Map of the results Democratic gainRepublican gain Democratic holdRepublican hold Reform gainIndependent hold No election
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 3, 1998, in 36 states and two territories. Going into the election cycle, 24 of the seats were held by Republicans, 11 by Democrats, and one by an Independent. The elections changed the national balance of power by the loss of one Republican and the gain of one Independent, although political party dominance was shifted in nine states. Democrats gained open seats in California and Iowa and defeated incumbents Fob James of Alabama and David Beasley of South Carolina, while Republicans won open seats in Colorado, Florida, Nebraska, and Nevada and the Reform Party won an open Republican governorship in Minnesota. By the end of the election, 23 seats were held by Republicans, 11 by Democrats, one by the Reform Party, and one by an Independent.
The elections coincided with the midterm elections for the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. With the exception of two states (New Hampshire and Vermont), the governors elected in this election served four-year terms. New Hampshire and Vermont's governors would serve two-year terms.
As of 2025, this election marked the most recent cycle in which Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, and South Carolina elected Democrats to their respective governorships, and by extension, any even-year gubernatorial election in the Deep South. This is also the last time that someone other than a Democrat or a Republican was elected governor in Maine and Minnesota. This would be the last time a third-party candidate (not an independent) would be elected governor of any state, as well as the last time an independent would be elected governor of a state until the 2010 election in Rhode Island. This was the last midterm election until 2022 in which the non-incumbent political party suffered net losses of governorships.
The Alabama gubernatorial election of 1998 was held on November 3, 1998, to select the governor of Alabama. The election saw incumbent Governor Fob James (R) against Lieutenant Governor Don Siegelman (D). The result saw Don Siegelman win a decisive victory over Fob James. This was the second of three consecutive Alabama gubernatorial elections in which the incumbent was defeated. As of 2025, this was the last time that a Democrat was elected governor of Alabama.
The 1998 Alaska gubernatorial general election took place on November 3, 1998. The election resulted in a landslide for the Democratic incumbent, Tony Knowles, who had won the 1994 gubernatorial election by only 536 votes.[3][4] Jim Sykes, founder of the Green Party of Alaska, ran on that party's ticket, but Desa Jacobsson later replaced him on the ballot.
The 1998 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998, for the post of Governor of Arizona. Jane Dee Hull, the incumbent RepublicanGovernor of Arizona, defeated the Democratic nominee and Mayor of Phoenix, Paul Johnson in a landslide victory. Hull became the first woman to win a gubernatorial election in Arizona, although not the first woman to serve as governor of Arizona, (a distinction held by Democrat Rose Mofford, who ascended to the position in 1988 upon Republican Evan Mecham's impeachment and removal from office, and who served until 1990, declining to run for a full term).
The 1998 Arkansas gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998 for the post of Governor of Arkansas. Incumbent Republican governor Mike Huckabee defeated Democratic nominee Bill Bristow to win a full term in office.
The 1998 California gubernatorial election was an election that occurred on November 3, 1998, resulting in the election of Lieutenant Governor Gray Davis as the state's first Democratic governor in 16 years. Davis won the general election by an almost 20% margin over his closest opponent, Republican Attorney General Dan Lungren. Davis succeeded Pete Wilson who was term limited. The 1998 California gubernatorial election featured the state's only gubernatorial blanket primary, a practice which was later struck down in United States Supreme Court in California Democratic Party v. Jones in 2000.
The 1998 Colorado gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998 to select the governor of the state of Colorado. Under newly applicable term limits, incumbent Governor Roy Romer, a Democrat, was unable to seek re-election. Lieutenant Governor Gail Schoettler, ran to succeed Romer, and won the Democratic primary; her running mate, Bernie Buescher, won the lieutenant-gubernatorial primary unopposed. In the Republican primary, Bill Owens, the State Treasurer, and his eventual running mate, Joe Rogers, won their respective primaries by wide margins.
