Illinois Gubernatorial Election, 1998
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The 1998 Illinois gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Republican Governor
Jim Edgar James Edgar (born July 22, 1946) is an American politician who was the 38th governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999. Previously he served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1976 to 1979 and as Illinois Secretary of State ...
did not run for a third term in office. Republican nominee
George Ryan George Homer Ryan (born February 24, 1934) is an American former politician and member of the Republican Party who served as the 39th governor of Illinois from 1999 to 2003. Elected in 1998, Ryan received national attention for his 1999 mora ...
, the Illinois Secretary of State, narrowly won the election against Democratic Congressman
Glenn Poshard Glendal William Poshard (born October 30, 1945) is an American educator and former politician who served as a Illinois State Senator and U.S. Congressman. He was also a Illinois gubernatorial candidate, and president of the Southern Illinois Uni ...
. As of 2022 this was the last Governor election in which St. Clair county did not vote for the winning candidate.


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. For the general election, turnout was 49.72%, with 3,358,705 votes cast.


Democratic primaries


Governor


Candidates

* Larry Burgess *
Jim Burns Jim Burns (born 10 April 1948) is a Welsh artist born in Cardiff, Wales. He has been called one of the Grand Masters of the science fiction art world. In 1966 he joined the Royal Air Force, but soon thereafter he left and signed up at the N ...
(1945–2020), former
United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...
for the
Northern District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (in case citations, N.D. Ill.) is the federal trial-level court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois. Appeals from the Northern District of Illinois a ...
(1993–1997) *
Roland Burris Roland Wallace Burris (born August 3, 1937) is an American politician and attorney who is a former United States Senator from the state of Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party. In 1978, Burris was the first African American elected ...
(born 1937), former Attorney General of Illinois (1991-1995) and candidate for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 1994. * Maurice Horton *
Glenn Poshard Glendal William Poshard (born October 30, 1945) is an American educator and former politician who served as a Illinois State Senator and U.S. Congressman. He was also a Illinois gubernatorial candidate, and president of the Southern Illinois Uni ...
(born 1945), U.S. Representative (1989-1999) *
John Schmidt John R. Schmidt is a lawyer and former United States Associate Attorney General who served from 1994 to 1997 under President Bill Clinton. His responsibilities included oversight of the Civil, Antitrust, Civil Rights, Environment and Tax Divisio ...
(born 1943),
United States Associate Attorney General The associate attorney general of the United States is the third-highest-ranking official in the U.S. Department of Justice. The associate attorney general advises and assists the attorney general and the deputy attorney general in policies re ...
(1994-1997)


Results


Lieutenant governor


Candidates

*Mary Lou Kearns, Kane County Coroner * Pat Quinn, former
Treasurer of Illinois The Treasurer of Illinois is an elected official of the U.S. state of Illinois. The office was created by the Constitution of Illinois. Current Occupant The current Treasurer of Illinois is Democrat Mike Frerichs. He was first elected to head ...


Republican primaries


Governor


Candidates

*
George Ryan George Homer Ryan (born February 24, 1934) is an American former politician and member of the Republican Party who served as the 39th governor of Illinois from 1999 to 2003. Elected in 1998, Ryan received national attention for his 1999 mora ...
,
Secretary of State of Illinois The Secretary of State of Illinois is one of the six elected executive state offices of the government of Illinois, and one of the 47 secretaries of states in the United States. The Illinois Secretary of State keeps the state records, laws, libr ...
*Chad Koppie, perennial candidate and conservative activist


Results


Lieutenant governor


Candidates

*
Corinne Wood Corinne J. Wood (May 28, 1954 – May 18, 2021) served as the 44th Lieutenant Governor of the US state of Illinois from 1999 to 2003. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Illinois and Loyola University School of Law, Wood was ...
, member of the Illinois House of Representatives


Results


Reform primary


Governor


Candidates

*Lawrence Redmond


Results


Lieutenant governor


Candidates

*Phyllis Nirchi


Results


General election


Results


See also

* List of governors of Illinois


References

{{Illinois elections
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...