New Jersey — 1988 presidential election
Recent presidential results
Akashicstate1988 presidential electionNew Jersey · PresidentBushR+13.6
How it voted
Share of the 1988 vote
| George H. W. Bush ✓Republican | 56.2% | 1,743,192 |
|---|---|---|
| Michael DukakisDemocratic | 42.6% | 1,320,352 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 1.2% | 36,009 |
1988presidential margin
D+60R+60
21 counties, each filled by 1988 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
New Jersey cast 16 electoral votes this cycle.
County-level results (21 counties) — table
| County | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Atlantic County, NJ | Republican | R+13.5 |
| Bergen County, NJ | Republican | R+17.0 |
| Burlington County, NJ | Republican | R+17.5 |
| Camden County, NJ | Republican | R+4.9 |
| Cape May County, NJ | Republican | R+30.9 |
| Cumberland County, NJ | Republican | R+8.6 |
| Essex County, NJ | Democratic | D+16.1 |
| Gloucester County, NJ | Republican | R+18.4 |
| Hudson County, NJ | Democratic | D+7.7 |
| Hunterdon County, NJ | Republican | R+39.3 |
| Mercer County, NJ | Democratic | D+2.5 |
| Middlesex County, NJ | Republican | R+9.9 |
| Monmouth County, NJ | Republican | R+23.0 |
| Morris County, NJ | Republican | R+36.7 |
| Ocean County, NJ | Republican | R+31.5 |
| Passaic County, NJ | Republican | R+13.9 |
| Salem County, NJ | Republican | R+20.6 |
| Somerset County, NJ | Republican | R+28.5 |
| Sussex County, NJ | Republican | R+44.7 |
| Union County, NJ | Republican | R+9.5 |
| Warren County, NJ | Republican | R+29.9 |
New Jersey results by county
21 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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic County | Bush, George H.W.+10,701 | 44,74856.3% | 34,04742.9% | 6470.8% | 79,442 |
| Bergen County | Bush, George H.W.+66,230 | 226,88558.2% | 160,65541.2% | 2,3930.6% | 389,933 |
| Burlington County | Bush, George H.W.+26,276 | 87,41658.3% | 61,14040.8% | 1,3930.9% | 149,949 |
| Camden County | Bush, George H.W.+9,368 | 100,07252.0% | 90,70447.1% | 1,7390.9% | 192,515 |
| Cape May County | Bush, George H.W.+13,633 | 28,73865.1% | 15,10534.2% | 2740.6% | 44,117 |
| Cumberland County | Bush, George H.W.+4,155 | 26,02453.8% | 21,86945.2% | 4560.9% | 48,349 |
| Essex County | Dukakis, Michael+44,607 | 111,49140.3% | 156,09856.4% | 9,3783.4% | 276,967 |
| Gloucester County | Bush, George H.W.+16,229 | 51,70858.7% | 35,47940.3% | 9301.1% | 88,117 |
| Hudson County | Dukakis, Michael+14,173 | 84,33445.7% | 98,50753.4% | 1,6220.9% | 184,463 |
| Hunterdon County | Bush, George H.W.+18,149 | 31,90769.1% | 13,75829.8% | 5171.1% | 46,182 |
| Mercer County | Dukakis, Michael+3,328 | 65,38448.3% | 68,71250.8% | 1,2490.9% | 135,345 |
| Middlesex County | Bush, George H.W.+26,273 | 143,42254.3% | 117,14944.4% | 3,5481.3% | 264,119 |
| Monmouth County | Bush, George H.W.+55,476 | 147,32061.1% | 91,84438.1% | 1,7930.7% | 240,957 |
| Morris County | Bush, George H.W.+68,699 | 127,42068.0% | 58,72131.4% | 1,1080.6% | 187,249 |
| Ocean County | Bush, George H.W.+60,113 | 124,58765.4% | 64,47433.8% | 1,4970.8% | 190,558 |
| Passaic County | Bush, George H.W.+21,816 | 88,07055.9% | 66,25442.1% | 3,1892.0% | 157,513 |
| Salem County | Bush, George H.W.+5,284 | 15,24059.5% | 9,95638.9% | 4101.6% | 25,606 |
| Somerset County | Bush, George H.W.+30,252 | 67,65863.7% | 37,40635.2% | 1,1291.1% | 106,193 |
| Sussex County | Bush, George H.W.+22,410 | 36,08671.9% | 13,67627.3% | 3980.8% | 50,160 |
| Union County | Bush, George H.W.+19,809 | 112,96754.3% | 93,15844.8% | 2,0281.0% | 208,153 |
| Warren County | Bush, George H.W.+10,075 | 21,71564.5% | 11,64034.6% | 3110.9% | 33,666 |
complete certified result
New Jersey 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)
New Jersey's presidential margins
1892–2024, the 1988 contest in context
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | +4.4% |
| 1896 | −23.6% |
| 1900 | −14.2% |
| 1904 | −18.7% |
| 1908 | −17.7% |
| 1912 | +20.7% |
| 1916 | −11.7% |
| 1920 | −39.2% |
| 1924 | −34.8% |
| 1928 | −20.0% |
| 1932 | +1.9% |
| 1936 | +20.0% |
| 1940 | +3.6% |
| 1944 | +1.4% |
| 1948 | −4.4% |
| 1952 | −14.8% |
| 1956 | −30.5% |
| 1960 | +0.8% |
| 1964 | +31.7% |
| 1968 | −2.1% |
| 1972 | −24.8% |
| 1976 | −2.2% |
| 1980 | −13.4% |
| 1984 | −20.9% |
| 1988 | −13.6% |
| 1992 | +2.4% |
| 1996 | +17.9% |
| 2000 | +15.8% |
| 2004 | +6.7% |
| 2008 | +15.6% |
| 2012 | +17.7% |
| 2016 | +14.0% |
| 2020 | +16.0% |
| 2024 | +5.9% |
Same ballot, 1988NJ
Source. MIT Election Data + Science Lab — 1988 presidential returns · official county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.