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 2024, this was the last time that a Democrat was elected governor of Alabama.
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 County results Siegelman: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% James: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Republican primary
editThe Republican primary took place on June 2 and saw no candidate secure over 50% of the vote, leading to a runoff between Fob James and Winton Blount on June 30. The period leading up to the runoff election was marked by numerous insults and accusations by both candidates against each other.[1] Incumbent Governor Fob James won the runoff 55% to 44%.
Candidates
edit- Winton Blount, businessman, candidate for Governor in 1994 and son of former U.S. Postmaster General Winton M. Blount
- Guy Hunt, former Governor
- Fob James, incumbent Governor
- Mac McAllister, businessman[2]
- Phil Williams Sr., former Director of the Alabama Department of Finance
Results
edit
- 40–50%
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
- 40–50%
- 50–60%
- 30-40%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Fob James (incumbent) | 163,711 | 47.96 | |
| Republican | Winton Blount | 139,941 | 40.99 | |
| Republican | Guy Hunt | 27,824 | 8.15 | |
| Republican | Mac McAllister | 5,641 | 1.65 | |
| Republican | Phil Williams | 4,258 | 1.25 | |
| Total votes | 341,375 | 100.00 | ||
Debate
edit| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn |
||||||
| Winton Blount | Fob James | |||||
| 1 | Jun. 25, 1998 | WVTM-TV | Fran Curry | C-SPAN | P | P |
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
- 50–60%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Fob James (incumbent) | 253,965 | 55.92 | |
| Republican | Winton Blount | 200,200 | 44.08 | |
| Total votes | 454,165 | 100.00 | ||
Democratic primary
editThe Democratic primary took place on June 2 and saw Lieutenant Governor Don Siegelman easily chosen as the Democratic nominee over Birmingham attorney Lenora Pate and Wayne Sowell.
Candidates
edit- Lee Lamb
- Lenora Pate, attorney and former Director of the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations[5]
- Don Siegelman, Lieutenant Governor of Alabama
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Don Siegelman | 254,507 | 78.26 | |
| Democratic | Lenora Pate | 53,618 | 16.49 | |
| Democratic | Wayne Sowell | 10,108 | 3.11 | |
| Democratic | Lee Lamb | 6,597 | 2.03 | |
| Total votes | 325,190 | 100.00 | ||
General election
editDebate
edit| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Democratic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn |
||||||
| Fob James | Don Siegelman | |||||
| 1 | Oct. 6, 1998 | Junior League of Birmingham | Malena Cunningham | C-SPAN | P | P |
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Don Siegelman | 752,087 | 57.92 | +8.5 | |
| Republican | Fob James (incumbent) | 546,504 | 42.08 | −8.2 | |
| Total votes | 1,298,591 | 100.00 | N/A | ||
| Democratic gain from Republican | |||||
References
edit- ^ "Alabama's Republican Runoff Gets Nasty". CNN. June 30, 1998. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
- ^ Sack, Kevin (June 3, 1998). "Alabama Governor Forced Into Runoff in 3d-Term Bid". The New York Times. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
- ^ a b "Alabama Primary Results - June 3, 1998". www.cnn.com.
- ^ "Alabama Runoff Results - June 30, 1998". www.cnn.com.
- ^ "Alabama Governor: The Candidates". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 3, 2014.