1998 Georgia gubernatorial election

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1998 Georgia gubernatorial election
Flag of the State of Georgia (1956-2001).svg
←  1994 November 3, 1998 2002  →
  Roy Barnes concession speech (cropped).jpg 3x4.svg
Nominee Roy Barnes Guy Millner
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote941,076790,201
Percentage52.49%44.08%
1998 Georgia gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
County results
Barnes:      40-50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Millner:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%
Governor before election

Zell Miller
Democratic

Elected Governor

Roy Barnes
Democratic

The 1998 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Democratic governor Zell Miller was unable to seek re-election due to term limits, therefore creating an open seat. To replace him, State Representative Roy Barnes won the Democratic Party's nomination after a close and highly contested primary election, while businessman Guy Millner, who had run for governor and the United States Senate in the previous four years, won the nomination of the Republican Party.

Contents

In the general election, Barnes was able to defeat Millner by a margin of victory larger than Governor Miller's victory over Millner four years prior, which was in part due to the unpopularity and controversy of Mitch Skandalakis, the Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia. As of 2025, this is the most recent time a Democrat was elected Governor of Georgia.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Primary results by county: .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{} Barnes Barnes--30-40% Barnes--40-50% Barnes--50-60% Barnes-->60% Massey Massey--30-40% Massey--40-50% Massey--50-60% Massey-->60% Lanford Langford-->30% 1998 Georgia gubernatorial election Democratic Primary.svg
Primary results by county:
  Barnes
  •   Barnes—30–40%
  •   Barnes—40–50%
  •   Barnes—50–60%
  •   Barnes—>60%
  Massey
  •   Massey—30–40%
  •   Massey—40–50%
  •   Massey—50–60%
  •   Massey—>60%
  Lanford
  •   Langford—>30%
Democratic primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Roy Barnes 239,517 49.20
Democratic Lewis A. Massey 135,920 27.92
Democratic David Poythress 65,86013.53
Democratic Steve Langford31,5436.48
Democratic Morris James9,1481.88
Democratic Carlton Myers4,8531.00
Total votes486,841 100.00

Runoff results

Runoff results by county: Barnes Barnes--60%-70% Barnes--70%-80% Barnes--80%-90% Barnes-->90% 1998 Georgia gubernatorial election Democratic runoff.svg
Runoff results by county:
  Barnes
  •   Barnes—60%–70%
  •   Barnes—70%–80%
  •   Barnes—80%–90%
  •   Barnes—>90%
Democratic primary runoff results [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Roy Barnes 221,651 82.90
Democratic Lewis A. Massey 45,73517.10
Total votes267,386 100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

Campaign

Bowers's campaign was derailed when he admitted to a fifteen-year extramarital affair with Anne Davis, his secretary and a former Playboy Club waitress. Davis publicly stated that the romance had been active as recently as April 1997, six weeks prior to Bowers' June 5 announcement. [3]

Results

Primary results by county: Millner Millner--40-50% Millner--50-60% Millner--60-70% Millner-->70% Bowers Bowers--40-50% Bowers-->50% Tie Tie between Bowers and Millner-40-50% Tie between Bowers, Millner, and Hatfield-33% 1998 Georgia gubernatorial election Republican primary.svg
Primary results by county:
  Millner
  •   Millner—40–50%
  •   Millner—50–60%
  •   Millner—60–70%
  •   Millner—>70%
  Bowers
  •   Bowers—40–50%
  •   Bowers—>50%
  Tie
  •   Tie between Bowers and Millner–40–50%
  •   Tie between Bowers, Millner, and Hatfield–33%

Millner narrowly avoided a run-off by just 1,573 votes. However, Bowers conceded before a recount finalized the result, admitting that all indications pointed to a victory for Millner. [4]

Republican primary results [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Guy Millner 210,845 50.38
Republican Mike Bowers 167,07439.92
Republican Nancy Schaefer 32,3157.72
Republican Bruce Hatfield8,3081.98
Total votes418,542 100.00

General election

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size [a] 		Margin
of error		Roy
Barnes (D)		Guy
Millner (R)		Undecided
Mason Dixon [6] October 26–28, 1998809 (LV)± 3.5%43%46%11%
Mason Dixon [6] October 5–6, 1998807 (LV)± 3.5%42%45%13%
Marketing Workshop [6] [A] September 26–29, 1998690 (RV)± 3.7%41%47%12%
Mason Dixon [6] September 5–8, 1998829 (LV)± 3.5%41%42%17%
Mason Dixon [6] July 13–15, 1998828 (LV)± 3.5%39%45%16%
Mason Dixon [6] June 20–23, 1998807 (V)± 3.5%33%42%25%

Results

1998 Georgia gubernatorial election [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Roy Barnes 941,076 52.49% +1.44%
Republican Guy Millner 790,20144.08%−4.87%
Libertarian Jack Cashin61,5313.43%
Majority 150,8758.42%+6.31%
Turnout 1,792,808
Democratic hold Swing

Notes

  1. ↑ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
Partisan clients
  1. ↑ Poll sponsored by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB-TV2

References

  1. ↑ "Our Campaigns - GA Governor - D Primary Race - Jul 21, 1998". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  2. ↑ "Our Campaigns - GA Governor - D Runoff Race - Aug 11, 1998". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  3. ↑ Our Georgia History
  4. ↑ "National News Briefs; Republican Concedes in Georgia Primary", The New York Times , July 29, 1998.
  5. ↑ "Our Campaigns - GA Governor - R Primary Race - Jul 21, 1998". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "CNN AllPolitics Election '98 - Georgia 1998 Polls". CNN. Archived from the original on June 19, 2025. Retrieved June 19, 2025.
  7. ↑ "11/3/98 - Governor". January 12, 2004. Archived from the original on December 14, 2006. Retrieved January 7, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

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