Colonel William A. Phillips

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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

Results

Democratic primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Lee Fisher 663,832 100.00
Total votes 663,832 100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bob Taft 691,946 100.00
Total votes 691,946 100.00

General election

Results

Ohio gubernatorial election, 1998[3]
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

References