1988 United States Presidential Election (A New Dawn)

The 1988 United States Presidential Election was the 51st quadrennial presidential election in the United States, held on Tuesday, November 8, 1988. The Republican ticket of incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush, in the nation's first two-round election, defeated the Democratic ticket of Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. This was the first presidential election since 1948 in which the incumbent party won more than two elections in a row. It also remains the most recent election in which the victor won more than 400 electoral votes.

Following the so-called "Reagan Reforms" of the late 1980s, the electoral system in the United States was significantly changed, introducing a two-round system that greatly improved the viability of third parties. In the Republican Party, Bush was the early front-runner, and fended off challenges from Senator Bob Dole and minister Pat Robertson, who would go on to join the fledging Constitution Party, founded by himself and Pat Buchanan as an alternative to Bush's moderate conservatism. Meanwhile, Dukakis won the Democratic primary after many prominent Democrats, such as Gary Hart and Ted Kennedy, chose not to run.

Meanwhile, Buchanan was nominated for President by his party, with Robertson's support. Buchanan chose Missouri Senator John Danforth as his running mate, while political activist Lyndon LaRouche joined Jesse Jackson's Progressive Party, the fourth party to use that name. While Jackson was originally expected to be the party's nominee, LaRouche was eventually chosen, and Jackson himself became the ticket's running mate. This was the first election since 1968 in which no incumbent President was on the ballot.

Bush ran an aggressive campaign, centered mainly on the strong economy, reduction of crime, and continuing of Reagan's policies. He attacked Dukakis as an elitist Massachusetts liberal, to which Dukakis mostly ignored or sometimes embraced. Both major candidates mostly ignored Buchanan and LaRouche, though Buchanan attacked Bush as a fake conservative and portrayed himself as the true Reagan successor, while LaRouche emphasized populism over Dukakis's perceived elitism. Bush won with a plurality in the first round, and then secured a decisive victory over Dukakis in the second round, winning by sizable margins.

Buchanan and LaRouche secured victories in their respective regions; the south and the northeast. Notably, the District of Columbia went for LaRouche, breaking its streak of voting for the Democrats. Ultimately, both third party candidates would take a combined 31% of the popular vote, propelling both parties into the mainstream.

Republican Nomination
After trailing Bob Dole and Pat Robertson, Bush gained significant momentum (or, as he called it, "Big Mo") in the New Hampshire Primary, and he swept Super Tuesday. At the convention in New Orleans, Louisiana, Bush said to the roaring crowd "Read my lips: No new taxes," a pledge that he eventually broke, which helped contribute to his loss in 1992.

Democratic Nomination
After the landslide losses in 1980 and 1984, Democratic leadership attempted to move on and find a fresh face who could appeal to the constituencies that Mondale had lost in 1984.

Constitution Nomination


With the nomination of Bush by the GOP, many conservatives felt unrepresented, leading to paleoconservative Pat Buchanan leaving the GOP and forming his own party, calling it Constitution. Together with Pat Robertson, Buchanan recruited many to his new party, including South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond, and Senate candidate for Mississippi Trent Lott. Buchanan would ultimately be unanimously selected as the party's first nominee. To smooth concerns of his more extreme views, Buchanan recruited Missouri Senator John Danforth as his running mate, a position Danforth reluctantly accepted.

Progressive Nomination
Following his defeat in the Democratic primaries, Jesse Jackson would join a group of disaffected liberals to form the Progressive Party, a name used three times before in American politics (Indeed, one of Jackson's campaign managers complained about the name's, quote, lack of originality.) As Jackson prepared to hold a primary for his party, it was joined by Lyndon LaRouche, a perennial candidate known for his strange beliefs. LaRouche captivated members of the party, and was seen by the partymen as a way to invigorate progressives, and as a less controversial alternative to Jackson, who's Jewish comments unnerved many in the party.

Ultimately, LaRouche would prevail in the party's first primary, and he offered the frustrated Jackson his running mate spot.

