1998 Iowa gubernatorial election

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1998 Iowa gubernatorial election
Flag of Iowa (xrmap collection).svg
←  1994 November 3, 1998 2002  →
  Tom Vilsack, official USDA photo portrait (1).jpg Lightfoot (cropped).jpg
Nominee Tom Vilsack Jim Ross Lightfoot
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote500,231444,787
Percentage52.3%46.5%
1998 Iowa gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
County results
Vilsack:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%
Lightfoot:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Governor before election

Terry Branstad
Republican

Elected Governor

Tom Vilsack
Democratic

The 1998 Iowa gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Republican Governor Terry Branstad did not seek re-election to a fifth consecutive term; he later successfully ran again in 2010 and 2014.

Contents

To replace him, State Senator Tom Vilsack narrowly won the nomination of the Democratic Party while former United States Congressman Jim Ross Lightfoot, who was previously the Republican nominee for the United States Senate in 1996, won his party's nomination. Lightfoot was the odds-on favorite win and polling consistently showed him in the lead, [1] but Vilsack won the general election in a stunning upset, becoming the first Democrat to serve as governor of Iowa since 1969 and the 5th Democrat to hold the office in the 20th century. Lightfoot never conceded defeat. [2]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Primary results by county: Vilsack .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{} Vilsack--91-100% Vilsack--81-90% Vilsack--71-80% Vilsack--61-70% Vilsack--51-60% McCormick McCormick--81-90% McCormick--71-80% McCormick--61-70% McCormick--51-60% McCormick--41-50% Tie Tie between Vilsack and McCormick-49% 1998 Iowa gubernatorial Democratic primary county map.svg
Primary results by county:
Vilsack
  •   Vilsack—91-100%
  •   Vilsack—81-90%
  •   Vilsack—71-80%
  •   Vilsack—61-70%
  •   Vilsack—51-60%
McCormick
  •   McCormick—81-90%
  •   McCormick—71-80%
  •   McCormick—61-70%
  •   McCormick—51-60%
  •   McCormick—41-50%
Tie
  •   Tie between Vilsack and McCormick-49%
Democratic primary results [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Tom Vilsack 59,130 51.20
Democratic Mark McCormick55,95048.45
Democratic Write-ins4100.36
Total votes115,490 100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Jim Ross Lightfoot 113,499 69.89
Republican David A. Oman35,40221.80
Republican Paul Pate13,2998.19
Republican Write-ins1930.12
Total votes162,393 100.00

Reform Party primary

Candidates

Results

Reform Party primary results [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Reform Jim Hennager 131 35.60
Reform Edward Moses9926.90
Reform Jeffrey L. Hughes, Sr.9926.90
Reform Write-ins3910.60
Total votes368 100.00

General election

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size [a] 		Margin
of error		Jimm
Lightfoot (R)		Tom
Vilsack (D)		Undecided
Selzer & Co. [4] [A] October 28–30, 1998800 (LV)± 3.5%47%43%10%
Mason-Dixon [4] October 25–27, 1998803 (LV)± 3.5%47%42%11%
Mason-Dixon [4] October 11–13, 1998809 (LV)± 3.5%53%35%12%
Mason-Dixon [4] September 12–14, 1998804 (LV)± 3.5%54%32%14%
Mason-Dixon [4] July 18–21, 1998834 (LV)± 3.5%54%31%15%
Selzer & Co. [4] [A] June 20–24, 1998581 (LV)± 4.0%53%32%15%
Mason-Dixon [4] May 25–27, 1998837 (LV)± 3.5%55%21%24%

Results

Iowa gubernatorial election, 1998 [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Tom Vilsack 500,231 52.30% +10.74%
Republican Jim Ross Lightfoot 444,78746.51%−10.29%
Reform Jim Hennager5,6060.59%
Natural Law Jim Schaefer3,1440.33%−0.05%
Independent Mark Kennis2,0060.21%
Write-in 6410.07%
Majority 55,4445.80%−9.44%
Turnout 956,415
Democratic gain from Republican 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 Des Moines Register

References

  1. ↑ "Despite tight race for Iowa governor, Lightfoot ahead among most likely voters". Archived from the original on September 1, 2006. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  2. ↑ Henderson, O. Kay. "Meet the Press, November 29, 2020". NBC News. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "Iowa Primary Election - June 2, 1998" (PDF). Iowa Publications.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "CNN AllPolitics Election '98 - Iowa 1998 Polls". CNN. Archived from the original on June 25, 2025. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Iowa General Election - November 3, 1998" (PDF). Iowa Secretary of State.
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