The 1998 United States Senate election in Oregon was held on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Ron Wyden won re-election to his first full term, defeating Republican nominee John Lim, a state senator in a landslide (Lim only carried Malheur County). As of 2022, this is the last time Grant County and Harney County have supported a Democrat in a U.S. Senate election.
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 County results Wyden: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Lim: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Democratic nomination
edit- John Sweeney, retired city parks worker
- Ron Wyden, incumbent U.S. Senator
Results
edit
- 80–90%
- >90%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ronald Wyden (Incumbent) | 283,654 | 91.51% | |
| Democratic | John Sweeney | 25,456 | 8.21% | |
| Democratic | Write-ins | 853 | 0.28% | |
| Total votes | 309,963 | 100.00% | ||
Republican nomination
edit- Valentine Christian, from Salem
- John Lim, State Senator from Gresham and candidate for Governor in 1990
- John Michael Fitzpatrick, from Lake Oswego
Results
edit
- 40–50%
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
- 40–50%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Lim | 135,048 | 62.45% | |
| Republican | John Michael Fitzpatrick | 58,139 | 26.88% | |
| Republican | Valentine Christian | 20,569 | 9.51% | |
| Republican | Write-ins | 2,509 | 1.16% | |
| Total votes | 216,265 | 100.00% | ||
General
editWyden, a consistent liberal Democrat, was considered to be the favorite throughout the campaign. State Republicans were weakened by division between moderate and conservative wings, with few candidates on the already sparse bench able to reconcile them.[3] During his campaign, Wyden emphasized his work with fellow Oregon Senator and Republican Gordon H. Smith. Lim had very little name recognition outside of his Gresham-based State Senate district and focused his campaign on portraying Wyden as a Beltway insider and out-of-touch with the population of Oregon.[4]
Results
editWyden won in a landslide, winning every county in the state with the exception of Malheur County. Wyden's performance, both by his portion of the vote and margin of victory, would only be exceeded by his subsequent 2004 election, being his second-best performance in a Senatorial election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ronald Wyden (Incumbent) | 682,425 | 61.05% | +13.27% | |
| Republican | John Lim | 377,739 | 33.79% | −12.47% | |
| Pacific Green | Karyn Moskowitz | 22,024 | 1.97% | +1.37% | |
| Libertarian | Jim Brewster | 18,221 | 1.63% | +0.32% | |
| Natural Law | Michael A. Campbell | 8,372 | 0.75% | +0.75% | |
| Socialist | Dean M. Braa | 7,553 | 0.68% | +.02% | |
| Write-In | Misc. | 1,413 | 0.13% | −1.12% | |
| Total votes | 1,117,747 | 100.0% | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "OR US Senate D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- ^ "OR US Senate R Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- ^ Rothenburg, Stuart. "Stuart Rothenberg on the 1998 Senate Races, State-by-State". CNN. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ Cain, Brad (May 19, 1998). "Wyden, Lim cruise to victories". Eugene Register-Guard. The Associated Press. Google Books. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ "Official Results: November 3, 1998 General Election, United States Senator". Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
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