Minnesota — 1988 presidential election
Recent presidential results
Akashicstate1988 presidential electionMinnesota · PresidentDukakisD+7.0
How it voted
Share of the 1988 vote
| Michael Dukakis ✓Democratic | 53.0% | 1,109,471 |
|---|---|---|
| George H. W. BushRepublican | 46.0% | 962,337 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 1.0% | 21,368 |
1988presidential margin
D+60R+60
87 counties, each filled by 1988 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
Minnesota cast 10 electoral votes this cycle.
County-level results (87 counties) — table
| County | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Aitkin County, MN | Democratic | D+12.3 |
| Anoka County, MN | Democratic | D+10.5 |
| Becker County, MN | Republican | R+7.5 |
| Beltrami County, MN | Democratic | D+6.4 |
| Benton County, MN | Republican | R+1.7 |
| Big Stone County, MN | Democratic | D+15.8 |
| Blue Earth County, MN | Democratic | D+1.7 |
| Brown County, MN | Republican | R+14.7 |
| Carlton County, MN | Democratic | D+30.7 |
| Carver County, MN | Republican | R+19.4 |
| Cass County, MN | Republican | R+6.9 |
| Chippewa County, MN | Democratic | D+0.7 |
| Chisago County, MN | Democratic | D+12.1 |
| Clay County, MN | Democratic | D+3.7 |
| Clearwater County, MN | Democratic | D+0.2 |
| Cook County, MN | Democratic | D+0.1 |
| Cottonwood County, MN | Republican | R+4.5 |
| Crow Wing County, MN | Republican | R+6.4 |
| Dakota County, MN | Democratic | D+0.3 |
| Dodge County, MN | Republican | R+13.5 |
| Douglas County, MN | Republican | R+15.1 |
| Faribault County, MN | Republican | R+11.0 |
| Fillmore County, MN | Republican | R+9.7 |
| Freeborn County, MN | Democratic | D+9.9 |
| Goodhue County, MN | Republican | R+0.1 |
| Grant County, MN | Democratic | D+7.0 |
| Hennepin County, MN | Democratic | D+9.8 |
| Houston County, MN | Republican | R+9.5 |
| Hubbard County, MN | Republican | R+13.7 |
| Isanti County, MN | Democratic | D+7.2 |
| Itasca County, MN | Democratic | D+11.3 |
| Jackson County, MN | Democratic | D+10.8 |
| Kanabec County, MN | Democratic | D+7.1 |
| Kandiyohi County, MN | Democratic | D+1.8 |
| Kittson County, MN | Democratic | D+8.8 |
| Koochiching County, MN | Democratic | D+15.1 |
| Lac qui Parle County, MN | Democratic | D+13.8 |
| Lake County, MN | Democratic | D+35.5 |
| Lake of the Woods County, MN | Republican | R+10.3 |
| Le Sueur County, MN | Republican | R+0.05 |
| Lincoln County, MN | Democratic | D+12.0 |
| Lyon County, MN | Republican | R+2.7 |
| Mahnomen County, MN | Democratic | D+9.6 |
| Marshall County, MN | Democratic | D+4.3 |
| Martin County, MN | Republican | R+7.5 |
| McLeod County, MN | Republican | R+16.1 |
| Meeker County, MN | Republican | R+4.7 |
| Mille Lacs County, MN | Democratic | D+5.6 |
| Morrison County, MN | Republican | R+1.0 |
| Mower County, MN | Democratic | D+25.9 |
| Murray County, MN | Democratic | D+10.1 |
| Nicollet County, MN | Republican | R+0.7 |
| Nobles County, MN | Democratic | D+6.4 |
| Norman County, MN | Democratic | D+9.1 |
| Olmsted County, MN | Republican | R+17.4 |
| Otter Tail County, MN | Republican | R+14.8 |
| Pennington County, MN | Democratic | D+3.0 |
| Pine County, MN | Democratic | D+17.7 |
| Pipestone County, MN | Republican | R+7.3 |
| Polk County, MN | Democratic | D+3.3 |
| Pope County, MN | Democratic | D+7.7 |
| Ramsey County, MN | Democratic | D+23.4 |
| Red Lake County, MN | Democratic | D+14.3 |
| Redwood County, MN | Republican | R+22.7 |
| Renville County, MN | Democratic | D+1.1 |
| Rice County, MN | Democratic | D+9.9 |
| Rock County, MN | Republican | R+5.8 |
| Roseau County, MN | Republican | R+14.1 |
| Scott County, MN | Republican | R+6.7 |
| Sherburne County, MN | Republican | R+2.4 |
| Sibley County, MN | Republican | R+7.2 |
| St. Louis County, MN | Democratic | D+37.3 |
| Stearns County, MN | Republican | R+7.2 |
| Steele County, MN | Republican | R+18.3 |
| Stevens County, MN | Democratic | D+0.8 |
| Swift County, MN | Democratic | D+24.5 |
| Todd County, MN | Republican | R+5.7 |
| Traverse County, MN | Democratic | D+13.7 |
| Wabasha County, MN | Republican | R+2.6 |
| Wadena County, MN | Republican | R+19.8 |
| Waseca County, MN | Republican | R+9.1 |
| Washington County, MN | Democratic | D+6.2 |
| Watonwan County, MN | Republican | R+5.1 |
| Wilkin County, MN | Republican | R+13.0 |
| Winona County, MN | Republican | R+3.2 |
| Wright County, MN | Republican | R+2.7 |
| Yellow Medicine County, MN | Democratic | D+5.7 |
Minnesota results by county
87 counties. Third-party and independent votes are reported by the county source as one combined figure; every named candidate is listed in the complete result below.
