The 1998 United States Senate election in Arkansas was held on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Democratic Senator

Dale Bumpers Dale Leon Bumpers (August 12, 1925 – January 1, 2016) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 38th Governor of Arkansas (1971–1975) and in the United States Senate (1975–1999). He was a member of the Democratic Party. Prio ...

chose to retire instead of running for reelection to a fifth term. Making this was the first open seat with no incumbent held in this seat since the 1884 election. Democratic nominee and former

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Blanche Lincoln Blanche Lambert Lincoln (born Blanche Meyers Lambert; September 30, 1960) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Arkansas from 1999 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, she was first elected to the Senate in 19 ...

won the open seat against

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

State Senator

Fay Boozman Fay Winford Boozman III (November 10, 1946 – March 19, 2005) was an American ophthalmologist and politician who served as a member of the Arkansas Senate from 1995 to 1999. Boozman was born in 1946, the son of Marie Nicholas and U.S. Air Force ...

. In the 2010 election, Lincoln would be defeated in her bid for reelection to a third term by Fay Boozman's younger brother

John Boozman John Nichols Boozman ( ; born December 10, 1950) is an American politician and former optometrist serving as the senior United States senator from Arkansas, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. repre ...

. At 38, Lincoln was the youngest woman ever elected to the United States Senate.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Winston Bryant Winston Bryant (born October 3, 1938) is an American politician and attorney who served as the Secretary of State of Arkansas (1977–1978), the 14th Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas (1981–1991) and Arkansas Attorney General (1991–1999). Ea ...

Attorney General of Arkansas The Attorney General of Arkansas, usually known simply as the Attorney General (AG), is one of Arkansas's seven constitutional officers. The officeholder serves as the state's top law enforcement officer and consumer advocate. Since January 1 ...

, former

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, former

Secretary of State of Arkansas The secretary of state of Arkansas is one of the elected constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The current Secretary of State is Republican John Thurston, former Arkansas land commissioner from Pulaski County in central Arkansa ...

and nominee for the U.S. Senate in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

* Nate Coulter, Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor in 1993 *

, former U.S. Representative * Scott Ferguson,

radiologist Radiology ( ) is the medical discipline that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide their treatment, within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiatio ...

and

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

Withdrew

Pat Hays Patrick Henry Hays (born January 8, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician from the state of Arkansas. A member of the Democratic Party, Hays served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1987 to 1989 and as the mayor of North Little ...

, Mayor of

North Little Rock North Little Rock is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, across the Arkansas from Little Rock in the central part of the state. The population was 64,591 at the 2020 census. In 2019 the estimated population was 65,903, making it the seventh-mo ...

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

, State Senator * Tom Prince, Mayor of Little Rock

Results

General election

Candidates

(D), former U.S. Representative *

(R), State Senator * Charley Heffley (Reform)

Results

References

{{United States elections, 1998

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 ...

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

Democratic primary

Candidates

Withdrew

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Candidates

Results

See also

References