Presidential Primaries and Caucuses: The 1988 South Carolina Democratic Caucuses
In 1988, the South Carolina was not an early primary as it is today. It was held on March 12th, four days after that year's "Super Tuesday". South Carolina's primary is memorable because of a significant victory there by the Reverend Jesse Jackson, the first African-American candidate to win a presidential primary or caucus. Jackson first achieved that milestone in a number of contests on Super Tuesday with victories in primaries in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Virginia. South Carolina was the first primary in which Jackson won more than 50% of the vote, and for a time it looked as if his campaign might gather sufficient momentum to have him become the first African-American to be the presidential nominee for one of the two major parties.
After suffering a huge defeats in the 1984 presidential election, the Democrats were more optimistic about their chances in 1988 because of the continuing Iran Contra scandal. The had won large gains in the 1986 mid-term elections which resulted in the Democrats taking back control of the Senate after six years of a Republican majority. Establishment party leaders tried to recruit New York Governor Mario Cuomo to be their candidate. Cuomo had impressed many Democrats with his stirring keynote speech at the 1984 Democratic Convention, and many Democrats believed that he would be a strong candidate.
When Cuomo chose not to run, the Democratic front-runner for most of 1987 was former Colorado Senator Gary Hart. He positioned himself as a moderate centrist and many Democrats felt that his broad appeal might be just the kind of candidate that their party would need to win back the White House. But Hart was dogged by rumors about possible extramarital affairs. The Miami Herald received an anonymous tip from a friend of Donna Rice that Rice was involved with Hart. After the two were seen meeting privately by Herald reporters, the story gained legs and on May 8, 1987, a week after the Donna Rice story broke, Hart dropped out of the race.
Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts had been considered a potential candidate, but he ruled himself out of the 1988 campaign in December 1985. Delaware Senator Joe Biden looked like a credible candidate, but his campaign which in controversy after he was accused of plagiarizing a speech by Neil Kinnock, the leader of the British Labour Party. Biden was also accused of plagiarism years before, while in law school. Though Biden denied any wrongdoing, the controversy caused hum to drop out of the race. Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts later acknowledged that his campaign was responsible for leaking the tape creating the controversy, and two members of his staff resigned. The Delaware Supreme Court's Board on Professional Responsibility would later clear Biden of the law school plagiarism charges.
In December 1987, Hart surprised many political pundits by resuming his presidential campaign. He briefly led in the polls for the Democratic nomination, but subsequent the allegations of irregularities in his campaign financing appeared to deliver a fatal blow to his candidacy. In the Iowa caucuses, Missouri Congressman Richard Gephardt finished first, former Senator Paul Simon of Illinois finished second, and Dukakis finished third. In the New Hampshire primary, Dukakis finished first, Gephardt finished second, and Simon finished third.
But it would be Dukakis and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson who would outlast all of the other candidates. In early 1988, Jackson had organized a rally at the former American Motors assembly plant in Kenosha, Wisconsin, approximately two weeks after the plant's new owner Chrysler announced that it would close the plant by the end of the year. In his speech, Jackson spoke out against Chrysler's decision. He told his audience, "We have to put the focus on Kenosha, Wisconsin, as the place, here and now, where we draw the line to end economic violence!" Jackson drew a strong comparison between the Kenosha workers' fight with that of the civil rights movement that he had been a part of in Selma, Alabama. As a result, the UAW Local 72 union voted to endorse his candidacy. Despite this endorsement however, in April Jackson lost the Wisconsin Primary to Dukakis by a margin of 47% to 30%.
One of the tactics that the Dukakis campaign used to discredit Jackson was to bring up the matter of Jackson's half-brother Noah Robinson, Jr.'s criminal activity. Jackson had to answer frequent questions about his brother, who was often called "the Billy Carter of the Jackson campaign".
In the Super Tuesday races, Dukakis won six primaries, but Jackson won five primaries, four of which were states in the deep south, as well as winning in Virginia. The candidates continued to battle, with Tennessee Senator Al Gore attempting to portray Dukakis as too liberal for the general election. Gore's strategy failed to gain traction within the party and he eventually withdrew. After Super Tuesday, Paul Simon would win his home state of Illinois, but the majority of the remaining primary races would be between Dukakis and Jackson.
