The 1998 Ohio gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Republican Governor of Ohio George Voinovich could not seek a third term as Governor due to term limits, and ran for the United States Senate instead. To replace him, former Attorney General of Ohio Lee Fisher and Ohio Secretary of State Bob Taft won the Democratic and Republican primaries, respectively. Taft and Fisher faced off in a highly competitive general election, and in the end, Taft (a great-grandson of U.S. President and Supreme Court Chief Justice William Howard Taft) beat out Fisher by a narrow margin, making this gubernatorial election one of Ohio's closest.
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
County results Taft: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Fisher: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
|
Democratic primary edit
Candidates edit
- Lee Fisher, former Attorney General of Ohio, former member of the Ohio Senate, former member of the Ohio House of Representatives
Results edit
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Lee Fisher | 663,832 | 100.00 | |
Total votes | 663,832 | 100.00 |
Republican primary edit
Candidates edit
- Bob Taft, Ohio Secretary of State, former member of the Ohio House of Representatives, great-grandson of President William Howard Taft
Results edit
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Bob Taft | 691,946 | 100.00 | |
Total votes | 691,946 | 100.00 |
General election edit
Results edit
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Bob Taft | 1,678,721 | 50.05% | -21.72% | |
Democratic | Lee Fisher | 1,498,956 | 44.69% | +19.71% | |
Reform | John R. Mitchel | 111,468 | 3.32% | ||
Natural Law | Zanna Feitler | 65,068 | 1.94% | ||
Majority | 179,765 | 5.36% | -41.43% | ||
Turnout | 3,354,213 | ||||
Republican hold | Swing |