Washington — 1988 presidential election
Recent presidential results
Akashicstate1988 presidential electionWashington · PresidentDukakisD+1.6
How it voted
Share of the 1988 vote
| Michael Dukakis ✓Democratic | 50.0% | 933,516 |
|---|---|---|
| George H. W. BushRepublican | 48.5% | 903,835 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 1.5% | 27,902 |
1988presidential margin
D+60R+60
39 counties, each filled by 1988 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
Gold marks a county an independent or third-party candidate carried.
Washington cast 10 electoral votes this cycle.
County-level results (39 counties) — table
| County | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Adams County, WA | Republican | R+23.3 |
| Asotin County, WA | Democratic | D+8.6 |
| Benton County, WA | Republican | R+31.5 |
| Chelan County, WA | Republican | R+17.0 |
| Clallam County, WA | Republican | R+0.3 |
| Clark County, WA | Democratic | D+3.5 |
| Columbia County, WA | Republican | R+22.7 |
| Cowlitz County, WA | Democratic | D+14.3 |
| Douglas County, WA | Republican | R+17.5 |
| Ferry County, WA | Other / independent | Tied |
| Franklin County, WA | Republican | R+15.0 |
| Garfield County, WA | Republican | R+9.2 |
| Grant County, WA | Republican | R+17.5 |
| Grays Harbor County, WA | Democratic | D+22.4 |
| Island County, WA | Republican | R+18.9 |
| Jefferson County, WA | Democratic | D+11.3 |
| King County, WA | Democratic | D+9.1 |
| Kitsap County, WA | Republican | R+1.4 |
| Kittitas County, WA | Democratic | D+2.6 |
| Klickitat County, WA | Democratic | D+1.2 |
| Lewis County, WA | Republican | R+23.9 |
| Lincoln County, WA | Republican | R+17.3 |
| Mason County, WA | Democratic | D+2.6 |
| Okanogan County, WA | Republican | R+1.9 |
| Pacific County, WA | Democratic | D+23.7 |
| Pend Oreille County, WA | Democratic | D+3.2 |
| Pierce County, WA | Democratic | D+1.3 |
| San Juan County, WA | Democratic | D+6.0 |
| Skagit County, WA | Republican | R+4.3 |
| Skamania County, WA | Democratic | D+12.4 |
| Snohomish County, WA | Republican | R+2.1 |
| Spokane County, WA | Republican | R+0.2 |
| Stevens County, WA | Republican | R+12.6 |
| Thurston County, WA | Democratic | D+2.8 |
| Wahkiakum County, WA | Democratic | D+20.4 |
| Walla Walla County, WA | Republican | R+12.8 |
| Whatcom County, WA | Democratic | D+3.5 |
| Whitman County, WA | Republican | R+1.8 |
| Yakima County, WA | Republican | R+12.6 |
Washington results by county
39 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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams County | Bush, George H.W.+1,000 | 1,61237.6% | 2,61260.9% | 641.5% | 4,288 |
| Asotin County | Dukakis, Michael+548 | 3,42253.6% | 2,87445.0% | 881.4% | 6,384 |
| Benton County | Bush, George H.W.+13,871 | 14,81733.7% | 28,68865.2% | 5111.2% | 44,016 |
| Chelan County | Bush, George H.W.+3,418 | 8,18340.8% | 11,60157.8% | 2811.4% | 20,065 |
| Clallam County | Bush, George H.W.+77 | 11,12348.8% | 11,20049.1% | 4712.1% | 22,794 |
| Clark County | Dukakis, Michael+2,736 | 40,02151.1% | 37,28547.6% | 1,0001.3% | 78,306 |
| Columbia County | Bush, George H.W.+442 | 73037.6% | 1,17260.3% | 422.2% | 1,944 |
| Cowlitz County | Dukakis, Michael+4,081 | 16,09056.5% | 12,00942.2% | 3661.3% | 28,465 |
| Douglas County | Bush, George H.W.+1,618 | 3,76040.7% | 5,37858.2% | 1091.2% | 9,247 |
| Ferry County | Dukakis, Michael+0 | 97248.1% | 97248.1% | 773.8% | 2,021 |
| Franklin County | Bush, George H.W.+1,716 | 4,77241.7% | 6,48856.7% | 1921.7% | 11,452 |
