# 1998 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

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vte :
The 1998 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Governor Tommy Thompson won re-election for the third time with nearly 60% of the vote. As of 2022, this is most recent gubernatorial election in which Milwaukee, Rock, Portage, and Iowa counties voted for the Republican candidate, and the most recent where the winner garnered a double digit margin of victory. Gary George unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination.

## Primary election

The primary election was held on September 8, 1998. Nominees for Governor and Lieutenant Governor were selected in separate primaries before running on a joint ticket in the general election.

### Republican party
#### Governor
##### Candidates

* Jeffrey A. Hyslop
* Tommy G. Thompson, incumbent governor

##### Results

Republican gubernatorial primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Tommy G. Thompson (incumbent) | 229,916 | 83.55% |
| | Republican | Jeffrey A. Hyslop | 45,262 | 16.45% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 275,168 | 100.00% |

#### Lieutenant Governor
##### Candidates

* Scott McCallum, incumbent lieutenant governor

##### Results

Republican lieutenant gubernatorial primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Scott McCallum (incumbent) | 217,059 | 100.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 217,059 | 100.00% |

### Democratic party
#### Governor
##### Candidates

* Ed Garvey, former executive director of the NFLPA and candidate for US Senate in 1986
* Gary R. George, member of Wisconsin Senate

##### Results

Democratic gubernatorial primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Ed Garvey | 175,082 | 79.98% |
| | Democratic | Gary R. George | 43,830 | 20.02% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 218,912 | 100.00% |

#### Lieutenant Governor
##### Candidates

* Barbara Lawton, businesswoman

##### Results

Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Barbara Lawton | 178,022 | 100.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 178,022 | 100.00% |

### Libertarian party
#### Governor
##### Candidates

* Jim Mueller

##### Results

Libertarian gubernatorial primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Libertarian | Jim Mueller | 854 | 100.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 854 | 100.00% |

#### Lieutenant Governor
##### Candidates

* James Dean

##### Results

Libertarian lieutenant gubernatorial primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Libertarian | James Dean | 830 | 100.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 830 | 100.00% |

### US Taxpayers' party
#### Governor
##### Candidates

* Edward J. Frami

##### Results

US Taxpayers' gubernatorial primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | U.S. Taxpayers' | Edward J. Frami | 1,252 | 100.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,252 | 100.00% |

#### Lieutenant Governor
##### Candidates

* Thomas R. Rivers

##### Results

US Taxpayers' lieutenant gubernatorial primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | U.S. Taxpayers' | Thomas R. Rivers | 1,232 | 100.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,232 | 100.00% |

### Green party
#### Governor
##### Candidates

* Jeffrey Lane Smith

##### Results

Green gubernatorial primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Green | Jeffrey Lane Smith (write-in) | 15 | 100.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 15 | 100.00% |

### Independent nominations
#### Governor
##### Candidates

* Mike Mangan
* A-Ja-mu Muhammad

##### Results

Independent gubernatorial primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Mike Mangan | 374 | 69.13% |
| | Independent | A-Ja-mu Muhammad | 167 | 30.87% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 541 | 100.00% |

#### Lieutenant Governor
##### Candidates

* Vida Harley Bridges

##### Results

Independent lieutenant gubernatorial primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Vida Harley Bridges | 369 | 100.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 369 | 100.00% |

## General election
### Candidates

* Ed Garvey & Barbara Lawton, Democrat
* Tommy G. Thompson & Scott McCallum, Republican
* Jim Mueller & James Dean, Libertarian
* Edward J. Frami & Thomas R. Rivers, US Taxpayers'
* Jeffrey Lane Smith, Green
* Mike Mangan, Independent
* A-Ja-mu Muhammad & Vida Harley Bridges, Independent

