1998 Illinois gubernatorial election

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1998 Illinois gubernatorial election
Flag of Illinois.svg
←  1994 November 3, 1998 2002  →
Turnout49.72% Decrease2.svg 1.05 pp
  Illinois Governor George Ryan (398309572) (3x4).jpg GlennPoshardbio (cropped).jpg
Nominee George Ryan Glenn Poshard
Party Republican Democratic
Running mate Corinne Wood Mary Lou Kearns
Popular vote1,714,0941,594,191
Percentage51.03%47.46%
1998 Illinois gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
1998 Illinois gubernatorial election by Congressional District.svg
Ryan:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Poshard:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Governor before election

Jim Edgar
Republican

Elected Governor

George Ryan
Republican

The 1998 Illinois gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Republican Governor Jim Edgar did not run for a third term in office. Republican nominee George Ryan, the Illinois Secretary of State, narrowly won the election against Democratic Congressman Glenn Poshard.

Contents

With this election Corinne Wood became the first female lieutenant governor of the state.

Background

The primaries and general elections coincided with those for federal elections (Senate and House), as well as those for other state offices. The election was part of the 1998 Illinois elections.

For the primaries, turnout for the gubernatorial primaries was 24.58%, with 1,658,296 votes cast and turnout for the lieutenant gubernatorial primaries was 19.76% with 1,333,446 votes cast. [1] [2] For the general election, turnout was 49.72%, with 3,358,705 votes cast. [1] [2] Due to Poshard's more conservative social positions he carried the reliably Republican downstate, while Ryan's liberal social policies led him to carry the more Democratic Chicago area.

Democratic primaries

Governor

Candidates

Declined

  • Neil Hartigan, former Illinois Attorney General (1983–1991), former Lieutenant Governor of Illinois (1973–1977), and Democratic nominee for Governor in 1990 [4]

Results

Gubernatorial 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{} Poshard Poshard--30-40% Poshard--40-50% Poshard--50-60% Poshard--60-70% Poshard--70-80% Poshard--80-90% Poshard--90-100% Burris Burris--40-50% Schmidt Schmidt--30-40% Schmidt--40-50% Schmidt--50-60% 1998 Illinois gubernatorial Democratic primary county map.svg
Gubernatorial primary results by county
  Poshard
  •   Poshard—30–40%
  •   Poshard—40–50%
  •   Poshard—50–60%
  •   Poshard—60–70%
  •   Poshard—70–80%
  •   Poshard—80–90%
  •   Poshard—90–100%
  Burris
  •   Burris—40–50%
  Schmidt
  •   Schmidt—30–40%
  •   Schmidt—40–50%
  •   Schmidt—50–60%
Democratic gubernatorial primary results [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Glenn Poshard 357,342 37.60
Democratic Roland Burris290,39330.56
Democratic John R. Schmidt236,30924.87
Democratic Jim Burns55,2335.81
Democratic Larry Burgess6,0750.64
Democratic Maurice Horton4,9550.52
Total votes950,307 100.00

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

Lieutenant gubernatorial primary results by county Kearns 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90% Quinn 50-60% 1998 Illinois lieutenant gubernatorial Democratic primary election results map by county.svg
Lieutenant gubernatorial primary results by county
  Kearns
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
  Quinn
  •   50–60%
Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial primary results [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Mary Lou Kearns 391,373 50.09
Democratic Pat Quinn389,90549.91
Total votes781,278 100

Republican primaries

Governor

Candidates

Results

Republican gubernatorial primary results [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican George Ryan 608,940 86.08
Republican Chad Koppie98,46613.92
Total votes707,406 100.00

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

Results

Republican lieutenant gubernatorial primary results [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Corrine G. Wood 551,580 100
Total votes551,580 100

Reform primary

Governor

Candidates

  • Lawrence Redmond

Results

Reform gubernatorial primary results [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Reform Lawrence Redmond 583 100.00
Total votes583 100.00

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

  • Phyllis Nirchi

Results

Reform lieutenant gubernatorial primary results [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Reform Philomena "Phyllis" Nirchi 588 100
Total votes588 100

General election

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size [a] 		Margin
of error		George
Ryan (R)		Glenn
Poshard (D)		Undecided
Mason-Dixon [7] October 24–26, 1998813 (LV)± 3.5%48%37%15%
KRC Communications Research [7] [A] October 19–20, 1998400 (LV)± 5.0%44%42%14%
Mason-Dixon [7] October 10–12, 1998830 (LV)± 3.5%51%36%13%
Market Shares Corporation [7] October 3–6, 19981,099 (LV)± 3.0%52%31%17%
Mason-Dixon [7] September 11–14, 1998811 (LV)± 3.5%50%38%12%
KRC Communications Research [7] [A] September 8–10, 1998400 (LV)± 4.8%52%34%14%
Zogby International [7] [B] August 31 – September 1, 1998726 (LV)± 4.0%47%37%16%
Market Share Corp. [7] August 11–17, 19981,109 (RV)± 3.0%51%30%19%
Mason-Dixon [7] July 10–13, 1998807 (LV)± 3.5%44%37%19%
University of Illinois at Chicago [7] June 9 – July 3, 1998465 (LV)± 5.0%46%39%13%
Mason-Dixon [7] March 8–10, 1998831 (LV)± 3.5%48%26%26%
Mason-Dixon [7] February 6–9, 1998804 (RV)± 3.5%50%26%24%

Results

Illinois gubernatorial election, 1998 [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican George Ryan / Corinne Wood 1,714,094 51.03% −12.85%
Democratic Glenn Poshard / Mary Lou Kearns1,594,19147.46%+13.02%
Reform Lawrence Redmond / Phyllis Nirchi50,3721.50%
Write-ins480.00%
Majority 119,9033.57%−25.87%
Turnout 3,358,70549.72%
Republican hold Swing

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
Partisan clients
  1. 1 2 Poll sponsored by the Chicago Sun-Times & WBBM-TV
  2. ↑ Poll sponsored by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

References

  1. 1 2 "Voter Turnout". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on May 30, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Election Results". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Walsh, Edward (August 20, 1977). "ILLINOIS REPUBLICAN GOV. EDGAR TO RETIRE, FORGOING CHALLENGE FOR SENATE SEAT" . Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 10, 2025. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  4. ↑ Tribune, Chicago Tribune | Chicago (November 26, 1996). "HARTIGAN'S DECLARATION NOT TO RUN FOR GOVERNOR OPENS '98 DOOR TO 2". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 "Ballots Cast". Elections.illinois.gov. March 17, 1998. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  6. ↑ "KANE CORONER TO JOIN JESSE WHITE'S STAFF". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. January 13, 1999. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "CNN AllPolitics Election '98 - Illinois 1998 Polls". CNN. Archived from the original on June 22, 2025. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Ballots Cast". Elections.illinois.gov. November 3, 1998. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
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