Why did Dukakis lose Maryland?

[The Arizonan]

That and it's very suburban, and Dukakis did very poorly in suburbs in 1988 (in part due to issues such as crime).

It's interesting to note that Republican presidential candidates used to perform well in suburbs in general between 1964 and 1992. This is why they kept winning states like New Jersey, Illinois, and Connecticut until Bill Clinton demolished the "Republican wall".