1998 Michigan gubernatorial election

1998 Michigan gubernatorial election

←  1994 November 3, 1998 2002  →

Nominee John Engler Geoffrey Fieger Party Republican Democratic Running mate Dick Posthumus Jim Agee Popular vote 1,883,005 1,143,574 Percentage 62.2% 37.8%

County results Engler:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Fieger:      50–60%

Governor before election John Engler Republican Elected Governor John Engler Republican

The 1998 Michigan gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of the state of Michigan. Incumbent Governor John Engler, a member of the Republican Party, was re-elected over Democratic Party nominee Geoffrey Fieger, a lawyer who had represented the assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian. ^[1] As of 2025, this was the last time Genesee County and Washtenaw County voted for the Republican gubernatorial candidate.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Gary Artinian
• John Engler, incumbent governor

Engler, a two-term incumbent, faced token opposition in the Republican primary, winning re-nomination with 90 percent of the vote. Following Lt. Gov. Connie Binsfeld's decision to not seek a third term, State Senate Majority Leader Dick Posthumus received the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor. ^[2]

Results

Michigan gubernatorial Republican primary, 1998 ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Engler (incumbent)	477,628	89.6
	Republican	Gary Artinian	55,453	10.4
Total votes			533,081	100.00

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Geoffrey Fieger, attorney known for representing Jack Kevorkian
• Larry Owen, former Mayor of East Lansing
• Doug Ross

Early in the race, Owen was considered the front runner. ^[4] But due to Fieger's notoriety and personal wealth, he surpassed his opponents. He ended spending almost $6 million of his own money in the race. ^[5] Fieger won a close race, taking 41 percent of the vote. ^[6] State Rep. Jim Agee, after securing the support from the Michigan Education Association was picked by Fieger to be his running mate, over Fieger's initial preferred choice state Rep. Candace Curtis. ^[7]

Results

Michigan gubernatorial Democratic primary, 1998 ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Geoffrey Fieger	300,458	41.2
	Democratic	Larry Owen	272,360	37.3
	Democratic	Doug Ross	156,847	21.5
Total votes			729,665	100.00

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	John Engler (R)	Geoffrey Fieger (D)	Undecided
EPIC/MRA [8] [A]	September 29 – October 1, 1998	600 (LV)	± 3.7%	54%	22%	24%
Mitchell Research & Communications, Inc. [8]	September 21–23, 1998	400 (RV)	± 5.5%	61%	24%	15%
Mitchell Research & Communication Inc. [8] [B]	September 10–13, 1998	400 (RV)	± 5.0%	60%	21%	19%
EPIC/MRA [8] [A]	August 20–24, 1998	600 (A)	± 4.0%	55%	31%	14%
EPIC/MRA [8] [A]	August 6, 1998	(A)	± 4.0%	53%	33%	24%

Results

Michigan gubernatorial election, 1998 ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Engler (incumbent)	1,883,005	62.20
	Democratic	Geoffrey Fieger	1,143,574	37.78
	Write-In	Terry Link	399	0.01
	Write-In	Carl Humphrey	36	0.00
	Write-In	Vicki Foreback	32	0.00
	Write-In	Marc Katz	20	0.00
	Write-In	Robert Marek	17	0.00
	Write-In	Michael Wagonlander	12	0.00
	Write-In	Johnni Matthew III	9	0.00
Majority			739,431	24.43%
	Republican hold