Jackson had a home field advantage in South Carolina. He was born in the state, in Greenville. He had won the state in 1984 when South Carolina held caucuses. In 1984 they fell on the same Saturday as caucuses in Michigan, Arkansas and Mississippi, as well as a primary in Puerto Rico. Neither Gary Hart nor Walter Mondale put much effort into South Carolina, as both candidates had their eyes on the upcoming primary in Illinois. Mondale used that contest to rescue his campaign. Mondale and Hart decided to concede the state to Jackson. In 1984 although Jackson “won” the caucuses, he actually finished second, well behind “uncommitted”, with 25 percent.
In 1988, the caucuses once again fell after Super Tuesday, but before Illinois. Sensing that the fishing might be better elsewhere, all of the major contenders expended little of their campaign resources in the state, leaving it possible for Jackson to once again secure a victory there. Super Tuesday had essentially ended up as a three-way tie between Michael Dukakis, Al Gore, and Jackson. Dukakis and Gore decided to spend more of their effort in Illinois and Michigan (which caucused the Saturday after Illinois). Gore hoped to extend his momentum into a non-Southern state, while Dukakis believed Illinois and Michigan wins could wrap up the nomination for him. Both essentially left South Carolina to Jackson. This time he improved on his ’84 performance winning almost 55% percent of votes.
Jackson would go on to win caucuses in Michigan and Deleware as well as minor victories in DC and Puerto Rico. But his momentum was hirt by a narrow loss to Dukakis in Colorado, and especially by Dukakis' comfortable win in Wisconsin, a state that Jackson was expected to win. These victories established Dukakis as the clear Democratic frontrunner, and he went on to claim the party's nomination.
Jackson had ran on what many considered to be a very liberal platform. He declared that he wanted to create a "Rainbow Coalition" of various minority groups, including African Americans, Hispanics, Middle Eastern Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, family farmers, the poor and working class, and LGBT people, as well as white progressives. He did not run for president again. Twenty years later, when Barack Obama was elected President, Jackson said that he believed that he had played some role in helping to create the circumstances for the 2008 election.
In 1988 no prominent white Democratic officials endorsed Jackson's campaign. He did however receive an endorsement from the mayor of Burlington, Vermont, a man named Bernie Sanders. Jackson also noted that he attended a campaign-related “business meeting” in New York at a time when “many others thought it was laughable or something to avoid.” One exception to this group was a New York real estate mogul named Donald Trump.
After suffering a huge defeats in the 1984 presidential election, the Democrats were more optimistic about their chances in 1988 because of the continuing Iran Contra scandal. The had won large gains in the 1986 mid-term elections which resulted in the Democrats taking back control of the Senate after six years of a Republican majority. Establishment party leaders tried to recruit New York Governor Mario Cuomo to be their candidate. Cuomo had impressed many Democrats with his stirring keynote speech at the 1984 Democratic Convention, and many Democrats believed that he would be a strong candidate.
When Cuomo chose not to run, the Democratic front-runner for most of 1987 was former Colorado Senator Gary Hart. He positioned himself as a moderate centrist and many Democrats felt that his broad appeal might be just the kind of candidate that their party would need to win back the White House. But Hart was dogged by rumors about possible extramarital affairs. The Miami Herald received an anonymous tip from a friend of Donna Rice that Rice was involved with Hart. After the two were seen meeting privately by Herald reporters, the story gained legs and on May 8, 1987, a week after the Donna Rice story broke, Hart dropped out of the race.
Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts had been considered a potential candidate, but he ruled himself out of the 1988 campaign in December 1985. Delaware Senator Joe Biden looked like a credible candidate, but his campaign which in controversy after he was accused of plagiarizing a speech by Neil Kinnock, the leader of the British Labour Party. Biden was also accused of plagiarism years before, while in law school. Though Biden denied any wrongdoing, the controversy caused hum to drop out of the race. Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts later acknowledged that his campaign was responsible for leaking the tape creating the controversy, and two members of his staff resigned. The Delaware Supreme Court's Board on Professional Responsibility would later clear Biden of the law school plagiarism charges.
