In 1988 a West Virginia elector voted for Lloyd Bentsen as president and Michael Dukakis as vice president.1 The elector, Margaret Leach, had been chosen as an elector for Dukakis, the Democratic nominee for president; Bentsen was his running mate.2 A Congressional Research Service report described her vote as reversing the order of the ticket.3
According to FairVote, Leach, a nurse from Huntington, learned during the Electoral College process that electors were not required to vote for the candidates they were pledged to, and switched her votes to draw attention to it.4 A CNN report in 2000 likewise said she had made the point that West Virginia had no law against it.5 Electors who vote this way are commonly called faithless electors, and Leach tried without success to persuade other electors to join her.6
Nationally, George Bush won with 426 electoral votes to 111 for Dukakis.7 By 2000, CNN reported, Leach was a Democratic member of the West Virginia House of Delegates.8
A West Virginia elector voted for Bentsen as President and Dukakis as Vice President.
National Archives, Electoral College results for 1988, archives.gov, read October 3, 2026. Quoted as published.
Sources for each sentence
Each numbered entry quotes the words that support that sentence, as they appear on the linked page.
- Back to sentence 1
A West Virginia elector voted for Bentsen as President and Dukakis as Vice President.
archives.gov/electoral-college/1988 - Back to sentence 2
She cast her presidential vote for Lloyd Bentsen, the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate, and cast her vice presidential vote for Michael Dukakis, the Democratic presidential candidate.
archive.fairvote.org/?page=973 Margaret Leach, a West Virginia elector for Michael Dukakis (D), voted for Senator Lloyd Bentsen (D) of Texas
everycrsreport.com/reports/RL30804.html - Back to sentence 3
Ms. Leach effectively reversed the order of her vote, choosing Senator Bentsen, the vice presidential nominee in 1988, for President, and Governor Dukakis, the presidential nominee, for Vice President.
everycrsreport.com/reports/RL30804.html - Back to sentence 4
Leach, a nurse from Huntington, WV, was pledged to the Democratic Party. During the Electoral College process, Leach learned that members of the Electoral College were not required to vote for the candidates they were pledged to.
archive.fairvote.org/?page=973 she decided to draw more attention to the situation by switching her votes for president and vice president.
archive.fairvote.org/?page=973 - Back to sentence 5
Margaret Leach in 1988 was the one who was the faithless elector who decided to make the point that West Virginia had no law against it.
cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0012/18/tod.03.html - Back to sentence 6
"faithless electors" have voted for presidential and vice presidential candidates other than those to whom they were pledged
everycrsreport.com/reports/RL30804.html Leach tried to convince other electors to join her, but hers remained the only unexpected vote.
archive.fairvote.org/?page=973 - Back to sentence 7
George Bush [R] Main Opponent Michael S. Dukakis [D] Electoral Vote Winner: 426 Main Opponent: 111
archives.gov/electoral-college/1988 - Back to sentence 8
And she is to this day a Democratic member of the House of Delegates in West Virginia.
cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0012/18/tod.03.html
Sources checked on October 3, 2026
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