1988 Democratic Party presidential primaries

The 1988 Democratic presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 1988 U.S. presidential election.

1988 Democratic Party presidential primaries
February 8 to June 14, 1988
 
Candidate Michael Dukakis Jesse Jackson Al Gore
Home state Massachusetts South Carolina Tennessee
Delegate count 1,792 1,023 374
Contests won 30 13 7
Popular vote 10,024,101 6,941,816 3,190,992
Percentage 42.37% 29.34% 13.49%
 
Candidate Paul Simon Dick Gephardt
Home state Illinois Missouri
Delegate count 161 137
Contests won 1 3
Popular vote 1,107,692 1,452,331
Percentage 4.68% 6.14%
First place finishes by roll call vote
Previous Democratic nominee

Walter Mondale

 Democratic nominee

Michael Dukakis

Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1988 Democratic National Convention held from July 18 to July 21, 1988, in Atlanta, Georgia.

This is also the last time Illinois, Missouri, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana chose delegates for a candidate who did not win the nomination.

Background

Having been badly defeated in the 1984 presidential election, the Democrats in 1985 and 1986 were eager to find a new approach to win the presidency. They created the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), with the aim of recruiting a candidate for the 1988 election.

The large gains in the 1986 mid-term elections (which resulted in the Democrats taking back control of the Senate after six years of Republican rule) and the continuing Iran Contra scandal gave Democrats confidence in the run-up to the primary season.

Candidates

Nominee
Candidate Most recent position Home state Campaign Popular

vote

 Contests won Running mate
Michael Dukakis Governor of Massachusetts
(1975–79,
1983–91)
Massachusetts

(Campaign)

 10,482,411
(42.37%)		 30
NH, MN, ME primary, VT primary
FL, HI caucus, ID caucus, MD
MA, RI, TX, WA
AS caucus, CO caucus, KS caucus
CT, WI, AZ caucus, NY, UT caucus, PA, IN
OH, NE, OR, CA, MT, NJ, NM, ND		 Lloyd Bentsen

Withdrew during primaries or convention
Candidate Experience Home state Campaign

Withdrawal date

 Popular vote Contests won
Jesse Jackson Civil rights leader
South Carolina

Eliminated at convention
(Campaign)

 6,941,816
(29.34%)		 13
AL, GA, LA, MS, VA
AK caucus, SC, PR
VT caucus, MI caucus, DE caucus, DC
Al Gore U.S. Senator
from Tennessee
(1985–93)

U.S. Representative from Tennessee
(1977–85)
Tennessee
Withdrew: April 21

(Campaign)

 3,190,992
(13.49%)		 7
WY caucus, AR, KY
NV caucus, NC, OK, TN
Paul Simon U.S. Senator
from Illinois
(1985–97)

U.S. Representative from Illinois
(1975–85)
Illinois
Withdrew: April 7		 1,107,692
(4.68%)		 1
IL
Dick Gephardt U.S. Representative
from Missouri
(1977–2005)
Missouri
Withdrew: March 29		 1,452,331
(6.14%)		 3
IA caucus, SD, MO
Gary Hart U.S. Senator
from Colorado
(1975–87)
Colorado
Withdrew: March 12		 390,200
(1.65%)		 0

Other notable candidates campaigning for the nomination but receiving less than 1% of the national vote included:

Withdrew before primaries

Declined

Polling

Nationwide polling
Poll source Publication
Bruce Babbitt
Michael Dukakis
Dick Gephardt
Al Gore
Gary Hart
Jesse Jackson
Paul Simon
YCS[3] Dec. 17–18, 1987 – 14% 4% – 30% 22% 7%
Gallup[3] Dec. 17–18, 1987 – 10% 2% – 31% 13% 10%
YCS[3] Jan. 3–6, 1988 – 11% 4% – 28% 17% 13%
New York Times[3] Jan. 17–21, 1988 – 6% 4% – 23% 17% 9%
Washington Post/ABC[3] Jan. 17–23, 1988 – 11% 4% – 23% 25% 12%
Gallup[3] Jan. 22–24, 1988 3% 16% 9% 6% 23% 15% 9%
Harris Interactive[3] Jan. 7–26, 1988 – 15% 6% – 19% 15% 8%
Gordon Black[3] Jan. 21–28, 1988 – 13% 9% – 17% 13% 7%
New York Times[3] Jan. 30–31, 1988 – 8% 4% – 18% 16% 6%

Primary race

The Hart-Rice affair

The Democratic front-runner for most of 1987 was former Colorado Senator Gary Hart.[4] Hart had made a strong showing in the 1984 presidential election and, after Mondale's defeat, had positioned himself as the moderate centrist many Democrats felt their party would need to win.[5]

However, questions and rumors about possible extramarital affairs and about past debts dogged Hart's campaign.[6] One of the great myths is that Senator Hart challenged the media to "put a tail" on him and that reporters then took him up on that challenge. In fact, Hart had told E. J. Dionne of The New York Times that if reporters followed him around, they would "be bored". However, in a separate investigation, the Miami Herald claimed to have received an anonymous tip from a friend of Donna Rice that Rice was involved with Hart. It was only after Hart had been discovered that the Herald reporters found Hart's quote in a pre-print of The New York Times Magazine.[7]

On May 8, 1987, a week after the Donna Rice story broke, Hart dropped out of the race.[6]

The Hart scandal would later be depicted in the 2018 film The Front Runner, with Hugh Jackman portraying Hart.

