North Dakota — 1988 presidential election
Recent presidential results
Akashicstate1988 presidential electionNorth Dakota · PresidentBushR+13.1
How it voted
Share of the 1988 vote
| George H. W. Bush ✓Republican | 56.0% | 166,559 |
|---|---|---|
| Michael DukakisDemocratic | 43.0% | 127,739 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 1.0% | 2,963 |
1988presidential margin
D+60R+60
53 counties, each filled by 1988 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
North Dakota cast 3 electoral votes this cycle.
County-level results (53 counties) — table
| County | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Adams County, ND | Republican | R+17.8 |
| Barnes County, ND | Republican | R+11.8 |
| Benson County, ND | Democratic | D+12.4 |
| Billings County, ND | Republican | R+34.3 |
| Bottineau County, ND | Republican | R+19.9 |
| Bowman County, ND | Republican | R+20.0 |
| Burke County, ND | Republican | R+16.4 |
| Burleigh County, ND | Republican | R+24.9 |
| Cass County, ND | Republican | R+9.3 |
| Cavalier County, ND | Republican | R+22.1 |
| Dickey County, ND | Republican | R+24.4 |
| Divide County, ND | Democratic | D+0.3 |
| Dunn County, ND | Republican | R+17.0 |
| Eddy County, ND | Republican | R+8.6 |
| Emmons County, ND | Republican | R+27.3 |
| Foster County, ND | Republican | R+18.4 |
| Golden Valley County, ND | Republican | R+33.2 |
| Grand Forks County, ND | Republican | R+8.4 |
| Grant County, ND | Republican | R+34.1 |
| Griggs County, ND | Republican | R+9.2 |
| Hettinger County, ND | Republican | R+33.0 |
| Kidder County, ND | Republican | R+20.5 |
| LaMoure County, ND | Republican | R+14.4 |
| Logan County, ND | Republican | R+34.2 |
| McHenry County, ND | Republican | R+6.2 |
| McIntosh County, ND | Republican | R+48.1 |
| McKenzie County, ND | Republican | R+20.8 |
| McLean County, ND | Republican | R+8.9 |
| Mercer County, ND | Republican | R+23.9 |
| Morton County, ND | Republican | R+8.4 |
| Mountrail County, ND | Democratic | D+15.4 |
| Nelson County, ND | Democratic | D+3.3 |
| Oliver County, ND | Republican | R+13.7 |
| Pembina County, ND | Republican | R+20.6 |
| Pierce County, ND | Republican | R+16.7 |
| Ramsey County, ND | Republican | R+7.5 |
| Ransom County, ND | Democratic | D+3.4 |
| Renville County, ND | Republican | R+3.2 |
| Richland County, ND | Republican | R+13.9 |
| Rolette County, ND | Democratic | D+36.1 |
| Sargent County, ND | Democratic | D+7.7 |
| Sheridan County, ND | Republican | R+34.7 |
| Sioux County, ND | Democratic | D+36.1 |
| Slope County, ND | Republican | R+21.3 |
| Stark County, ND | Republican | R+24.6 |
| Steele County, ND | Democratic | D+12.9 |
| Stutsman County, ND | Republican | R+12.0 |
| Towner County, ND | Democratic | D+1.2 |
| Traill County, ND | Republican | R+13.6 |
| Walsh County, ND | Republican | R+10.1 |
| Ward County, ND | Republican | R+14.1 |
| Wells County, ND | Republican | R+18.0 |
| Williams County, ND | Republican | R+16.9 |
North Dakota results by county
53 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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams County | Bush, George H.W.+310 | 1,01858.6% | 70840.8% | 110.6% | 1,737 |
| Barnes County | Bush, George H.W.+773 | 3,63155.5% | 2,85843.7% | 570.9% | 6,546 |
| Benson County | Dukakis, Michael+375 | 1,31643.4% | 1,69155.8% | 240.8% | 3,031 |
| Billings County | Bush, George H.W.+226 | 43766.3% | 21132.0% | 111.7% | 659 |
| Bottineau County | Bush, George H.W.+846 | 2,53059.5% | 1,68439.6% | 370.9% | 4,251 |
| Bowman County | Bush, George H.W.+374 | 1,11159.5% | 73739.5% | 191.0% | 1,867 |
| Burke County | Bush, George H.W.+278 | 97157.5% | 69341.0% | 261.5% | 1,690 |
| Burleigh County | Bush, George H.W.+7,240 | 18,00061.9% | 10,76037.0% | 3241.1% | 29,084 |
| Cass County | Bush, George H.W.+4,592 | 26,69954.3% | 22,10745.0% | 3310.7% | 49,137 |
| Cavalier County | Bush, George H.W.+763 | 2,09660.6% | 1,33338.6% | 280.8% | 3,457 |
| Dickey County | Bush, George H.W.+815 | 2,06461.9% | 1,24937.4% | 230.7% | 3,336 |
| Divide County | Dukakis, Michael+6 | 86949.2% | 87549.5% | 241.4% | 1,768 |
| Dunn County | Bush, George H.W.+371 | 1,26358.0% | 89241.0% | 231.1% | 2,178 |
| Eddy County | Bush, George H.W.+143 | 89153.7% | 74845.1% | 191.1% | 1,658 |