| Led by | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aitkin County | Dukakis, Michael+852 | 3,86355.6% | 3,01143.4% | 681.0% | 6,942 |
| Anoka County | Dukakis, Michael+11,100 | 57,95354.8% | 46,85344.3% | 1,0030.9% | 105,809 |
| Becker County | Bush, George H.W.+951 | 5,78745.7% | 6,73853.3% | 1261.0% | 12,651 |
| Beltrami County | Dukakis, Michael+914 | 7,56652.6% | 6,65246.3% | 1621.1% | 14,380 |
| Benton County | Bush, George H.W.+199 | 5,86148.7% | 6,06050.3% | 1191.0% | 12,040 |
| Big Stone County | Dukakis, Michael+557 | 2,02657.5% | 1,46941.7% | 310.9% | 3,526 |
| Blue Earth County | Dukakis, Michael+416 | 12,37550.4% | 11,95948.7% | 2180.9% | 24,552 |
| Brown County | Bush, George H.W.+1,789 | 5,10942.0% | 6,89856.7% | 1661.4% | 12,173 |
| Carlton County | Dukakis, Michael+4,164 | 8,79064.8% | 4,62634.1% | 1441.1% | 13,560 |
| Carver County | Bush, George H.W.+4,121 | 8,43939.8% | 12,56059.2% | 2291.1% | 21,228 |
| Cass County | Bush, George H.W.+768 | 5,12746.1% | 5,89553.0% | 970.9% | 11,119 |
| Chippewa County | Dukakis, Michael+48 | 3,23849.7% | 3,19049.0% | 861.3% | 6,514 |
| Chisago County | Dukakis, Michael+1,712 | 7,87555.6% | 6,16343.5% | 1320.9% | 14,170 |
| Clay County | Dukakis, Michael+806 | 11,18651.5% | 10,38047.8% | 1390.6% | 21,705 |
| Clearwater County | Dukakis, Michael+6 | 1,76949.6% | 1,76349.4% | 351.0% | 3,567 |
| Cook County | Dukakis, Michael+2 | 1,08049.5% | 1,07849.4% | 261.2% | 2,184 |
| Cottonwood County | Bush, George H.W.+295 | 3,09547.3% | 3,39051.8% | 600.9% | 6,545 |
| Crow Wing County | Bush, George H.W.+1,343 | 9,67446.3% | 11,01752.7% | 2201.1% | 20,911 |
| Dakota County | Dukakis, Michael+336 | 61,94249.7% | 61,60649.5% | 1,0320.8% | 124,580 |
| Dodge County | Bush, George H.W.+923 | 2,92542.7% | 3,84856.2% | 731.1% | 6,846 |
| Douglas County | Bush, George H.W.+2,095 | 5,80341.9% | 7,89857.0% | 1511.1% | 13,852 |
| Faribault County | Bush, George H.W.+967 | 3,87944.1% | 4,84655.1% | 750.9% | 8,800 |
| Fillmore County | Bush, George H.W.+890 | 4,11444.7% | 5,00454.4% | 820.9% | 9,200 |
| Freeborn County | Dukakis, Michael+1,610 | 8,83654.5% | 7,22644.6% | 1561.0% | 16,218 |
| Goodhue County | Bush, George H.W.+17 | 9,43849.4% | 9,45549.5% | 2091.1% | 19,102 |
| Grant County | Dukakis, Michael+257 | 1,95053.0% | 1,69346.0% | 340.9% | 3,677 |
| Hennepin County | Dukakis, Michael+52,700 | 292,90954.4% | 240,20944.6% | 5,4441.0% | 538,562 |
| Houston County | Bush, George H.W.+841 | 3,93644.6% | 4,77754.1% | 1121.3% | 8,825 |
| Hubbard County | Bush, George H.W.+1,059 | 3,30642.7% | 4,36556.4% | 650.8% | 7,736 |
| Isanti County | Dukakis, Michael+829 | 6,07553.0% | 5,24645.8% | 1311.1% | 11,452 |
| Itasca County | Dukakis, Michael+2,159 | 10,51755.2% | 8,35843.9% | 1780.9% | 19,053 |
| Jackson County | Dukakis, Michael+646 | 3,27555.0% | 2,62944.1% | 550.9% | 5,959 |
| Kanabec County | Dukakis, Michael+399 | 2,97053.1% | 2,57145.9% | 571.0% | 5,598 |
