1998 United States gubernatorial elections

States Territories and federal district == Closest races ==

States where the margin of victory was under 1%: • Colorado, 0.6% States where the margin of victory was under 5%: • Hawaii, 1.3% • Minnesota, 2.7% • Massachusetts, 3.4% • Illinois, 3.5% States where the margin of victory was under 10%: • Ohio, 5.3% • Iowa, 5.8% • Guam, 6.4% • Nebraska, 7.9% • South Carolina, 8.0% • Georgia, 8.4% • Rhode Island, 8.9% • New Mexico, 9.0% • Nevada, 9.6% ==Alabama==

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 , this was the last time that a Democrat was elected governor of Alabama. ==Alaska==

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. Jim Sykes, founder of the Green Party of Alaska, ran on that party's ticket, but Desa Jacobsson later replaced him on the ballot. ==Arizona==

The 1998 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998, for the post of Governor of Arizona. Jane Dee Hull, the incumbent Republican Governor 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). ==Arkansas==

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. ==California==

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. ==Colorado==

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. ==Connecticut==

The 1998 Connecticut gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998, and incumbent Republican Governor John 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. ==Florida==

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 Governor Kenneth 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. ==Georgia==

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 Representative Roy 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. ==Hawaii==

The 1998 Hawaii gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Democratic Governor of Hawaii Ben Cayetano ran for re-election to a second and final term, and he was contested by Maui Mayor Linda Lingle. The race between Cayetano and Lingle was close, with Lingle holding a sizable polling advantage. Ultimately, Cayetano narrowly won re-election to a second term in the closest gubernatorial election in Hawaii's history. ==Idaho==

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. ==Illinois==

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. ==Iowa==

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. ==Kansas==

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 Representative Tom Sawyer. Graves also became the first Republican incumbent Governor of Kansas to win reelection since John Anderson Jr.'s reelection victory in 1962. ==Maine==

The 1998 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998, to elect the governor of Maine. Incumbent Independent governor Angus King won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican nominee James B. Longley Jr., Democratic nominee Thomas J. Connolly, Green Independent nominee Pat LaMarche and Taxpayers' Party nominee William P. Clarke Jr. ==Maryland==

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 delegate Ellen 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. 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. ==Massachusetts==

}} 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. ==Michigan==

The 1998 Michigan gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of the state of Michigan. Incumbent Governor John Engler, a member of the Republican Party, was re-elected over Democratic Party nominee Geoffrey Fieger, a lawyer who had represented the assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian. ==Minnesota==