View source for Al Gore 1988 presidential campaign

{{Short description|American political campaign}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox election campaign
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| campaign     = [[1988 United States presidential election|1988 U.S. presidential election]]
| candidate    = '''[[Al Gore]]'''<br>[[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] from [[Tennessee]]<br>''(1985–1993)''<br>[[U.S. House of Representatives|House Representative]] from Tennessee<br>''(1977–1985)''
| affiliation  = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]
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| headquarters = Carthage, Tennessee
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The '''1988 presidential campaign of [[Al Gore]]''', U.S. Senator of Tennessee and former [[U.S. House of Representatives|House Representative]] began on April 11, 1987. He campaigned for [[President of the United States]] as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic candidate]] in the [[1988 United States presidential election|1988 presidential election]], against Democratic candidates [[Joe Biden]], [[Dick Gephardt]], [[Paul Simon (politician)|Paul Simon]], [[Jesse Jackson]], and [[Michael Dukakis]] (who eventually won the Democratic nomination).

Age 39 at the time, Gore was described as the first serious young presidential candidate since [[John F. Kennedy]] in [[1960 United States presidential election|1960]]. He was characterized as a political centrist aligned with many other [[Southern Democrats]].<ref name="The first presidential run" /> Despite eventual defeat, Gore, who came in a third place, was one of the front-runners that year. Al Gore, at that time, represented the [[Southern Democrats]] and some of the [[Conservative Democrats]] in 1980s.

{{Al Gore series}}

==Announcement==
On April 11, 1987, Senator Gore of Tennessee announced his candidacy. He stated that he believed he could offer "clearer goals" than the other candidates.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gailey |first1=Phil |date=April 11, 1987 |title=Gore announces plan to declare for the Presidency later in spring |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/11/us/gore-announces-plan-to-declare-for-the-presidency-later-in-spring.html?pagewanted=print |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304051008/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/11/us/gore-announces-plan-to-declare-for-the-presidency-later-in-spring.html?pagewanted=print |archive-date=March 4, 2020 |access-date=October 24, 2025 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

Gore was further described by ''[[The New York Times]]'' as: {{blockquote|solidly built, dark and indisputably handsome. He has a powerful sweet tooth but keeps his weight under control by running several miles a day at dawn. His stump speaking is erratic, one night spirited and evocative and the next flat and routine. He is an indifferent platform joke-teller but can be a raconteur and mimic of some skill in the privacy of his chartered campaign plane. National analysts make Senator Gore a long-shot for the Presidential nomination, but many believe he could provide a natural complement for any of the other candidates: a young, attractive, moderate Vice Presidential nominee from the South. He currently denies any interest, but he carefully does not reject the idea out of hand.<ref name=nytjan21/>}}

At the time of the announcement, Senator Gore was 39 years old, making him the "youngest serious Presidential candidate since John F. Kennedy."<ref name=nytjan21 >{{Cite news |author =Warren Weaver Jr. |title = Gore as Candidate: Traveler Between 2 Worlds |date =January 21, 1988 |newspaper =The New York Times |url =https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/21/us/gore-as-candidate-traveler-between-2-worlds.html?pagewanted=all}}</ref>

==Campaign==

=== Political views ===
According to [[CNN]], Gore ran his campaign as "a Southern centrist, [who] opposed federal funding for abortion. He favored a moment of silence for prayer in the schools and voted against banning the interstate sale of handguns."<ref name="The first presidential run">[http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/democracy/gore/stories/gore/index2.html The first presidential run] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070101160034/http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/democracy/gore/stories/gore/index2.html |date=2007-01-01 }}</ref> He positioned himself as a centrist alternative to fellow leading candidates [[Jesse Jackson]] and eventual primary winner [[Michael Dukakis]]. Gore stated that he made numerous speeches concerning [[Climate change|global warming]] and the [[Greenhouse gas|greenhouse effect]] on the campaign trail that received minimal media attention.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rozsa |first=Matthew |date=2022-12-18 |title=The first climate change candidate: Inside Al Gore's oddly prescient 1988 presidential run |url=https://www.salon.com/2022/12/18/the-first-climate-change-candidate-inside-al-gores-oddly-prescient-1988-presidential-run/ |access-date=2024-10-25 |website=Salon |language=en}}</ref>

