1988 North Carolina gubernatorial election

1988 North Carolina gubernatorial election

November 8, 1988

Nominee James G. Martin Robert B. Jordan Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,222,258 997,408 Percentage 55.06% 44.94%

County Results Martin:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80% Jordan:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Governor before election James Martin Republican Elected Governor James Martin Republican

The 1988 North Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1988. Popular Incumbent Governor James G. Martin ran and was re-elected by a comfortable margin over Democratic Challenger former Lieutenant Governor Robert B. Jordan III. Martin also made history by becoming the first Republican to be re-elected in North Carolina. As of 2019, this is the only time that a Republican was re-elected to a second term as Governor of North Carolina.

Primary election results

1988 NC Governor Democratic Primary Election Results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Robert B. Jordan	404,620	79.20%
	Democratic	Billy Martin	60,770	11.97%
	Democratic	Carrol W. Crawford	21,884	4.30%
	Democratic	James Lloyd	10,438	2.06%
	Democratic	Bruce A. Friedman	9,876	1.95%

General election results

1988 NC Governor Election Results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	James G. Martin (incumbent)	1,222,258	55.06%
	Democratic	Robert B. Jordan	997,408	44.94%	-0.47%
Turnout			2,219,66	100%