### Results

1998 Wisconsin gubernatorial election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Tommy G. Thompson (incumbent) | 1,047,716 | 59.66% | −7.56% |
| | Democratic | Ed Garvey | 679,553 | 38.70% | +7.82% |
| | Libertarian | Jim Mueller | 11,071 | 0.63% | −0.11% |
| | U.S. Taxpayers' | Edward J. Frami | 10,269 | 0.58% | −0.01% |
| | Independent | Mike Mangan | 4,985 | 0.28% | −0.24% |
| | Independent | A-Ja-mu Muhammad | 1,604 | 0.09% | |
| | Green | Jeffrey L. Smith (write-in) | 14 | 0.00% | |
| | | Scattering | 802 | 0.05% | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 368,163 | 20.97% | |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,756,014 | 100.00% | |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Swing | -15.39% | |

### Results by county

| County | Tommy G. Thompson Republican | Tommy G. Thompson Republican | Ed Garvey Democratic | Ed Garvey Democratic | All Others Various | All Others Various | Margin | Margin | Total votes cast |
| County | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | Total votes cast |
| Adams | 3,907 | 60.55% | 2,450 | 37.97% | 95 | 1.47% | 1,457 | 22.58% | 6,452 |
| Ashland | 2,611 | 48.90% | 2,692 | 50.41% | 37 | 0.69% | -81 | -1.52% | 5,340 |
| Barron | 7,449 | 56.03% | 5,716 | 43.00% | 129 | 0.97% | 1,733 | 13.04% | 13,294 |
| Bayfield | 2,817 | 45.35% | 3,352 | 53.96% | 43 | 0.69% | -535 | -8.61% | 6,212 |
| Brown | 47,529 | 62.84% | 27,302 | 36.10% | 803 | 1.06% | 20,227 | 26.74% | 75,634 |
| Buffalo | 2,523 | 58.61% | 1,736 | 40.33% | 46 | 1.07% | 787 | 18.28% | 4,305 |
| Burnett | 3,076 | 50.19% | 3,011 | 49.13% | 42 | 0.69% | 65 | 1.06% | 6,129 |
| Calumet | 9,153 | 69.17% | 3,873 | 29.27% | 206 | 1.56% | 5,280 | 39.90% | 13,232 |
| Chippewa | 10,363 | 62.03% | 6,132 | 36.70% | 212 | 1.27% | 4,231 | 25.32% | 16,707 |
| Clark | 6,951 | 64.94% | 3,633 | 33.94% | 120 | 1.12% | 3,318 | 31.00% | 10,704 |
| Columbia | 10,456 | 60.41% | 6,503 | 37.57% | 349 | 2.02% | 3,953 | 22.84% | 17,308 |
| Crawford | 3,646 | 59.19% | 2,457 | 39.89% | 57 | 0.93% | 1,189 | 19.30% | 6,160 |
| Dane | 72,693 | 44.78% | 86,234 | 53.12% | 3,396 | 2.09% | -13,541 | -8.34% | 162,323 |
| Dodge | 16,245 | 70.16% | 6,417 | 27.72% | 491 | 2.12% | 9,828 | 42.45% | 23,153 |
| Door | 6,392 | 63.07% | 3,597 | 35.49% | 146 | 1.44% | 2,795 | 27.58% | 10,135 |
| Douglas | 5,905 | 46.82% | 6,550 | 51.93% | 158 | 1.25% | -645 | -5.11% | 12,613 |
| Dunn | 5,764 | 53.24% | 4,927 | 45.51% | 135 | 1.25% | 837 | 7.73% | 10,826 |
