South Dakota was won by incumbent United States Vice President George H. W. Bush of Texas, who was running against Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis.

South Dakota weighed in for this election as 1.5% more Democratic than the national average.

[1] This is the last of only four elections since statehood when South Dakota has voted more Democratic than the national average,[a] an anomaly probably caused by the persistent crisis in the United States' farming sector during the decade.

Bush won the election in South Dakota with a 6-point margin.

The presidential election of 1988 was a very partisan election for South Dakota, with more than 99 percent of the electorate voting for either the Republican or the Democratic parties, and only five candidates appearing on the ballot.