1998 United States Senate election in Oregon

Last updated

1998 United States Senate election in Oregon
Flag of Oregon.svg
  1996 (special) November 3, 1998 2004  
  Ron Wyden official portrait.jpg Johnlim.jpg
Nominee Ron Wyden John Lim
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote682,425377,739
Percentage61.05%33.79%

1998 United States Senate election in Oregon results map by county.svg
County results
Wyden:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Lim:     50–60%

U.S. senator before election

Ron Wyden
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Ron Wyden
Democratic

The 1998 United States Senate election in Oregon was held on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Ron Wyden won re-election to his first full term, defeating Republican nominee John Lim, a state senator in a landslide (Lim only carried Malheur County). As of 2022, this is the last time Grant County and Harney County have supported a Democrat in a U.S. Senate election.

Contents

Democratic nomination

Results

Results by county
Wyden
.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{}
80-90%
>90% 1998 United States Senate election in Oregon, Democratic primary.svg
Results by county
Wyden
  •   80–90%
  •   >90%
Oregon Democratic U.S. Senate primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Ronald Wyden (Incumbent) 283,654 91.51%
Democratic John Sweeney25,4568.21%
Democratic Write-ins8530.28%
Total votes309,963 100.00%

Republican nomination

Results

Results by county
Lim
40-50%
50-60%
60-70%
70-80%
Fitzpatrick
40-50% 1998 United States Senate election in Oregon, Republican primary.svg
Results by county
Lim
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
Fitzpatrick
  •   40–50%
Oregon Republican U.S. Senate primary results [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican John Lim 135,048 62.45%
Republican John Michael Fitzpatrick58,13926.88%
Republican Valentine Christian20,5699.51%
Republican Write-ins2,5091.16%
Total votes216,265 100.00%

General

Wyden, a consistent liberal Democrat, was considered to be the favorite throughout the campaign. State Republicans were weakened by division between moderate and conservative wings, with few candidates on the already sparse bench able to reconcile them. [3] During his campaign, Wyden emphasized his work with fellow Oregon Senator and Republican Gordon H. Smith. Lim had very little name recognition outside of his Gresham-based State Senate district and focused his campaign on portraying Wyden as a Beltway insider and out-of-touch with the population of Oregon. [4]

Results

Wyden won in a landslide, winning every county in the state with the exception of Malheur County. Wyden's performance, both by his portion of the vote and margin of victory, would only be exceeded by his subsequent 2004 election, being his second-best performance in a Senatorial election.

General election results [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Ronald Wyden (Incumbent) 682,425 61.05% +13.27%
Republican John Lim377,73933.79%-12.47%
Pacific Green Karyn Moskowitz22,0241.97%+1.37%
Libertarian Jim Brewster18,2211.63%+0.32%
Natural Law Michael A. Campbell8,3720.75%+0.75%
Socialist Dean M. Braa7,5530.68%+.02%
Write-InMisc.1,4130.13%-1.12%
Total votes1,117,747 100.0%
Democratic hold

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1998 United States Senate elections</span>

The 1998 United States Senate elections were held on November 3, with the 34 seats of Class 3 contested in regular elections. This was seen as an even contest between the Republican Party and Democratic Party. While the Democrats had to defend more seats up for election, Republican attacks on the morality of President Bill Clinton failed to connect with voters and anticipated Republican gains did not materialize. The Republicans picked up open seats in Ohio and Kentucky and narrowly defeated Democratic incumbent Carol Moseley Braun, but these were cancelled out by the Democrats' gain of an open seat in Indiana and defeats of Republican Senators Al D'Amato and Lauch Faircloth. The balance of the Senate remained unchanged at 55–45 in favor of the Republicans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 United States Senate elections</span>

The 1996 United States Senate elections were held on November 5, with the 33 seats of Class 2 contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. They coincided with the presidential election of the same year, in which Democrat Bill Clinton was re-elected president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1990 United States Senate elections</span>

The 1990 United States Senate elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 1990, with the 33 seats of Class 2 contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. The Democratic Party increased its majority with a net gain of one seat from the Republican Party. The election cycle took place in the middle of President George H. W. Bush's term, and, as with most other midterm elections, the party not holding the presidency gained seats in Congress. Until 2022, this had been the only election cycle where only one U.S. Senate seat flipped parties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980 United States Senate elections</span>

The 1980 United States Senate elections were held on November 4, coinciding with Ronald Reagan's victory in the presidential election. The 34 Senate seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections. Reagan's large margin of victory over incumbent Jimmy Carter gave a huge boost to Republican Senate candidates, allowing them to flip 12 Democratic seats and win control of the chamber for the first time since the end of the 83rd Congress in January 1955.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1966 United States Senate elections</span>

The 1966 United States Senate elections were elections on November 8, 1966, for the United States Senate which occurred midway through the second term of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The 33 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. With divisions in the Democratic base over the Vietnam War, and with the traditional mid-term advantage of the party not holding the presidency, the Republicans took three Democratic seats, thereby breaking Democrats' 2/3rds supermajority. Despite Republican gains, the balance remained overwhelmingly in favor of the Democrats, who retained a 64–36 majority. Democrats were further reduced to 63–37, following the death of Robert F. Kennedy in June 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1964 United States Senate elections</span>

