The 1988 West Virginia gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1988 to elect the governor of West Virginia. Incumbent Republican Governor Arch A. Moore Jr. ran for re-election to a fourth term in office, but was defeated by Democratic nominee Gaston Caperton.

Results

Democratic primary

West Virginia Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1988[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Gaston Caperton 132,435 37.96%
Democratic Clyde M. See, Jr. 94,364 27.05%
Democratic Mario Palumbo 51,722 14.83%
Democratic Gus Douglass 48,748 13.97%
Democratic Dan R. Tonkovich 14,916 4.28%
Democratic Larry Harless 5,217 1.50%
Democratic Paul Nuchims 1,484 0.43%
Total votes 348,886 100.00%

Republican primary

West Virginia Republican gubernatorial primary, 1988[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Arch A. Moore Jr. (incumbent) 78,495 53.23%
Republican John Raese 68,973 46.77%
Total votes 147,468 100.00%

General election

West Virginia gubernatorial election, 1988[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Gaston Caperton 382,421 58.87%
Republican Arch A. Moore Jr. (incumbent) 267,172 41.13%
Total votes 649,593 100.00%
Democratic gain from Republican

References