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The 1988 United States presidential election in Arkansas took place on November 8, 1988. All fifty states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. State voters chose six electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

Incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush, running with U.S. Senator Dan Quayle, defeated Governor Michael Dukakis, running with U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen.

Arkansas was the last state to leave the Solid South when it supported Richard Nixon in the 1972 presidential election. Arkansas was Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter's third-highest percentage performance in the 1976 presidential election. However, Ronald Reagan won the state in both 1980 and 1984.[1]

Campaign

Primary

Arkansas switched to a caucus system for the 1984 primary, which resulted in voter turnout in the Democratic primary from 450,000 in 1980, to 22,202 in 1984. The primary system was restored for the 1988 election.[2]

U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers was speculated as a possible presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Paul Simon, who supported a proposed Bumpers candidacy, stated that Bumpers would "have more support in the United States Senate than any other candidate". However, Bumpers announced on March 20, 1987, that he would not seek the nomination. Governor Bill Clinton was also speculated as a candidate, but he announced that he would not run on July 15.[3]

Arkansas was rarely visited during the primary by the major candidates with twenty visits from the Democratic candidates and nine from the Republican candidates. Republican primary turnout rose from 8,177 in 1980, to 19,040 in 1984, and to 68,305 in 1988. Half of the votes in the Republican primary came from within the 3rd congressional district.[4]

Turnout in the Democratic primary was 497,506. Dick Gephardt won four counties along the border of his home state of Missouri while Jesse Jackson won ten counties with high black populations.[5] Al Gore won 46% of the white vote.[6] The racial composition of the primary was 87% white and 13% black.[7] 13% of white voters participated in the Republican primary.[8]

Lottie Shackelford, the first black woman to serve as mayor of Little Rock, was one of the four chairs of the Democratic National Convention. Clinton gave the nomination speech for Dukakis at the convention.[9]

U.S. Representative Tommy F. Robinson, a conservative boll weevil, was denied a position as a superdelegate to the DNC. He was elected as a delegate pledged to Gore. While other delegates pledged to Gore switched to Dukakis, Robinson switched his support to Jackson stating that his speech "had touched my soul". He was critical of Dukakis during the campaign stating that he should spend time in "states like Arkansas speaking words we can understand" in response to Dukakis speaking Spanish at events in Texas and California and refused to endorse Dukakis. Robinson later joined the Republican Party on July 28, 1989.[10]

General

During the campaign Lloyd Bentsen visited six times, Dukakis visited three times, Dan Quayle visited twice, and Bush visited once. Ed Bethune, chair of the Republican Party of Arkansas, stated in October that recent polling showed the state as a tossup and later quoted Lee Atwater as saying "the state he has historically worried about was Arkansas".[11]

Bush's victory in Arkansas was with a percentage lower than his average in the rest of the south. Turnout among the voting age population in Arkansas declined from 52.5% in 1984, to 44.2% in 1988.[12] 63% of white voters supported Bush while 36% supported Dukakis.[13][14] The Democrats maintained their control over the Arkansas General Assembly.[15]

The vast majority of the counties voted primarily Republican, including the highly populated center of Pulaski County. As of the 2020 presidential election this stands as the last election in which Pulaski County and Crittenden County voted for a Republican presidential candidate.[16]

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
George
Bush
Republican
Michael
Dukakis
Democratic
Other /
Undecided
Mason-Dixon Research[17] October 10–11, 1988 826 47% 41% 12%
Center for Research & Public Policy[17] October 14–19, 1988 394 54% 32% 14%
Opinion Research Associates[17] October 24–26, 1988 452 48% 32% 20%
Mason-Dixon Research[17] October 26–28, 1988 809 49% 40% 10%

Results

1988 United States presidential election in Arkansas
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican George H. W. Bush 466,578 56.37% 6
Democratic Michael Dukakis 349,237 42.19% 0
Independent David Duke 5,146 0.62% 0
Independent Ron Paul 3,297 0.40% 0
Independent Lenora Fulani 2,161 0.26% 0
Independent Earl Dodge 1,319 0.16% 0
Totals 827,738 100.0% 6