| Eau Claire | 17,168 | 56.43% | 12,715 | 41.79% | 541 | 1.78% | 4,453 | 14.64% | 30,424 |
| Florence | 1,104 | 68.15% | 506 | 31.23% | 10 | 0.62% | 598 | 36.91% | 1,620 |
| Fond du Lac | 19,682 | 70.75% | 7,685 | 27.63% | 452 | 1.62% | 11,997 | 43.13% | 27,819 |
| Forest | 1,988 | 57.94% | 1,427 | 41.59% | 16 | 0.47% | 561 | 16.35% | 3,431 |
| Grant | 8,371 | 63.54% | 4,673 | 35.47% | 131 | 0.99% | 3,698 | 28.07% | 13,175 |
| Green | 6,756 | 63.82% | 3,610 | 34.10% | 220 | 2.08% | 3,146 | 29.72% | 10,586 |
| Green Lake | 4,297 | 71.52% | 1,640 | 27.30% | 71 | 1.18% | 2,657 | 44.22% | 6,008 |
| Iowa | 4,270 | 58.05% | 2,990 | 40.65% | 96 | 1.31% | 1,280 | 17.40% | 7,356 |
| Iron | 1,594 | 61.31% | 987 | 37.96% | 19 | 0.73% | 607 | 23.35% | 2,600 |
| Jackson | 3,447 | 54.04% | 2,813 | 44.10% | 119 | 1.87% | 634 | 9.94% | 6,379 |
| Jefferson | 15,363 | 65.27% | 7,647 | 32.49% | 529 | 2.25% | 7,716 | 32.78% | 23,539 |
| Juneau | 4,402 | 67.02% | 2,063 | 31.41% | 103 | 1.57% | 2,339 | 35.61% | 6,568 |
| Kenosha | 28,128 | 61.34% | 17,011 | 37.09% | 720 | 1.57% | 11,117 | 24.24% | 45,859 |
| Kewaunee | 4,578 | 63.17% | 2,582 | 35.63% | 87 | 1.20% | 1,996 | 27.54% | 7,247 |
| La Crosse | 21,984 | 58.63% | 14,892 | 39.72% | 619 | 1.65% | 7,092 | 18.91% | 37,495 |
| Lafayette | 3,423 | 65.84% | 1,743 | 33.53% | 33 | 0.63% | 1,680 | 32.31% | 5,199 |
| Langlade | 4,107 | 62.80% | 2,376 | 36.33% | 57 | 0.87% | 1,731 | 26.47% | 6,540 |
| Lincoln | 5,300 | 57.79% | 3,567 | 38.89% | 304 | 3.31% | 1,733 | 18.90% | 9,171 |
| Manitowoc | 17,733 | 62.63% | 10,291 | 36.35% | 289 | 1.02% | 7,442 | 26.28% | 28,313 |
| Marathon | 25,966 | 64.91% | 13,511 | 33.77% | 529 | 1.32% | 12,455 | 31.13% | 40,006 |
| Marinette | 9,457 | 66.25% | 4,716 | 33.04% | 102 | 0.71% | 4,741 | 33.21% | 14,275 |
| Marquette | 3,112 | 64.70% | 1,624 | 33.76% | 74 | 1.54% | 1,488 | 30.94% | 4,810 |
| Menominee | 300 | 28.90% | 725 | 69.85% | 13 | 1.25% | -425 | -40.94% | 1,038 |
| Milwaukee | 145,010 | 49.77% | 140,666 | 48.28% | 5,699 | 1.96% | 4,344 | 1.49% | 291,375 |
| Monroe | 7,465 | 63.45% | 4,148 | 35.25% | 153 | 1.30% | 3,317 | 28.19% | 11,766 |
| Oconto | 7,655 | 64.62% | 4,097 | 34.59% | 94 | 0.79% | 3,558 | 30.04% | 11,846 |
| Oneida | 7,816 | 59.82% | 5,088 | 38.94% | 161 | 1.23% | 2,728 | 20.88% | 13,065 |
| Outagamie | 32,761 | 64.23% | 17,500 | 34.31% | 742 | 1.45% | 15,261 | 29.92% | 51,003 |
