The 1988 United States presidential election in Alaska took place on November 8, 1988. All 50 states and

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, were part of the

1988 United States presidential election The 1988 United States presidential election was the 51st quadrennial presidential election held on Tuesday, November 8, 1988. The Republican nominee, incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush, defeated the Democratic nominee, Governor Michael ...

. Alaska voters chose three electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president. Alaska was won by incumbent United States Vice President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

of Texas, who was running against Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. Bush ran with Indiana

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Dan Quayle as Vice President, and Dukakis ran with Texas

Lloyd Bentsen Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. (February 11, 1921 – May 23, 2006) was an American politician who was a four-term United States Senator (1971–1993) from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for vice president in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ti ...

. Bush won the election in Alaska with a resounding 23 point sweep-out landslide. Alaska has sent Republican electors to the Electoral College during every election in its history – except in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

, where electors were sent for Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson. The election results in Alaska are reflective of a nationwide reconsolidation of base for the Republican Party, which took place throughout the 1980s. Through the passage of some very controversial economic programs, spearheaded by then President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

(called, collectively, " Reaganomics"), the mid-to-late 1980s saw a period of economic growth and stability. The hallmark for Reaganomics was, in part, the wide-scale deregulation of corporate interests, and tax cuts for the wealthy. Dukakis ran on a socially liberal platform and advocated for higher economic regulation and environmental protection. Bush, alternatively, ran on a campaign of continuing Reagan's social and economic policies, which gained him much support with

social conservatives Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social instituti ...

and people living in rural areas. Additionally, while the economic programs passed under Reagan and furthered under Bush and Bill Clinton may have boosted the economy for a brief period, they are criticized by many analysts as "setting the stage" for economic troubles in the United States after 2007, such as the Great Recession. The election was rather multi-partisan for Alaska, with nearly 5% of the votes going to third-party candidates. Leading the third-party turnout in Alaska, and with one of their best turnouts nationwide, Texas

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as well ...

with running-mate and Alaska Legislator Andre Marrou were able to pull nearly 3% of votes in the state on the Libertarian Party ticket. Alaska weighed in for this election as 16% more Republican than the national average.

Results

References

{{State results of the 1988 U.S. presidential election 1988 Alaska elections Alaska

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

Results

See also

References