1988 United States presidential election

Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 1988. The Republican ticket of incumbent vice presidentGeorge H. W. Bush and Indiana junior senatorDan Quayle defeated the Democratic ticket of Massachusetts governorMichael Dukakis and Texas senior senatorLloyd Bentsen. The election was the third consecutive landslide victory for the Republican Party.

Incumbent President Ronald Reagan was ineligible to run for a third term due to the term limits established by the 22nd Amendment to the United States Constitution. As a result, it was the first election since 1968 to lack an incumbent president on the ballot, and also the first incumbent president since Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1960 to be barred from seeking reelection. Bush entered the Republican primaries as the front-runner, defeating Kansas senator Bob Dole and televangelist Pat Robertson. He selected Indiana senator Dan Quayle as his running mate. Dukakis, campaigning on his state's record of strong economic growth, won the Democratic primaries after Gary Hart (a prominent "Atari Democrat" representing the party's moderate wing) withdrew and Ted Kennedy (representing the party's traditional liberal wing) declined to run. Dukakis selected Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen as his running mate.

Bush ran an aggressive campaign that concentrated mainly on the strong economy, reduction in crime, and continuance with Reagan's policies. He attacked Dukakis as an elitist "Massachusetts liberal" and soft-on-crime, to which Dukakis ineffectively responded. Despite Dukakis initially leading in the polls, Bush pulled ahead after the Republican National Convention and extended his lead after two strong debate performances. Bush won a decisive victory over Dukakis, winning the Electoral College and the popular vote by sizable margins. Bush is the only sitting vice president to be elected president since Martin Van Buren in 1836. Despite his loss, Dukakis flipped nine states that had voted Republican in 1984: Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Voters 44 years of age or younger (born in 1944 or later) were estimated by the exit poll to comprise 55% of the electorate. As such, Baby boomers and Generation X constituted the majority of the voting public.

As of 2026, it remains the most recent election in which a candidate won over 400 electoral votes, as well as 40 or more states. It is also the most recent open seat election in which the outgoing president's party retained the White House, and the most recent time where a major party won the presidency for a third consecutive term. As of 2026, this is the earliest election in which at least one of the major party nominees for president (Dukakis) or vice president (Quayle) is still alive.