Michael Dukakis 1988 presidential campaign

1988 presidential campaign of Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis

The 1988 presidential campaign of Michael Dukakis began when he announced his candidacy for the Democratic Party's 1988 presidential nomination on March 16, 1987, in a speech in Boston.

Dukakis for President
Campaign1988 U.S. presidential election
CandidateMichael Dukakis
AffiliationDemocratic Party
StatusLost election: November 8, 1988
HeadquartersBoston, Massachusetts
Key peopleSusan Estrich (campaign manager)
SloganWe’re on your side
Good jobs at good wages

Because the Best America has yet to Come

After winning the nomination, he became the Democratic Party's nominee at the party's convention in Atlanta, Georgia on July 21, 1988.[1][2] He lost the 1988 election to his Republican opponent George H. W. Bush, who was the sitting Vice President at the time.

Dukakis won 10 states and the District of Columbia, receiving a total of 111 electoral votes compared to Bush's 426 (Dukakis would have received 112, but one faithless elector who was pledged to him voted for Bentsen for president and Dukakis for vice president instead out of protest). Dukakis received 46% of the popular vote to Bush's 54%.[3]

Many commentators blamed Dukakis' loss on the embarrassing photograph of him in a tank taken on September 13, 1988.[4][5] Much of the blame was also laid on Dukakis' campaign, which was criticized for being poorly managed despite being well funded.[6]

He would have been the first Greek American President.

References

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  1. "Finding aid for Michael S. Dukakis Presidential Campaign Records". Northeastern University. Archived from the original on 2016-03-21. Retrieved 2017-09-16.
  2. Jr, E.J. Dionne; Times, Special to the New York (1988-07-21). "Democrats Acclaim Dukakis and Assert Unity". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-09-16.
  3. "United States presidential election of 1988". Encyclopedia Britannica.
  4. Drogin, Bob (1988-11-10). "How Presidential Race Was Won-and Lost: Michael S. Dukakis". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-09-16.
  5. King, Josh (2013-11-17). "Dukakis and the Tank". Politico. Retrieved 2017-09-16.
  6. Rheem, Donald L. (1988-10-27). "Michael Dukakis: The precarious politics of 'competence'". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2017-09-16.