The film begins in 1984 then the screen displays "4 years later" but it actually picks up in early 1987.
During the early part of the 1988 campaign the Hart Campaign HQ has posters on the wall that read "HART 84".
The Washington, DC license plates on the stakeout car start with 4 which is accurate for the 80's, but the plate also includes letters which is not correct for the era.
When the phone call comes in to the newsroom during the 1988 campaign, a broadcast of an NHL hockey game is heard. The game is a Hockey Night in Canada broadcast of the Maple Leafs/ Red Wings quarter-final playoff Game 4 that took place on April 27, 1987.
When Hart goes to phone Donna Rice from a pay phone at the airport, the top of a yellow 'Caution Wet Floor' sign can be seen. The sign is of a modern style/ construction which would not have been in production during the 1980s.
The airplane landing at Washington National showed a United DC-10 which needs a longer runway to land than those available at National. The exterior shot of the taxi pickup area was not at National.