1998 governor elections · Iowa history
Iowa governor election 1998
Tom Vilsack DEM +5.8 gain · held 11/3/98
- Votes counted
- 956,415
- Margin
- 5.8 pts
- Seat held by
- Republicanchanged party
General election 11/3/98
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Bar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Vilsack Won | DEM | 500,231 | 52.30% | |
| James Ross Lightfoot | REP | 444,787 | 46.51% | |
| Jim Hennager | REF | 5,606 | 0.59% | |
| Jim Schaefer | NLP | 3,144 | 0.33% | |
| Mark Kennis | OTH | 2,006 | 0.21% | |
| Write-in | — | 641 | 0.07% | |
| Total | 956,415 | |||
Official source: 10-8.pdf
Other Iowa governor races
| Year | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Kim Reynolds | 18.4 |
| 2018 | Kim Reynolds | 2.7 |
| 2014 | Terry E. Branstad | 21.5 |
| 2010 | Terry E. Branstad | 9.5 |
| 2006 | Chet Culver | 9.6 |
| 2002 | Tom Vilsack | 8.2 |
| 1998 | Tom Vilsack | 5.8 |
Questions and answers
Who won the 1998 Iowa governor race?
Tom Vilsack (DEM) won with 52.3% of the vote, ahead of James Ross Lightfoot (46.5%), a margin of 5.8 points.
Did the Iowa 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 Iowa governor race?
956,415 votes were counted for the candidates in the general election.
Compiled by FiveThirtyEight from the official source linked above.