| Garfield County | Bush, George H.W.+121 | 59345.0% | 71454.1% | 120.9% | 1,319 |
| Grant County | Bush, George H.W.+3,295 | 7,56440.2% | 10,85957.8% | 3762.0% | 18,799 |
| Grays Harbor County | Dukakis, Michael+5,237 | 14,09760.3% | 8,86037.9% | 4341.9% | 23,391 |
| Island County | Bush, George H.W.+4,042 | 8,51039.9% | 12,55258.8% | 2911.4% | 21,353 |
| Jefferson County | Dukakis, Michael+1,086 | 5,27054.7% | 4,18443.4% | 1821.9% | 9,636 |
| King County | Dukakis, Michael+59,089 | 349,66353.9% | 290,57444.8% | 8,7201.3% | 648,957 |
| Kitsap County | Bush, George H.W.+995 | 33,74848.5% | 34,74349.9% | 1,1581.7% | 69,649 |
| Kittitas County | Dukakis, Michael+270 | 5,31850.7% | 5,04848.1% | 1301.2% | 10,496 |
| Klickitat County | Dukakis, Michael+71 | 2,99149.1% | 2,92048.0% | 1752.9% | 6,086 |
| Lewis County | Bush, George H.W.+5,555 | 8,62937.1% | 14,18461.0% | 4251.8% | 23,238 |
| Lincoln County | Bush, George H.W.+805 | 1,88440.6% | 2,68957.9% | 721.6% | 4,645 |
| Mason County | Dukakis, Michael+400 | 7,82650.3% | 7,42647.8% | 2931.9% | 15,545 |
| Okanogan County | Bush, George H.W.+226 | 5,63048.0% | 5,85649.9% | 2542.2% | 11,740 |
| Pacific County | Dukakis, Michael+1,944 | 5,01761.2% | 3,07337.5% | 1101.3% | 8,200 |
| Pend Oreille County | Dukakis, Michael+123 | 1,92550.7% | 1,80247.5% | 671.8% | 3,794 |
| Pierce County | Dukakis, Michael+2,521 | 96,68849.7% | 94,16748.4% | 3,6181.9% | 194,473 |
| San Juan County | Dukakis, Michael+348 | 3,00851.7% | 2,66045.8% | 1462.5% | 5,814 |
| Skagit County | Bush, George H.W.+1,391 | 15,15946.8% | 16,55051.1% | 6922.1% | 32,401 |
| Skamania County | Dukakis, Michael+392 | 1,74855.3% | 1,35642.9% | 581.8% | 3,162 |
| Snohomish County | Bush, George H.W.+3,464 | 80,69448.3% | 84,15850.3% | 2,3131.4% | 167,165 |
| Spokane County | Bush, George H.W.+267 | 68,52049.2% | 68,78749.4% | 1,8431.3% | 139,150 |
| Stevens County | Bush, George H.W.+1,508 | 5,06842.4% | 6,57655.0% | 3182.7% | 11,962 |
| Thurston County | Dukakis, Michael+1,880 | 33,86050.6% | 31,98047.8% | 1,0901.6% | 66,930 |
| Wahkiakum County | Dukakis, Michael+332 | 96159.1% | 62938.7% | 362.2% | 1,626 |
| Walla Walla County | Bush, George H.W.+2,235 | 7,44842.8% | 9,68355.6% | 2721.6% | 17,403 |
| Whatcom County | Dukakis, Michael+1,751 | 25,57151.0% | 23,82047.6% | 7031.4% | 50,094 |
| Whitman County | Bush, George H.W.+277 | 7,40348.3% | 7,68050.1% | 2501.6% | 15,333 |
| Yakima County | Bush, George H.W.+6,805 | 23,22143.1% | 30,02655.7% | 6631.2% | 53,910 |
complete certified result
Washington 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)
Washington's presidential margins
1892–2024, the 1988 contest in context
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | −7.6% |
| 1896 | +15.1% |
| 1900 | −11.7% |
| 1904 | −50.6% |
| 1908 | −25.8% |
| 1912 | +5.1% |
| 1916 | +4.2% |
| 1920 | −34.8% |
| 1924 | −42.1% |
| 1928 | −35.8% |
| 1932 | +23.5% |
| 1936 | +36.5% |
| 1940 | +17.6% |
| 1944 | +14.6% |
| 1948 | +9.8% |
| 1952 | −9.6% |
| 1956 | −8.5% |
| 1960 | −2.4% |
| 1964 | +24.6% |
| 1968 | +2.1% |
| 1972 | −18.3% |
| 1976 | −3.9% |
| 1980 | −12.3% |
| 1984 | −13.0% |
| 1988 | +1.6% |
| 1992 | +11.4% |
| 1996 | +12.5% |
| 2000 | +5.6% |
| 2004 | +7.2% |
| 2008 | +17.2% |
| 2012 | +14.8% |
| 2016 | +15.7% |
| 2020 | +19.2% |
| 2024 | +18.2% |
Same ballot, 1988WA
Source. MIT Election Data + Science Lab — 1988 presidential returns · official county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.