02% | 545 | 12.72% | 4,283 |
| Covington | 8,130 | 67.34% | 3,845 | 31.85% | 55 | 0.46% | 30 | 0.25% | 13 | 0.11% | 4,285 | 35.49% | 12,073 |
| Crenshaw | 2,617 | 58.44% | 1,836 | 41.00% | 15 | 0.33% | 5 | 0.11% | 5 | 0.11% | 781 | 17.44% | 4,478 |
| Cullman | 14,351 | 61.87% | 8,517 | 36.72% | 132 | 0.57% | 176 | 0.76% | 21 | 0.09% | 5,834 | 25.15% | 23,197 |
| Dale | 9,266 | 71.80% | 3,476 | 26.94% | 131 | 1.02% | 19 | 0.15% | 13 | 0.10% | 5,790 | 44.86% | 12,905 |
| Dallas | 7,630 | 43.79% | 9,660 | 55.44% | 107 | 0.61% | 18 | 0.10% | 8 | 0.05% | -2,030 | -11.65% | 17,423 |
| DeKalb | 11,478 | 60.60% | 7,333 | 38.72% | 106 | 0.56% | 14 | 0.07% | 9 | 0.05% | 4,145 | 21.88% | 18,940 |
| Elmore | 10,852 | 69.84% | 4,501 | 28.97% | 160 | 1.03% | 13 | 0.08% | 13 | 0.08% | 6,351 | 40.87% | 15,539 |
| Escambia | 6,807 | 62.14% | 4,020 | 36.70% | 66 | 0.60% | 35 | 0.32% | 26 | 0.24% | 2,787 | 25.44% | 10,954 |
| Etowah | 17,828 | 49.67% | 17,762 | 49.49% | 155 | 0.43% | 114 | 0.32% | 32 | 0.09% | 66 | 0.18% | 35,891 |
| Fayette | 4,338 | 57.40% | 3,186 | 42.16% | 15 | 0.20% | 6 | 0.08% | 12 | 0.16% | 1,152 | 15.24% | 7,557 |
| Franklin | 5,146 | 50.25% | 4,961 | 48.44% | 121 | 1.18% | 8 | 0.08% | 5 | 0.05% | 185 | 1.81% | 10,241 |
| Geneva | 5,703 | 67.32% | 2,685 | 31.69% | 45 | 0.53% | 27 | 0.32% | 12 | 0.14% | 3,018 | 35.63% | 8,472 |
| Greene | 1,048 | 23.94% | 3,295 | 75.28% | 29 | 0.66% | 3 | 0.07% | 2 | 0.05% | -2,247 | -51.34% | 4,377 |
| Hale | 2,414 | 42.71% | 3,187 | 56.39% | 35 | 0.62% | 10 | 0.18% | 6 | 0.11% | -773 | -13.68% | 5,652 |
| Henry | 3,613 | 61.82% | 2,206 | 37.75% | 13 | 0.22% | 6 | 0.10% | 6 | 0.10% | 1,407 | 24.07% | 5,844 |
| Houston | 19,989 | 73.87% | 7,001 | 25.87% | 44 | 0.16% | 15 | 0.06% | 12 | 0.04% | 12,988 | 48.00% | 27,061 |
| Jackson | 6,090 | 44.55% | 7,418 | 54.27% | 147 | 1.08% | 8 | 0.06% | 6 | 0.04% | -1,328 | -9.72% | 13,669 |
| Jefferson | 148,879 | 57.74% | 107,766 | 41.80% | 781 | 0.30% | 282 | 0.11% | 73 | 0.03% | 41,113 | 15.94% | 257,833 |
| Lamar | 3,214 | 58.48% | 2,274 | 41.38% | 5 | 0.09% | 1 | 0.02% | 2 | 0.04% | 940 | 17.10% | 5,496 |
| Lauderdale | 12,942 | 49.43% | 12,862 | 49.13% | 325 | 1.24% | 11 | 0.04% | 88 | 0.34% | 80 | 0.30% | 26,180 |
| Lawrence | 3,616 | 42.96% | 4,646 | 55.20% | 83 | 0.99% | 63 | 0.75% | 0 | 0.00% | -1,030 | -12.24% | 8,417 |
| Lee | 17,180 | 64.39% | 9,078 | 34.02% | 393 | 1.47% | 19 | 0.07% | 19 | 0.07% | 8,102 | 30.37% | 26,683 |
| Limestone | 9,086 | 61.56% | 5,455 | 36.96% | 186 | 1.26% | 23 | 0.16% | 14 | 0.09% | 3,631 | 24.60% | 14,760 |
| Lowndes | 1,405 | 29.42% | 3,328 | 69.68% | 31 | 0.65% | 7 | 0.15% | 10 | 0.21% | -1,923 | -40.26% | 4,776 |
| Macon | 1,304 | 16.81% | 6,351 | 81.88% | 40 | 0.52% | 53 | 0.68% | 8 | 0.10% | -5,047 | -65.07% | 7,756 |
| Madison | 53,575 | 67.06% | 25,800 | 32.29% | 353 | 0.44% | 108 | 0.14% | 58 | 0.07% | 27,775 | 34.77% | 79,894 |
