1998 United States Senate election in Kentucky

1998 United States Senate election in Kentucky

←  1992 November 3, 1998 2004  →

Nominee Jim Bunning Scotty Baesler Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 569,817 563,051 Percentage 49.75% 49.16%

County results Bunning:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Baesler:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

U.S. senator before election Wendell Ford Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Jim Bunning Republican

The 1998 United States Senate election in Kentucky was held November 3, 1998. It was concurrent with elections to the United States House of Representatives. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Wendell Ford decided to retire, instead of seeking a fifth term. Republican U.S. Representative Jim Bunning narrowly won the open seat, defeating Democratic U.S. Representative Scotty Baesler. By a margin of 0.59%, this election was the second-closest race of the 1998 Senate election cycle, behind only the election in Nevada. Bunning's swearing-in marked the first time since 1973 that Republicans held both United States Senate seats from Kentucky. This was the first open-seat United States Senate election in Kentucky since 1972 and the first open-seat election for this seat since 1968.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Scotty Baesler, U.S. Representative
• Jim Brown
• Steve Henry, Lieutenant Governor
• Charlie Owen, businessman
• Ken Buchanan Thompson
• David L. Williams, member of the Kentucky Senate

Results

Democratic Primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Scotty Baesler	194,125	34.16%
	Democratic	Charlie Owen	166,472	29.29%
	Democratic	Steve Henry	156,576	27.55%
	Democratic	Jim Brown	19,975	3.51%
	Democratic	David L. Williams	16,366	2.88%
	Democratic	Ken Buchanan Thompson	14,778	2.60%
Total votes			568,292	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Jim Bunning, U.S. Representative
• Barry Metcalf, State Senator

Results

Republican primary results ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Bunning	152,493	74.28%
	Republican	Barry Metcalf	52,798	25.72%
Total votes			205,291	100.00%

General election

Candidates

• Scotty Baesler (D), U.S. Representative
• Jim Bunning (R), U.S. Representative

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Scotty Baesler (D)	Jim Bunning (R)	Undecided
Mason Dixon [3]	October 26–27, 1998	823 (LV)	± 3.5%	46%	45%	9%
The Courier-Journal [3]	October 20–25, 1998	589 (LV)	± 3.5%	43%	44%	13%
TMR Research [3] [A]	October 15–21, 1998	800 (RV)	± 3.5%	39%	44%	17%
Mason Dixon [3]	September 28–30, 1998	818 (LV)	± 3.5%	42%	44%	14%
The Courier-Journal [3]	September 25–30, 1998	575 (LV)	± 4.0%	37%	41%	22%
Mason Dixon [3]	August 31 – September 1, 1998	833 (LV)	± 3.5%	42%	41%	17%
Mason Dixon [3]	July 9–11, 1998	811 (LV)	± 3.5%	44%	38%	18%

Results

General election results ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jim Bunning	569,817	49.75%	+13.94%
	Democratic	Scotty Baesler	563,051	49.16%	−13.73%
	Reform	Charles R. Arbegust	12,546	1.10%
Majority			6,766	0.59%	−26.48%
Total votes			1,145,414	100.00%
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

See also

• 1998 United States Senate elections

Notes

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

Partisan clients

1. Poll sponsored by the Kentucky Herald-Leader & WKYT

References

1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 13, 2010. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 13, 2010. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
3. "CNN AllPolitics Election '98 - Kentucky 1998 Polls". CNN. Archived from the original on June 26, 2025. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 13, 2010. Retrieved April 17, 2011.