1988 Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis



Mark and Jeff are joined by 1988 Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis.

Dukakis the longest-serving Governor in Massachusetts history, winning his first term in 1974. After losing his reelection bid in 1978, he regained the governorship in 1982, serving for two more terms. (He’s only the 2nd Greek-American Governor in American history.) 

Since leaving office, Dukakis has served on the board of directors for Amtrak and has taught political science at Northeastern University and UCLA. Governor Dukakis and his wife Kitty have been married for 58 years. The two of them have published a combined 9 books.

A little presidential campaign history:
In 1984, Ronald Reagan demolished Walter Mondale … winning 49 states. Mondale barely avoided a clean sweep by winning his home state of Minnesota by just 4,000 votes. Reagan’s popular vote margin was a massive 19 percent. 

Four years later, Michael Dukakas’ campaign launched what turned out to be a national Democratic revival. He won 10 states and came close in seven more … cutting the popular vote gap more than half and setting the stage for Bill Clinton’s defeat of George H.W. Bush in 1992. 

Beginning in 1992,  Democratic presidential candidates have won the popular vote in 7 out of 8 elections.

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