| Marengo | 4,241 | 48.61% | 4,402 | 50.45% | 65 | 0.74% | 14 | 0.16% | 3 | 0.03% | -161 | -1.84% | 8,725 |
| Marion | 5,955 | 56.73% | 4,505 | 42.92% | 17 | 0.16% | 4 | 0.04% | 16 | 0.15% | 1,450 | 13.81% | 10,497 |
| Marshall | 12,148 | 60.90% | 7,357 | 36.88% | 264 | 1.32% | 66 | 0.33% | 112 | 0.56% | 4,791 | 24.02% | 19,947 |
| Mobile | 72,203 | 60.88% | 45,524 | 38.39% | 766 | 0.65% | 74 | 0.06% | 30 | 0.03% | 26,679 | 22.49% | 118,597 |
| Monroe | 5,379 | 60.07% | 3,509 | 39.19% | 45 | 0.50% | 17 | 0.19% | 4 | 0.04% | 1,870 | 20.88% | 8,954 |
| Montgomery | 41,131 | 58.43% | 28,709 | 40.79% | 471 | 0.67% | 66 | 0.09% | 14 | 0.02% | 12,422 | 17.64% | 70,391 |
| Morgan | 18,679 | 63.54% | 10,594 | 36.04% | 73 | 0.25% | 24 | 0.08% | 27 | 0.09% | 8,085 | 27.50% | 29,397 |
| Perry | 2,107 | 36.59% | 3,574 | 62.07% | 52 | 0.90% | 13 | 0.23% | 12 | 0.21% | -1,467 | -25.48% | 5,758 |
| Pickens | 3,851 | 55.16% | 3,107 | 44.50% | 11 | 0.16% | 4 | 0.06% | 9 | 0.13% | 744 | 10.66% | 6,982 |
| Pike | 5,897 | 60.04% | 3,813 | 38.82% | 90 | 0.92% | 7 | 0.07% | 14 | 0.14% | 2,084 | 21.22% | 9,821 |
| Randolph | 4,625 | 64.02% | 2,462 | 34.08% | 128 | 1.77% | 1 | 0.01% | 8 | 0.11% | 2,163 | 29.94% | 7,224 |
| Russell | 6,333 | 48.40% | 6,589 | 50.35% | 134 | 1.02% | 16 | 0.12% | 14 | 0.11% | -256 | -1.95% | 13,086 |
| Shelby | 27,052 | 78.84% | 7,138 | 20.80% | 72 | 0.21% | 26 | 0.08% | 26 | 0.08% | 19,914 | 58.04% | 34,314 |
| St. Clair | 10,604 | 70.71% | 4,335 | 28.91% | 36 | 0.24% | 8 | 0.05% | 14 | 0.09% | 6,269 | 41.80% | 14,997 |
| Sumter | 2,212 | 33.36% | 4,390 | 66.21% | 11 | 0.17% | 7 | 0.11% | 10 | 0.15% | -2,178 | -32.85% | 6,630 |
| Talladega | 12,973 | 60.32% | 8,291 | 38.55% | 126 | 0.59% | 76 | 0.35% | 40 | 0.19% | 4,682 | 21.77% | 21,506 |
| Tallapoosa | 8,502 | 63.93% | 4,598 | 34.58% | 176 | 1.32% | 9 | 0.07% | 13 | 0.10% | 3,904 | 29.35% | 13,298 |
| Tuscaloosa | 27,396 | 59.87% | 18,166 | 39.70% | 118 | 0.26% | 46 | 0.10% | 32 | 0.07% | 9,230 | 20.17% | 45,758 |
| Walker | 11,011 | 48.51% | 11,338 | 49.95% | 156 | 0.69% | 179 | 0.79% | 16 | 0.07% | -327 | -1.44% | 22,700 |
| Washington | 3,741 | 52.23% | 3,402 | 47.49% | 8 | 0.11% | 8 | 0.11% | 4 | 0.06% | 339 | 4.74% | 7,163 |
| Wilcox | 1,739 | 33.98% | 3,369 | 65.83% | 3 | 0.06% | 2 | 0.04% | 5 | 0.10% | -1,630 | -31.85% | 5,118 |
| Winston | 6,235 | 67.59% | 2,954 | 32.02% | 16 | 0.17% | 9 | 0.10% | 11 | 0.12% | 3,281 | 35.57% | 9,225 |
| Totals | 815,576 | 59.17% | 549,506 | 39.86% | 8,460 | 0.61% | 3,311 | 0.24% | 1,623 | 0.12% | 266,070 | 19.31% | 1,378,476 |
State and district results of the1988 U.S. presidential election | ||
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See also:Political party strength in Alabama | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
