Skip to content
Surf Wiki
Save to docs
politics

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

1998 Iowa gubernatorial election

none

1998 Iowa gubernatorial election

none

FieldValue
election_name1998 Iowa gubernatorial election
countryIowa
flag_imageFlag of Iowa (xrmap collection).svg
typepresidential
ongoingno
previous_election1994 Iowa gubernatorial election
previous_year1994
next_election2002 Iowa gubernatorial election
next_year2002
election_dateNovember 3, 1998
image_sizex150px
image1File:Tom Vilsack 2006.jpg
nominee1**Tom Vilsack**
party1Democratic Party (United States)
popular_vote1**500,231**
percentage1**52.30%**
image2File:Lightfoot (cropped).jpg
nominee2Jim Ross Lightfoot
party2Republican Party (United States)
popular_vote2444,787
percentage246.51%
map_image1998 Iowa gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
map_size240px
map_captionCounty results
**Vilsack**:
**Lightfoot**:
titleGovernor
before_electionTerry Branstad
before_partyRepublican Party (United States)
after_electionTom Vilsack
after_partyDemocratic Party (United States)

Vilsack:
Lightfoot:
The 1998 Iowa gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Republican Governor Terry Branstad did not seek re-election to a fifth consecutive term; he later successfully ran again in 2010 and 2014.

To replace him, State Senator Tom Vilsack narrowly won the nomination of the Democratic Party while former United States Congressman Jim Ross Lightfoot, who was previously the Republican nominee for the United States Senate in 1996, won his party's nomination. Lightfoot was the odds-on favorite win and polling consistently showed him in the lead, but Vilsack won the general election in a stunning upset, becoming the first Democrat to serve as governor of Iowa since 1969 and the 5th Democrat to hold the office in the 20th century. Lightfoot never conceded defeat.

Democratic primary

Candidates

  • Tom Vilsack, Iowa State Senator
  • Mark McCormick, former Iowa Supreme Court Justice (1972–1986)

Results

Primary results by county:

| | | | | | | | | | | ]]

Republican primary

Candidates

  • Jim Ross Lightfoot, former United States Representative and nominee for the United States Senate in 1996
  • David A. Oman, telecommunications executive, chief of staff to Governor Terry Branstad
  • Paul Pate, Iowa Secretary of State

Results

results" /

Reform Party primary

Candidates

  • Jim Hennager
  • Edward Moses
  • Jeffrey L. Hughes Sr.

Results

results" /

General election

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administeredSample
sizeMargin
of errorJimm
Lightfoot (R)Tom
Vilsack (D)Undecided
Selzer & Co.October 28–30, 1998800 (LV)± 3.5%**47%**43%10%
Mason-DixonOctober 25–27, 1998803 (LV)± 3.5%**47%**42%11%
Mason-DixonOctober 11–13, 1998809 (LV)± 3.5%**53%**35%12%
Mason-DixonSeptember 12–14, 1998804 (LV)± 3.5%**54%**32%14%
Mason-DixonJuly 18–21, 1998834 (LV)± 3.5%**54%**31%15%
Selzer & Co.June 20–24, 1998581 (LV)± 4.0%**53%**32%15%
Mason-DixonMay 25–27, 1998837 (LV)± 3.5%**55%**21%24%

Results

Notes

;Partisan clients

References

References

  1. "Despite tight race for Iowa governor, Lightfoot ahead among most likely voters".
  2. Henderson, O. Kay. "Meet the Press, November 29, 2020". NBC News.
  3. "Iowa Primary Election - June 2, 1998".
  4. "CNN AllPolitics Election '98 - Iowa 1998 Polls". [[CNN]].
  5. "Iowa General Election - November 3, 1998".
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about 1998 Iowa gubernatorial election — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report