In December 1987, Hart surprised many political pundits by resuming his presidential campaign.[8] He again led in the polls for the Democratic nomination, both nationally and in Iowa. However, the allegations of adultery and reports of irregularities in his campaign financing had delivered a fatal blow to his candidacy, and he fared poorly in the early primaries before dropping out again.[9]

Biden plagiarism scandal

Delaware Senator Joe Biden led a highly competitive campaign which ended in controversy after he was accused of plagiarizing a speech by Neil Kinnock, then-leader of the British Labour Party.[10] Though Biden had correctly credited the original author in all speeches but one, the one of which he failed to make mention of the originator was caught on video and sent to the press by members of the Dukakis campaign. In the video Biden is filmed repeating a stump speech by Kinnock, with only minor modifications. Michael Dukakis later acknowledged that his campaign was responsible for leaking the tape, and two members of his staff resigned.

Allegations were also leaked to the press that Biden had been guilty of plagiarism years before, while a student at the Syracuse University College of Law in the 1960s. Though Biden professed his integrity, the impression lingering in the media as the result of this double punch would lead him to drop out of the race.

The Delaware Supreme Court's Board on Professional Responsibility would later clear Biden of the law school plagiarism charges.[11]

Results

In the Iowa caucuses, Gephardt finished first, Simon finished second, and Dukakis finished third. In the New Hampshire primary, Dukakis finished first, Gephardt finished second, and Simon finished third. Dukakis and Gore campaigned hard against Gephardt with negative ads, and eventually the United Auto Workers retracted their endorsement of Gephardt, who was heavily dependent on labor union backing.

In the Super Tuesday races, Dukakis won six primaries, Gore five, Jackson five and Gephardt one, with Gore and Jackson splitting the southern states. The next week, Simon won Illinois. 1988 is tied with 1992 as the race with the most candidates winning primaries since the McGovern reforms of 1971. Gore's effort to paint Dukakis as too liberal for the general election proved unsuccessful and he eventually withdrew. Jackson focused more on getting enough delegates to make sure African-American interests were represented in the platform than on winning outright.[12] Dukakis eventually emerged as the party's nominee.

