wv and vt 1988

[old timey villain]

New Englanders were still holding out hope that Bush would govern like moderate Republican presidents in the past. They were mistaken and punished him in 1992.

Dukakis ran an economically populist campaign. He was a typical, unoffensive, new deal type Democrat (despite the Bush campaign's best attempts to turn him into a leftist nutjob) and those Democrats typically did very well in West Virginia.

[old timey villain]

New Englanders were still holding out hope that Bush would govern like moderate Republican presidents in the past. They were mistaken and punished him in 1992.

Dukakis ran an economically populist campaign. He was a typical, unoffensive, new deal type Democrat (despite the Bush campaign's best attempts to turn him into a leftist nutjob) and those Democrats typically did very well in West Virginia.

Dukakis was a liberal on issues such as taxes and crime.

Ahh, I see Lee Atwater had an effect on you. Dukakis really wasn't in far left field on crime, but the Bush campaign made it seem that way. They ran the Willie Horton ad, which was incredibly controversial, but succeeded in making Dukakis look like a wimpy liberal when it came to crime. And maybe he was...but the prison furlough program that Dukakis was criticized for was actually first implemented by the governor of California - Ronald Reagan!

[old timey villain]

New Englanders were still holding out hope that Bush would govern like moderate Republican presidents in the past. They were mistaken and punished him in 1992.

Dukakis ran an economically populist campaign. He was a typical, unoffensive, new deal type Democrat (despite the Bush campaign's best attempts to turn him into a leftist nutjob) and those Democrats typically did very well in West Virginia.

What? The New England states voted for Ronald Reagan(a conservative) twice except for RI which voted for Carter in 1980. Bush H.W. wasn't more moderate than Reagan? The guy raised taxes even after he said "no new taxes".

Even in the 1980s New England, specifically the more rural areas, was Republican based on history and tradition. Reagan's landslide in 1980 and 1984 helped keep New England in the column, despite states like Vermont still trending D.

Bush won New England more on his regional appeal, and yes, he did campaign as a moderate. But in 1992, he was primaried by the more conservative Pat Buchanan. In order to fend him off, he had to move farther to the right on social issues to keep his base. This pissed New Englanders off and it was one of the reasons they voted for Clinton.