1988-Bush/Kemp v. Cuomo/Gore

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Cuomo/Gore: 51% PV, 288 EV
Bush/Kemp: 47% PV, 250 EV
Others: 2% PV, 0 EV

[Undisguised Sockpuppet]

That's about right.

[gorkay]

The Dems would have had a real shot at that one.

[Lincoln Republican]

I hate to burst your bubble, but Mario Cuomo would not win a Presidential election against Vice President George Bush in 1988, who enjoyed a level of respect and trust with the American public.

This is the best case scenario for Cuomo.  I am being generous.  He was very liberal, and would not have gone over well with significant segements of the voting public.

There is no way that Cuomo would have been able to reverse enough of the very solid leads Bush enjoyed in many of the regions and states in 1988 to win the election.

Cuomo's extreme liberal record as a northeastern Governor would have been used with much success against him.

Bush wins handily.

Bush/Kemp                   306
Cuomo/Gore                 232

[gorkay]

Was Cuomo more liberal than Dukakis? And yes, I know Dukakis lost big, but don't you think Cuomo would have run a better campaign? (How could anyone have run a worse campaign than Dukakis?)

But you may be right after all. Even though it appeared as if the country was trending a bit towards the Democrats in '88, the electorate was still pretty conservative, much more so than it was just four years later. So even though I stand by my statement that the Dems would have had a real shot at it, I'm still not so sure they would have won. It would probably have been close either way.

[Reignman]

That's about right.