The 1988 Democratic Convention by Jo Freeman

The Jackson Campaign

Although the ticket was known before the convention began, Jackson’s loyal followers promoted him whenever they could for the entire four days. His name was placed into nomination on Wednesday and he received 30 percent of the delegate votes. Then he pledged his support to Dukakis and urged his followers to work for the Democratic ticket.

As host state of the convention, the Georgia delegation had seats right in front of the podium. The delegates occupying those seats greeted speakers with bright red "Jesse" signs. Jesse Jackson got 40 percent of the votes in the March 8 Georgia primary while Dukakis got only 15.6 percent. When the roll call vote was taken, 50 of Georgia’s 94 delegates voted for Dukakis; 42 voted for Jackson.

Shirley Chisholm
Ann Richards

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