=== Campaign developments ===
[[File:Presidential candidate Albert Gore, Jr., gesturing at a press conference.jpg|thumb|Al Gore at a press conference in [[Tallahassee, Florida]] during the 1988 campaign.]]
CNN notes that "in 1988, for the first time, 12 Southern states would hold their primaries on the same day, Super Tuesday." As the only other Southern candidate, Gore chose to criticize [[Jesse Jackson]] often. Gore began to criticize Jackson for his Middle East policies.<ref>{{cite news |title=Gore Assails Dukakis Over Jackson (Published 1988) |work=The New York Times |date=4 April 1988 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228235302/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/04/us/gore-assails-dukakis-over-jackson.html |archive-date=2020-02-28 |url-status=live |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/04/us/gore-assails-dukakis-over-jackson.html |last1=Weinraub |first1=Bernard }}</ref> In particular, "Albert Gore Jr. assailed Mr. Jackson's foreign policy views and said he was 'dismayed' by Mr. Jackson's 'embrace of [[Yasser Arafat|Arafat]] and [[Fidel Castro|Castro]]'."<ref name="query.nytimes.com">{{cite news |title=Gore Assails Jackson on View of Israel (Published 1988) |work=The New York Times |date=30 March 1988 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228230222/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/30/us/gore-assails-jackson-on-view-of-israel.html?pagewanted=print |archive-date=2020-02-28 |url-status=live |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/30/us/gore-assails-jackson-on-view-of-israel.html?pagewanted=print |last1=Weinraub |first1=Bernard }}</ref> Jackson responded by stating that, "The issue is not whether the Israelis and Palestinians are moral equivalents. Both of them are human beings and both are trapped in the cycle of death and pain. And they are trapped in the cycle of mutual annihilation. I wanted to offer leadership that will move from mutual annihilation to coexistence to break the cycle of death."<ref name="query.nytimes.com" />

Gore was heavily criticized for his attacks against both Jackson and Dukakis.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/15/opinion/on-my-mind-gore-in-the-big-city.html?pagewanted=print ON MY MIND; Gore In the Big City]</ref> Jackson also retracted some of his previous statements.<ref>{{cite news |title=Jackson Seeks To Soften Stand On Middle East (Published 1988) |work=The New York Times |date=11 April 1988 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303000109/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/11/us/jackson-seeks-to-soften-stand-on-middle-east.html?pagewanted=print |archive-date=2020-03-03 |url-status=live |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/11/us/jackson-seeks-to-soften-stand-on-middle-east.html?pagewanted=print |last1=Rosenthal |first1=Andrew }}</ref> It was Gore who first mentioned the Massachusetts furlough program Dukakis had supported as Governor by asking him questions in a debate right before the 1988 New York primary, about "weekend passes for convicted criminals"; this later developed into the [[Willie Horton]] pro-[[George H. W. Bush]] [[attack ad]].<ref name="Horton">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=November 1, 1999 |title=Did Gore Hatch Horton? |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/chatterbox/1999/11/did_gore_hatch_horton.html |work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |access-date=October 3, 2017}}</ref> However, unlike commonly believed, Gore did not mention Horton by name.<ref name="Horton" />