Campaign
Throughout the election, Bush and Dukakis ignored Buchanan and LaRouche, though Dukakis occasionally attacked LaRouche, which his campaign advisers criticized as a waste of time, allowing Bush's camp to launch more and more attacks. Bush highlighted Dukakis' perceived liberal elitism, such as his opposition to a mandatory saying of the Pledge of Allegiance in schools, or Dukakis's own statement that he was a "card-carrying ACLU member." Dukakis eventually responded by calling himself a "proud liberal." Bush also pledged to continue Reagan's policies, but also promised a "kinder, gentler nation," which Nancy Reagan responded to by asking "kinder, gentler than whom?"

Buchanan attacked Bush as a flip-flopper, for example, highlighting his opposition to tax cuts in 1980, which he referred to as "voodoo economics." Buchanan also championed himself as the real conservative, and tapped into concerns of a deterioration of the family and moral values. LaRouche, for his part, attacked Dukakis's perceived elitism, and championed worker's rights and the rights of unions. He also attacked the Democratic Party at large for, he claimed, failing the American people. He also attempted to tap into the black vote with his running mate, Jesse Jackson, however, Dukakis's campaign would remind the nation of Jackson's highly controversial remarks about Jewish people while in New York City.

Dukakis was significantly harmed by campaign commercials released by the Bush campaign, including "Boston Harbor", which attacked his failure to clean up environmental pollution in the city's harbor, and especially by two commercials, "Revolving Door" and "Weekend Passes" (also known as "Willie Horton"), that publicized Dukakis's soft-on-crime policies. Dukakis himself was a strong supporter of Massachusetts's prison furlough program. As governor, he vetoed a 1976 plan to bar inmates convicted of first-degree murder from the furlough program. In 1986, the program had resulted in the release of convicted murderer Willie Horton, an African American man who committed a rape and assault in Maryland while out on furlough.

Dukakis in the tank
Possibly the most well-known ad of the election, in which Dukakis attempted to bolster his pro-military image by riding around in an M1 Abrams tank in Michigan. The ad backfired, with many mocking the appearance of the candidate's head sticking out of the vehicle, along with a Bush ad depicting the image with a rolling text list of military-related bills Dukakis had vetoed.

Debates
A total of three debates were held, two before the second round and one after the second round.

Ballot Access
Several states denied access to the Constitution and Progressive campaigns, which both alleged as politically charged. Ultimately, both parties would sue these states (Iowa, New Mexico, Nevada, Florida, and New Jersey,) resulting in the Supreme Court cases Buchanan vs. State of Florida and LaRouche vs. State of New Jersey, in which the Supreme Court would rule the two parties classified as major, and ruled that all states had to give equal access to the parties.

First Round
On Election Night, November 8, Bush secured a victory in the traditionally Republican plains, and scored victories in the Midwest. Dukakis performed well in the Pacific States and narrowly won New York, despite facing significant challenge from the populism of LaRouche. Buchanan swept the South, winning the entire Deep South and and performing well in Texas, Florida, and the Upper South. In a humorous incident, ABC News called South Carolina for Bush, which was widely reported, until the morning of November 9, when it revealed that Buchanan had actually won the state.

LaRouche carried much of New England, and took Michigan and West Virginia thanks to his heavy use of populism and championing of worker's rights. He performed well in the industrial cities of the Midwest, but did poorly outside that region.

Second Round
With Buchanan and LaRouche eliminated, Bush and Dukakis advanced to the second round. Bush was successfully able to convince Buchanan to publicly back him, while LaRouche was far more reserved about supporting Dukakis, though he did eventually offer a half-hearted endorsement. A third debate was held to allow the two qualifiers to make their final pitch to the American people.

Bush ultimately trounced Dukakis, flipping California from Dukakis's column and taking several LaRouche states. In both the Electoral College and popular vote, Bush won by wide margins.