Statewide
Date State Michael Dukakis Jesse Jackson Al Gore Dick Gephardt Paul Simon Gary Hart Bruce Babbitt
February 8 Iowa caucus[13] 21% 11% 0% 28% 24% 1% 9%
February 16 New Hampshire[14] 37% 8% 7% 20% 17% 4% 5%
February 23 Minnesota[15] 33% 18% 1% 7% 22% 0% 0%
February 23 South Dakota[15] 30% 5% 9% 45% 6% 6% 0%
February 28 Maine primary[16] 42% 27% 2% 3% 4% 1% 0%
March 1 Vermont primary[17] 56% 26% 0% 8% 5% 4% 0%
March 5 Wyoming caucus[18] 26% 13% 27% 21% 3% 0% 0%
March 8 Alabama[19] 8% 44% 37% 7% 1% 2% 1%
March 8 Arkansas[20] 19% 17% 37% 12% 2% 4% 0%
March 8 Florida[21] 41% 20% 13% 14% 2% 3% 1%
March 8 Georgia[22] 16% 40% 33% 7% 1% 3% 1%
March 8 Hawaii caucus[23] 55% 35% 1% 2% 1% 0% 0%
March 8 Idaho caucus[24] 38% 19% 8% 4% 1% 0% 0%
March 8 Kentucky[25] 19% 16% 46% 9% 0% 0% 0%
March 8 Louisiana[26] 15% 35% 28% 11% 0% 0% 0%
March 8 Maryland[27] 46% 32% 9% 9% 3% 2% 1%
March 8 Massachusetts[28] 63% 17% 4% 9% 3% 0% 0%
March 8 Mississippi[29] 8% 45% 34% 5% 0% 4% 0%
March 8 Missouri[30] 12% 20% 3% 58% 4% 0% 0%
March 8 Nevada caucus[31] 26% 21% 35% 2% 1% 0% 0%
March 8 North Carolina[32] 20% 33% 35% 6% 1% 2% 1%
March 8 Oklahoma[33] 17% 13% 41% 21% 2% 3% 0%
March 8 Rhode Island[34] 70% 15% 4% 4% 3% 2% 1%
March 8 Tennessee[35] 3% 21% 72% 2% 1% 1% 0%
March 8 Texas[36] 33% 25% 20% 14% 2% 5% 1%
March 8 Virginia[37] 23% 45% 22% 4% 2% 2% 1%
March 8 Washington[38] 44% 35% 2% 1% 4% 0% 0%
March 8 American Samoa caucus[39] 39% 7% 0% 22% 0% 0% 0%
March 10 Alaska caucus[40] 31% 35% 2% 1% 1% 0% 0%
March 12 Colorado caucus[41] 43% 35% 3% 0% 0% 0% 0%
March 12 South Carolina[42] 6% 55% 17% 2% 0% 0% 0%
March 15 Illinois[43] 17% 33% 5% 2% 43% 0% 0%
March 19 Kansas caucus[44] 36% 31% 16% 2% 0% 0% 0%
March 20 Puerto Rico[45] 23% 35% 4% 18% 20% 0% 0%
March 24 Connecticut[46] 58% 28% 8% 0% 1% 2% 1%
March 26 Michigan caucus[47] 29% 54% 2% 13% 2% 0% 0%
April 5 Wisconsin[48] 47% 30% 17% 0% 5% 0% 0%
April 16 Arizona caucus[49] 54% 38% 5% 0% 1% 0% 0%
April 18 Delaware caucus[50] 27% 46% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0%
April 19 New York[51] 801,457 (50.88%) 585,076 (37.14%) 157,559 (10.00%) 0% 17,011 (1.08%) 0% 0%
April 25 Utah caucus[52] 72% 15% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
April 26 Pennsylvania[53] 66% 27% 3% 0% 1% 1% 0%
May 3 Indiana[54] 70% 22% 3% 3% 2% 0% 0%
May 3 Ohio[55] 63% 27% 2% 0% 1% 2% 0%
May 3 Washington, D.C.[56] 18% 80% 1% 0% 1% 0% 0%
May 10 Nebraska[57] 63% 26% 1% 3% 1% 3% 0%
May 10 West Virginia[58] 75% 13% 3% 2% 1% 3% 1%
May 17 Oregon[59] 57% 38% 1% 2% 1% 0% 0%
June 7 California[60] 61% 35% 2% 0% 1% 0% 0%
June 7 Montana[61] 69% 22% 2% 3% 1% 0% 0%
June 7 New Jersey[62] 63% 33% 3% 0% 0% 0% 0%
June 7 New Mexico[63] 61% 28% 3% 0% 2% 4% 2%
June 14 North Dakota[64] 85% 15% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Total popular vote results from primaries and caucuses:[65]

Convention and general election
Main articles: 1988 Democratic National Convention and United States presidential election, 1988

The Democratic Party Convention was held in Atlanta, Georgia, July 18–21. The Dukakis nominating speech delivered by Arkansas governor and future president Bill Clinton was widely criticized as too long and tedious.[66]

Texas State Treasurer Ann Richards (who two years later became the state governor) delivered a memorable keynote address in which she uttered the lines "Poor George [Bush], he can't help it, he was born with a silver foot in his mouth." Six years later, Bush's son George W. Bush would deny Richards re-election as Texas Governor.

With most candidates having withdrawn and asking their delegates to vote for Dukakis, the tally for president was as follows:[67]

Jesse Jackson's campaign believed that since they had come in a respectable second, Jackson was entitled to the vice presidential spot. Dukakis refused, and gave the spot to Lloyd Bentsen.

Bentsen was selected in large part to secure the state of Texas and its large electoral vote for the Democrats. During the vice-presidential debate, Republican candidate and Senator Dan Quayle ignored a head-on confrontation with Bentsen (aside from the "Jack Kennedy" comparison) and spent his time attacking Dukakis.

See also
  • Republican Party presidential primaries, 1988

References
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  4. John Dillin for The Christian Science Monitor. 23 February 1987 Cuomo's `no' opens door for dark horses
  5. E. J. Dionne Jr. (May 3, 1987). "Gary Hart The Elusive Front-Runner". The New York Times, pg. SM28.
  6. Johnston, David; King, Wayne; Nordheimer, Jon (1987-05-09). "Courting Danger: The Fall Of Gary Hart". The New York Times.
  7. "The Gary Hart Story: How It Happened". The Miami Herald. May 10, 1987.
  8. Bob Drogin for the Los Angeles Times. 16 December 1987 Hart Back in Race for President : Political World Stunned, Gives Him Little Chance
  9. Associated Press, in the Los Angeles Times. 13 March 1988 Quits Campaign : 'The People 'Have Decided,' Hart Declares
  10. "Biden Is Facing Growing Debate On His Speeches". The New York Times. September 16, 1987.
  11. "Professional Board Clears Biden In Two Allegations of Plagiarism". The New York Times. May 29, 1989. p. 29.
  12. Williams, Juan (1988-07-17). "Waiting for The Jackson Reaction; Will Jesse End His Crusade With a Bang or a Whimper?". The Washington Post. p. C1.
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