1998 Florida Treasurer election

1998 Florida Treasurer election

←  1994 November 3, 1998

Nominee Bill Nelson Timothy F. Ireland Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,195,283 1,687,712 Percentage 56.54% 43.46%

Nelson:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Ireland:     50–60%     60–70%

Treasurer before election Bill Nelson Democratic Elected Treasurer Bill Nelson Democratic

The 1998 Florida Treasurer election was held on November 3, 1998, to elect the Treasurer, Insurance Commissioner and Fire Marshal of Florida. Primary elections were held on September 1, 1998. Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson ran for a second term, facing a rematch with Republican Florida State House Representative Timothy F. Ireland, whom Nelson had previously narrowly defeated in the 1994 election.

Nelson won the election by 13 percentage points over Ireland, a much wider victory than the narrow 3 percentage point victory he had won four years earlier. Nelson would not serve out a second full term as treasurer, as he would go on to resign in 2001 to take office after being elected to the United States Senate.

This is the last election to be held for the office of Florida Treasurer, as the position would be abolished in 2003 and succeeded by the office of Chief Financial Officer of Florida.

Democratic primary

Nelson was unopposed in the primary so his name did not appear on the primary ballot.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Timothy F. Ireland, Florida State House Representative (1986–1994), and 1994 Republican nominee for Florida Treasurer
• Joseph Smith, chiropractic doctor and perennial candidate

Campaign

Ireland easily won the Republican primary over perennial candidate Joseph Smith.

Results

Republican primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Timothy F. Ireland	423,277	77.11%
	Republican	Joseph Smith	125,741	22.89%
Total votes			549,018	100.0%

General election

Candidates

• Bill Nelson, incumbent Florida Treasurer (1995–2001)
• Timothy F. Ireland, Florida State House Representative (1986–1994), and 1994 Republican nominee for Florida Treasurer

Results

1998 Florida Treasurer election results ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bill Nelson	2,195,283	56.54%	+4.84
	Republican	Timothy F. Ireland	1,687,712	43.46%	−4.82
Total votes			3,882,995	100.00%
	Democratic hold

References

1. "September 1, 1998 Primary Election". Florida Department of State. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
2. "1998 State Treasurer General Election Results - Florida". US Election Atlas. Retrieved December 8, 2025.