Montana — 1988 presidential election
Recent presidential results
Akashicstate1988 presidential electionMontana · PresidentBushR+5.9
How it voted
Share of the 1988 vote
| George H. W. Bush ✓Republican | 52.1% | 190,412 |
|---|---|---|
| Michael DukakisDemocratic | 46.2% | 168,936 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 1.7% | 6,326 |
1988presidential margin
D+60R+60
56 counties, each filled by 1988 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
Montana cast 4 electoral votes this cycle.
County-level results (56 counties) — table
| County | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Beaverhead County, MT | Republican | R+34.9 |
| Big Horn County, MT | Democratic | D+13.1 |
| Blaine County, MT | Democratic | D+2.0 |
| Broadwater County, MT | Republican | R+27.5 |
| Carbon County, MT | Republican | R+7.2 |
| Carter County, MT | Republican | R+47.1 |
| Cascade County, MT | Republican | R+0.7 |
| Chouteau County, MT | Republican | R+25.3 |
| Custer County, MT | Republican | R+12.2 |
| Daniels County, MT | Republican | R+16.6 |
| Dawson County, MT | Republican | R+11.0 |
| Deer Lodge County, MT | Democratic | D+45.8 |
| Fallon County, MT | Republican | R+23.8 |
| Fergus County, MT | Republican | R+31.0 |
| Flathead County, MT | Republican | R+16.9 |
| Gallatin County, MT | Republican | R+15.9 |
| Garfield County, MT | Republican | R+51.1 |
| Glacier County, MT | Democratic | D+10.6 |
| Golden Valley County, MT | Republican | R+24.3 |
| Granite County, MT | Republican | R+21.0 |
| Hill County, MT | Democratic | D+9.7 |
| Jefferson County, MT | Republican | R+6.8 |
| Judith Basin County, MT | Republican | R+20.6 |
| Lake County, MT | Republican | R+8.5 |
| Lewis and Clark County, MT | Democratic | D+4.2 |
| Liberty County, MT | Republican | R+29.2 |
| Lincoln County, MT | Democratic | D+1.4 |
| Madison County, MT | Republican | R+39.2 |
| McCone County, MT | Republican | R+17.7 |
| Meagher County, MT | Republican | R+31.6 |
| Mineral County, MT | Democratic | D+12.1 |
| Missoula County, MT | Democratic | D+9.0 |
| Musselshell County, MT | Republican | R+17.3 |
| Park County, MT | Republican | R+20.1 |
| Petroleum County, MT | Republican | R+37.4 |
| Phillips County, MT | Republican | R+23.0 |
| Pondera County, MT | Republican | R+17.7 |
| Powder River County, MT | Republican | R+34.1 |
| Powell County, MT | Republican | R+14.3 |
| Prairie County, MT | Republican | R+22.0 |
| Ravalli County, MT | Republican | R+21.3 |
| Richland County, MT | Republican | R+17.7 |
| Roosevelt County, MT | Democratic | D+3.1 |
| Rosebud County, MT | Democratic | D+1.2 |
| Sanders County, MT | Republican | R+4.6 |
| Sheridan County, MT | Republican | R+1.0 |
| Silver Bow County, MT | Democratic | D+38.2 |
| Stillwater County, MT | Republican | R+15.2 |
| Sweet Grass County, MT | Republican | R+45.0 |
| Teton County, MT | Republican | R+17.7 |
| Toole County, MT | Republican | R+16.5 |
| Treasure County, MT | Republican | R+11.2 |
| Valley County, MT | Republican | R+6.5 |
