Who won Kentucky in the 1988 presidential election?

Bush (Republican) carried Kentucky in 1988, winning its 9 electoral votes.

How many electoral votes did Kentucky have in 1988?

Kentucky cast 9 electoral votes in the 1988 presidential election.

Did Kentucky vote for the national winner in 1988?

Yes. Kentucky backed George H. W. Bush, who won the presidency that year.

Cold War RealignmentKY · 9 EV

1988

Kentucky: Bush carries 9 EV.

Kentucky cast its 9 electoral votes for Bush (Republican). National winner: George H. W. Bush (Republican) — Kentucky voted with the national winner this cycle.

Reading the 1988 result in Kentucky

Kentucky backed Bush (Republican) in the 1988 presidential election, casting 9 electoral votes for the ticket. Kentucky ended up on the winning side — George H. W. Bush captured the White House that year.

It marked the 3rd consecutive election in which Kentucky backed the Republican party, a streak reaching back to 1980. The region divided — Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri, and Illinois joined Kentucky for the Republican ticket, while West Virginia did not. Across the 59 presidential elections Kentucky has taken part in, it has most often sided with the Democratic party (28 times). The vote fell within the Cold War Realignment — Nixon, Reagan, and the Republican South.

In the national count, George H. W. Bush took 426 of the 538 electoral votes, against Michael Dukakis's 111. George H. W. Bush led the national popular vote with 53.37% of the ballots cast.

The 1988 national map

Kentucky full history →