1988 United States presidential election in West Virginia
The 1988 United States presidential election in West Virginia took place on November 8, 1988. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were part of the 1988 United States presidential election . West Virginia voters chose six electors to the Electoral College , which selected the president and vice president .
West Virginia was won by Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis who was running against incumbent United States Vice President George H. W. Bush of Texas . Dukakis ran with Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen as Vice President, and Bush ran with Indiana Senator Dan Quayle .
West Virginia weighed in for this election as 13 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. As of 2020 , this is the last time a Republican presidential candidate won the presidency without winning West Virginia. The 1988 election cycle is also the last time that West Virginia did not vote for the same presidential candidate as neighboring Kentucky .
The presidential election of 1988 was a very partisan election for West Virginia, with over 99% of the electorate voting for either the Republican or Democratic parties, and only three candidates appearing on the ballot.[1] Dukakis won the election in West Virginia with a 5-point margin.
A rare event in any United States presidential election, West Virginia was home to a faithless elector in the election of 1988. During the assembly of the electoral college, one elector from West Virginia, Margarette Leach , cast her vote for the Democratic vice presidential nominee Lloyd Bentsen as president, and Dukakis as the vice president. She did this in order to draw attention to the lack of accountability for electors under the Electoral College system.[2]
Results
Results by county
County
Michael Dukakis Democratic
George H.W. Bush Republican
Lenora Fulani New Alliance
Margin
Total votes cast
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
Barbour
3,221
51.45%
3,023
48.28%
17
0.27%
198
3.17%
6,261
Berkeley
6,313
36.84%
10,761
62.80%
61
0.36%
-4,448
-25.96%
17,135
Boone
6,539
69.97%
2,786
29.81%
20
0.21%
3,753
40.16%
9,345
Braxton
3,377
62.27%
2,024
37.32%
22
0.41%
1,353
24.95%
5,423
Brooke
6,258
60.72%
4,006
38.87%
42
0.41%
2,252
21.85%
10,306
Cabell
15,368
47.05%
17,197
52.65%
97
0.30%
-1,829
-5.60%
32,662
Calhoun
1,644
53.78%
1,395
45.63%
18
0.59%
249
8.15%
3,057
Clay
2,263
59.38%
1,536
40.30%
12
0.31%
727
19.08%
3,811
Doddridge
955
33.54%
1,880
66.03%
12
0.42%
-925
-32.49%
2,847
Fayette
11,009
67.94%
5,143
31.74%
53
0.33%
5,866
36.20%
16,205
Gilmer
1,661
54.21%
1,387
45.27%
16
0.52%
274
8.94%
3,064
Grant
893
21.62%
3,215
77.85%
22
0.53%
-2,322
-56.23%
4,130
Greenbrier
6,091
52.87%
5,395
46.83%
35
0.30%
696
6.04%
11,521
Hampshire
2,085
38.88%
3,253
60.66%
25
0.47%
-1,168
-21.78%
5,363
Hancock
8,338
58.39%
5,882
41.19%
60
0.42%
2,456
17.20%
14,280
Hardy
1,689
39.39%
2,581
60.19%
18
0.42%
-892
-20.80%
4,288
Harrison
17,005
55.90%
13,364
43.93%
49
0.16%
3,641
11.97%
30,418
Jackson
4,573
44.44%
5,696
55.35%
22
0.21%
-1,123
-10.91%
10,291
Jefferson
4,334
44.56%
5,349
55.00%
43
0.44%
-1,015
-10.44%
9,726
Kanawha
41,144
51.73%
38,140
47.95%
258
0.32%
3,004
3.78%
79,542
Lewis
3,272
47.37%
3,602
52.14%
34
0.49%
-330
-4.77%
6,908
Lincoln
5,049
59.20%
3,457
40.53%
23
0.27%
1,592
18.67%
8,529
Logan
11,317
72.51%
4,244
27.19%
47
0.30%
7,073
45.32%
15,608
Marion
14,441
60.82%
9,229
38.87%
72
0.30%
5,212
21.95%
23,742
Marshall
7,903
53.47%
6,793
45.96%
83
0.56%
1,110
7.51%
14,779
Mason
5,468
50.51%
5,332
49.26%
25
0.23%
136
1.25%
10,825
McDowell
7,204
74.16%
2,463
25.36%
47
0.48%
4,741
48.80%
9,714
Mercer
10,152
49.69%
10,221
50.03%
57
0.28%
-69
-0.34%
20,430
Mineral
4,059
40.14%
6,015
59.49%
37
0.37%
-1,956
-19.35%
10,111
Mingo
7,429
71.78%
2,896
27.98%
25
0.24%
4,533
43.80%
10,350
Monongalia
14,178
53.83%
12,091
45.91%
69
0.26%
2,087
7.92%
26,338
Monroe
2,427
46.96%
2,719
52.61%
22
0.43%
-292
-5.65%
5,168
Morgan
1,545
33.85%
3,002
65.78%
17
0.37%
-1,457
-31.93%
4,564
Nicholas
5,173
57.89%
3,731
41.75%
32
0.36%
1,442
16.14%
8,936
Ohio
10,121
49.18%
10,341
50.25%
116
0.56%
-220
-1.07%
20,578
Pendleton
1,595
45.53%
1,901
54.27%
7
0.20%
-306
-8.74%
3,503
Pleasants
1,421
44.59%
1,761
55.26%
5
0.16%
-340
-10.67%
3,187
Pocahontas
1,958
50.83%
1,876
48.70%
18
0.47%
82
2.13%
3,852
Preston
4,357
42.73%
5,804
56.92%
35
0.34%
-1,447
-14.19%
10,196
Putnam
6,640
44.74%
8,163
55.00%
38
0.26%
-1,523
-10.26%
14,841
Raleigh
14,302
57.71%
10,395
41.95%
85
0.34%
3,907
15.76%
24,782
Randolph
5,233
52.24%
4,746
47.38%
38
0.38%
487
4.86%
10,017
Ritchie
1,446
33.33%
2,874
66.25%
18
0.41%
-1,428
-32.92%
4,338
Roane
2,447
45.89%
2,861
53.66%
24
0.45%
-414
-7.77%
5,332
Summers
3,072
57.81%
2,231
41.98%
11
0.21%
841
15.83%
5,314
Taylor
2,852
50.09%
2,816
49.46%
26
0.46%
36
0.63%
5,694
Tucker
1,869
52.25%
1,699
47.50%
9
0.25%
170
4.75%
3,577
Tyler
1,501
38.75%
2,365
61.05%
8
0.21%
-864
-22.30%
3,874
Upshur
3,065
38.83%
4,813
60.97%
16
0.20%
-1,748
-22.14%
7,894
Wayne
8,621
54.65%
7,123
45.15%
31
0.20%
1,498
9.50%
5,775
Webster
2,185
67.92%
1,016
31.58%
16
0.50%
1,169
36.34%
3,217
Wetzel
3,928
53.44%
3,381
46.00%
41
0.56%
547
7.44%
7,350
Wirt
929
44.97%
1,125
54.45%
12
0.58%
-196
-9.48%
2,066
Wood
12,959
39.80%
19,450
59.73%
154
0.47%
-6,491
-19.93%
32,563
Wyoming
6,138
63.38%
3,516
36.31%
30
0.31%
2,622
27.07%
9,684
Totals
341,016
52.20%
310,065
47.46%
2,230
0.34%
30,951
4.74%
653,311
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
See also
Notes
^ A faithless Democratic elector voted for Bentsen for president and Dukakis for vice president
References