1998 United States Senate election in Oregon
{{Short description|none}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 1998 United States Senate election in Oregon
| country = Oregon
| type = presidential
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 1996 United States Senate special election in Oregon
| previous_year = 1996 (special)
| next_election = 2004 United States Senate election in Oregon
| next_year = 2004
| election_date = November 3, 1998
| image1 = Image:Ron Wyden official portrait.jpg
| image_size = 150x150px
| nominee1 = Ron Wyden
| party1 = Democratic Party (United States)
| popular_vote1 = 682,425
| percentage1 = 61.05%
| image2 = Image:Johnlim.jpg
| nominee2 = John Lim
| party2 = Republican Party (United States)
| popular_vote2 = 377,739
| percentage2 = 33.79%
| map_image = 1998 United States Senate election in Oregon results map by county.svg
| map_size = 260px
| map_caption = County results
Wyden: {{legend0|#a5b0ff|40–50%}} {{legend0|#7996e2|50–60%}} {{legend0|#6674de|60–70%}} {{legend0|#584cde|70–80%}}
Lim: {{legend0|#e27f7f|50–60%}}
| title = U.S. Senator
| before_election = Ron Wyden
| before_party = Democratic Party (United States)
| after_election = Ron Wyden
| after_party = Democratic Party (United States)
}}
{{ElectionsOR}}
The 1998 United States Senate election in Oregon was held on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Ron Wyden won re-election to his first full term, defeating Republican nominee John Lim, a state senator in a landslide (Lim only carried Malheur County). As of 2022, this is the last time Grant County and Harney County have supported a Democrat in a U.S. Senate election.
Democratic nomination
- John Sweeney, retired city parks worker
- Ron Wyden, incumbent U.S. Senator
=Results=
[[File: 1998 United States Senate election in Oregon, Democratic primary.svg|thumb|Results by county
{{collapsible list
|title=Wyden
|{{legend|#3933e5|80–90%}}
|{{legend|#0d0596|>90%}}
}}
]]
{{Election box begin no change
| title = Oregon Democratic U.S. Senate primary results{{cite web|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=211568|title=OR US Senate D Primary|publisher=Our Campaigns|access-date=May 3, 2020}}
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Ronald Wyden (Incumbent)
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 283,654
| percentage = 91.51%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = John Sweeney
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 25,456
| percentage = 8.21%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Write-ins
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 853
| percentage = 0.28%
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 309,963
| percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{Election box end}}
Republican nomination
- Valentine Christian, from Salem
- John Lim, State Senator from Gresham and candidate for Governor in 1990
- John Michael Fitzpatrick, from Lake Oswego
=Results=
[[File: 1998 United States Senate election in Oregon, Republican primary.svg|thumb|Results by county
{{collapsible list
| title = Lim
|{{legend|#ffb2b2|40–50%}}
|{{legend|#e27f7f|50–60%}}
|{{legend|#d75d5d|60–70%}}
|{{legend|#d72f30|70–80%}}
}}
{{collapsible list
| title = Fitzpatrick
|{{legend|#ffb580|40–50%}}
}}
]]
{{Election box begin no change
| title = Oregon Republican U.S. Senate primary results{{cite web|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=38963|title=OR US Senate R Primary|publisher=Our Campaigns|access-date=May 3, 2020}}
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = John Lim
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 135,048
| percentage = 62.45%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = John Michael Fitzpatrick
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 58,139
| percentage = 26.88%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Valentine Christian
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 20,569
| percentage = 9.51%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Write-ins
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 2,509
| percentage = 1.16%
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 216,265
| percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{Election box end}}
General
Wyden, a consistent liberal Democrat, was considered to be the favorite throughout the campaign. State Republicans were weakened by division between moderate and conservative wings, with few candidates on the already sparse bench able to reconcile them.{{cite web |last1=Rothenburg |first1=Stuart |title=Stuart Rothenberg on the 1998 Senate Races, State-by-State |url=https://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/1998/stake/senate/rothenberg.html |website=CNN |access-date=20 March 2024}} During his campaign, Wyden emphasized his work with fellow Oregon Senator and Republican Gordon H. Smith. Lim had very little name recognition outside of his Gresham-based State Senate district and focused his campaign on portraying Wyden as a Beltway insider and out-of-touch with the population of Oregon.{{cite news |last1=Cain |first1=Brad |title=Wyden, Lim cruise to victories |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7kxWAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA5 |access-date=20 March 2024 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |agency=Google Books |publisher=The Associated Press |date=19 May 1998}}
=Results=
Wyden won in a landslide, winning every county in the state with the exception of Malheur County. Wyden's performance, both by his portion of the vote and margin of victory, would only be exceeded by his subsequent 2004 election, being his second-best performance in a Senatorial election.
{{Election box begin | title=General election results{{cite web |url=http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordpdf/6920722
|title=Official Results: November 3, 1998 General Election, United States Senator
|publisher=Oregon Secretary of State
|access-date=2009-08-21
}}}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
|party = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate = Ronald Wyden (Incumbent)
|votes = 682,425
|percentage = 61.05%
|change = +13.27%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate = John Lim
|votes = 377,739
|percentage = 33.79%
|change = -12.47%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Pacific Green Party
|candidate = Karyn Moskowitz
|votes = 22,024
|percentage = 1.97%
|change = +1.37%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Libertarian Party (United States)
|candidate = Jim Brewster
|votes = 18,221
|percentage = 1.63%
|change = +0.32%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Natural Law Party (United States)
|candidate = Michael A. Campbell
|votes = 8,372
|percentage = 0.75%
|change = +0.75%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Socialist Party USA
|candidate = Dean M. Braa
|votes = 7,553
|percentage = 0.68%
|change = +.02%
}}
{{Election box candidate|
|party = Write-In
|candidate = Misc.
|votes = 1,413
|percentage = 0.13%
|change = -1.12%
}}
{{Election box total
| votes = 1,117,747
| percentage = 100.0%
| change =
}}
{{Election box hold with party link no swing
| winner = Democratic Party (United States)
}}
{{Election box end}}