1998 Illinois gubernatorial election

The 1998 Illinois gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Republican Governor Jim Edgar did not run for a third term in office. Republican nominee George Ryan, the Illinois Secretary of State, narrowly won the election against Democratic Congressman Glenn Poshard.

1998 Illinois gubernatorial election

November 3, 1998
Turnout	49.72% 1.05 pp
Nominee George Ryan Glenn Poshard Party Republican Democratic Running mate Corinne Wood Mary Lou Kearns Popular vote 1,714,094 1,594,191 Percentage 51.0% 47.8%
County Results Ryan:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Poshard:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Governor before election Jim Edgar Republican Elected Governor George Ryan Republican

Election information

The primaries and general elections coincided with those for federal elections (Senate and House), as well as those for other state offices. The election was part of the 1998 Illinois elections.

Turnout

For the primaries, turnout for the gubernatorial primaries was 24.58%, with 1,658,296 votes cast and turnout for the lieutenant gubernatorial primaries was 19.76% with 1,333,446 votes cast.[1][2] For the general election, turnout was 49.72%, with 3,358,705 votes cast.[1][2]

Democratic primaries

Candidates

• Larry Burgess
• Jim Burns, former United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois
• Roland Burris, former Attorney General of Illinois, former Illinois State Comptroller, candidate for Governor in 1994 and independent candidate for Mayor of Chicago in 1995
• Maurice Horton, perennial candidate
• Glenn Poshard, U.S. Representative
• John Schmidt, United States Associate Attorney General

Results

Democratic gubernatorial primary results[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Glenn Poshard	357,342	37.60
	Democratic	Roland Burris	290,393	30.56
	Democratic	John R. Schmidt	236,309	24.87
	Democratic	Jim Burns	55,233	5.81
	Democratic	Larry Burgess	6,075	0.64
	Democratic	Maurice Horton	4,955	0.52
Total votes			950,307	100.00

Candidates

• Mary Lou Kearns, Kane County Coroner[4]
• Pat Quinn, former Treasurer of Illinois

Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial primary results[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mary Lou Kearns	391,373	50.09
	Democratic	Pat Quinn	389,905	49.91
Total votes			781,278	100

Republican primaries

Candidates

• George Ryan, Secretary of State of Illinois
• Chad Koppie, perennial candidate and conservative activist

Results

Republican gubernatorial primary results[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George Ryan	608,940	86.08
	Republican	Chad Koppie	98,466	13.92
Total votes			707,406	100.00

Candidates

• Corinne Wood, member of the Illinois House of Representatives

Results

Republican lieutenant gubernatorial primary results[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Corrine G. Wood	551,580	100
Total votes			551,580	100

Reform primary

Candidates

• Lawrence Redmond

Results

Reform gubernatorial primary results[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Reform	Lawrence Redmond	583	100.00
Total votes			583	100.00

Candidates

• Phyllis Nirchi

Results

Reform lieutenant gubernatorial primary results[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Reform	Philomena "Phyllis" Nirchi	588	100
Total votes			588	100

General election

Results

Illinois gubernatorial election, 1998[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	George Ryan / Corinne Wood	1,714,094	51.03%	-12.85%
	Democratic	Glenn Poshard / Mary Lou Kearns	1,594,191	47.46%	+13.02%
	Reform	Lawrence Redmond / Phyllis Nirchi	50,372	1.50%
	Write-ins		48	0.00%
Majority			119,903	3.57%	-25.87%
Turnout			3,358,705	49.72%
	Republican hold		Swing

See also

• List of Governors of Illinois

References

1. "Voter Turnout". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
2. "Election Results". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
3. "Ballots Cast". Elections.illinois.gov. 1998-03-17. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-04-04.
4. "KANE CORONER TO JOIN JESSE WHITE'S STAFF". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. 13 January 1999. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
5. "Ballots Cast". Elections.illinois.gov. 1998-11-03. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-04-04.