| Ozaukee | 23,716 | 75.34% | 7,283 | 23.14% | 480 | 1.52% | 16,433 | 52.20% | 31,479 |
| Pepin | 1,173 | 54.48% | 958 | 44.50% | 22 | 1.02% | 215 | 9.99% | 2,153 |
| Pierce | 5,852 | 57.13% | 4,285 | 41.83% | 106 | 1.03% | 1,567 | 15.30% | 10,243 |
| Polk | 6,820 | 53.21% | 5,896 | 46.00% | 101 | 0.79% | 924 | 7.21% | 12,817 |
| Portage | 12,038 | 55.42% | 9,309 | 42.86% | 373 | 1.72% | 2,729 | 12.56% | 21,720 |
| Price | 3,568 | 60.44% | 2,298 | 38.93% | 37 | 0.63% | 1,270 | 21.51% | 5,903 |
| Racine | 34,337 | 56.03% | 25,803 | 42.11% | 1,141 | 1.86% | 8,534 | 13.93% | 61,281 |
| Richland | 3,502 | 61.91% | 2,061 | 36.43% | 94 | 1.66% | 1,441 | 25.47% | 5,657 |
| Rock | 27,485 | 55.86% | 21,109 | 42.90% | 613 | 1.25% | 6,376 | 12.96% | 49,207 |
| Rusk | 3,108 | 55.85% | 2,375 | 42.68% | 82 | 1.47% | 733 | 13.17% | 5,565 |
| Sauk | 10,206 | 61.94% | 6,008 | 36.47% | 262 | 1.59% | 4,198 | 25.48% | 16,476 |
| Sawyer | 3,432 | 60.57% | 2,185 | 38.56% | 49 | 0.86% | 1,247 | 22.01% | 5,666 |
| Shawano | 9,106 | 67.12% | 4,353 | 32.09% | 108 | 0.80% | 4,753 | 35.03% | 13,567 |
| Sheboygan | 26,880 | 67.97% | 12,162 | 30.75% | 504 | 1.27% | 14,718 | 37.22% | 39,546 |
| St. Croix | 10,612 | 62.25% | 6,225 | 36.52% | 210 | 1.23% | 4,387 | 25.73% | 17,047 |
| Taylor | 4,482 | 66.98% | 2,147 | 32.08% | 63 | 0.94% | 2,335 | 34.89% | 6,692 |
| Trempealeau | 5,086 | 58.29% | 3,543 | 40.60% | 97 | 1.11% | 1,543 | 17.68% | 8,726 |
| Vernon | 5,326 | 56.60% | 3,918 | 41.64% | 166 | 1.76% | 1,408 | 14.96% | 9,410 |
| Vilas | 5,342 | 63.98% | 2,836 | 33.97% | 171 | 2.05% | 2,506 | 30.02% | 8,349 |
| Walworth | 17,316 | 67.64% | 7,839 | 30.62% | 447 | 1.75% | 9,477 | 37.02% | 25,602 |
| Washburn | 3,022 | 53.25% | 2,602 | 45.85% | 51 | 0.90% | 420 | 7.40% | 5,675 |
| Washington | 29,102 | 74.38% | 9,164 | 23.42% | 859 | 2.20% | 19,938 | 50.96% | 39,125 |
| Waukesha | 98,555 | 73.83% | 32,384 | 24.26% | 2,556 | 1.91% | 66,171 | 49.57% | 133,495 |
| Waupaca | 10,771 | 66.72% | 5,191 | 32.15% | 182 | 1.13% | 5,580 | 34.56% | 16,144 |
| Waushara | 5,289 | 68.52% | 2,299 | 29.78% | 131 | 1.70% | 2,990 | 38.74% | 7,719 |
| Winnebago | 33,496 | 65.81% | 16,436 | 32.29% | 966 | 1.90% | 17,060 | 33.52% | 50,898 |
| Wood | 17,377 | 64.81% | 9,009 | 33.60% | 426 | 1.59% | 8,368 | 31.21% | 26,812 |
| Total | 1,047,716 | 59.66% | 679,553 | 38.70% | 28,745 | 1.64% | 368,163 | 20.97% | 1,756,014 |

#### Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Ashland
* Bayfield
* Dane
* Douglas