| Emmons County | Bush, George H.W.+709 | 1,63462.9% | 92535.6% | 371.4% | 2,596 |
| Foster County | Bush, George H.W.+381 | 1,21858.8% | 83740.4% | 150.7% | 2,070 |
| Golden Valley County | Bush, George H.W.+393 | 78166.0% | 38832.8% | 141.2% | 1,183 |
| Grand Forks County | Bush, George H.W.+2,307 | 14,80153.8% | 12,49445.4% | 2360.9% | 27,531 |
| Grant County | Bush, George H.W.+697 | 1,35166.1% | 65432.0% | 381.9% | 2,043 |
| Griggs County | Bush, George H.W.+174 | 1,02054.1% | 84644.9% | 191.0% | 1,885 |
| Hettinger County | Bush, George H.W.+697 | 1,39566.1% | 69833.1% | 180.9% | 2,111 |
| Kidder County | Bush, George H.W.+361 | 1,03959.0% | 67838.5% | 442.5% | 1,761 |
| LaMoure County | Bush, George H.W.+419 | 1,64256.6% | 1,22342.2% | 361.2% | 2,901 |
| Logan County | Bush, George H.W.+571 | 1,11166.5% | 54032.3% | 201.2% | 1,671 |
| McHenry County | Bush, George H.W.+223 | 1,88852.7% | 1,66546.5% | 300.8% | 3,583 |
| McIntosh County | Bush, George H.W.+1,128 | 1,72673.5% | 59825.5% | 231.0% | 2,347 |
| McKenzie County | Bush, George H.W.+676 | 1,94959.9% | 1,27339.1% | 311.0% | 3,253 |
| McLean County | Bush, George H.W.+478 | 2,90653.9% | 2,42845.0% | 621.1% | 5,396 |
| Mercer County | Bush, George H.W.+1,170 | 3,01361.5% | 1,84337.6% | 460.9% | 4,902 |
| Morton County | Bush, George H.W.+880 | 5,58853.5% | 4,70845.1% | 1511.4% | 10,447 |
| Mountrail County | Dukakis, Michael+534 | 1,44341.7% | 1,97757.2% | 381.1% | 3,458 |
| Nelson County | Dukakis, Michael+73 | 1,07848.1% | 1,15151.3% | 140.6% | 2,243 |
| Oliver County | Bush, George H.W.+170 | 69656.3% | 52642.5% | 151.2% | 1,237 |
| Pembina County | Bush, George H.W.+855 | 2,47159.6% | 1,61638.9% | 621.5% | 4,149 |
| Pierce County | Bush, George H.W.+414 | 1,42257.4% | 1,00840.7% | 471.9% | 2,477 |
| Ramsey County | Bush, George H.W.+438 | 3,10353.1% | 2,66545.6% | 731.2% | 5,841 |
| Ransom County | Dukakis, Michael+97 | 1,36247.7% | 1,45951.0% | 371.3% | 2,858 |
| Renville County | Bush, George H.W.+56 | 89351.0% | 83747.8% | 201.1% | 1,750 |
| Richland County | Bush, George H.W.+1,147 | 4,67056.4% | 3,52342.6% | 811.0% | 8,274 |
| Rolette County | Dukakis, Michael+1,300 | 1,12631.2% | 2,42667.3% | 541.5% | 3,606 |
| Sargent County | Dukakis, Michael+187 | 1,11945.9% | 1,30653.6% | 110.5% | 2,436 |
| Sheridan County | Bush, George H.W.+457 | 88567.1% | 42832.5% | 50.4% | 1,318 |
| Sioux County | Dukakis, Michael+376 | 32531.2% | 70167.3% | 161.5% | 1,042 |
| Slope County | Bush, George H.W.+113 | 31559.4% | 20238.1% | 132.5% | 530 |
| Stark County | Bush, George H.W.+2,459 | 6,13761.4% | 3,67836.8% | 1881.9% | 10,003 |
| Steele County | Dukakis, Michael+205 | 69043.3% | 89556.1% | 100.6% | 1,595 |
| Stutsman County | Bush, George H.W.+1,161 | 5,37555.6% | 4,21443.6% | 800.8% | 9,669 |
| Towner County | Dukakis, Michael+24 | 94648.9% | 97050.2% | 180.9% | 1,934 |
| Traill County | Bush, George H.W.+622 | 2,56256.2% | 1,94042.6% | 571.3% | 4,559 |
| Walsh County | Bush, George H.W.+604 | 3,25054.5% | 2,64644.4% | 701.2% | 5,966 |
| Ward County | Bush, George H.W.+3,273 | 13,17956.7% | 9,90642.6% | 1430.6% | 23,228 |
| Wells County | Bush, George H.W.+584 | 1,90158.7% | 1,31740.6% | 230.7% | 3,241 |
| Williams County | Bush, George H.W.+1,649 | 5,65357.9% | 4,00441.0% | 1111.1% | 9,768 |
complete certified result
North Dakota 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)
North Dakota's presidential margins
1892–2024, the 1988 contest in context
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | −48.5% |
| 1896 | −11.9% |
| 1900 | −26.6% |
| 1904 | −54.7% |
| 1908 | −26.2% |
| 1912 | +7.5% |
| 1916 | +1.5% |
| 1920 | −59.6% |
| 1924 | −40.7% |
| 1928 | −10.3% |
| 1932 | +41.6% |
| 1936 | +33.0% |
| 1940 | −10.9% |
| 1944 | −8.4% |
| 1948 | −8.8% |
| 1952 | −42.6% |
| 1956 | −23.6% |
| 1960 | −10.9% |
| 1964 | +16.1% |
| 1968 | −17.7% |
| 1972 | −26.3% |
| 1976 | −5.9% |
| 1980 | −38.0% |
| 1984 | −31.0% |
| 1988 | −13.1% |
| 1992 | −12.0% |
| 1996 | −6.8% |
| 2000 | −27.6% |
| 2004 | −27.4% |
| 2008 | −8.6% |
| 2012 | −19.6% |
| 2016 | −35.7% |
| 2020 | −33.3% |
| 2024 | −36.4% |
Same ballot, 1988ND
Source. MIT Election Data + Science Lab — 1988 presidential returns · official county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.