1998 United States gubernatorial elections

1998 United States gubernatorial elections

←  1997 November 3, 1998 1999  →
38 governorships 36 states; 2 territories
Majority party Minority party   Party Republican Democratic Seats before 32 17 Seats after 31 17 Seat change 1 Seats up 24 11 Seats won 23 11   Third party Fourth party   Party Reform Independent Seats before 0 1 Seats after 1 1 Seat change 1 Seats up 0 1 Seats won 1 1
Map of the results      Democratic gain     Republican gain      Democratic hold     Republican hold      Reform gain     Independent 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.

Election results

States

State	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Alabama	Fob James	Republican	1978 [a] 1982 (retired) 1994	Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Don Siegelman (Democratic) 57.9% Fob James (Republican) 42.1%
Alaska	Tony Knowles	Democratic	1994	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Tony Knowles (Democratic) 51.3% Robin L. Taylor (Write-in) 18.3% John Howard Lindauer (Republican) 17.9% Ray Metcalfe (Republican Moderate) 6.1% Desa Jacobsson (Green) 3.0% Sylvia Sullivan (AK Independence) 1.9%
Arizona	Jane Dee Hull	Republican	1997 [b]	Incumbent elected to full term.	Y Jane Dee Hull (Republican) 60.9% Paul Johnson (Democratic) 35.5% Katherine Gallant (Libertarian) 2.7%
Arkansas	Mike Huckabee	Republican	1996 [c]	Incumbent elected to full term.	Y Mike Huckabee (Republican) 59.8% Bill Bristow (Democratic) 38.7% Keith Carle (Reform) 1.6%
California	Pete Wilson	Republican	1990	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Gray Davis (Democratic) 58.0% Dan Lungren (Republican) 38.4% Daniel Hamburg (Green) 1.2%
Colorado	Roy Romer	Democratic	1986	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Bill Owens (Republican) 49.0% Gail Schoettler (Democratic) 48.4% Sandra D. Johnson (Libertarian) 1.7%
Connecticut	John G. Rowland	Republican	1994	Incumbent re-elected.	Y John G. Rowland (Republican) 62.9% Barbara Kennelly (Democratic) 35.4%
Florida	Lawton Chiles	Democratic	1990	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Jeb Bush (Republican) 55.3% Buddy MacKay (Democratic) 44.7%
Georgia	Zell Miller	Democratic	1990	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y Roy Barnes (Democratic) 52.5% Guy Millner (Republican) 44.1% Jack Cashin (Libertarian) 3.4%
Hawaii	Ben Cayetano	Democratic	1994	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Ben Cayetano (Democratic) 50.1% Linda Lingle (Republican) 48.8% George Peabody (Libertarian) 1.1%
Idaho	Phil Batt	Republican	1994	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican hold.	Y Dirk Kempthorne (Republican) 67.7% Robert C. Huntley (Democratic) 29.1% Peter Rickards (Independent) 3.2%
Illinois	Jim Edgar	Republican	1990	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican hold.	Y George Ryan (Republican) 51.0% Glenn Poshard (Democratic) 47.5% Lawrence Redmond (Reform) 1.5%
Iowa	Terry Branstad	Republican	1982	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Tom Vilsack (Democratic) 52.3% Jim Ross Lightfoot (Republican) 46.5%
Kansas	Bill Graves	Republican	1994	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Bill Graves (Republican) 73.4% Tom Sawyer (Democratic) 22.6% Kirt Poovey (Constitution) 2.9% Darrel King (Reform) 1.1%
Maine	Angus King	Independent	1994	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Angus King (Independent) 58.6% James B. Longley Jr. (Republican) 18.9% Thomas J. Connolly (Democratic) 12.0% Pat LaMarche (Green) 6.8% William P. Clarke Jr. (Constitution) 3.6%
Maryland	Parris Glendening	Democratic	1994	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Parris Glendening (Democratic) 55.1% Ellen Sauerbrey (Republican) 44.8%
Massachusetts	Paul Cellucci	Republican	1997 [d]	Incumbent elected to full term.	Y Paul Cellucci (Republican) 50.8% Scott Harshbarger (Democratic) 47.4% Dean Cook (Libertarian) 1.7%
Michigan	John Engler	Republican	1990	Incumbent re-elected.	Y John Engler (Republican) 62.2% Geoffrey Fieger (Democratic) 37.8%
Minnesota	Arne Carlson	Republican	1990	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Reform gain.	Y Jesse Ventura (Reform) 37.0% Norm Coleman (Republican) 34.3% Skip Humphrey (Democratic) 28.1%
Nebraska	Ben Nelson	Democratic	1990	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Mike Johanns (Republican) 53.9% Bill Hoppner (Democratic) 46.0%
Nevada	Bob Miller	Democratic	1989 [e]	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Kenny Guinn (Republican) 51.6% Jan Laverty Jones (Democratic) 42.0% Chuck Horne (Independent American) 1.7% Terry C. Savage (Libertarian) 1.7%
New Hampshire	Jeanne Shaheen	Democratic	1996	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Jeanne Shaheen (Democratic) 66.1% Jay Lucas (Republican) 30.9% Ken Blevens (Libertarian) 2.7%
New Mexico	Gary Johnson	Republican	1994	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Gary Johnson (Republican) 54.5% Martin Chávez (Democratic) 45.5%
New York	George Pataki	Republican	1994	Incumbent re-elected.	Y George Pataki (Republican) 54.3% Peter Vallone Sr. (Democratic) 33.2% Tom Golisano (Independence) 7.7% Betsy McCaughey (Liberal) 1.6% Michael Reynolds (Right to Life) 1.2% Al Lewis (Green) 1.1%
Ohio	George Voinovich	Republican	1990	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican hold.	Y Bob Taft (Republican) 50.0% Lee Fisher (Democratic) 44.7% John R. Mitchel (Reform) 3.3% Zanna Feitler (Natural Law) 1.9%
Oklahoma	Frank Keating	Republican	1994	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Frank Keating (Republican) 57.9% Laura Boyd (Democratic) 40.9% Hoppy Heidelberg (Reform) 1.2%
Oregon	John Kitzhaber	Democratic	1994	Incumbent re-elected.	Y John Kitzhaber (Democratic) 64.4% Bill Sizemore (Republican) 30.0% Richard P. Burke (Libertarian) 1.8% Blair Bobier (Pacific Green) 1.4%
Pennsylvania	Tom Ridge	Republican	1994	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Tom Ridge (Republican) 57.4% Ivan Itkin (Democratic) 31.0% Peg Luksik (Constitution) 10.4% Ken Krawchuk (Libertarian) 1.1%
Rhode Island	Lincoln Almond	Republican	1994	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Lincoln Almond (Republican) 51.0% Myrth York (Democratic) 42.1% Robert J. Healey (Cool Moose) 6.3%
South Carolina	David Beasley	Republican	1994	Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Jim Hodges (Democratic) 53.2% David Beasley (Republican) 45.2% Timothy Moultrie (Libertarian) 1.4%
South Dakota	Bill Janklow	Republican	1978 1986 (term-limited) 1994	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Bill Janklow (Republican) 64.0% Bernie Hunhoff (Democratic) 32.8% Bob Newland (Libertarian) 1.7% Ronald Wieczorek (Independent) 1.4%
Tennessee	Don Sundquist	Republican	1994	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Don Sundquist (Republican) 68.6% John Jay Hooker (Democratic) 29.5%
Texas	George W. Bush	Republican	1994	Incumbent re-elected.	Y George W. Bush (Republican) 68.2% Garry Mauro (Democratic) 31.2%
Vermont	Howard Dean	Democratic	1991 [f]	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Howard Dean (Democratic) 55.7% Ruth Dwyer (Republican) 41.1% Joel Williams (Grassroots) 1.5% Amy Berkey (Libertarian) 1.0%
Wisconsin	Tommy Thompson	Republican	1986	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Tommy Thompson (Republican) 59.7% Ed Garvey (Democratic) 38.7%
Wyoming	Jim Geringer	Republican	1994	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Jim Geringer (Republican) 55.6% John Vinich (Democratic) 40.5% Dave Dawson (Libertarian) 3.9%

