1988 United States presidential election in Missouri explained

See main article: 1988 United States presidential election.

The 1988 United States presidential election in Missouri 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 11 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

Missouri was won by incumbent United States Vice President George H. W. Bush of Texas, who was running against Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. Bush ran with Indiana Senator Dan Quayle as vice president, and Dukakis ran with Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen.

Missouri weighed in for this election as almost 4% more Democratic than the national average.

The presidential election of 1988 was a very partisan election for Missouri, with more than 99% of the electorate voting for either the Democratic or Republican parties, and only three parties total appearing on the ballot.^[1] In typical form for the time, the more rural counties in Missouri turned out for the Republican candidate, while the more populated centers of the city of St. Louis (though, notably, not St. Louis County), and Kansas City, voted overwhelmingly Democratic., this is the last election in which St. Louis County voted for a Republican presidential candidate.

Bush won the election in the battleground state of Missouri by a narrow 4-point margin, far below the margin of victory Reagan achieved just four years earlier. Bush's loss of many northern rural counties, combined with Dukakis's strong performance in the St. Louis city area, resulted in an unusually close result in the state given the national environment. A longtime bellwether state, Missouri voted for the national winner of every presidential election from 1904 to 2004, except 1956.

Results

1988 United States presidential election in Missouri
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	George H. W. Bush	1,084,953	51.83%	11
	Democratic	Michael Dukakis	1,001,619	47.85%	0
	New Alliance Party	Lenora Fulani	6,656	0.32%	0
Totals			2,093,228	100.0%	11

