The 1988 United States Senate election in New York was held on November 8, 1988. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan won re-election to a third term in a landslide, versus Republican nominee Robert McMillan. McMillan, who ran a "low-budget" challenge to the two-term senator, was largely ignored by Moynihan in the public sphere.
Lewis Lehrman, a businessman who narrowly lost to Mario Cuomo in the 1982 gubernatorial election, was speculated to mount a run against Moynihan. However, he did not end up mounting a bid for Senate. With no major Republican willing to challenge Moynihan, the party acclaimed businessman Robert McMillan as its nominee.