Territories and federal district

Territory	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
District of Columbia	Marion Barry	Democratic	1994	Incumbent retired. New mayor elected. Democratic hold.	Y Anthony A. Williams (Democratic) 66.2% Carol Schwartz (Republican) 30.2% John Gloster (Statehood Green) 1.7%
Guam	Carl Gutierrez	Democratic	1994	Incumbent re-elected. [1]	Y Carl Gutierrez (Democratic) 51.2% Joseph F. Ada (Republican) 44.8%
U.S. Virgin Islands	Roy Schneider	Independent	1994	Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. [2] Democratic gain.	Y Charles Turnbull (Democratic) 58.9% Roy Schneider (Independent) 41.1%

Closest races

States where the margin of victory was under 1%:

1. Colorado, 0.6%

States where the margin of victory was under 5%:

1. Hawaii, 1.3%
2. Minnesota, 2.7%
3. Massachusetts, 3.4%
4. Illinois, 3.5%

States where the margin of victory was under 10%:

1. Ohio, 5.3%
2. Iowa, 5.8%
3. Guam, 6.4%
4. Nebraska, 7.9%
5. South Carolina, 8.0%
6. Georgia, 8.4%
7. Rhode Island, 8.9%
8. New Mexico, 9.0%
9. Nevada, 9.6%

See also

• 1998 United States elections
  • 1998 United States Senate elections
  • 1998 United States House of Representatives elections

Notes

1. James served as a Democrat for his first term. He had returned to the Republican Party by the time he was elected governor again in 1994.
2. Hull took office after her predecessor (Fife Symington) resigned.
3. Huckabee took office after his predecessor (Jim Guy Tucker) resigned.
4. Cellucci took office after his predecessor (Bill Weld) resigned.
5. Miller took office after his predecessor (Richard Bryan) resigned. He was subsequently elected in the 1990 Nevada gubernatorial election.
6. Dean took office after his predecessor (Richard Snelling) died. He was subsequently elected in the 1992 Vermont gubernatorial election.

References

1. "Guam Governor Race - Nov 03, 1998". Our Campaigns. May 19, 2011.
2. "USVI Governor Race - Nov 03, 1998". Our Campaigns. January 19, 2006.

External links

• CNN results