Results by county

County	George H.W. Bush Republican		Michael Dukakis Democratic		Leonora Fulani New Alliance		Margin		Total votes cast[2]
		%		%		%		%
	Adair		5,721		61.29%		3,571		38.26%		42		0.45%		2,150		23.03%		9,334
	Andrew		3,407		52.12%		3,103		47.47%		27		0.41%		304		4.65%		6,537
	Atchison		1,761		54.37%		1,468		45.32%		10		0.31%		293		9.05%		3,239
	Audrain		5,072		49.11%		5,226		50.61%		29		0.28%		-154		-1.50%		10,327
	Barry		7,231		63.00%		4,210		36.68%		36		0.31%		3,021		26.32%		11,477
	Barton		3,339		67.35%		1,603		32.33%		16		0.32%		1,736		35.02%		4,958
	Bates		3,574		51.57%		3,332		48.08%		24		0.35%		242		3.49%		6,930
	Benton		3,467		56.42%		2,654		43.19%		24		0.39%		813		13.23%		6,145
	Bollinger		2,710		58.94%		1,883		40.95%		5		0.11%		827		17.99%		4,598
	Boone		22,948		48.35%		24,370		51.35%		140		0.29%		-1,422		-3.00%		47,458
	Buchanan		15,336		44.99%		18,601		54.57%		152		0.45%		-3,265		-9.58%		34,089
	Butler		7,968		58.00%		5,751		41.86%		19		0.14%		2,217		16.14%		13,738
	Caldwell		2,074		54.38%		1,726		45.25%		14		0.37%		348		9.13%		3,814
	Callaway		6,687		56.01%		5,209		43.63%		42		0.35%		1,478		12.38%		11,938
	Camden		7,773		66.10%		3,930		33.42%		56		0.48%		3,843		32.68%		11,759
	Cape Girardeau		16,583		67.53%		7,904		32.19%		69		0.28%		8,679		35.34%		24,556
	Carroll		2,811		54.59%		2,330		45.25%		8		0.16%		481		9.34%		5,149
	Carter		1,429		56.53%		1,087		43.00%		12		0.47%		342		13.53%		2,528
	Cass		12,799		55.75%		10,092		43.96%		67		0.29%		2,707		11.79%		22,958
	Cedar		2,966		62.52%		1,774		37.39%		4		0.08%		1,192		25.13%		4,744
	Chariton		2,193		48.14%		2,347		51.53%		15		0.33%		-154		-3.39%		4,555
	Christian		7,670		61.66%		4,724		37.97%		46		0.37%		2,946		23.69%		12,440
	Clark		1,493		43.52%		1,925		56.11%		13		0.38%		-432		-12.59%		3,431
	Clay		30,293		50.26%		29,620		49.15%		357		0.59%		673		1.11%		60,270
	Clinton		3,282		47.15%		3,653		52.48%		26		0.37%		-371		-5.33%		6,961
	Cole		18,023		68.16%		8,359		31.61%		59		0.22%		9,664		36.55%		26,441
	Cooper		3,737		59.64%		2,510		40.06%		19		0.30%		1,227		19.58%		6,266
	Crawford		3,856		55.19%		3,107		44.47%		24		0.34%		749		10.72%		6,987
	Dade		2,154		61.97%		1,315		37.83%		7		0.20%		839		24.14%		3,476
	Dallas		2,898		55.50%		2,298		44.01%		26		0.50%		600		11.49%		5,222
	Daviess		1,765		50.17%		1,743		49.55%		10		0.28%		22		0.62%		3,518
	DeKalb		1,863		48.48%		1,970		51.26%		10		0.26%		-107		-2.78%		3,843
	Dent		2,975		54.92%		2,421		44.69%		21		0.39%		554		10.23%		5,417
	Douglas		3,225		64.85%		1,735		34.89%		13		0.26%		1,490		29.96%		4,973
	Dunklin		5,026		48.70%		5,281		51.17%		13		0.13%		-255		-2.47%		10,320
	Franklin		16,611		58.06%		11,891		41.56%		108		0.38%		4,720		16.50%		28,610
	Gasconade		4,216		72.01%		1,621		27.69%		18		0.31%		2,595		44.32%		5,855
	Gentry		1,554		45.27%		1,872		54.53%		7		0.20%		-318		-9.26%		3,433
	Greene		52,211		59.36%		35,475		40.33%		267		0.30%		16,736		19.03%		87,953
	Grundy		2,668		56.38%		2,052		43.36%		12		0.25%		616		13.02%		4,732
	Harrison		2,271		55.89%		1,776		43.71%		16		0.39%		495		12.18%		4,063
	Henry		4,167		50.04%		4,135		49.65%		26		0.31%		32		0.39%		8,328
	Hickory		2,043		54.82%		1,677		45.00%		7		0.19%		366		9.82%		3,727
	Holt		1,583		55.54%		1,258		44.14%		9		0.32%		325		11.40%		2,850
	Howard		1,865		43.15%		2,446		56.59%		11		0.25%		-581		-13.44%		4,322
	Howell		7,277		62.49%		4,324		37.13%		44		0.38%		2,953		25.36%		11,645
	Iron		1,877		45.01%		2,283		54.75%		10		0.24%		-406		-9.74%		4,170
	Jackson		107,810		42.02%		147,964		57.67%		793		0.31%		-40,154		-15.65%		256,567
	Jasper		19,934		63.92%		11,159		35.78%		94		0.30%		8,775		28.14%		31,187
	Jefferson		29,279		51.16%		27,738		48.47%		215		0.38%		1,541		2.69%		57,232
	Johnson		7,512		58.14%		5,373		41.58%		36		0.28%		2,139		16.56%		12,921
	Knox		1,212		49.03%		1,255		50.77%		5		0.20%		-43		-1.74%		2,472
	Laclede		6,070		63.65%		3,442		36.09%		24		0.25%		2,628		27.56%		9,536
	Lafayette		6,825		54.54%		5,654		45.18%		35		0.28%		1,171		9.36%		12,514
	Lawrence		6,911		60.73%		4,432		38.95%		36		0.32%		2,479		21.78%		11,379
	Lewis		1,803		42.20%		2,460		57.57%		10		0.23%		-657		-15.37%		4,273
	Lincoln		5,305		53.38%		4,605		46.34%		28		0.28%		700		7.04%		9,938
	Linn		3,061		49.15%		3,150		50.58%		17		0.27%		-89		-1.43%		6,228
	Livingston		3,462		52.88%		3,077		47.00%		8		0.12%		385		5.88%		6,547
	Macon		3,406		51.30%		3,215		48.43%		18		0.27%		191		2.87%		6,639
	Madison		2,528		53.75%		2,167		46.08%		8		0.17%		361		7.67%		4,703