| Wheatland County, MT | Republican | R+19.8 |
| Wibaux County, MT | Republican | R+15.9 |
| Yellowstone County, MT | Republican | R+12.0 |
Montana results by county
56 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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaverhead County | Bush, George H.W.+1,394 | 2,66866.7% | 1,27431.9% | 561.4% | 3,998 |
| Big Horn County | Dukakis, Michael+522 | 1,71142.9% | 2,23356.0% | 401.0% | 3,984 |
| Blaine County | Dukakis, Michael+58 | 1,40248.1% | 1,46050.1% | 501.7% | 2,912 |
| Broadwater County | Bush, George H.W.+462 | 1,05462.6% | 59235.2% | 372.2% | 1,683 |
| Carbon County | Bush, George H.W.+321 | 2,36052.8% | 2,03945.6% | 711.6% | 4,470 |
| Carter County | Bush, George H.W.+444 | 68672.8% | 24225.7% | 141.5% | 942 |
| Cascade County | Bush, George H.W.+228 | 15,94649.6% | 15,71848.9% | 4601.4% | 32,124 |
| Chouteau County | Bush, George H.W.+814 | 1,98061.5% | 1,16636.2% | 732.3% | 3,219 |
| Custer County | Bush, George H.W.+664 | 3,00755.1% | 2,34342.9% | 1122.1% | 5,462 |
| Daniels County | Bush, George H.W.+231 | 80257.5% | 57140.9% | 221.6% | 1,395 |
| Dawson County | Bush, George H.W.+538 | 2,65854.4% | 2,12043.4% | 1082.2% | 4,886 |
| Deer Lodge County | Dukakis, Michael+2,017 | 1,16826.5% | 3,18572.3% | 531.2% | 4,406 |
| Fallon County | Bush, George H.W.+390 | 1,00261.2% | 61237.4% | 221.3% | 1,636 |
| Fergus County | Bush, George H.W.+1,896 | 3,94864.6% | 2,05233.6% | 1161.9% | 6,116 |
| Flathead County | Bush, George H.W.+4,259 | 14,46157.3% | 10,20240.4% | 5622.2% | 25,225 |
| Gallatin County | Bush, George H.W.+3,687 | 13,21456.9% | 9,52741.1% | 4642.0% | 23,205 |
| Garfield County | Bush, George H.W.+435 | 63174.1% | 19623.0% | 242.8% | 851 |
| Glacier County | Dukakis, Michael+423 | 1,72843.2% | 2,15153.7% | 1253.1% | 4,004 |
| Golden Valley County | Bush, George H.W.+132 | 33561.7% | 20337.4% | 50.9% | 543 |
| Granite County | Bush, George H.W.+278 | 78959.5% | 51138.5% | 262.0% | 1,326 |
| Hill County | Dukakis, Michael+752 | 3,46744.5% | 4,21954.2% | 1051.3% | 7,791 |
| Jefferson County | Bush, George H.W.+261 | 2,00752.3% | 1,74645.5% | 842.2% | 3,837 |
| Judith Basin County | Bush, George H.W.+312 | 90259.5% | 59038.9% | 241.6% | 1,516 |
| Lake County | Bush, George H.W.+774 | 4,88353.4% | 4,10944.9% | 1581.7% | 9,150 |
| Lewis and Clark County | Dukakis, Michael+986 | 10,94646.9% | 11,93251.1% | 4562.0% | 23,334 |
| Liberty County | Bush, George H.W.+353 | 77163.8% | 41834.6% | 191.6% | 1,208 |
| Lincoln County | Dukakis, Michael+101 | 3,50048.0% | 3,60149.4% | 1932.6% | 7,294 |
| Madison County | Bush, George H.W.+1,167 | 2,04568.6% | 87829.5% | 571.9% | 2,980 |
| McCone County | Bush, George H.W.+247 | 81458.2% | 56740.5% | 181.3% | 1,399 |
| Meagher County | Bush, George H.W.+319 | 65665.0% | 33733.4% | 161.6% | 1,009 |
| Mineral County | Dukakis, Michael+173 | 61643.1% | 78955.3% | 231.6% | 1,428 |
| Missoula County | Dukakis, Michael+3,213 | 15,96544.8% | 19,17853.8% | 5261.5% | 35,669 |