During the Democratic debate, Gore argued that his foreign policy platform was different from his rivals, but they disagreed. "'I reject Gore’s efforts to try to pin labels,' Representative Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri told reporters after the event."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rosenthal |first=Andrew |last2=Times |first2=Special To the New York |date=1987-10-06 |title=Gore's Foreign Policy Not as Different as He Says, Rivals |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/06/us/gore-s-foreign-policy-not-as-different-as-he-says-rivals.html |access-date=2025-10-25 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Jackson defeated Gore in the [[South Carolina Primary]], winning "more than half the total vote, three times that of his closest rival here, Senator Albert Gore Jr. of Tennessee."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/14/us/jackson-s-triumph-in-south-carolina-illustrates-dramatic-change-since-vote-in-84.html?pagewanted=print Jackson's Triumph in South Carolina Illustrates Dramatic Change Since Vote in '84]</ref> Gore next placed great hope on [[Super Tuesday]]<ref name="The first presidential run" /> where they split the Southern vote: Jackson winning Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Virginia; Gore winning Arkansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Nevada, Tennessee, and Oklahoma.<ref name="senate.gov">{{cite web |author=Senate Historical Office |date=2016-12-22 |title=Albert Arnold Gore, Jr.: 45th Vice President: 1993-2001 |url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Gore,_Albert.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321195508/https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Gore,_Albert.pdf |archive-date=2017-03-21 |access-date=2024-02-05 |website=Senate.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/retro/super_tuesday_88.html |title=THE FIRST SUPER TUESDAY |website=[[PBS]] |access-date=2017-08-23 |archive-date=2010-06-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100608131916/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/retro/super_tuesday_88.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Dropping out==
The Gore campaign came to a close after Dukakis won the New York primary with 51% of the vote, followed by Jackson at 37%, and Gore only received 10%.<ref name="senate.gov"/> ''The New York Times'' argued that he lost support due to his attacks against Jackson, Dukakis, and others, as well as for his endorsement by Koch.<ref>{{cite web |title=This Gore Campaign, and the Next |website=[[The New York Times]] | date=1988-04-22 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/22/opinion/this-gore-campaign-and-the-next.html?pagewanted=print |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630000340/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/22/opinion/this-gore-campaign-and-the-next.html?pagewanted=print |archive-date=2018-06-30 |url-status=dead |access-date=2024-02-05}}</ref>

Gore was eventually able to mend fences with Jesse Jackson, who supported the Clinton–Gore ticket in 1992 and 1996, and who also campaigned for the Gore–Lieberman ticket during the [[Al Gore presidential campaign, 2000|2000 presidential election]].<ref>[http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/03/01/jackson.cnn/index.html Jesse Jackson endorses Gore for president] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424004451/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/03/01/jackson.cnn/index.html |date=2009-04-24}}</ref><ref>[http://archive.salon.com/politics/feature/2000/12/01/jackson/index.html God bless Jesse Jackson] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090622065457/http://archive.salon.com/politics/feature/2000/12/01/jackson/index.html |date=2009-06-22 }}</ref> According to some, Gore's policies had changed in 2000, reflecting his eight years as Vice President.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec00/whocareswhowins.html |title=Presidential Candidates Stances on the Issues |website=[[PBS]] |access-date=2017-08-23 |archive-date=2008-01-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080105094437/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec00/whocareswhowins.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Statewide contests won==
[[File:1988DemocraticPresidentialPrimaries.svg|thumb|1988 Democratic primary results by state. States won by Gore are colored in green.]]
South: [[Tennessee]], [[Kentucky]], [[North Carolina]], [[Arkansas]], [[Oklahoma]]<ref name="Elections">{{cite web|title=Elections<!-- Bot generated title --> |url=http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/8088/Dem1988.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091026141034/http://geocities.com/Athens/Agora/8088/Dem1988.html |archive-date=2009-10-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Outside the South: [[Nevada]], [[Wyoming]]<ref name="Elections" />

