Who won New Jersey in the 1988 presidential election?

Bush (Republican) carried New Jersey in 1988, winning its 16 electoral votes.

How many electoral votes did New Jersey have in 1988?

New Jersey cast 16 electoral votes in the 1988 presidential election.

Did New Jersey vote for the national winner in 1988?

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

Cold War RealignmentNJ · 16 EV

1988

New Jersey: Bush carries 16 EV.

New Jersey cast its 16 electoral votes for Bush (Republican). National winner: George H. W. Bush (Republican) — New Jersey voted with the national winner this cycle.

Reading the 1988 result in New Jersey

New Jersey backed Bush (Republican) in the 1988 presidential election, casting 16 electoral votes for the ticket. New Jersey ended up on the winning side — George H. W. Bush captured the White House that year.

It marked the 6th consecutive election in which New Jersey backed the Republican party, a streak reaching back to 1968. It stood apart from its neighbors: New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware went the other way that year. Across the 60 presidential elections New Jersey has taken part in, it has most often sided with the Democratic party (31 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

New Jersey full history →