Results by county

County	Engler	Votes	Fieger	Votes	Others	Votes
Alcona	69.2%	2,951	30.8%	1,312	0.0%	0
Alger	56.9%	1,794	43.1%	1,358	0.0%	0
Allegan	77.8%	24,121	22.2%	6,896	0.0%	4
Alpena	65.8%	7,267	34.2%	3,785	0.0%	1
Antrim	68.5%	5,748	31.5%	2,641	0.0%	0
Arenac	59.0%	3,179	41.0%	2,210	0.0%	1
Baraga	53.6%	1,338	46.4%	1,157	0.0%	0
Barry	71.4%	13,148	28.6%	5,259	0.0%	0
Bay	60.8%	23,343	39.2%	15,017	0.0%	12
Benzie	62.8%	3,726	37.2%	2,206	0.0%	0
Berrien	73.5%	30,380	26.5%	10,971	0.0%	0
Branch	70.3%	7,623	29.7%	3,216	0.0%	1
Calhoun	67.2%	25,955	32.8%	12,661	0.0%	5
Cass	72.7%	9,177	27.3%	3,438	0.0%	0
Charlevoix	69.3%	6,290	30.7%	2,792	0.0%	0
Cheboygan	67.7%	6,036	32.3%	2,875	0.0%	0
Chippewa	61.3%	6,613	38.7%	4,180	0.0%	0
Clare	61.3%	5,649	38.7%	3,561	0.0%	0
Clinton	73.8%	17,696	26.0%	6,222	0.2%	56
Crawford	62.5%	3,051	37.5%	1,831	0.0%	0
Delta	59.3%	7,410	40.7%	5,080	0.0%	0
Dickinson	63.0%	6,183	37.0%	3,638	0.0%	0
Eaton	68.4%	24,778	31.6%	11,436	0.0%	8
Emmet	73.8%	7,765	26.2%	2,758	0.0%	0
Genesee	51.2%	69,799	48.8%	66,608	0.0%	10
Gladwin	63.7%	5,573	36.3%	3,177	0.0%	0
Gogebic	51.0%	3,020	49.0%	2,905	0.0%	0
Grand Traverse	71.6%	20,462	28.4%	8,101	0.0%	2
Gratiot	71.1%	7,998	28.9%	3,245	0.0%	0
Hillsdale	73.1%	9,027	26.9%	3,325	0.0%	5
Houghton	60.9%	6,443	39.1%	4,131	0.0%	2
Huron	76.1%	9,264	23.9%	2,902	0.0%	1
Ingham	60.1%	53,905	39.7%	35,584	0.2%	151
Ionia	71.2%	12,324	28.8%	4,996	0.0%	0
Iosco	66.5%	6,457	33.5%	3,252	0.0%	2
Iron	54.3%	2,715	45.7%	2,282	0.0%	0
Isabella	63.7%	9,423	36.3%	5,361	0.0%	0
Jackson	67.3%	31,330	32.7%	15,229	0.0%	2
Kalamazoo	67.6%	46,443	32.4%	22,275	0.0%	6
Kalkaska	63.1%	3,155	36.9%	1,844	0.0%	0
Kent	76.6%	133,120	23.4%	40,709	0.0%	8
Keweenaw	56.3%	566	43.7%	440	0.0%	0
Lake	53.5%	1,832	46.5%	1,593	0.0%	0
Lapeer	65.6%	17,382	34.4%	9,106	0.0%	1
Leelanau	70.9%	6,577	29.1%	2,705	0.0%	0
Lenawee	63.3%	18,137	36.7%	10,494	0.0%	0
Livingston	73.8%	37,458	26.2%	13,283	0.0%	2
Luce	58.0%	1,130	42.0%	819	0.0%	0
Mackinac	64.7%	3,054	35.3%	1,666	0.0%	0
Macomb	67.5%	166,920	32.5%	80,438	0.0%	18
Manistee	62.8%	5,493	37.2%	3,247	0.0%	0
Marquette	51.6%	11,157	48.4%	10,460	0.0%	0
Mason	66.1%	6,391	33.9%	3,277	0.0%	0
Mecosta	67.2%	7,065	32.8%	3,446	0.0%	1
Menominee	65.7%	4,579	34.3%	2,391	0.0%	0
Midland	73.6%	20,737	26.4%	7,445	0.0%	0
Missaukee	72.8%	3,629	27.2%	1,346	0.0%	0
Monroe	65.0%	26,690	35.0%	14,401	0.0%	0
Montcalm	68.6%	11,069	31.4%	5,058	0.0%	0
Montmorency	65.0%	2,499	35.0%	1,346	0.0%	0
Muskegon	60.5%	29,660	39.5%	19,331	0.0%	2
Newaygo	69.0%	9,776	31.0%	4,392	0.0%	0
Oakland	66.3%	264,551	33.7%	134,215	0.0%	120
Oceana	67.5%	5,231	32.5%	2,520	0.0%	0
Ogemaw	62.3%	4,796	37.7%	2,899	0.0%	0
Ontonagon	51.8%	1,553	48.2%	1,442	0.0%	1
Osceola	66.5%	4,918	33.5%	2,482	0.0%	0
Oscoda	64.9%	2,017	35.1%	1,091	0.0%	0
Otsego	71.6%	5,525	28.4%	2,195	0.0%	0
Ottawa	85.4%	67,054	14.6%	11,451	0.0%	9
Presque Isle	67.1%	3,871	32.9%	1,899	0.0%	0
Roscommon	63.7%	6,320	36.3%	3,608	0.0%	0
Saginaw	63.4%	43,766	36.6%	25,213	0.0%	9
St. Clair	64.1%	32,299	35.9%	18,025	0.0%	0
St. Joseph	74.9%	11,026	25.1%	3,703	0.0%	0
Sanilac	71.1%	9,941	28.8%	4,023	0.1%	8
Schoolcraft	55.5%	1,594	44.5%	1,277	0.0%	0
Shiawassee	66.3%	16,465	33.6%	8,347	0.1%	18
Tuscola	66.7%	12,074	33.3%	6,027	0.0%	0
Van Buren	67.8%	13,715	32.2%	6,499	0.0%	0
Washtenaw	57.0%	53,227	43.0%	40,078	0.0%	32
Wayne	42.9%	243,235	57.1%	324,351	0.0%	17
Wexford	67.1%	6,347	32.8%	3,108	0.1%	10

Notes

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

Partisan clients

1. Poll sponsored by the Detroit Free Press
2. Poll sponsored by The Detroit News

References

1. Wald, Matthew L. (November 5, 1998). "The 1998 elections: state by state -- Midwest; Michigan". The New York Times . Retrieved July 31, 2011.
2. "DECISION '98: A LOOK AT KEY ELECTIONS". Crains Detroit. October 16, 1998. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
3. "1998 Official Michigan Primary Election Results". Michigan Department of State Bureau of Elections. September 28, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
4. "Larry Owen". Our Campaigns. March 16, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
5. Kathleen Gray (May 12, 2017). "Geoffrey Fieger considering a return to politics with run for governor". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
6. Associated Press (August 6, 1998). "Kevorkian's Lawyer Wins Gubernatorial Primary in Michigan". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
7. By From Tribune News Services (August 29, 1998). "Teachers Pleased By Fieger Running Mate". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
8. "CNN AllPolitics Election '98 - Michigan 1998 Polls". CNN. Archived from the original on June 26, 2025. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
9. "1998 Official Michigan General Election Results: Governor 4 Year Term (1) Position". Michigan Department of State Bureau of Elections. February 9, 1999. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved July 31, 2011.