Pennsylvania — 1988 presidential election
Recent presidential results
Akashicstate1988 presidential electionPennsylvania · PresidentBushR+2.3
How it voted
Share of the 1988 vote
| George H. W. Bush ✓Republican | 50.7% | 2,300,087 |
|---|---|---|
| Michael DukakisDemocratic | 48.4% | 2,194,944 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 0.9% | 41,220 |
1988presidential margin
D+60R+60
67 counties, each filled by 1988 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
Pennsylvania cast 25 electoral votes this cycle.
County-level results (67 counties) — table
| County | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Adams County, PA | Republican | R+30.5 |
| Allegheny County, PA | Democratic | D+20.1 |
| Armstrong County, PA | Democratic | D+9.3 |
| Beaver County, PA | Democratic | D+32.1 |
| Bedford County, PA | Republican | R+31.6 |
| Berks County, PA | Republican | R+25.9 |
| Blair County, PA | Republican | R+24.1 |
| Bradford County, PA | Republican | R+34.1 |
| Bucks County, PA | Republican | R+21.2 |
| Butler County, PA | Republican | R+10.7 |
| Cambria County, PA | Democratic | D+20.0 |
| Cameron County, PA | Republican | R+31.3 |
| Carbon County, PA | Republican | R+5.8 |
| Centre County, PA | Republican | R+13.0 |
| Chester County, PA | Republican | R+34.9 |
| Clarion County, PA | Republican | R+17.5 |
| Clearfield County, PA | Republican | R+7.7 |
| Clinton County, PA | Democratic | D+0.2 |
| Columbia County, PA | Republican | R+21.7 |
| Crawford County, PA | Republican | R+13.8 |
| Cumberland County, PA | Republican | R+31.3 |
| Dauphin County, PA | Republican | R+16.3 |
| Delaware County, PA | Republican | R+20.9 |
| Elk County, PA | Republican | R+6.7 |
| Erie County, PA | Democratic | D+5.4 |
| Fayette County, PA | Democratic | D+32.1 |
| Forest County, PA | Republican | R+12.8 |
| Franklin County, PA | Republican | R+37.1 |
| Fulton County, PA | Republican | R+33.4 |
| Greene County, PA | Democratic | D+30.1 |
| Huntingdon County, PA | Republican | R+29.7 |
| Indiana County, PA | Democratic | D+4.8 |
| Jefferson County, PA | Republican | R+21.8 |
| Juniata County, PA | Republican | R+26.4 |
| Lackawanna County, PA | Democratic | D+4.0 |
| Lancaster County, PA | Republican | R+42.3 |
| Lawrence County, PA | Democratic | D+16.0 |
| Lebanon County, PA | Republican | R+34.2 |
| Lehigh County, PA | Republican | R+13.5 |
| Luzerne County, PA | Republican | R+0.4 |
| Lycoming County, PA | Republican | R+29.1 |
| McKean County, PA | Republican | R+27.3 |
| Mercer County, PA | Democratic | D+6.5 |
| Mifflin County, PA | Republican | R+25.9 |
| Monroe County, PA | Republican | R+26.8 |
| Montgomery County, PA | Republican | R+21.4 |
| Montour County, PA | Republican | R+27.8 |
| Northampton County, PA | Republican | R+4.2 |
| Northumberland County, PA | Republican | R+17.1 |
| Perry County, PA | Republican | R+37.0 |
| Philadelphia County, PA | Democratic | D+34.2 |
| Pike County, PA | Republican | R+35.9 |
| Potter County, PA | Republican | R+35.1 |
| Schuylkill County, PA | Republican | R+13.6 |
| Snyder County, PA | Republican | R+54.3 |
| Somerset County, PA | Republican | R+9.7 |
| Sullivan County, PA | Republican | R+24.5 |
| Susquehanna County, PA | Republican | R+29.9 |
| Tioga County, PA | Republican | R+32.5 |
| Union County, PA | Republican | R+42.6 |
| Venango County, PA | Republican | R+14.0 |
| Warren County, PA | Republican | R+13.8 |
| Washington County, PA | Democratic | D+24.7 |
| Wayne County, PA | Republican | R+44.4 |
| Westmoreland County, PA | Democratic | D+10.9 |
| Wyoming County, PA | Republican | R+40.3 |