| Musselshell County | Bush, George H.W.+382 | 1,28058.1% | 89840.7% | 261.2% | 2,204 |
| Park County | Bush, George H.W.+1,297 | 3,82359.1% | 2,52639.1% | 1161.8% | 6,465 |
| Petroleum County | Bush, George H.W.+113 | 20467.5% | 9130.1% | 72.3% | 302 |
| Phillips County | Bush, George H.W.+557 | 1,46260.3% | 90537.3% | 592.4% | 2,426 |
| Pondera County | Bush, George H.W.+550 | 1,79557.6% | 1,24540.0% | 742.4% | 3,114 |
| Powder River County | Bush, George H.W.+420 | 81566.2% | 39532.1% | 221.8% | 1,232 |
| Powell County | Bush, George H.W.+400 | 1,57456.3% | 1,17442.0% | 471.7% | 2,795 |
| Prairie County | Bush, George H.W.+198 | 54160.1% | 34338.1% | 161.8% | 900 |
| Ravalli County | Bush, George H.W.+2,655 | 7,41859.4% | 4,76338.1% | 3092.5% | 12,490 |
| Richland County | Bush, George H.W.+804 | 2,62857.8% | 1,82440.1% | 942.1% | 4,546 |
| Roosevelt County | Dukakis, Michael+126 | 1,95747.5% | 2,08350.6% | 781.9% | 4,118 |
| Rosebud County | Dukakis, Michael+47 | 1,82248.0% | 1,86949.3% | 1012.7% | 3,792 |
| Sanders County | Bush, George H.W.+193 | 2,15251.2% | 1,95946.6% | 892.1% | 4,200 |
| Sheridan County | Bush, George H.W.+27 | 1,38150.0% | 1,35449.0% | 281.0% | 2,763 |
| Silver Bow County | Dukakis, Michael+6,379 | 5,04330.2% | 11,42268.4% | 2221.3% | 16,687 |
| Stillwater County | Bush, George H.W.+513 | 1,92056.8% | 1,40741.6% | 521.5% | 3,379 |
| Sweet Grass County | Bush, George H.W.+780 | 1,24271.7% | 46226.7% | 291.7% | 1,733 |
| Teton County | Bush, George H.W.+573 | 1,87657.8% | 1,30340.2% | 652.0% | 3,244 |
| Toole County | Bush, George H.W.+435 | 1,50557.1% | 1,07040.6% | 592.2% | 2,634 |
| Treasure County | Bush, George H.W.+60 | 29154.3% | 23143.1% | 142.6% | 536 |
| Valley County | Bush, George H.W.+304 | 2,46752.4% | 2,16346.0% | 761.6% | 4,706 |
| Wheatland County | Bush, George H.W.+224 | 66759.0% | 44339.2% | 201.8% | 1,130 |
| Wibaux County | Bush, George H.W.+100 | 35856.9% | 25841.0% | 132.1% | 629 |
| Yellowstone County | Bush, George H.W.+6,082 | 28,06955.4% | 21,98743.4% | 5911.2% | 50,647 |
complete certified result
Montana 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)
Montana's presidential margins
1892–2024, the 1988 contest in context
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | −2.9% |
| 1896 | +60.2% |
| 1900 | +18.5% |
| 1904 | −20.4% |
| 1908 | −4.4% |
| 1912 | +11.8% |
| 1916 | +19.3% |
| 1920 | −29.1% |
| 1924 | −23.1% |
| 1928 | −17.9% |
| 1932 | +22.7% |
| 1936 | +41.7% |
| 1940 | +18.6% |
| 1944 | +9.4% |
| 1948 | +9.9% |
| 1952 | −19.3% |
| 1956 | −14.3% |
| 1960 | −2.5% |
| 1964 | +18.4% |
| 1968 | −9.0% |
| 1972 | −20.1% |
| 1976 | −7.4% |
| 1980 | −24.4% |
| 1984 | −22.3% |
| 1988 | −5.9% |
| 1992 | +2.5% |
| 1996 | −2.9% |
| 2000 | −25.1% |
| 2004 | −20.5% |
| 2008 | −2.4% |
| 2012 | −13.6% |
| 2016 | −20.2% |
| 2020 | −16.4% |
| 2024 | −19.9% |
Same ballot, 1988MT
Source. MIT Election Data + Science Lab — 1988 presidential returns · official county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.