1998 United States Senate election in Oregon

1998 United States Senate election in Oregon

←  1996 (special) November 3, 1998 2004  →

Nominee Ron Wyden John Lim Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 682,425 377,739 Percentage 61.05% 33.79%

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.

Democratic nomination

• John Sweeney, retired city parks worker
• Ron Wyden, incumbent U.S. Senator

Results

Results by county

Wyden

•   80–90%
•   >90%

Oregon Democratic U.S. Senate primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ronald Wyden (Incumbent)	283,654	91.51%
	Democratic	John Sweeney	25,456	8.21%
	Democratic	Write-ins	853	0.28%
Total votes			309,963	100.00%

Republican nomination

• Valentine Christian, from Salem
• John Lim, State Senator from Gresham and candidate for Governor in 1990
• John Michael Fitzpatrick, from Lake Oswego

Results

Results by county

Lim

•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

Fitzpatrick

•   40–50%

Oregon Republican U.S. Senate primary results ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Lim	135,048	62.45%
	Republican	John Michael Fitzpatrick	58,139	26.88%
	Republican	Valentine Christian	20,569	9.51%
	Republican	Write-ins	2,509	1.16%
Total votes			216,265	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]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Ronald Wyden (D)	John Lim (R)	Undecided
Davis & Hibbitss [5]	September 30 – October 6, 1998	618 (LV)	± 4.0%	68%	16%	16%

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 ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Ronald Wyden (Incumbent)	682,425	61.05%	+13.27%
	Republican	John Lim	377,739	33.79%	−12.47%
	Pacific Green	Karyn Moskowitz	22,024	1.97%	+1.37%
	Libertarian	Jim Brewster	18,221	1.63%	+0.32%
	Natural Law	Michael A. Campbell	8,372	0.75%	+0.75%
	Socialist	Dean M. Braa	7,553	0.68%	+.02%
	Write-In	Misc.	1,413	0.13%	−1.12%
Total votes			1,117,747	100.0%
	Democratic hold

See also

• 1998 United States Senate elections

Notes

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

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. "CNN AllPolitics Election '98 - Oregon 1998 Polls". CNN. Archived from the original on June 29, 2025. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
6. "Official Results: November 3, 1998 General Election, United States Senator". Oregon Secretary of State . Retrieved August 21, 2009.