| York County, PA | Republican | R+31.2 |
Pennsylvania results by county
67 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.+7,351 | 15,65064.9% | 8,29934.4% | 1560.6% | 24,105 |
| Allegheny County | Dukakis, Michael+117,677 | 231,13739.4% | 348,81459.5% | 6,2001.1% | 586,151 |
| Armstrong County | Dukakis, Michael+2,383 | 11,50944.8% | 13,89254.1% | 2821.1% | 25,683 |
| Beaver County | Dukakis, Michael+24,563 | 25,76433.7% | 50,32765.8% | 3780.5% | 76,469 |
| Bedford County | Bush, George H.W.+5,369 | 11,12365.5% | 5,75433.9% | 920.5% | 16,969 |
| Berks County | Bush, George H.W.+29,113 | 70,15362.4% | 41,04036.5% | 1,2511.1% | 112,444 |
| Blair County | Bush, George H.W.+10,035 | 25,62361.5% | 15,58837.4% | 4511.1% | 41,662 |
| Bradford County | Bush, George H.W.+6,933 | 13,56866.7% | 6,63532.6% | 1340.7% | 20,337 |
| Bucks County | Bush, George H.W.+45,091 | 127,56360.0% | 82,47238.8% | 2,6051.2% | 212,640 |
| Butler County | Bush, George H.W.+5,436 | 27,77754.8% | 22,34144.1% | 5491.1% | 50,667 |
| Cambria County | Dukakis, Michael+12,891 | 25,62639.7% | 38,51759.7% | 4090.6% | 64,552 |
| Cameron County | Bush, George H.W.+830 | 1,73165.2% | 90133.9% | 230.9% | 2,655 |
| Carbon County | Bush, George H.W.+1,128 | 10,23252.3% | 9,10446.6% | 2111.1% | 19,547 |
| Centre County | Bush, George H.W.+5,518 | 23,87556.1% | 18,35743.2% | 2950.7% | 42,527 |
| Chester County | Bush, George H.W.+48,669 | 93,52267.0% | 44,85332.1% | 1,2100.9% | 139,585 |
| Clarion County | Bush, George H.W.+2,410 | 8,02658.4% | 5,61640.8% | 1090.8% | 13,751 |
| Clearfield County | Bush, George H.W.+2,061 | 14,29653.5% | 12,23545.8% | 1820.7% | 26,713 |
| Clinton County | Dukakis, Michael+24 | 5,73549.4% | 5,75949.6% | 1191.0% | 11,613 |
| Columbia County | Bush, George H.W.+4,347 | 12,11460.5% | 7,76738.8% | 1400.7% | 20,021 |
| Crawford County | Bush, George H.W.+4,228 | 17,24956.3% | 13,02142.5% | 3581.2% | 30,628 |
| Cumberland County | Bush, George H.W.+22,679 | 47,29265.3% | 24,61334.0% | 5280.7% | 72,433 |
| Dauphin County | Bush, George H.W.+13,838 | 48,91757.8% | 35,07941.4% | 6810.8% | 84,677 |
| Delaware County | Bush, George H.W.+51,512 | 147,65659.9% | 96,14439.0% | 2,5051.0% | 246,305 |
| Elk County | Bush, George H.W.+858 | 6,73752.9% | 5,87946.1% | 1281.0% | 12,744 |
| Erie County | Dukakis, Michael+5,607 | 48,30646.8% | 53,91352.2% | 1,0811.0% | 103,300 |
| Fayette County | Dukakis, Michael+16,183 | 16,91533.6% | 33,09865.7% | 3360.7% | 50,349 |
| Forest County | Bush, George H.W.+264 | 1,15956.1% | 89543.3% | 110.5% | 2,065 |
| Franklin County | Bush, George H.W.+14,718 | 27,08668.3% | 12,36831.2% | 1900.5% | 39,644 |
| Fulton County | Bush, George H.W.+1,554 | 3,08666.4% | 1,53233.0% | 280.6% | 4,646 |
| Greene County | Dukakis, Michael+4,247 | 4,87934.6% | 9,12664.7% | 900.6% | 14,095 |
| Huntingdon County | Bush, George H.W.+4,048 | 8,80064.6% | 4,75234.9% | 790.6% | 13,631 |
| Indiana County | Dukakis, Michael+1,531 | 14,98347.2% | 16,51452.0% | 2420.8% | 31,739 |
| Jefferson County | Bush, George H.W.+3,508 | 9,74360.5% | 6,23538.7% | 1310.8% | 16,109 |
| Juniata County | Bush, George H.W.+2,047 | 4,88162.9% | 2,83436.5% | 490.6% | 7,764 |
| Lackawanna County | Dukakis, Michael+3,508 | 42,08347.4% | 45,59151.4% | 1,0671.2% | 88,741 |
| Lancaster County | Bush, George H.W.+57,997 | 96,97970.8% | 38,98228.4% | 1,0680.8% | 137,029 |
| Lawrence County | Dukakis, Michael+6,055 | 15,82941.8% | 21,88457.7% | 1910.5% | 37,904 |
| Lebanon County | Bush, George H.W.+12,503 | 24,41566.7% | 11,91232.5% | 2810.8% | 36,608 |
