1998 Michigan gubernatorial election

none January 2025 September 2023 1998 Michigan gubernatorial election Michigan presidential no 1994 Michigan gubernatorial election 1994 2002 Michigan gubernatorial election 2002 November 3, 1998 File:Vern Ehlers and John Engler (cropped).jpeg 150x150px John Engler Republican Party (United States) Dick Posthumus 1,883,005 62.20% File:FullC489D2008-01-01.jpg Geoffrey Fieger Democratic Party (United States) Jim Agee 1,143,574 37.78% 1998 Michigan gubernatorial election results map by county.svg 300px County resultsEngler: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80% #c21b18 80–90%Fieger: #7996e2 50–60% Governor John Engler Republican Party (United States) John Engler Republican Party (United States) The 1998 Michigan gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Michigan. Republican incumbent John Engler was re-elected to a third term in office over Democratic lawyer Geoffrey Fieger in a landslide.https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/05/us/the-1998-elections-state-by-state-midwest-michigan.html The 1998 elections: state by state -- Midwest; Michigan November 5, 1998 July 31, 2011 The New York Times Matthew L. Wald Engler won the Republican nomination against token opposition. Fieger, who was best known for representing the assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian, funded his own successful campaign for the Democratic nomination and defeated East Lansing mayor Larry Owen and former state senator Doug Ross. As of , this was the last time Genesee County and Washtenaw County voted for the Republican gubernatorial candidate. Background Although Michigan voters had passed a ballot measure in 1992 limiting governors to two terms in office, it was not retroactive and counted only towards people taking office in or after 1993.Michigan Ballot Proposal B, Term Limits for Congressional, State Executive, and State Legislative Offices Initiative (1992) https://ballotpedia.org/Michigan_Ballot_Proposal_B,_Term_Limits_for_Congressional,_State_Executive,_and_State_Legislative_Offices_Initiative_(1992) 2025-07-27 Ballotpedia enMCL - Article V § 30 - Michigan Legislature https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=MCL-ARTICLE-V-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20250523013421/https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=MCL-ARTICLE-V-30 2025-05-23 2025-07-27 www.legislature.mi.gov en As Engler had first taken office in 1991, his first term did not count towards the two-term limit, and he was allowed to run for a third term. Republican primary Candidates Gary Artinian John Engler, incumbent governor of Michigan since 1991 Campaign Engler, a two-term incumbent, faced token opposition in the Republican primary, winning re-nomination with almost 90 percent of the vote. Following lieutenant governor Connie Binsfeld's decision to not seek a third term, Michigan Senate majority leader Dick Posthumus received the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor.http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/19981019/SUB/810190856/decision-98-a-look-at-key-elections DECISION '98: A LOOK AT KEY ELECTIONS Crains Detroit October 16, 1998 October 12, 2017 Results thumb|260px|Results by county #ed8783 Engler #d02923 70–80% #b00600 80–90% #850400 >90% |center Republican primary results1998 Michigan Election Results - 8/4/1998 State Primary https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/votehistory/Index?type=C&electionDate=8-4-1998 Michigan Department of State 14 June 2026 Republican Party (United States) John Engler (inc.) 477,628 89.60% Republican Party (United States) Gary Artinian 55,453 10.40% 533,081 100.00% Democratic primary Candidates Geoffrey Fieger, attorney known for representing