| Kandiyohi County | Dukakis, Michael+328 | 8,96250.2% | 8,63448.3% | 2661.5% | 17,862 |
| Kittson County | Dukakis, Michael+269 | 1,65054.0% | 1,38145.2% | 260.9% | 3,057 |
| Koochiching County | Dukakis, Michael+1,025 | 3,86757.0% | 2,84241.9% | 711.0% | 6,780 |
| Lac qui Parle County | Dukakis, Michael+689 | 2,80556.3% | 2,11642.5% | 621.2% | 4,983 |
| Lake County | Dukakis, Michael+2,049 | 3,88767.3% | 1,83831.8% | 500.9% | 5,775 |
| Lake of the Woods County | Bush, George H.W.+186 | 79844.0% | 98454.2% | 321.8% | 1,814 |
| Le Sueur County | Bush, George H.W.+5 | 5,41049.5% | 5,41549.6% | 1000.9% | 10,925 |
| Lincoln County | Dukakis, Michael+412 | 1,89155.2% | 1,47943.2% | 551.6% | 3,425 |
| Lyon County | Bush, George H.W.+312 | 5,65748.2% | 5,96950.9% | 1100.9% | 11,736 |
| Mahnomen County | Dukakis, Michael+226 | 1,27754.2% | 1,05144.6% | 301.3% | 2,358 |
| Marshall County | Dukakis, Michael+249 | 3,00151.6% | 2,75247.4% | 581.0% | 5,811 |
| Martin County | Bush, George H.W.+802 | 4,92245.9% | 5,72453.3% | 850.8% | 10,731 |
| McLeod County | Bush, George H.W.+2,231 | 5,73641.4% | 7,96757.5% | 1591.1% | 13,862 |
| Meeker County | Bush, George H.W.+455 | 4,54446.8% | 4,99951.5% | 1641.7% | 9,707 |
| Mille Lacs County | Dukakis, Michael+465 | 4,32752.1% | 3,86246.5% | 1121.3% | 8,301 |
| Morrison County | Bush, George H.W.+129 | 6,46948.9% | 6,59849.9% | 1601.2% | 13,227 |
| Mower County | Dukakis, Michael+4,924 | 11,89362.5% | 6,96936.6% | 1630.9% | 19,025 |
| Murray County | Dukakis, Michael+524 | 2,84054.5% | 2,31644.4% | 561.1% | 5,212 |
| Nicollet County | Bush, George H.W.+92 | 6,78649.2% | 6,87849.9% | 1150.8% | 13,779 |
| Nobles County | Dukakis, Michael+605 | 4,95352.7% | 4,34846.3% | 931.0% | 9,394 |
| Norman County | Dukakis, Michael+360 | 2,14954.3% | 1,78945.2% | 180.5% | 3,956 |
| Olmsted County | Bush, George H.W.+8,260 | 19,42340.9% | 27,68358.3% | 3980.8% | 47,504 |
| Otter Tail County | Bush, George H.W.+3,642 | 10,37342.2% | 14,01557.0% | 2160.9% | 24,604 |
| Pennington County | Dukakis, Michael+185 | 3,10551.1% | 2,92048.1% | 460.8% | 6,071 |
| Pine County | Dukakis, Michael+1,683 | 5,54058.2% | 3,85740.5% | 1161.2% | 9,513 |
| Pipestone County | Bush, George H.W.+378 | 2,38245.9% | 2,76053.2% | 470.9% | 5,189 |
| Polk County | Dukakis, Michael+491 | 7,52351.3% | 7,03248.0% | 1070.7% | 14,662 |
| Pope County | Dukakis, Michael+447 | 3,07453.2% | 2,62745.5% | 751.3% | 5,776 |
| Ramsey County | Dukakis, Michael+55,031 | 143,76761.2% | 88,73637.8% | 2,3931.0% | 234,896 |
| Red Lake County | Dukakis, Michael+311 | 1,22956.5% | 91842.2% | 281.3% | 2,175 |
| Redwood County | Bush, George H.W.+1,898 | 3,17838.0% | 5,07660.7% | 1041.2% | 8,358 |
| Renville County | Dukakis, Michael+98 | 4,45449.9% | 4,35648.8% | 1171.3% | 8,927 |
| Rice County | Dukakis, Michael+2,110 | 11,57054.4% | 9,46044.5% | 2371.1% | 21,267 |
| Rock County | Bush, George H.W.+302 | 2,43546.7% | 2,73752.5% | 430.8% | 5,215 |
