The 1988 presidential election saw George Bush Sr. deliver a landslide victory against MA gov. Michael Dukakis—but not in his home state, where he eked out an 8 point win.

This is the first time this election has been mapped in detail. Lots more maps/analysis below!

1/a lot The Bush coalition was mostly suburban and exurban in nature, with his best performances coming from affluent conservative bulwarks like Weston, Wellesley, and many South Shore communities.

Dukakis was able to win the state chiefly thanks to a burgeoning coalition of nonwhite voters and urban white liberals, but also won commanding margins in the Pioneer/Hoosic valleys and the south coast.

2/

After spending way too many hours putting these maps together, I want to take a minute to talk about the political landscape of the Midwest—past, present, and future. To begin, here is the 2008 Presidential Election mapped by census block group; A 🧵(RT's appreciated!) 1/ (Before I begin, and to avoid angry midwesterners in my replies, I want to clarify that I chose not to include the Great Plains states (KS, NE, SD, ND) because DRA doesn't have available data for 2012 in the Dakotas and getting it would have been too much of a hassle.) 2/