1988 North Carolina lieutenant gubernatorial election

1988 North Carolina lieutenant gubernatorial election

November 8, 1988

Nominee Jim Gardner Tony Rand Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,072,002 1,044,917 Percentage 50.64% 49.36%

County results Gardner:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Rand:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Lieutenant Governor before election Robert B. Jordan Democratic Elected Lieutenant Governor Jim Gardner Republican

The 1988 North Carolina lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1988. Republican nominee Jim Gardner defeated Democratic nominee Tony Rand with 50.64% of the vote, becoming the first Republican elected lieutenant governor of North Carolina in the twentieth century.

Primary elections

Primary elections were held on May 3, 1988.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Tony Rand, State Senator
• Harold W. Hardison, State Senator
• H. Parks Helms, former State Representative
• Frank Jordan
• Robert L. Hannon

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tony Rand	219,511	42.75
	Democratic	Harold W. Hardison	132,878	25.88
	Democratic	H. Parks Helms	94,549	18.41
	Democratic	Frank Jordan	48,222	9.39
	Democratic	Robert L. Hannon	18,291	3.56
Total votes			513,451	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• Jim Gardner, U.S. Representative
• William T. "Bill" Boyd, State Representative
• Wendell H. Sawyer, former State Senator

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Gardner	107,171	79.46
	Republican	William T. "Bill" Boyd	19,802	14.68
	Republican	Wendell H. Sawyer	7,905	5.86
Total votes			134,878	100.00

General election

Candidates

• Jim Gardner, Republican
• Tony Rand, Democratic

Results

1988 North Carolina lieutenant gubernatorial election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jim Gardner	1,072,002	50.64%
	Democratic	Tony Rand	1,044,917	49.36%
Majority			27,085
Turnout
	Democratic hold		Swing