1998 governor elections · California history
California governor election 1998
Gray Davis DEM +19.1 gain · held 11/3/98
- Votes counted
- 8,617,649
- Margin
- 19.1 pts
- Seat held by
- Republicanchanged party
General election 11/3/98
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Bar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gray Davis Won | DEM | 4,858,817 | 57.97% | |
| Dan Lungren | REP | 3,216,749 | 38.38% | |
| Blank | — | 235,778 | 2.81% | |
| Dan Hamburg | GRE | 104,117 | 1.24% | |
| Steve Kubby | LIB | 73,823 | 0.88% | |
| Gloria La Riva | PAF | 59,181 | 0.71% | |
| Nathan Johnson | AIP | 37,955 | 0.45% | |
| Harold Bloomfield | NLP | 31,208 | 0.37% | |
| Write-in | — | 21 | 0.00% | |
| Total | 8,617,649 | |||
Official source: sov1998-general.pdf
Other California governor races
| Year | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Gavin Newsom | 18.4 |
| 2018 | Gavin Newsom | 23.9 |
| 2014 | Jerry Brown | 19.9 |
| 2010 | Jerry Brown | 12.9 |
| 2006 | Arnold Schwarzenegger | 17.0 |
| 2003 special | Arnold Schwarzenegger | 15.7 |
| 2002 | Gray Davis | 4.7 |
| 1998 | Gray Davis | 19.1 |
Full California governor history →
Questions and answers
Who won the 1998 California governor race?
Gray Davis (DEM) won with 58.0% of the vote, ahead of Dan Lungren (38.4%), a margin of 19.1 points.
Did the California governor seat change party in 1998?
Yes. It moved from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party.
How many votes were cast in the 1998 California governor race?
8,617,649 votes were counted for the candidates in the general election.
Compiled by FiveThirtyEight from the official source linked above.