In the general election, Owens narrowly defeated Schoettler, aided by a strong performance by Republican U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell in his re-election campaign. Owens's narrow election meant that he was the first Republican Governor in 24 years, and Rogers's election made him the second Black Lieutenant Governor in the state's history, after George L. Brown, who was elected in 1974. This was also the last election in which Colorado held separate primary elections for governor and lieutenant governor; following a statutory change in 2000, gubernatorial candidates selected their running mates prior to the primary.[5]
The 1998 Connecticut gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998, and incumbent RepublicanGovernorJohn G. Rowland won re-election against Democratic Candidate United States Congresswoman Barbara B. Kennelly. This election was the first time since 1944 that an incumbent Republican Governor of Connecticut was re-elected.
The 1998 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998, to determine the Governor for the State of Florida. Two-term Democratic incumbent Governor Lawton Chiles was term-limited and could not run for re-election. John Ellis "Jeb" Bush, who had previously run for governor in 1994 was the Republican nominee, and incumbent Lieutenant GovernorKenneth Hood "Buddy" MacKay was the Democratic nominee. Bush defeated MacKay by nearly 11% of the vote, and won his first of two terms as governor.
The 1998 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Democratic governor Zell Miller was unable to seek re-election due to term limits, therefore creating an open seat. To replace him, State RepresentativeRoy Barnes won the Democratic Party's nomination after a close and highly contested primary election, while businessman Guy Millner, who had run for governor and the United States Senate in the previous four years, won the nomination of the Republican Party.
In the general election, Barnes was able to defeat Millner by a margin of victory larger than Governor Miller's victory over Millner four years prior, which was in part due to the unpopularity and controversy of Mitch Skandalakis, the Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia.
The 1998 Hawaii gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998. Incumbent DemocraticGovernor of HawaiiBen Cayetano ran for re-election to a second and final term, and he was contested by Maui MayorLinda Lingle. The race between Cayetano and Lingle was close, with Lingle holding a sizable polling advantage.[7] Ultimately, Cayetano narrowly won re-election to a second term in the closest gubernatorial election in Hawaii's history.
The 1998 Idaho gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998, to elect the Governor of Idaho. Phil Batt, the Republican incumbent, chose not to run for a second term. The Republican nominee, United States Senator Dirk Kempthorne, handily defeated the Democratic nominee, former Idaho Supreme Court justice Robert C. Huntley, to keep the seat in GOP hands.
The 1998 Illinois gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Republican Governor Jim Edgar did not run for a third term in office. Republican nominee George Ryan, the Illinois Secretary of State, narrowly won the election against Democratic Congressman Glenn Poshard.
With this election Corinne Wood became the first female lieutenant governor of the state.
The 1998 Iowa gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998. Incumbent RepublicanGovernorTerry Branstad did not seek re-election to a fifth consecutive term; he later successfully ran again in 2010 and 2014.
The 1998 Kansas gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Republican Governor Bill Graves won re-election in a 50% landslide over his opponent, State RepresentativeTom Sawyer. Graves also became the first Republican incumbent Governor of Kansas to win reelection since John Anderson Jr.'s reelection victory in 1962.
The 1998 Maryland gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Democratic governor Parris Glendening sought re-election. Governor Glendening emerged victorious from the Democratic primary after defeating several candidates. Former state delegateEllen Sauerbrey, who was the 1994 Republican nominee for governor, ran again for governor and won her party's nomination. The election between Glendening and Sauerbrey four years prior was extremely contentious, and ended with the Sauerbrey campaign challenging the results.[9] Ultimately, despite the controversial nature of the previous election, Governor Glendening comfortably beat back Sauerbrey's spirited challenge, winning his second and final term as governor.
The 1998 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998. Acting Governor Paul Cellucci was elected to his first term as Governor of Massachusetts.
The 1998 Nebraska gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998. Term limits prevented incumbent Governor Ben Nelson, a Democrat, from seeking a third term in office. Republican nominee Mike Johanns, Mayor of Lincoln, defeated Democratic nominee, attorney Bill Hoppner. As of 2024[update], this was the last gubernatorial election in Nebraska in which the margin of victory was within single digits. Johanns later served Nebraska in the United States Senate with Nelson from 2009 to 2013.
