South Carolina — 1988 presidential election
Recent presidential results
Akashicstate1988 presidential electionSouth Carolina · PresidentBushR+23.9
How it voted
Share of the 1988 vote
| George H. W. Bush ✓Republican | 61.5% | 606,443 |
|---|---|---|
| Michael DukakisDemocratic | 37.6% | 370,554 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 0.9% | 9,012 |
1988presidential margin
D+60R+60
46 counties, each filled by 1988 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
South Carolina cast 8 electoral votes this cycle.
County-level results (46 counties) — table
| County | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Abbeville County, SC | Republican | R+1.5 |
| Aiken County, SC | Republican | R+44.3 |
| Allendale County, SC | Democratic | D+16.1 |
| Anderson County, SC | Republican | R+35.6 |
| Bamberg County, SC | Democratic | D+8.1 |
| Barnwell County, SC | Republican | R+26.9 |
| Beaufort County, SC | Republican | R+29.9 |
| Berkeley County, SC | Republican | R+28.4 |
| Calhoun County, SC | Republican | R+8.6 |
| Charleston County, SC | Republican | R+19.5 |
| Cherokee County, SC | Republican | R+28.3 |
| Chester County, SC | Republican | R+3.0 |
| Chesterfield County, SC | Republican | R+3.1 |
| Clarendon County, SC | Democratic | D+7.4 |
| Colleton County, SC | Republican | R+4.8 |
| Darlington County, SC | Republican | R+12.5 |
| Dillon County, SC | Republican | R+7.7 |
| Dorchester County, SC | Republican | R+33.2 |
| Edgefield County, SC | Republican | R+11.6 |
| Fairfield County, SC | Democratic | D+16.9 |
| Florence County, SC | Republican | R+21.6 |
| Georgetown County, SC | Republican | R+13.0 |
| Greenville County, SC | Republican | R+42.2 |
| Greenwood County, SC | Republican | R+16.5 |
| Hampton County, SC | Democratic | D+9.7 |
| Horry County, SC | Republican | R+30.0 |
| Jasper County, SC | Democratic | D+18.1 |
| Kershaw County, SC | Republican | R+32.5 |
| Lancaster County, SC | Republican | R+19.3 |
| Laurens County, SC | Republican | R+24.2 |
| Lee County, SC | Democratic | D+7.7 |
| Lexington County, SC | Republican | R+56.5 |
| Marion County, SC | Democratic | D+6.4 |
| Marlboro County, SC | Democratic | D+14.8 |
| McCormick County, SC | Democratic | D+18.9 |
| Newberry County, SC | Republican | R+25.2 |
| Oconee County, SC | Republican | R+40.3 |
| Orangeburg County, SC | Democratic | D+4.9 |
| Pickens County, SC | Republican | R+47.9 |
| Richland County, SC | Republican | R+8.9 |
| Saluda County, SC | Republican | R+23.7 |
| Spartanburg County, SC | Republican | R+27.6 |
| Sumter County, SC | Republican | R+16.0 |
| Union County, SC | Republican | R+15.3 |
| Williamsburg County, SC | Democratic | D+10.7 |
| York County, SC | Republican | R+30.6 |
South Carolina results by county
46 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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbeville County | Bush, George H.W.+109 | 3,73850.5% | 3,62949.0% | 340.5% | 7,401 |
| Aiken County | Bush, George H.W.+17,067 | 27,66571.8% | 10,59827.5% | 2440.6% | 38,507 |
| Allendale County | Dukakis, Michael+501 | 1,29541.6% | 1,79657.7% | 230.7% | 3,114 |
| Anderson County | Bush, George H.W.+13,658 | 25,93967.6% | 12,28132.0% | 1630.4% | 38,383 |
| Bamberg County | Dukakis, Michael+427 | 2,40345.7% | 2,83053.9% | 220.4% | 5,255 |
| Barnwell County | Bush, George H.W.+1,903 | 4,46763.1% | 2,56436.2% | 440.6% | 7,075 |
| Beaufort County | Bush, George H.W.+7,493 | 16,18464.7% | 8,69134.7% | 1460.6% | 25,021 |
| Berkeley County | Bush, George H.W.+7,467 | 16,77963.8% | 9,31235.4% | 2060.8% | 26,297 |
| Calhoun County | Bush, George H.W.+410 | 2,58554.0% | 2,17545.4% | 270.6% | 4,787 |
| Charleston County | Bush, George H.W.+16,172 | 49,14959.3% | 32,97739.8% | 7901.0% | 82,916 |
| Cherokee County | Bush, George H.W.+3,441 | 7,76363.9% | 4,32235.6% | 660.5% | 12,151 |
| Chester County | Bush, George H.W.+231 | 3,96851.2% | 3,73748.2% | 430.6% | 7,748 |
