In the 1988 presidential election, Republican Vice President George H. W. Bush defeated Democratic governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts.
Bush won the Republican nomination over Kansas senator Bob Dole and televangelist Pat Robertson of Virginia.
Dukakis won the Democratic nomination over Reverend Jesse Jackson of Illinois, Tennessee senator Al Gore, and Missouri Congressman Dick Gephardt.
Despite Dukakis's initial lead, Bush pulled ahead in opinion polling conducted in September and won by a substantial margin in both the popular and electoral vote.
Democrats won the nationwide popular vote for the House of Representatives by a margin of 7.7 percentage points, picking up a net of two seats.