1998 United States elections

The 1998 United States elections were held on November 3, 1998, in the middle of Democratic President Bill Clinton's second term and during impeachment proceedings against the president as a result of the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal. Though Republicans retained control of both chambers of Congress, the elections were unusual because this is the first midterm since 1934 that the president's party gained seats in the House of Representatives.

1998 United States elections
1996          1997          1998          1999          2000
Midterm elections
Election dayNovember 3
Incumbent presidentBill Clinton (Democratic)
Next Congress106th
Senate elections
Overall controlRepublican hold
Seats contested34 of 100 seats
Net seat changeNone
1998 United States Senate election in Alabama1998 United States Senate election in Alaska1998 United States Senate election in Arizona1998 United States Senate election in Arkansas1998 United States Senate election in California1998 United States Senate election in Colorado1998 United States Senate election in Connecticut1998 United States Senate election in Florida1998 United States Senate election in Georgia1998 United States Senate election in Hawaii1998 United States Senate election in Idaho1998 United States Senate election in Illinois1998 United States Senate election in Indiana1998 United States Senate election in Iowa1998 United States Senate election in Kansas1998 United States Senate election in Kentucky1998 United States Senate election in Louisiana1998 United States Senate election in Maryland1998 United States Senate election in Missouri1998 United States Senate election in Nevada1998 United States Senate election in New Hampshire1998 United States Senate election in New York1998 United States Senate election in North Carolina1998 United States Senate election in North Dakota1998 United States Senate election in Ohio1998 United States Senate election in Oklahoma1998 United States Senate election in Oregon1998 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania1998 United States Senate election in South Carolina1998 United States Senate election in South Dakota1998 United States Senate election in Utah1998 United States Senate election in Vermont1998 United States Senate election in Washington1998 United States Senate election in Wisconsin
1998 Senate election results
     Democratic hold      Republican hold
     Democratic gain      Republican gain
House elections
Overall controlRepublican hold
Seats contestedAll 435 voting seats
Popular vote marginRepublican +1.1%
Net seat changeDemocratic +5
1998 House of Representatives results
(territorial delegate races not shown)
     Democratic hold      Republican hold
     Democratic gain      Republican gain
     Independent hold
Gubernatorial elections
Seats contested38 (36 states, 2 territories)
Net seat changeReform +1
1998 Alabama gubernatorial election1998 Alaska gubernatorial election1998 Arizona gubernatorial election1998 Arkansas gubernatorial election1998 California gubernatorial election1998 Colorado gubernatorial election1998 Connecticut gubernatorial election1998 Florida gubernatorial election1998 Georgia gubernatorial election1998 Hawaii gubernatorial election1998 Idaho gubernatorial election1998 Illinois gubernatorial election1998 Iowa gubernatorial election1998 Kansas gubernatorial election1998 Maine gubernatorial election1998 Maryland gubernatorial election1998 Massachusetts gubernatorial election1998 Michigan gubernatorial election1998 Minnesota gubernatorial election1998 Nebraska gubernatorial election1998 Nevada gubernatorial election1998 New Hampshire gubernatorial election1998 New Mexico gubernatorial election1998 New York gubernatorial election1998 Ohio gubernatorial election1998 Oklahoma gubernatorial election1998 Oregon gubernatorial election1998 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election1998 Rhode Island gubernatorial election1998 South Carolina gubernatorial election1998 South Dakota gubernatorial election1998 Tennessee gubernatorial election1998 Texas gubernatorial election1998 Vermont gubernatorial election1998 Wisconsin gubernatorial election1998 Wyoming gubernatorial election1998 Guam gubernatorial election1998 United States Virgin Islands gubernatorial election
1998 gubernatorial election results
     Democratic hold      Republican hold
     Democratic gain      Republican gain
     Reform gain      Independent hold

Several Senate seats changed hands, but neither party made a net gain. In the House of Representatives, Democrats picked up five seats, marking the first time since the 1934 elections in which the incumbent president's party did not suffer losses in either house of congress. This also occurred in 2002. This is the most recent midterm election in which neither chamber of Congress changed partisan control.

The disruption of the six-year itch is attributed to wide opposition to the impeachment investigations against Clinton and his high popularity numbers.

Federal elections edit

Senate elections edit

In the Senate elections, Republicans picked up open seats in Ohio and Kentucky and narrowly defeated Democratic incumbent Carol Moseley Braun (Illinois), but these were cancelled out by the Democrats' gain of an open seat in Indiana and defeats of Republican Senators Al D'Amato (New York) and Lauch Faircloth (North Carolina). The balance of the Senate remained unchanged at 55–45 in favor of the Republicans.

House of Representatives elections edit

The House of Representatives elections saw a significant disruption of the historic six-year itch trend, where the president's party loses seats in the second-term midterm elections. Though Republicans won the national popular vote for the House by a margin of 1.1 percentage points and retained control of the chamber, Democrats picked up a net of five seats.[1] This marked the second time since the Civil War in which the president's party gained seats in the House of Representatives in a midterm election, following the 1934 elections. Republicans would later gain seats during the 2002 mid-terms. The 1998 elections were the first time since 1822 in which the president's party gained seats in the House during the president's second midterm.

The impeachment of Clinton likely played a major role in the success of the Democratic Party in the House and Senate elections. The election precipitated a change in Republican leadership, with Newt Gingrich resigning as Speaker of the House.[2] A 2001 study by Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz attributes the Republican Party's poor performance in the 1998 elections to a public backlash against Republicans' handling of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal and the impeachment proceedings against President Clinton.[3]

State elections edit

Neither party made net gains in governorships. Texas Governor George W. Bush's landslide re-election solidified his status as a front-runner for the 2000 Republican presidential nomination.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1998" (PDF). U.S. House of Reps, Office of the Clerk. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  2. ^ a b Busch, Andrew (1999). Horses in Midstream. University of Pittsburgh Press. pp. 145–148.
  3. ^ Abramowitz, Alan I. (2001). "It's Monica, Stupid: The Impeachment Controversy and the 1998 Midterm Election". Legislative Studies Quarterly. 26 (2): 211–226. doi:10.2307/440200. JSTOR 440200.