| Roseau County | Bush, George H.W.+870 | 2,63042.5% | 3,50056.5% | 621.0% | 6,192 |
| Scott County | Bush, George H.W.+1,645 | 11,40546.2% | 13,05052.9% | 2300.9% | 24,685 |
| Sherburne County | Bush, George H.W.+401 | 7,95948.2% | 8,36050.7% | 1831.1% | 16,502 |
| Sibley County | Bush, George H.W.+501 | 3,15445.5% | 3,65552.7% | 1301.9% | 6,939 |
| St. Louis County | Dukakis, Michael+38,545 | 70,34468.1% | 31,79930.8% | 1,0941.1% | 103,237 |
| Stearns County | Bush, George H.W.+3,731 | 23,79845.7% | 27,52952.8% | 7661.5% | 52,093 |
| Steele County | Bush, George H.W.+2,485 | 5,49640.4% | 7,98158.6% | 1331.0% | 13,610 |
| Stevens County | Dukakis, Michael+42 | 2,72149.9% | 2,67949.1% | 581.1% | 5,458 |
| Swift County | Dukakis, Michael+1,423 | 3,57961.7% | 2,15637.2% | 631.1% | 5,798 |
| Todd County | Bush, George H.W.+610 | 5,02346.7% | 5,63352.4% | 940.9% | 10,750 |
| Traverse County | Dukakis, Michael+338 | 1,39956.5% | 1,06142.9% | 160.6% | 2,476 |
| Wabasha County | Bush, George H.W.+239 | 4,44248.2% | 4,68150.8% | 921.0% | 9,215 |
| Wadena County | Bush, George H.W.+1,249 | 2,48439.4% | 3,73359.3% | 821.3% | 6,299 |
| Waseca County | Bush, George H.W.+750 | 3,72144.9% | 4,47154.0% | 951.1% | 8,287 |
| Washington County | Dukakis, Michael+4,102 | 34,95252.6% | 30,85046.5% | 6130.9% | 66,415 |
| Watonwan County | Bush, George H.W.+277 | 2,54447.0% | 2,82152.1% | 500.9% | 5,415 |
| Wilkin County | Bush, George H.W.+447 | 1,48643.1% | 1,93356.1% | 280.8% | 3,447 |
| Winona County | Bush, George H.W.+702 | 10,31047.7% | 11,01250.9% | 3021.4% | 21,624 |
| Wright County | Bush, George H.W.+810 | 14,17748.0% | 14,98750.7% | 3791.3% | 29,543 |
| Yellow Medicine County | Dukakis, Michael+357 | 3,28252.3% | 2,92546.6% | 711.1% | 6,278 |
complete certified result
Minnesota candidate results
Top three shown first · expand for every reported candidate and write-in category
Source: MIT Election Data + Science Lab — U.S. President 1976–2024 state candidate returns
Nominees: Michael Dukakis (D) · George H. W. Bush (R)
Minnesota's presidential margins
1892–2024, the 1988 contest in context
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | −8.3% |
| 1896 | −15.7% |
| 1900 | −24.5% |
| 1904 | −55.1% |
| 1908 | −26.2% |
| 1912 | +12.6% |
| 1916 | −0.1% |
| 1920 | −51.2% |
| 1924 | −44.4% |
| 1928 | −16.9% |
| 1932 | +23.6% |
| 1936 | +30.8% |
| 1940 | +3.8% |
| 1944 | +5.5% |
| 1948 | +17.3% |
| 1952 | −11.2% |
| 1956 | −7.6% |
| 1960 | +1.4% |
| 1964 | +27.8% |
| 1968 | +12.5% |
| 1972 | −5.5% |
| 1976 | +12.9% |
| 1980 | +3.9% |
| 1984 | +0.2% |
| 1988 | +7.0% |
| 1992 | +11.6% |
| 1996 | +16.1% |
| 2000 | +2.4% |
| 2004 | +3.5% |
| 2008 | +10.2% |
| 2012 | +7.7% |
| 2016 | +1.5% |
| 2020 | +7.1% |
| 2024 | +4.2% |
Same ballot, 1988MN
Source. MIT Election Data + Science Lab — 1988 presidential returns · official county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.