Results by county

County George Herbert Walker Bush
Republican
Michael Stanley Dukakis
Democratic
Various candidates
Other parties
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # %
Arkansas 4,007 55.61% 3,075 42.68% 123 1.71% 932 12.94% 7,205
Ashley 4,111 47.48% 4,466 51.58% 82 0.95% -355 -4.10% 8,659
Baxter 8,614 63.35% 4,808 35.36% 175 1.29% 3,806 27.99% 13,597
Benton 24,295 71.23% 9,399 27.55% 416 1.22% 14,896 43.67% 34,110
Boone 7,567 64.04% 3,998 33.84% 251 2.12% 3,569 30.20% 11,816
Bradley 2,089 48.93% 2,167 50.76% 13 0.30% -78 -1.83% 4,269
Calhoun 1,316 56.14% 1,024 43.69% 4 0.17% 292 12.46% 2,344
Carroll 4,553 62.77% 2,632 36.29% 68 0.94% 1,921 26.49% 7,253
Chicot 1,901 43.74% 2,426 55.82% 19 0.44% -525 -12.08% 4,346
Clark 3,389 41.69% 4,675 57.50% 66 0.81% -1,286 -15.82% 8,130
Clay 2,766 44.33% 3,442 55.16% 32 0.51% -676 -10.83% 6,240
Cleburne 4,932 58.85% 3,404 40.62% 45 0.54% 1,528 18.23% 8,381
Cleveland 1,462 50.75% 1,404 48.73% 15 0.52% 58 2.01% 2,881
Columbia 5,810 59.27% 3,706 37.81% 286 2.92% 2,104 21.47% 9,802
Conway 4,066 49.35% 4,134 50.18% 39 0.47% -68 -0.83% 8,239
Craighead 11,887 54.99% 9,083 42.02% 645 2.98% 2,804 12.97% 21,615
Crawford 9,092 70.85% 3,582 27.91% 158 1.23% 5,510 42.94% 12,832
Crittenden 7,441 51.73% 6,702 46.59% 241 1.68% 739 5.14% 14,384
Cross 3,186 51.29% 2,989 48.12% 37 0.60% 197 3.17% 6,212
Dallas 1,947 49.19% 1,990 50.28% 21 0.53% -43 -1.09% 3,958
Desha 2,334 42.94% 2,859 52.60% 242 4.45% -525 -9.66% 5,435
Drew 2,995 53.29% 2,578 45.87% 47 0.84% 417 7.42% 5,620
Faulkner 10,678 58.42% 7,302 39.95% 299 1.64% 3,376 18.47% 18,279
Franklin 3,588 58.93% 2,458 40.37% 43 0.71% 1,130 18.56% 6,089
Fulton 1,918 48.47% 2,018 51.00% 21 0.53% -100 -2.53% 3,957
Garland 19,281 60.93% 11,406 36.05% 955 3.02% 7,875 24.89% 31,642
Grant 2,717 55.40% 2,142 43.68% 45 0.92% 575 11.73% 4,904
Greene 5,161 50.06% 5,065 49.13% 84 0.81% 96 0.93% 10,310
Hempstead 3,938 50.49% 3,841 49.25% 20 0.26% 97 1.24% 7,799
Hot Spring 4,181 44.46% 5,090 54.12% 134 1.42% -909 -9.67% 9,405
Howard 2,510 57.87% 1,818 41.92% 9 0.21% 692 15.96% 4,337
Independence 6,637 59.22% 4,523 40.36% 48 0.43% 2,114 18.86% 11,208
Izard 2,824 51.19% 2,652 48.07% 41 0.74% 172 3.12% 5,517
Jackson 3,049 41.90% 4,199 57.71% 28 0.38% -1,150 -15.81% 7,276
Jefferson 12,520 42.08% 16,664 56.01% 568 1.91% -4,144 -13.93% 29,752
Johnson 4,046 58.29% 2,818 40.60% 77 1.11% 1,228 17.69% 6,941
Lafayette 1,860 48.95% 1,915 50.39% 25 0.66% -55 -1.45% 3,800