| Lehigh County | Bush, George H.W.+13,562 | 56,36356.3% | 42,80142.8% | 9430.9% | 100,107 |
| Luzerne County | Bush, George H.W.+506 | 59,05950.0% | 58,55349.6% | 4800.4% | 118,092 |
| Lycoming County | Bush, George H.W.+11,264 | 24,79264.0% | 13,52834.9% | 4151.1% | 38,735 |
| McKean County | Bush, George H.W.+4,023 | 9,32363.2% | 5,30035.9% | 1240.8% | 14,747 |
| Mercer County | Dukakis, Michael+2,977 | 21,30146.4% | 24,27852.9% | 3010.7% | 45,880 |
| Mifflin County | Bush, George H.W.+3,380 | 8,17062.5% | 4,79036.6% | 1150.9% | 13,075 |
| Monroe County | Bush, George H.W.+7,326 | 17,18562.8% | 9,85936.0% | 3271.2% | 27,371 |
| Montgomery County | Bush, George H.W.+60,460 | 170,29460.2% | 109,83438.8% | 2,7421.0% | 282,870 |
| Montour County | Bush, George H.W.+1,586 | 3,61763.5% | 2,03135.7% | 480.8% | 5,696 |
| Northampton County | Bush, George H.W.+3,484 | 42,74851.5% | 39,26447.3% | 9661.2% | 82,978 |
| Northumberland County | Bush, George H.W.+5,952 | 20,20758.1% | 14,25541.0% | 3381.0% | 34,800 |
| Perry County | Bush, George H.W.+4,635 | 8,54568.2% | 3,91031.2% | 780.6% | 12,533 |
| Philadelphia County | Dukakis, Michael+230,513 | 219,05332.5% | 449,56666.6% | 6,3580.9% | 674,977 |
| Pike County | Bush, George H.W.+3,562 | 6,65967.1% | 3,09731.2% | 1611.6% | 9,917 |
| Potter County | Bush, George H.W.+2,313 | 4,43267.2% | 2,11932.1% | 410.6% | 6,592 |
| Schuylkill County | Bush, George H.W.+7,869 | 32,66656.5% | 24,79742.9% | 3790.7% | 57,842 |
| Snyder County | Bush, George H.W.+6,396 | 9,05476.9% | 2,65822.6% | 670.6% | 11,779 |
| Somerset County | Bush, George H.W.+2,994 | 16,80954.6% | 13,81544.9% | 1440.5% | 30,768 |
| Sullivan County | Bush, George H.W.+717 | 1,80861.9% | 1,09137.3% | 230.8% | 2,922 |
| Susquehanna County | Bush, George H.W.+4,206 | 9,07764.6% | 4,87134.7% | 1080.8% | 14,056 |
| Tioga County | Bush, George H.W.+4,664 | 9,47166.0% | 4,80733.5% | 720.5% | 14,350 |
| Union County | Bush, George H.W.+4,749 | 7,91271.0% | 3,16328.4% | 610.5% | 11,136 |
| Venango County | Bush, George H.W.+2,844 | 11,46856.6% | 8,62442.6% | 1710.8% | 20,263 |
| Warren County | Bush, George H.W.+2,201 | 8,99156.2% | 6,79042.5% | 2141.3% | 15,995 |
| Washington County | Dukakis, Michael+18,876 | 28,65137.4% | 47,52762.1% | 3750.5% | 76,553 |
| Wayne County | Bush, George H.W.+6,151 | 9,92671.6% | 3,77527.2% | 1611.2% | 13,862 |
| Westmoreland County | Dukakis, Michael+15,238 | 61,47244.1% | 76,71055.1% | 1,1080.8% | 139,290 |
| Wyoming County | Bush, George H.W.+3,810 | 6,60769.9% | 2,79729.6% | 430.5% | 9,447 |
| York County | Bush, George H.W.+34,717 | 72,40865.2% | 37,69133.9% | 1,0170.9% | 111,116 |
complete certified result
Pennsylvania 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)
Pennsylvania's presidential margins
1892–2024, the 1988 contest in context
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | −6.4% |
| 1896 | −24.7% |
| 1900 | −24.6% |
| 1904 | −40.7% |
| 1908 | −23.4% |
| 1912 | +10.0% |
| 1916 | −14.0% |
| 1920 | −38.6% |
| 1924 | −46.3% |
| 1928 | −31.4% |
| 1932 | −5.5% |
| 1936 | +16.0% |
| 1940 | +6.9% |
| 1944 | +2.8% |
| 1948 | −4.0% |
| 1952 | −5.9% |
| 1956 | −13.2% |
| 1960 | +2.3% |
| 1964 | +30.2% |
| 1968 | +3.6% |
| 1972 | −20.0% |
| 1976 | +2.7% |
| 1980 | −7.1% |
| 1984 | −7.4% |
| 1988 | −2.3% |
| 1992 | +9.0% |
| 1996 | +9.2% |
| 2000 | +4.2% |
| 2004 | +2.5% |
| 2008 | +10.3% |
| 2012 | +5.4% |
| 2016 | −0.7% |
| 2020 | +1.2% |
| 2024 | −1.7% |
Same ballot, 1988PA
Source. MIT Election Data + Science Lab — 1988 presidential returns · official county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.