In December 1987, Hart surprised many political pundits by resuming his presidential campaign. He briefly led in the polls for the Democratic nomination, but subsequent the allegations of irregularities in his campaign financing appeared to deliver a fatal blow to his candidacy. In the Iowa caucuses, Missouri Congressman Richard Gephardt finished first, former Senator Paul Simon of Illinois finished second, and Dukakis finished third. In the New Hampshire primary, Dukakis finished first, Gephardt finished second, and Simon finished third.
But it would be Dukakis and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson who would outlast all of the other candidates. In early 1988, Jackson had organized a rally at the former American Motors assembly plant in Kenosha, Wisconsin, approximately two weeks after the plant's new owner Chrysler announced that it would close the plant by the end of the year. In his speech, Jackson spoke out against Chrysler's decision. He told his audience, "We have to put the focus on Kenosha, Wisconsin, as the place, here and now, where we draw the line to end economic violence!" Jackson drew a strong comparison between the Kenosha workers' fight with that of the civil rights movement that he had been a part of in Selma, Alabama. As a result, the UAW Local 72 union voted to endorse his candidacy. Despite this endorsement however, in April Jackson lost the Wisconsin Primary to Dukakis by a margin of 47% to 30%.
One of the tactics that the Dukakis campaign used to discredit Jackson was to bring up the matter of Jackson's half-brother Noah Robinson, Jr.'s criminal activity. Jackson had to answer frequent questions about his brother, who was often called "the Billy Carter of the Jackson campaign".
In the Super Tuesday races, Dukakis won six primaries, but Jackson won five primaries, four of which were states in the deep south, as well as winning in Virginia. The candidates continued to battle, with Tennessee Senator Al Gore attempting to portray Dukakis as too liberal for the general election. Gore's strategy failed to gain traction within the party and he eventually withdrew. After Super Tuesday, Paul Simon would win his home state of Illinois, but the majority of the remaining primary races would be between Dukakis and Jackson.
Jackson had a home field advantage in South Carolina. He was born in the state, in Greenville. He had won the state in 1984 when South Carolina held caucuses. In 1984 they fell on the same Saturday as caucuses in Michigan, Arkansas and Mississippi, as well as a primary in Puerto Rico. Neither Gary Hart nor Walter Mondale put much effort into South Carolina, as both candidates had their eyes on the upcoming primary in Illinois. Mondale used that contest to rescue his campaign. Mondale and Hart decided to concede the state to Jackson. In 1984 although Jackson “won” the caucuses, he actually finished second, well behind “uncommitted”, with 25 percent.
In 1988, the caucuses once again fell after Super Tuesday, but before Illinois. Sensing that the fishing might be better elsewhere, all of the major contenders expended little of their campaign resources in the state, leaving it possible for Jackson to once again secure a victory there. Super Tuesday had essentially ended up as a three-way tie between Michael Dukakis, Al Gore, and Jackson. Dukakis and Gore decided to spend more of their effort in Illinois and Michigan (which caucused the Saturday after Illinois). Gore hoped to extend his momentum into a non-Southern state, while Dukakis believed Illinois and Michigan wins could wrap up the nomination for him. Both essentially left South Carolina to Jackson. This time he improved on his ’84 performance winning almost 55% percent of votes.
Jackson would go on to win caucuses in Michigan and Deleware as well as minor victories in DC and Puerto Rico. But his momentum was hirt by a narrow loss to Dukakis in Colorado, and especially by Dukakis' comfortable win in Wisconsin, a state that Jackson was expected to win. These victories established Dukakis as the clear Democratic frontrunner, and he went on to claim the party's nomination.
Jackson had ran on what many considered to be a very liberal platform. He declared that he wanted to create a "Rainbow Coalition" of various minority groups, including African Americans, Hispanics, Middle Eastern Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, family farmers, the poor and working class, and LGBT people, as well as white progressives. He did not run for president again. Twenty years later, when Barack Obama was elected President, Jackson said that he believed that he had played some role in helping to create the circumstances for the 2008 election.
In 1988 no prominent white Democratic officials endorsed Jackson's campaign. He did however receive an endorsement from the mayor of Burlington, Vermont, a man named Bernie Sanders. Jackson also noted that he attended a campaign-related “business meeting” in New York at a time when “many others thought it was laughable or something to avoid.” One exception to this group was a New York real estate mogul named Donald Trump.