Lawrence 3,205 49.91% 3,179 49.51% 37 0.58% 26 0.40% 6,421
Lee 1,863 38.72% 2,878 59.81% 71 1.48% -1,015 -21.09% 4,812
Lincoln 1,557 41.04% 2,204 58.09% 33 0.87% -647 -17.05% 3,794
Little River 2,347 45.85% 2,740 53.53% 32 0.63% -393 -7.68% 5,119
Logan 2,203 62.87% 1,254 35.79% 47 1.34% 949 27.08% 3,504
Lonoke 7,215 59.68% 4,786 39.59% 89 0.74% 2,429 20.09% 12,090
Madison 3,067 58.72% 2,106 40.32% 50 0.96% 961 18.40% 5,223
Marion 2,993 57.80% 2,033 39.26% 152 2.94% 960 18.54% 5,178
Miller 7,110 56.30% 5,437 43.05% 82 0.65% 1,673 13.25% 12,629
Mississippi 7,841 52.67% 6,759 45.40% 288 1.93% 1,082 7.27% 14,888
Monroe 1,862 46.88% 2,052 51.66% 58 1.46% -190 -4.78% 3,972
Montgomery 1,752 55.99% 1,362 43.53% 15 0.48% 390 12.46% 3,129
Nevada 1,714 49.55% 1,732 50.07% 13 0.38% -18 -0.52% 3,459
Newton 2,504 62.00% 1,489 36.87% 46 1.14% 1,015 25.13% 4,039
Ouachita 6,297 52.29% 5,229 43.42% 517 4.29% 1,068 8.87% 12,043
Perry 1,627 52.01% 1,470 46.99% 31 0.99% 157 5.02% 3,128
Phillips 3,892 39.47% 5,580 56.59% 389 3.94% -1,688 -17.12% 9,861
Pike 2,105 55.44% 1,681 44.27% 11 0.29% 424 11.17% 3,797
Poinsett 3,644 48.16% 3,873 51.19% 49 0.65% -229 -3.03% 7,566
Polk 4,099 62.15% 2,390 36.24% 106 1.61% 1,709 25.91% 6,595
Pope 10,084 66.68% 4,941 32.67% 98 0.65% 5,143 34.01% 15,123
Prairie 1,947 53.25% 1,688 46.17% 21 0.57% 259 7.08% 3,656
Pulaski 70,562 54.98% 55,857 43.53% 1,914 1.49% 14,705 11.46% 128,333
Randolph 2,560 47.25% 2,781 51.33% 77 1.42% -221 -4.08% 5,418
St. Francis 4,298 47.86% 4,656 51.85% 26 0.29% -358 -3.99% 8,980
Saline 12,353 58.89% 8,436 40.22% 188 0.90% 3,917 18.67% 20,977
Scott 2,507 58.82% 1,707 40.05% 48 1.13% 800 18.77% 4,262
Searcy 2,743 66.21% 1,340 32.34% 60 1.45% 1,403 33.86% 4,143
Sebastian 24,426 70.94% 9,684 28.13% 322 0.94% 14,742 42.81% 34,432
Sevier 2,254 52.09% 2,037 47.08% 36 0.83% 217 5.02% 4,327
Sharp 3,623 54.79% 2,955 44.69% 34 0.51% 668 10.10% 6,612
Stone 2,186 55.17% 1,728 43.61% 48 1.21% 458 11.56% 3,962
Union 10,581 61.32% 5,931 34.37% 744 4.31% 4,650 26.95% 17,256
Van Buren 3,562 57.37% 2,607 41.99% 40 0.64% 955 15.38% 6,209
Washington 23,601 64.38% 12,557 34.25% 500 1.36% 11,044 30.13% 36,658
White 11,094 60.84% 6,957 38.15% 183 1.00% 4,137 22.69% 18,234
Woodruff 1,097 36.16% 1,924 63.41% 13 0.43% -827 -27.26% 3,034
Yell 3,535 55.84% 2,763 43.64% 33 0.52% 772 12.19% 6,331
Totals 466,578 56.37% 349,237 42.19% 11,923 1.44% 117,341 14.18% 827,738

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

[18][19]

See also

References

Works cited