1988 United States presidential election in Michigan

The 1988 United States presidential election in Michigan took place on November 8, 1988. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. Voters chose 20 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

Michigan was won by incumbent United States Vice President George H. W. Bush of Texas, who was running against Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. Bush ran with Indiana Senator Dan Quayle as Vice President, and Dukakis ran with Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen.

Michigan weighed in for this election as 0.1% more Republican than the national average. This is the last time a Republican carried Michigan with a majority of the vote, and was last time it voted Republican at all until Donald Trump's plurality win in 2016.

Typical for elections in the 1980s, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan turned out mainly Democratic, and the Lower Peninsula turned out mainly Republican, with the notable exception of Detroit's highly populated Wayne County, which voted mainly Democratic. , this is the last election in which Ingham County, Kalamazoo County, and Muskegon County voted for a Republican presidential candidate. As of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, this is also the last time Michigan voted to the right of neighboring Wisconsin, as well as the last time the Lower Peninsula voted for the Republican presidential candidate.

The presidential election of 1988 was a very partisan election for Michigan, with more than 99% of the electorate voting for either the Democratic or Republican parties. Bush won the election in Michigan with a solid 7.90% point margin.

As of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, this is also the last time Michigan was the most Republican-leaning of the three Rust Belt swing states (also consisting of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania).

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

 * Alger
 * Arenac
 * Baraga
 * Bay
 * Delta
 * Genesee
 * Lake
 * Marquette
 * Ontonagon
 * Saginaw
 * Schoolcraft
 * Washtenaw