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1988 United States presidential election in New Jersey
County Results
Municipality Results
Bush
50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
90-100%
Dukakis
50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
90-100%
The 1988 United States presidential election in New Jersey took place on November 8, 1988. All 50 states and the District of Columbia , were part of the 1988 United States presidential election . Voters chose 16 electors to the Electoral College , which selected the president and vice president . New Jersey was won by incumbent Republican Vice President George H. W. Bush of Texas , who was running against Democratic Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis . Bush ran with Indiana Senator Dan Quayle while Dukakis ran with Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen .
Bush carried New Jersey with 56.24% of the vote, while Dukakis received 42.60% a 13.64% margin of victory.[ 1] New Jersey weighed in for this election as almost 6% points more Republican than the national average. Bush won 18 of New Jersey's 21 counties, with Dukakis only winning the heavily Democratic counties of Mercer , Essex , and Hudson .
As of the 2024 presidential election , this is the last time that New Jersey would vote Republican in a presidential election, as well as the last time that the Republican nominee has carried the following counties: Burlington , Camden , Middlesex , and Union .[ 2] All of these counties would become reliably Democratic in every election that has followed, as northern suburban voters shifted away from the GOP in the 1990s. Gloucester would not vote Republican again until 2016. Atlantic and Cumberland counties would not vote Republican again until 2024. Bush won the election in New Jersey with a strong 13.6-point margin.
1988 United States presidential election in New Jersey[ 3]
Party
Candidate
Votes
Percentage
Electoral votes
Republican
George H. W. Bush
1,743,192
56.24%
16
Democratic
Michael Dukakis
1,320,352
42.60%
0
Peace and Freedom Party
Herbert Lewin
9,953
0.32%
0
Libertarian
Ron Paul
8,421
0.27%
0
New Alliance Party
Lenora Fulani
5,139
0.17%
0
Progressive
Eugene McCarthy
3,454
0.11%
0
Socialist
Willa Kenoyer
2,587
0.08%
0
America First
David Duke
2,446
0.08%
0
Socialist Workers Party
James Warren
2,298
0.07%
0
Workers World
Larry Holmes
1,020
0.03%
0
Socialist Equality Party
Edward Winn
691
0.02%
0
Totals
3,099,553
100.0%
16
Voter Turnout (Voting age/Registered)
52%/77%
County
George H.W. Bush Republican
Michael Dukakis Democratic
Various candidates Other parties
Margin
Total votes cast
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
Atlantic
44,748
56.33%
34,047
42.86%
647
0.81%
10,701
13.47%
79,442
Bergen
226,885
58.19%
160,655
41.20%
2,393
0.61%
66,230
16.99%
389,933
Burlington
87,416
58.30%
61,140
40.77%
1,393
0.93%
26,276
17.53%
149,949
Camden
100,072
51.98%
90,704
47.12%
1,739
0.90%
9,368
4.86%
192,515
Cape May
28,738
65.14%
15,105
34.24%
274
0.62%
13,633
30.90%
44,117
Cumberland
26,024
53.83%
21,869
45.23%
456
0.94%
4,155
8.60%
48,349
Essex
111,491
40.25%
156,098
56.36%
9,378
3.39%
-44,607
-16.11%
276,967
Gloucester
51,708
58.68%
35,479
40.26%
930
1.06%
16,229
18.42%
88,117
Hudson
84,334
45.72%
98,507
53.40%
1,622
0.88%
-14,173
-7.68%
184,463
Hunterdon
31,907
69.09%
13,758
29.79%
517
1.12%
18,149
39.30%
46,182
Mercer
65,384
48.31%
68,712
50.77%
1,249
0.92%
-3,328
-2.46%
135,345
Middlesex
143,422
54.30%
117,149
44.35%
3,548
1.34%
26,273
9.95%
264,119
Monmouth
147,320
61.14%
91,844
38.12%
1,793
0.74%
55,476
23.02%
240,957
Morris
127,420
68.05%
58,721
31.36%
1,108
0.59%
68,699
36.69%
187,249
Ocean
124,587
65.38%
64,474
33.83%
1,497
0.79%
60,113
31.55%
190,558
Passaic
88,070
55.91%
66,254
42.06%
3,189
2.02%
21,816
13.85%
157,513
Salem
15,240
59.52%
9,956
38.88%
410
1.60%
5,284
20.64%
25,606
Somerset
67,658
63.71%
37,406
35.22%
1,129
1.06%
30,252
28.49%
106,193
Sussex
36,086
71.94%
13,676
27.26%
398
0.79%
22,410
44.68%
50,160
Union
112,967
54.27%
93,158
44.75%
2,028
0.97%
19,809
9.52%
208,153
Warren
21,715
64.50%
11,640
34.57%
311
0.92%
10,075
29.93%
33,666
Totals
1,743,192
56.24%
1,320,352
42.60%
36,009
1.16%
422,840
13.64%
3,099,553
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic [ edit ]
By congressional district [ edit ]
Bush won 12 of 14 congressional districts, including six that elected Democrats.[ 4]
International policy with the buckling Soviet Union was a critical component of the political landscape in the late 1980s. Vice President Bush can be seen here standing with the United States President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev , on the New York waterfront, 1988.