1998 Alabama gubernatorial election

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1998 Alabama gubernatorial election
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Nominee Don Siegelman Fob James
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote752,087546,504
Percentage57.92%42.08%
1998 Alabama gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
County results
Siegelman:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
James:     50–60%
Governor before election

Fob James
Republican

Elected Governor

Don Siegelman
Democratic

The Alabama gubernatorial election of 1998 was held on November 3, 1998, to select the governor of Alabama. The election saw incumbent Governor Fob James (R) face off against Lieutenant Governor Don Siegelman (D), resulting in Don Siegelman winning a decisive victory over Fob James. This was the second of three consecutive Alabama gubernatorial elections in which the incumbent was defeated. As of 2025, this was the last time that a Democrat was elected governor of Alabama.

Contents

Republican primary

The Republican primary took place on June 2 and saw no candidate secure over 50% of the vote, leading to a runoff between Fob James and Winton Blount on June 30. The period leading up to the runoff election was marked by numerous insults and accusations by both candidates against each other. [1] Incumbent Governor Fob James won the runoff 55% to 44%.

Candidates

Results

.mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} James 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% Blount 40-50% 50-60% Hunt 30-40% 1998 Alabama gubernatorial Republican primary election results map by county.svg
  James
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  Blount
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  Hunt
  •   30-40%
Republican primary results [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Fob James (incumbent) 163,711 47.96
Republican Winton Blount 139,941 40.99
Republican Guy Hunt27,8248.15
Republican Mac McAllister5,6411.65
Republican Phil Williams4,2581.25
Total votes341,375 100.00

Debate

1998 Alabama gubernatorial election republican primary debate
No.DateHostModeratorLink Republican Republican
Key:
 P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited  W  Withdrawn
Winton Blount Fob James
1Jun. 25, 1998 WVTM-TV Fran Curry C-SPAN PP
James 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% Blount 50-60% 1998 Alabama gubernatorial Republican runoff election results map by county.svg
  James
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  Blount
  •   50–60%
Republican primary runoff results [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Fob James (incumbent) 253,965 55.92
Republican Winton Blount200,20044.08
Total votes454,165 100.00

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary took place on June 2 and saw Lieutenant Governor Don Siegelman easily chosen as the Democratic nominee over Birmingham attorney Lenora Pate and Wayne Sowell.

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Don Siegelman 254,507 78.26
Democratic Lenora Pate53,61816.49
Democratic Wayne Sowell10,1083.11
Democratic Lee Lamb6,5972.03
Total votes325,190 100.00

General election

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size [a] 		Margin
of error		Fob
James (R)		Don
Siegelman (D)		Undecided
Southern Opinion Research [6] October 29–31, 1998490 (LV)± 5.0%45%53%12%
Mason Dixon [6] October 29–31, 1998490 (LV)± 5.0%45%53%12%
University of Southern Alabama [6] [A] October 26–29, 1998820 (LV)± 3.5%36%52%12%
Mason Dixon [6] October 24–26, 1998808 (LV)± 3.5%43%49%8%
Mason Dixon [6] October 10–12, 1998807 (LV)± 3.5%43%48%9%
University of Alabama at Birmingham [6] October 7–11, 1998401 (LV)± 5.0%39%46%15%
USA Polling Group [6] [B] October 5–7, 1998400 (A)± 5.0%40%52%8%
Southern Opinion Research [6] October 1–2, 1998501 (RV)± 5.0%39%52%9%
Southern Opinion Research [6] September 3–4, 1998500 (RV)± 4.4%44%48%8%
USA Polling Group [6] [B] September 1–3, 1998405 (A)± 5.0%40%48%12%
Southern Opinion Research [6] June 23–26, 19981,019 (RV)± 3.0%41%51%8%
Mason Dixon [6] June 22–24, 1998804 (LV)± 3.5%41%46%13%
USA Polling Group [6] [B] June 8–11, 1998800 (A)± 3.5%35%36%29%

Debate

1998 Alabama gubernatorial debate
No.DateHostModeratorLink Republican Democratic
Key:
 P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited  W  Withdrawn
Fob James Don Siegelman
1Oct. 6, 1998Junior League of BirminghamMalena Cunningham C-SPAN PP

Results

1998 Alabama gubernatorial election
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Don Siegelman 752,087 57.92 +8.5
Republican Fob James (incumbent)546,50442.08−8.2
Total votes1,298,591 100.00 N/A
Democratic gain from Republican

Notes

  1. ↑ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
Partisan clients

References

  1. ↑ "Alabama's Republican Runoff Gets Nasty". CNN. June 30, 1998. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  2. ↑ Sack, Kevin (June 3, 1998). "Alabama Governor Forced Into Runoff in 3d-Term Bid". The New York Times . Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Alabama Primary Results - June 3, 1998". www.cnn.com.
  4. ↑ "Alabama Runoff Results - June 30, 1998". www.cnn.com.
  5. ↑ "Alabama Governor: The Candidates". The Washington Post . Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "CNN AllPolitics Election '98 - Alabama 1998 Polls". CNN. Archived from the original on June 12, 2025. Retrieved June 12, 2025.

See also

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