==Popular vote position==
*Dukakis – 9,898,750 (42.51%)
*Jackson – 6,788,991 (29.15%)
*'''Gore''' – 3,185,806 (13.68%)
*Gephardt – 1,399,041 (6.01%)
*[[Paul M. Simon|Simon]] – 1,082,960 (4.65%)<ref name="ourcampaigns.com">{{Cite web |url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=55210 |title=Our Campaigns - US President - D Primaries Race - Feb 01, 1988<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=November 24, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071111013847/http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=55210 |archive-date=November 11, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Endorsements==
{{Undue weight section|date=February 2024|to=endorsements viewed negatively by some contemporaries and subsequent figures}}
47th [[Governor of Texas|Texas Governor]], [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Rick Perry]], who at the time was a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] in the [[Texas House of Representatives|Texas State House]], campaigned for Gore during the primaries.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2011/oct/12/michele-bachmann/michele-bachmann-says-rick-perry-co-chaired-al-gor/ |title = Michele Bachmann says Rick Perry co-chaired Al Gore's presidential campaign |accessdate = 2013-01-08 |date = 2011-10-12 |work = PolitiFact Texas |publisher = [[Austin American-Statesman]] |quote = Perry indeed endorsed Gore for president, but he did not hold a campaign leadership post.}}</ref>

Gore was later endorsed by New York Mayor [[Ed Koch]], who made statements in favor of [[Israel]] and against Jackson. These statements further cast Gore in a negative light.<ref name="The first presidential run" /> The endorsement led voters away from Gore who only received 10% of the vote in the New York Primary.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

===Governors===
*[[Governor of Louisiana]] [[Buddy Roemer]]<ref name="ourcampaigns.com" />
*Former [[Governor of North Carolina]] [[Jim Hunt]]<ref name="ourcampaigns.com" />

===United States Senators===
*[[US Senate|Senator]] [[Howell Heflin]] of [[Alabama]]
*[[US Senate|Senator]] [[Terry Sanford]] of [[North Carolina]]<ref name="ourcampaigns.com" />
*Senator [[Sam Nunn]] of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]<ref name="ReferenceA">[http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=34462 Our Campaigns - GA US President - D Primary Race - Mar 08, 1988<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
*Senator [[J. Bennett Johnston]] of [[Louisiana]]<ref>[http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=35514 Our Campaigns - LA US President - D Primary Race - Mar 08, 1988<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
*Senator [[David Boren]] of [[Oklahoma]]<ref>[http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=37471 Our Campaigns - OK US President - D Primary Race - Mar 08, 1988<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
*Former Senator [[Ralph Yarborough]] of [[Texas]]<ref>[http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=264118 Our Campaigns - TX US President - D Primary Race - Mar 08, 1988<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

===Lieutenant Governors===
*[[Lieutenant Governor of Alabama]] [[Jim Folsom, Jr.]]<ref>[http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=4921 Our Campaigns - Candidate - James E. "Jim" Folsom, Jr<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
*Former [[Lieutenant Governor of Alabama]] [[Bill Baxley]]<ref name="ReferenceB">[http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=34053 Our Campaigns - AL US President - D Primary Race - Mar 08, 1988<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

===State House Speakers===
*[[Georgia House of Representatives]] Speaker [[Tom Murphy (U.S. politician)|Tom Murphy]]<ref name="ReferenceA" />
*[[Alabama House of Representatives]] Speaker [[James S. Clark]]<ref>[http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=75094 Our Campaigns - Candidate - James S. Clark<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

===Others===
*[[Mayor of New York]] [[Ed Koch]]
*[[Texas House of Representatives|Texas State Representative]] [[Rick Perry]]
*[[Alabama Senate|Alabama State Senator]] [[Ryan DeGraffenried]]<ref name="ReferenceB" />

==See also==
* [[Al Gore 2000 presidential campaign]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070101160034/http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/democracy/gore/stories/gore/index2.html The first presidential run] - ''[[CNN]]''

{{Al Gore}}

{{United States presidential election, 1988}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Al Gore Presidential Campaign, 1988}}
[[Category:Al Gore|Presidential campaign, 1988]]
[[Category:1988 Democratic Party (United States) presidential campaigns|Gore]]