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1998 Georgia gubernatorial election

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1998 Georgia gubernatorial election

← 1994 November 3, 1998 2002 →
 
Nominee Roy Barnes Guy Millner
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 941,076 790,201
Percentage 52.49% 44.08%

County results
Barnes:      40-50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Millner:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election

Zell Miller
Democratic

Elected Governor

Roy Barnes
Democratic

The 1998 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Democratic governor Zell Miller was unable to seek re-election due to term limits, therefore creating an open seat. To replace him, State Representative Roy Barnes won the Democratic Party's nomination after a close and highly contested primary election, while businessman Guy Millner, who had run for governor and the United States Senate in the previous four years, won the nomination of the Republican Party.

In the general election, Barnes was able to defeat Millner by a margin of victory larger than Governor Miller's victory over Millner four years prior, which was in part due to the unpopularity and controversy of Mitch Skandalakis, the Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia. As of 2024, this is the most recent time a Democrat was elected Governor of Georgia.

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Primary results by county:
  Barnes
  •   Barnes—30–40%
  •   Barnes—40–50%
  •   Barnes—50–60%
  •   Barnes—>60%
  Massey
  •   Massey—30–40%
  •   Massey—40–50%
  •   Massey—50–60%
  •   Massey—>60%
  Lanford
  •   Langford—>30%
Democratic primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Roy Barnes 239,517 49.20
Democratic Lewis A. Massey 135,920 27.92
Democratic David Poythress 65,860 13.53
Democratic Steve Langford 31,543 6.48
Democratic Morris James 9,148 1.88
Democratic Carlton Myers 4,853 1.00
Total votes 486,841 100.00

Runoff results

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Runoff results by county:
  Barnes
  •   Barnes—60%–70%
  •   Barnes—70%–80%
  •   Barnes—80%–90%
  •   Barnes—>90%
Democratic primary runoff results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Roy Barnes 221,651 82.90
Democratic Lewis A. Massey 45,735 17.10
Total votes 267,386 100.00

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Campaign

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Bowers's campaign was derailed when he admitted to a fifteen-year extramarital affair with Anne Davis, his secretary and a former Playboy Club waitress. Davis publicly stated that the romance had been active as recently as April 1997, six weeks prior to Bowers' June 5 announcement.[3]

Results

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Primary results by county:
  Millner
  •   Millner—40–50%
  •   Millner—50–60%
  •   Millner—60–70%
  •   Millner—>70%
  Bowers
  •   Bowers—40–50%
  •   Bowers—>50%
  Tie
  •   Tie between Bowers and Millner–40–50%
  •   Tie between Bowers, Millner, and Hatfield–33%

Millner narrowly avoided a run-off by just 1,573 votes. However, Bowers conceded before a recount finalized the result, admitting that all indications pointed to a victory for Millner.[4]

Republican primary results[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Guy Millner 210,845 50.38
Republican Mike Bowers 167,074 39.92
Republican Nancy Schaefer 32,315 7.72
Republican Bruce Hatfield 8,308 1.98
Total votes 418,542 100.00

General election

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Results

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1998 Georgia gubernatorial election[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Roy Barnes 941,076 52.49% +1.44%
Republican Guy Millner 790,201 44.08% −4.87%
Libertarian Jack Cashin 61,531 3.43%
Majority 150,875 8.42% +6.31%
Turnout 1,792,808
Democratic hold Swing

References

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  1. ^ "Our Campaigns - GA Governor - D Primary Race - Jul 21, 1998". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  2. ^ "Our Campaigns - GA Governor - D Runoff Race - Aug 11, 1998". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  3. ^ Our Georgia History
  4. ^ "National News Briefs; Republican Concedes in Georgia Primary", The New York Times, July 29, 1998.
  5. ^ "Our Campaigns - GA Governor - R Primary Race - Jul 21, 1998". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  6. ^ "11/3/98 - Governor". January 12, 2004. Archived from the original on December 14, 2006. Retrieved January 7, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)