1998 Ohio gubernatorial election

1998 Ohio gubernatorial election

November 3, 1998

Nominee Bob Taft Lee Fisher Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,678,721 1,498,956 Percentage 50.0% 44.6%

County results Taft:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Fisher:      40–50%      50–60%

Governor before election George Voinovich Republican Elected Governor Bob Taft Republican

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.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Lee Fisher, former Attorney General of Ohio, former member of the Ohio Senate, former member of the Ohio House of Representatives

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lee Fisher	663,832	100.00
Total votes			663,832	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• Bob Taft, Ohio Secretary of State, former member of the Ohio House of Representatives, great-grandson of President William Howard Taft

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Taft	691,946	100.00
Total votes			691,946	100.00

General election

Results

Ohio gubernatorial election, 1998

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