Michigan was won by incumbent United States vice president George H. W. Bush of Texas, who was running against Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis.

Michigan weighed in for this election as 0.1% more Republican than the national average.

This was the last time Michigan voted Republican until Donald Trump's plurality win in 2016, and remains the last time that a Republican won a majority of the vote in the state.

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.

As of 2024, 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).