	Maries		1,919		55.14%		1,552		44.60%		9		0.26%		367		10.54%		3,480
	Marion		5,034		47.16%		5,617		52.62%		23		0.22%		-583		-5.46%		10,674
	McDonald		3,812		61.95%		2,299		37.36%		42		0.68%		1,513		24.59%		6,153
	Mercer		875		49.89%		877		50.00%		2		0.11%		-2		-0.11%		1,754
	Miller		5,662		68.82%		2,555		31.06%		10		0.12%		3,107		37.76%		8,227
	Mississippi		2,218		43.99%		2,814		55.81%		10		0.20%		-596		-11.82%		5,042
	Moniteau		3,502		64.30%		1,936		35.55%		8		0.15%		1,566		28.75%		5,446
	Monroe		1,542		38.42%		2,461		61.31%		11		0.27%		-919		-22.89%		4,014
	Montgomery		2,714		56.66%		2,064		43.09%		12		0.25%		650		13.57%		4,790
	Morgan		3,958		60.13%		2,604		39.56%		20		0.30%		1,354		20.57%		6,582
	New Madrid		3,387		46.99%		3,812		52.89%		9		0.12%		-425		-5.90%		7,208
	Newton		10,617		64.36%		5,798		35.15%		82		0.50%		4,819		29.21%		16,497
	Nodaway		4,103		48.92%		4,240		50.55%		44		0.52%		-137		-1.63%		8,387
	Oregon		1,717		45.59%		2,042		54.22%		7		0.19%		-325		-8.63%		3,766
	Osage		3,885		68.58%		1,771		31.26%		9		0.16%		2,114		37.32%		5,665
	Ozark		2,404		64.21%		1,329		35.50%		11		0.29%		1,075		28.71%		3,744
	Pemiscot		3,066		48.18%		3,288		51.67%		10		0.16%		-222		-3.49%		6,364
	Perry		3,836		64.08%		2,136		35.68%		14		0.23%		1,700		28.40%		5,986
	Pettis		9,648		63.47%		5,486		36.09%		66		0.43%		4,162		27.38%		15,200
	Phelps		8,329		58.44%		5,867		41.16%		57		0.40%		2,462		17.28%		14,253
	Pike		3,271		46.07%		3,816		53.75%		13		0.18%		-545		-7.68%		7,100
	Platte		11,838		51.18%		11,225		48.53%		66		0.29%		613		2.65%		23,129
	Polk		5,030		59.39%		3,419		40.37%		21		0.25%		1,611		19.02%		8,470
	Pulaski		4,642		57.22%		3,446		42.48%		24		0.30%		1,196		14.74%		8,112
	Putnam		1,365		62.73%		803		36.90%		8		0.37%		562		25.83%		2,176
	Ralls		1,494		37.44%		2,489		62.38%		7		0.18%		-995		-24.94%		3,990
	Randolph		4,384		45.22%		5,291		54.57%		20		0.21%		-907		-9.35%		9,695
	Ray		3,763		43.44%		4,879		56.33%		20		0.23%		-1,116		-12.89%		8,662
	Reynolds		1,162		38.29%		1,864		61.42%		9		0.30%		-702		-23.13%		3,035
	Ripley		2,647		57.29%		1,961		42.45%		12		0.26%		686		14.84%		4,620
	St. Charles		50,005		62.90%		29,286		36.84%		209		0.26%		20,719		26.06%		79,500
	St. Clair		2,312		55.27%		1,864		44.56%		7		0.17%		448		10.71%		4,183
	St. Francois		7,923		49.13%		8,158		50.59%		46		0.29%		-235		-1.46%		16,127
	St. Louis		262,784		54.67%		216,534		45.05%		1,358		0.28%		46,250		9.62%		480,676
	St. Louis City		40,906		26.96%		110,076		72.55%		732		0.48%		-69,170		-45.59%		151,714
	Ste. Genevieve		2,532		41.08%		3,612		58.60%		20		0.32%		-1,080		-17.52%		6,164
	Saline		4,625		47.70%		5,039		51.97%		32		0.33%		-414		-4.27%		9,696
	Schuyler		1,063		51.11%		1,013		48.70%		4		0.19%		50		2.41%		2,080
	Scotland		1,248		52.61%		1,117		47.09%		7		0.30%		131		5.52%		2,372
	Scott		8,013		57.45%		5,914		42.40%		21		0.15%		2,099		15.05%		13,948
	Shannon		1,696		48.46%		1,796		51.31%		8		0.23%		-100		-2.85%		3,500
	Shelby		1,586		46.54%		1,818		53.35%		4		0.12%		-232		-6.81%		3,408
	Stoddard		5,822		55.25%		4,701		44.61%		15		0.14%		1,121		10.64%		10,538
	Stone		5,080		63.49%		2,889		36.11%		32		0.40%		2,191		27.38%		8,001
	Sullivan		1,897		54.75%		1,562		45.08%		6		0.17%		335		9.67%		3,465
	Taney		7,043		64.16%		3,888		35.42%		46		0.42%		3,155		28.74%		10,977
	Texas		4,584		53.91%		3,887		45.71%		32		0.38%		697		8.20%		8,503
	Vernon		4,149		54.79%		3,402		44.93%		21		0.28%		747		9.86%		7,572
	Warren		4,452		60.07%		2,935		39.60%		24		0.32%		1,517		20.47%		7,411
	Washington		3,240		46.29%		3,744		53.49%		16		0.23%		-504		-7.20%		7,000
	Wayne		2,648		51.80%		2,456		48.04%		8		0.16%		192		3.76%		5,112
	Webster		5,123		56.70%		3,890		43.05%		22		0.24%		1,233		13.65%		9,035
	Worth		677		47.98%		732		51.88%		2		0.14%		-55		-3.90%		1,411
	Wright		4,151		64.92%		2,232		34.91%		11		0.17%		1,919		30.01%		6,394
Totals	1,084,953	51.83%	1,001,619	47.85%	6,656	0.32%	83,334	3.98%	2,093,228

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Audrain
• Boone
• Buchanan
• Chariton
• Clark
• Clinton
• DeKalb
• Dunklin
• Gentry
• Howard
• Iron
• Knox
• Lewis
• Linn
• Marion
• Mercer
• Monroe
• New Madrid
• Nodaway
• Pemiscot
• Pike
• Ralls
• Randolph
• Ray
• St. Francois
• St. Genevieve
• Saline
• Shannon
• Shelby
• Washington
• Worth

See also

• United States presidential elections in Missouri
• Presidency of George H. W. Bush

Notes and References

1. Web site: Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Uselectionatlas.org . 2013-07-21.
2. Our Campaigns; MO US President 1988