| Chesterfield County | Bush, George H.W.+300 | 4,99951.4% | 4,69948.3% | 370.4% | 9,735 |
| Clarendon County | Dukakis, Michael+693 | 4,33746.2% | 5,03053.5% | 300.3% | 9,397 |
| Colleton County | Bush, George H.W.+454 | 4,96252.0% | 4,50847.2% | 770.8% | 9,547 |
| Darlington County | Bush, George H.W.+2,229 | 9,85455.2% | 7,62542.7% | 3642.0% | 17,843 |
| Dillon County | Bush, George H.W.+542 | 3,79353.7% | 3,25146.0% | 250.4% | 7,069 |
| Dorchester County | Bush, George H.W.+7,385 | 14,75666.4% | 7,37133.2% | 1050.5% | 22,232 |
| Edgefield County | Bush, George H.W.+794 | 3,81455.6% | 3,02044.0% | 290.4% | 6,863 |
| Fairfield County | Dukakis, Michael+1,113 | 2,71441.2% | 3,82758.1% | 420.6% | 6,583 |
| Florence County | Bush, George H.W.+6,959 | 19,49060.5% | 12,53138.9% | 1930.6% | 32,214 |
| Georgetown County | Bush, George H.W.+1,630 | 7,03256.2% | 5,40243.2% | 720.6% | 12,506 |
| Greenville County | Bush, George H.W.+40,183 | 67,37170.8% | 27,18828.6% | 5670.6% | 95,126 |
| Greenwood County | Bush, George H.W.+2,585 | 9,09657.9% | 6,51141.5% | 970.6% | 15,704 |
| Hampton County | Dukakis, Michael+609 | 2,82644.8% | 3,43554.5% | 450.7% | 6,306 |
| Horry County | Bush, George H.W.+11,527 | 24,84364.7% | 13,31634.7% | 2500.7% | 38,409 |
| Jasper County | Dukakis, Michael+890 | 2,00440.7% | 2,89458.7% | 310.6% | 4,929 |
| Kershaw County | Bush, George H.W.+4,383 | 8,87765.9% | 4,49433.4% | 1020.8% | 13,473 |
| Lancaster County | Bush, George H.W.+2,971 | 9,15259.5% | 6,18140.2% | 600.4% | 15,393 |
| Laurens County | Bush, George H.W.+3,801 | 9,73162.0% | 5,93037.8% | 410.3% | 15,702 |
| Lee County | Dukakis, Michael+487 | 2,93646.2% | 3,42353.8% | 00.0% | 6,359 |
| Lexington County | Bush, George H.W.+30,101 | 41,46777.9% | 11,36621.3% | 4050.8% | 53,238 |
| Marion County | Dukakis, Michael+605 | 4,40346.4% | 5,00852.8% | 750.8% | 9,486 |
| Marlboro County | Dukakis, Michael+1,016 | 2,92142.5% | 3,93757.3% | 120.2% | 6,870 |
| McCormick County | Dukakis, Michael+550 | 1,17240.2% | 1,72259.1% | 200.7% | 2,914 |
| Newberry County | Bush, George H.W.+2,602 | 6,42762.4% | 3,82537.1% | 530.5% | 10,305 |
| Oconee County | Bush, George H.W.+5,885 | 10,18469.8% | 4,29929.5% | 1020.7% | 14,585 |
| Orangeburg County | Dukakis, Michael+1,374 | 13,28147.3% | 14,65552.2% | 1130.4% | 28,049 |
| Pickens County | Bush, George H.W.+11,345 | 17,44873.6% | 6,10325.8% | 1450.6% | 23,696 |
| Richland County | Bush, George H.W.+7,421 | 43,84152.7% | 36,42043.8% | 2,8623.4% | 83,123 |
| Saluda County | Bush, George H.W.+1,241 | 3,22561.6% | 1,98437.9% | 230.4% | 5,232 |
| Spartanburg County | Bush, George H.W.+17,837 | 40,80163.2% | 22,96435.6% | 8031.2% | 64,568 |
| Sumter County | Bush, George H.W.+3,659 | 13,16157.7% | 9,50241.7% | 1380.6% | 22,801 |
| Union County | Bush, George H.W.+1,599 | 6,01957.5% | 4,42042.2% | 260.2% | 10,465 |
| Williamsburg County | Dukakis, Michael+1,429 | 5,91444.4% | 7,34355.1% | 670.5% | 13,324 |
| York County | Bush, George H.W.+10,199 | 21,65765.0% | 11,45834.4% | 1930.6% | 33,308 |
complete certified result
South Carolina 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)
South Carolina's presidential margins
1892–2024, the 1988 contest in context
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | +58.6% |
| 1896 | +71.8% |
| 1900 | +86.0% |
| 1904 | +90.8% |
| 1908 | +87.8% |
| 1912 | +95.9% |
| 1916 | +94.3% |
| 1920 | +92.1% |
| 1924 | +94.3% |
| 1928 | +82.9% |
| 1932 | +98.0% |
| 1936 | +98.6% |
| 1940 | +91.3% |
| 1944 | +83.2% |
| 1948 | +20.4% |
| 1952 | +1.4% |
| 1956 | +20.2% |
| 1960 | +2.5% |
| 1964 | −17.8% |
| 1968 | −8.5% |
| 1972 | −42.7% |
| 1976 | +13.1% |
| 1980 | −1.5% |
| 1984 | −28.0% |
| 1988 | −23.9% |
| 1992 | −8.1% |
| 1996 | −6.0% |
| 2000 | −15.9% |
| 2004 | −17.1% |
| 2008 | −9.0% |
| 2012 | −10.5% |
| 2016 | −14.3% |
| 2020 | −11.7% |
| 2024 | −17.9% |
Same ballot, 1988SC
Source. MIT Election Data + Science Lab — 1988 presidential returns · official county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.