# 1998 Colorado gubernatorial election

Elections in Colorado :
Federal government
Presidential elections
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Presidential caucuses and primaries
Democratic
2000
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Republican
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
U.S. Senate elections
1876
1879
1883 sp
1885
1889
1891
1895
1897
1901
1903
1907
1909
1913
1913 sp
1914
1918
1920
1924
1924 sp
1926
1930
1932
1932 sp
1936
1938
1942
1942 sp
1944
1948
1950
1954
1956
1960
1962
1966
1968
1972
1974
1978
1980
1984
1986
1990
1992
1996
1998
2002
2004
2008
2010
2014
2016
2020
2022
2026
2028
U.S. House of Representatives elections
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
1927
1st sp
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
3rd sp
1941
4th sp
1942
1944
1st sp
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1983
6th sp
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
4th sp :
State government
General elections
2010
2014
2018
2020
2022
Gubernatorial elections
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
Secretary of State elections
2022
Attorney General elections
2014
2018
2022
Treasurer elections
2022
Colorado State Board of Regent elections
2016
Senate elections
2013 (recall)
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
House of Representatives elections
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
Ballot measures
List of Colorado ballot measures
1893
2
1972
8
1974
1
1982
1
1992
2
2000
20
2004
36
2006
38
41
42
43
44
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
2008
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
54
58
59
L
2010
62
2012
64
2018
A
2020
B
C
EE
113
114
2022
125
126
FF
2023
HH
II
2024
79
80
I
J
127
128
129
131 :
Colorado Springs
Local elections
2019
Mayoral elections
1995
1997 sp
1999
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023 :
Denver
Mayoral elections
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023 :
El Paso County
Local elections
2018 :
Pueblo
Mayoral elections
2023–24 :
vte :
The 1998 Colorado gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998 to select the governor of the state of Colorado. Under newly applicable term limits, incumbent Governor Roy Romer, a Democrat, was unable to seek re-election. Lieutenant Governor Gail Schoettler, ran to succeed Romer, and won the Democratic primary; her running mate, Bernie Buescher, won the lieutenant-gubernatorial primary unopposed. In the Republican primary, Bill Owens, the State Treasurer, and his eventual running mate, Joe Rogers, won their respective primaries by wide margins.
In the general election, Owens narrowly defeated Schoettler, aided by a strong performance by Republican U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell in his re-election campaign. Owens's narrow election meant that he was the first Republican Governor in 24 years, and Rogers's election made him the second Black Lieutenant Governor in the state's history, after George L. Brown, who was elected in 1974. This was also the last election in which Colorado held separate primary elections for governor and lieutenant governor; following a statutory change in 2000, gubernatorial candidates selected their running mates prior to the primary.

## Democratic primary
### Governor
#### Candidates

* Gail Schoettler, Lieutenant Governor of Colorado
* Mike Feeley, Minority Leader of the Colorado State Senate

#### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Gail Schoettler | 80,038 | 55.51 |
| | Democratic | Mike Feeley | 64,034 | 44.41 |
| | Democratic | Write-ins | 125 | 0.09 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 144,191 | 100.00 |

### Lieutenant governor
#### Candidates

* Bernie Buescher, former Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing

#### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Bernie Buescher | 111,786 | 99.68 |
| | Democratic | Write-ins | 355 | 0.32 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 112,141 | 100.00 |

## Republican primary
### Governor
#### Candidates

* Bill Owens, Colorado State Treasurer
* Tom Norton, President of the Colorado State Senate

#### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Bill Owens | 126,816 | 59.20 |
| | Republican | Tom Norton | 87,214 | 40.71 |
| | Republican | Write-ins | 186 | 0.09 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 214,216 | 100.00 |

### Lieutenant governor
#### Candidates

* Joe Rogers, former Chief Counsel to U.S. Senator Hank Brown, 1996 Republican nominee for Colorado's 1st congressional district
* Jim Congrove, State Senator

#### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Joe Rogers | 109,781 | 57.72 |
| | Republican | Jim Congrove | 80,246 | 42.19 |
| | Republican | Write-ins | 173 | 0.09 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 190,200 | 100.00 |

## General election

1998 Colorado gubernatorial election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Bill Owens | 645,806 | 49.04% | +10.36% |
| | Democratic | Gail Schoettler | 637,655 | 48.42% | −7.05% |
| | Libertarian | Sandra D. Johnson | 22,150 | 1.68% | – |
| | Constitution | Tim Leonard | 10,966 | 0.83% | −2.79% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,151 | 0.62% | −16.15% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,316,939 | | |
| | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Swing | | |