1998 Oregon gubernatorial election

1998 Oregon gubernatorial election

← 1994 November 3, 1998 2002 →

Nominee John Kitzhaber Bill Sizemore Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 717,061 334,001 Percentage 64.4% 30.0%

County results Kitzhaber:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Sizemore:      50–60%

Governor before election John Kitzhaber Democratic Elected Governor John Kitzhaber Democratic

The 1998 Oregon gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998. Democratic nominee John Kitzhaber easily defeated Republican Bill Sizemore to win a second term. Kitzhaber won 35 out of 36 counties, the only county won by Sizemore was Malheur County. This is the only gubernatorial election since 1982 in Oregon in which the margin of victory was in double digits. It is also the most recent election in which any county in Eastern Oregon or Southern Oregon voted for the Democratic nominee, and the most recent gubernatorial election in which a candidate would win while carrying the majority of the state’s counties. Sizemore would run again for governor in the 2022 election, but would lose in the Republican primary.^[1]

This election was the first time where an incumbent Democratic Governor of Oregon was re-elected since 1906.