United States presidential election, 1988 (Temporal Incursion 1918)

The United States presidential election of 1988 was the 51st quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 8, 1988.

Democratic California Governor Tom Bradley chose Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen as his running mate. The Republicans nominated Colorado Senator William L. Armstrong, with Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander as his running mate.

Due to the restrictions of the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, incumbent President Robert Pearson was ineligible to seek a third term. Running an aggressive campaign, Bradley capitalized on a good economy, a stable international stage, and on Pearson's popularity. Meanwhile, Armstrong's campaign suffered from several missteps, including failure to defend against Bradley's attacks. This allowed Bradley to win with a substantial margin of the popular vote, while winning the Electoral College by a landslide. Since the 1988 election, no candidate has managed to equal or surpass Bradley's number of electoral votes won or popular vote percentage.

This election marked the third consecutive presidential victory for the Democratic Party, and the first time that a party had won more than two consecutive presidential elections since the Democrats won all five elections from 1932 to 1948. Bradley's victory made him the first African-American president in the history of the United States.