This was the first open seat Nevada gubernatorial election since 1978, with Guinn becoming the first Republican elected as Nevada Governor since Robert List was elected in that same election.
The 1998 New Hampshire gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998. Former Governor Jeanne Shaheen won re-election. She defeated Jay Lucas, who had defeated Jim Rubens and Emile Beaulieu for the Republican nomination.
The 1998 New Mexico gubernatorial election was a contest to elect the next governor of New Mexico. The winner of the election would serve a term from January 1, 1999 until January 1, 2003. Incumbent Republican (now Libertarian) Governor Gary Johnson was re-elected to a second term. As of 2025, this is the last time a non-Hispanic was elected governor of New Mexico.
The 1998 New York gubernatorial election was an election for the state governorship held on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Republican governor George Pataki was re-elected with 54.3% of the vote.[13][14]
The 1998 Oklahoma gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998, and was a race for Governor of Oklahoma. Incumbent RepublicanFrank Keating won re-election in a landslide against DemocraticState RepresentativeLaura Boyd. The Reform Party, the first alternative party to be able to run a candidate for governor in the state since 1970, had Hoppy Heidelberg as its candidate.[15] Heidelberg was removed from a gubernatorial debate that he disrupted after not being allowed to be a participant.[16]
The 1998 Oregon gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998. Democratic nominee John Kitzhaber easily defeated Republican Bill Sizemore to win a second term. Kitzhaber won 35 out of 36 counties, the only county won by Sizemore was Malheur County. This is the only gubernatorial election since 1982 in Oregon in which the margin of victory was in double digits. It is also the most recent election in which any county in Eastern Oregon or Southern Oregon voted for the Democratic nominee, and the most recent gubernatorial election in which a candidate would win while carrying the majority of the state's counties. Sizemore would run again for governor in the 2022 election, but would lose in the Republican primary.[17]
This election was the first time where an incumbent Democratic Governor of Oregon was re-elected since 1906.
The 1998 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998. The candidates were incumbent RepublicanTom Ridge, DemocratIvan Itkin, Constitutionalist Peg Luksik and Libertarian Ken Krawchuk. Ridge, a popular moderate, won with 57 percent of the votes cast.
The 1998 Rhode Island gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Republican governor Lincoln Almond defeated Democratic nominee Myrth York in a rematch of the 1994 race.
Sundquist became the first Republican gubernatorial nominee to get over 60% of the vote since Dewitt Clinton Senter did in 1869. Sundquist carried all but two counties (Lake and Van Buren).
The 1998 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998, to elect the governor of Texas. Incumbent Republican governor George W. Bush was re-elected in a landslide over four-term DemocraticTexas Land CommissionerGarry Mauro, winning 68% of the vote to Mauro's 31%. Bush carried 239 counties, while Mauro carried just 15. Exit polls revealed that Bush won 27% of the African-American vote, which was the highest percentage for any Republican statewide candidate, and 49% of the Latino vote. Bush was sworn in for a second term as governor on January 19, 1999.
The 1998 Vermont gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Democrat Howard Dean ran successfully for re-election to a fourth full term as Governor of Vermont, defeating Republican candidate Ruth Dwyer.
The 1998 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Governor Tommy Thompson won re-election for the third time with nearly 60% of the vote. As of 2022, this is most recent gubernatorial election in which Milwaukee, Rock, Portage, and Iowa counties voted for the Republican candidate, and the most recent where the winner garnered a double digit margin of victory. Gary George unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination.
The 1998 Wyoming gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Republican Jim Geringer ran successfully for re-election to a second term as Governor of Wyoming, defeating Democratic nominee John Vinich.
On election day, 3 November 1998, Democratic nominee Charles Wesley Turnbull won the election by a margin of 5,804 votes against his opponent Governor Roy Schneider, thereby gaining Democratic control over the governorship. Turnbull was sworn in as the 6th Governor of the United States Virgin Islands on 4 January 1999.[20]
↑ Since the vast majority of the write-in votes were towards Republican Robin L. Taylor, he likely won the Ketchikan district. However, the original election report does not separate the write-in votes by candidate, so it cannot be known for sure.
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