Gardner:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Robert B. Jordan Democratic Jim Gardner Republican The 1988 North Carolina lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1988.

Republican nominee Jim Gardner defeated Democratic nominee Tony Rand with 50.64% of the vote, becoming the first Republican elected lieutenant governor of North Carolina in the twentieth century.

Primary elections were held on May 3, 1988.

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