The 1964 United States Senate elections were held on November 3. The 33 seats of Class 1 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. They coincided with the election of President Lyndon B. Johnson by an overwhelming majority, to a full term. His Democratic Party picked up a net two seats from the Republicans. As of 2023, this was the last time either party has had a two-thirds majority in the Senate, which allowed the Senate Democrats to override a veto, propose constitutional amendments, or convict and expel certain officials without any votes from Senate Republicans. However, internal divisions would have prevented the Democrats from having done so. The Senate election cycle coincided with Democratic gains in the House in the same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1960 United States Senate elections</span>

The 1960 United States Senate elections coincided with the election of John F. Kennedy as president on November 8, 1960. The 33 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections. A special election was also held on June 28, 1960, for a mid-term vacancy in North Dakota where Democrats flipped a seat to expand their majority to 66–34. As Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson was elected Vice President, Mike Mansfield became the new majority leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic Party of Oregon</span> Oregon affiliate of the Democratic Party

The Democratic Party of Oregon is the Oregon affiliate of the Democratic Party. The State Central Committee, made up of two delegates elected from each of Oregon's 36 counties and one additional delegate for every 15,000 registered Democrats, is the main authoritative body of the party. The party has 17 special group caucuses which also each have representation on the State Central Committee.

Like many other U.S. states, the politics of Oregon largely concerns regional issues. Oregon leans Democratic as a state, with both U.S. senators from the Democratic party, as well as four out of Oregon's six U.S. Representatives. The Democratic candidate for president has won in Oregon in every election since 1988. Both houses of Oregon's legislative assembly have been under Democratic control since the 2012 elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 United States Senate election in Oregon</span> Election

The 2004 United States Senate election in Oregon was held on November 2, 2004. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Ron Wyden won re-election to a second full term. As of 2024, this is the most recent United States Senate election in Oregon in which any Eastern Oregon counties voted for the Democratic nominee, and it is Oregon’s most recent senatorial election in which the winning candidate carried the majority of the state’s counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 United States Senate election in Oregon</span> Election

The 2010 United States Senate election in Oregon was held on November 2, 2010 alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states, as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Ron Wyden won re-election to a third full term by a landslide margin of 18 points, despite the national Republican midterm wave. As of 2022, this is the only senate election since 1998 in which Deschutes County has not supported the Democratic candidate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1994 United States elections</span>

The 1994 United States elections were held on November 8, 1994. The elections occurred in the middle of Democratic President Bill Clinton's first term in office, and elected the members of 104th United States Congress. The elections have been described as the "Republican Revolution" because the Republican Party captured unified control of Congress for the first time since 1952. Republicans picked up eight seats in the Senate and won a net of 54 seats in the House of Representatives. Republicans also picked up a net of ten governorships and took control of many state legislative chambers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 United States Senate election in Oregon</span> Election

The 1996 United States Senate election in Oregon was held on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Republican United States Senator Mark Hatfield decided to retire after thirty years in the Senate. Oregon State Senate President Gordon H. Smith, who had run for the Senate earlier that year, won the Republican primary, while businessman Tom Bruggere won a contested Democratic primary. The contest between Smith and Bruggere was one of the toughest that year, but ultimately, Smith was able to keep the seat in the Republican column and defeated Bruggere by a narrow margin. This is the last time that a Senate candidate was elected to the United States Senate in Oregon at the same time that a presidential candidate of the opposite party won Oregon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1962 United States Senate election in Oregon</span> Election

The 1962 United States Senate election in Oregon was held on November 8, 1962 to select the U.S. Senator from the state of Oregon. Democratic Senator Wayne Morse decided to seek re-election for a fourth term. He defeated Republican candidate Sig Unander in the general election. This would be the last time Democrats won the Class 3 Senate seat from Oregon until Ron Wyden's victory in the 1996 special election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1994 United States Senate election in Washington</span>

The 1994 United States Senate election in Washington was held November 8, 1994. Incumbent Senator Slade Gorton won re-election to a second consecutive term. As of 2024, this was the last time a Republican or a man won a U.S. Senate election in Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 United States Senate election in Oregon</span> Election

The 2016 United States Senate election in Oregon was held November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Oregon, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jo Rae Perkins</span> American political candidate

Jo Rae Perkins is an American perennial candidate who was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for both the 2020 U.S. Senate election and 2022 U.S. Senate election in Oregon. Perkins lives in Albany, Oregon, and has received national attention for her belief in QAnon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 United States Senate elections</span>

The 2022 United States Senate elections were held on November 8, 2022, concurrently with other midterm elections at the federal, state and local levels. Regularly scheduled elections were held for 34 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate, the winners of which will serve six-year terms beginning with the 118th United States Congress. Two special elections were held to complete unexpired terms. While pundits considered the Republican Party a slight favorite to gain control of the Senate, Senate Democrats outperformed expectations and expanded the majority they had held since 2021, gaining one seat for a functioning 51–49 majority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 United States Senate election in Oregon</span>

The 2022 United States Senate election in Oregon was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Oregon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Oregon elections</span> Elections held in Oregon in 2022

A general election was held in the U.S. state of Oregon on November 8, 2022. Primary elections were held on May 17, 2022.

References

  1. "OR US Senate D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  2. "OR US Senate R Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  3. Rothenburg, Stuart. "Stuart Rothenberg on the 1998 Senate Races, State-by-State". CNN. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  4. Cain, Brad (May 19, 1998). "Wyden, Lim cruise to victories". Eugene Register-Guard. The Associated Press. Google Books. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  5. "Official Results: November 3, 1998 General Election, United States Senator". Oregon Secretary of State . Retrieved August 21, 2009.