1988 United States presidential election in Kansas

1988 United States presidential election in Kansas

← 1984 November 8, 1988 1992 →

Nominee George H. W. Bush Michael Dukakis Party Republican Democratic Home state Texas Massachusetts Running mate Dan Quayle Lloyd Bentsen Electoral vote 7 0 Popular vote 554,049 422,636 Percentage 55.79% 42.56%

County Results Bush   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% Dukakis   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%

President before election Ronald Reagan Republican Elected President George H. W. Bush Republican

Elections in Kansas
Federal government Presidential elections 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Presidential primaries Democratic 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 Republican 2008 2012 2016 2024 U.S. Senate elections 1861 1865 1867 1867 sp 1871 1873 1874 sp 1877 1879 1883 1885 1888 1891 1893 sp 1897 1901 1903 1907 1907 sp 1909 1913 1914 1918 1920 1924 1926 1930 1930 sp 1932 1936 1938 1942 1944 1948 1950 1950 sp 1954 1956 1960 1962 1962 sp 1966 1968 1972 1974 1978 1980 1984 1986 1990 1992 1996 1996 sp 1998 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 2016 2020 2022 2026 U.S. House of Representatives elections 1859 1862 1864 1866 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 2nd sp 1886 1888 1889 4th sp 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1903 7th sp 1904 1906 1907 1st sp 1908 1910 1911 2nd sp 1912 7th sp 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 2nd sp 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1943 2nd sp 1944 1946 1948 1950 3rd sp 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 2nd sp 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2017 4th sp 2018 2020 2022 2024
State government State elections 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 Gubernatorial elections 1859 1862 1864 1866 1868 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 Secretary of State elections 2014 2018 2022 Attorney General elections 2014 2018 2022 Treasurer elections 2014 2018 2022 Senate elections 2012 2016 2020 2024 House of Representatives elections 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
Ballot measures 1867 Suffrage referendum 2005 Amendment 1 2022 Abortion referendum
Kansas City Mayoral elections 2013 2017 2021
Overland Park Mayoral elections 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021
Wichita Mayoral elections 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
v t e

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

Kansas 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.

Kansas weighed in for this election as 2 points more Republican than the national average. The presidential election of 1988 was a very partisan election for Kansas, with over 98 percent of the electorate voting for either the Democratic or Republican parties, and only four political parties appearing on the ballot.^[1] Voters from every county in Kansas turned out for the Republican Party, except for three, the largest example being Kansas City's Wyandotte County, which voted primarily Democratic. As of the 2024 presidential election^[update], this is the last time Douglas County voted for a Republican presidential candidate.^[2]

Bush won the election in Kansas with a 13-point win, although compared to most previous Republican performances in Kansas this was an underwhelming triumph due to the influence of an ongoing drought and farm crisis. Dukakis’s performance is the best of any Democratic presidential candidate in the state since 1976, and was the last time until 2008 that a Democrat received more than 40% of the vote in Kansas.