Jack Kevorkian Larry Owen, former mayor of East Lansing Doug Ross, former state senator from Oak Park Candidates Early in the race, Owen was considered the front runner.http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=24243 Larry Owen Our Campaigns March 16, 2013 October 12, 2017 But due to Fieger's notoriety and personal wealth, he surpassed his opponents. He ended up spending almost $6 million of his own money in the race.http://www.freep.com/story/news/2017/05/12/geoffrey-fieger-michigan-governor/319594001/ Geoffrey Fieger considering a return to politics with run for governor Kathleen Gray Detroit Free Press May 12, 2017 October 12, 2017 Fieger won a close race, taking 41 percent of the vote.https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-aug-06-mn-10629-story.html Kevorkian's Lawyer Wins Gubernatorial Primary in Michigan Los Angeles Times August 6, 1998 October 12, 2017 Associated Press State representative Jim Agee, after securing the support from the Michigan Education Association was picked by Fieger to be his running mate, over Fieger's initial preferred choice, state representative Candace Curtis.https://www.chicagotribune.com/1998/08/29/teachers-pleased-by-fieger-running-mate/ Teachers Pleased By Fieger Running Mate August 29, 1998 October 12, 2017 Chicago Tribune Results thumb|260px|Results by county #8da9e2 Fieger #dee8fb 30–40% #b4c7ec 40–50% #8da9e2 50–60% #73bc84 Owen #d6efdc 30–40% #a3d5af 40–50% #73bc84 50–60% #3fa457 60–70% #c88fe4 Ross #f2dffc 30–40% |center Democratic primary results Democratic Party (United States) Geoffrey Fieger 300,458 41.18% Democratic Party (United States) Larry Owen 272,360 37.33% Democratic Party (United States) Doug Ross 156,847 21.50% 729,665 100.00% General election Candidates John Engler, incumbent governor of Michigan since 1991 (Republican) Geoffrey Fieger, attorney known for representing Jack Kevorkian (Democratic) Polling Poll source Date(s) SamplesizeKey:A – all adultsRV – registered votersLV – likely votersV – unclear Marginof error JohnEngler (R) GeoffreyFieger (D) Other / undecidedCalculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined. pollingHarris Insights & AnalyticsFiveThirtyEight's Pollster Ratings Raw Polls File https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fivethirtyeight/data/refs/heads/master/pollster-ratings/2023/raw-polls.csv October 15, 2026 GitHub FiveThirtyEightOctober 30, 19981,855—62%38%0%Mitchell Research & CommunicationsOctober 21, 1998600—62%30%8%Harris Insights & AnalyticsOctober 20, 19981,535—51%36%13%EPIC/MRACNN AllPolitics Election '98 - Michigan 1998 Polls https://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/1998/states/MI/polls/MI98G.html CNN 26 June 2025 https://archive.today/20250626210111/https://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/1998/states/MI/polls/MI98G.html 26 June 2025 liveFreeSeptember 29 – October 1, 1998600 (LV)± 3.7%54%22%24%Mitchell Research & Communications, Inc.September 21–23, 1998400 (RV)± 5.5%61%24%15%Mitchell Research & Communication Inc.Poll sponsored by The Detroit NewsSeptember 10–13, 1998400 (RV)± 5.0%60%21%19%EPIC/MRAFreeAugust 20–24, 1998600 (A)± 4.0%55%31%14%EPIC/MRAFree Poll sponsored by the Detroit Free PressAugust 6, 1998 (A)± 4.0%53%33%24% Results 1998 Michigan gubernatorial election1998 Michigan Election Results - 11/3/1998 State General https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/votehistory/Index?type=C&electionDate=11-3-1998 Michigan Department of State 14 June 2026 Republican Party (United States) John Engler (incumbent) 1,883,005 62.20% +0.73% Democratic Party (United States) Geoffrey Fieger 1,143,574 37.78% -0.69% #DCDCDC Terry Link (write-in) 399 0.01% #DCDCDC Carl Humphrey (write-in) 36 0.00% #DCDCDC Vicki Foreback (write-in) 32 0.00% #DCDCDC Marc Katz (write-in) 20 0.00% #DCDCDC Robert Marek (write-in) 17 0.00% #DCDCDC Michael Wagonlander (write-in) 12 0.00% #DCDCDC Johnni Matthew III (write-in) 9 0.00% 739,431 24.43% 3,027,104 100.00% Republican Party (United States) Democratic Party (United States) +1.42% Results by county County John EnglerRepublican Geoffrey FiegerDemocratic ScatteringWrite-in Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # %Alcona2,95169.22%1,31230.78%00.00%1,63938.45%4,263Alger1,79456.92%1,35843.08%00.00%43613.83%3,152Allegan24,14177.76%6,89622.23%40.01%17,22555.53%31,021Alpena7,26765.75%3,78534.24%10.01%3,48231.50%11,053Antrim5,74868.52%2,64131.48%00.00%3,10737.04%8,389Arenac3,17958.98%2,21041.00%10.02%96917.98%5,390Baraga1,33853.63%1,15746.37%00.00%1817.25%2,495Barry13,14871.43%5,25928.57%00.00%7,88942.86%18,407Bay23,34360.83%15,01739.14%120.03%8,32621.70%38,372Benzie3,72662.81%2,20637.19%00.00%1,52025.62%5,932Berrien30,38073.47%10,97126.53%00.00%19,40946.94%41,351Branch7,62370.32%3,21629.67%10.01%4,40740.65%10,840Calhoun25,95567.20%12,66132.78%50.01%13,29434.42%38,621Cass9,17772.75%3,43827.25%00.00%5,73945.49%12,615Charlevoix6,29069.26%2,79230.74%00.00%3,49838.52%9,082Cheboygan6,03667.74%2,87532.26%00.00%3,16135.47%8,911Chippewa6,61361.27%4,18038.73%00.00%2,43322.54%10,793Clare5,64961.34%3,56138.66%00.00%2,08822.67%9,210Clinton17,69673.81%6,22225.95%560.23%11,47447.86%23,974Crawford3,05162.49%1,83137.51%00.00%1,22024.99%4,882Delta7,41059.33%5,08040.67%00.00%2,33018.65%12,490Dickinson6,18362.96%3,63837.04%00.00%2,54525.91%9,821Eaton24,77868.41%11,43631.57%80.02%13,34236.83%36,222Emmet7,76573.79%2,75826.21%00.00%5,00747.58%10,523Genesee69,79951.17%66,60848.83%100.01%3,1912.34%136,417Gladwin5,57363.69%3,17736.31%00.00%2,39627.38%8,750Gogebic3,02050.97%2,90549.03%00.00%1151.94%5,925Grand Traverse20,46271.63%8,10128.36%20.01%12,36143.27%28,565Gratiot7,99871.14%3,24528.86%00.00%4,75342.28%11,243Hillsdale9,02773.05%3,32526.91%50.04%5,70246.14%12,357Houghton6,44360.92%4,13139.06%20.02%2,31221.86%10,576Huron9,26476.14%2,90223.85%10.01%6,36252.29%12,167Ingham53,90560.13%35,58439.70%1510.17%18,32120.44%89,640Ionia12,32471.15%4,99628.85%00.00%7,32842.31%17,320Iosco6,45766.49%3,25233.49%20.02%3,20533.00%9,711Iron2,71554.33%2,28245.67%00.00%4338.67%4,997Isabella9,42363.74%5,36136.26%00.00%4,06227.48%14,784Jackson31,33067.29%15,22932.71%20.00%16,10134.58%46,561Kalamazoo46,44367.58%22,27532.41%60.01%24,16835.17%68,724Kalkaska3,15563.11%1,84436.89%00.00%1,31126.23%4,999Kent133,12076.58%40,70923.42%80.00%92,41153.16%173,837Keweenaw56656.26%44043.74%00.00%12612.52%1,006Lake1,83253.49%1,59346.51%00.00%2396.98%3,425Lapeer17,38265.62%9,10634.38%10.00%8,27631.24%26,489Leelanau6,57770.86%2,70529.14%00.00%3,87241.72%9,282Lenawee18,13763.35%10,49436.65%00.00%7,64326.69%28,631Livingston37,45873.82%13,28326.18%20.00%24,17547.64%50,743Luce1,13057.98%81942.02%00.00%31115.96%1,949Mackinac6,05464.70%1,66635.30%00.00%1,38829.41%4,720Macomb166,92067.48%80,43832.52%180.01%86,48234.96%247,376Manistee5,49362.85%3,24737.15%00.00%2,24625.70%8,740Marquette11,15751.61%10,46048.39%00.00%6973.22%21,617Mason6,39166.10%3,27733.90%00.00%3,11432.21%9,668Mecosta7,06567.21%3,44632.78%10.01%3,61934.43%10,512Menominee4,57965.70%2,39134.30%00.00%2,18831.39%6,970Midland20,73773.58%7,44526.42%00.00%13,29247.16%28,182Missaukee3,62972.78%1,35727.22%00.00%2,27245.57%4,986Monroe26,69064.95%14,40135.05%00.00%12,28929.91%41,091Montcalm11,06968.64%5,05831.36%00.00%6,01137.27%16,127Montmorency2,49964.99%1,34635.01%00.00%1,15329.99%3,845Muskegon29,66060.54%19,33139.46%20.00%10,32921.08%48,993Newaygo9,77669.00%4,39231.00%00.00%5,38438.00%14,168Oakland264,55166.32%134,21533.65%1200.03%130,33632.67%398,886Oceana5,23167.49%2,52032.51%00.00%2,71134.98%7,751Ogemaw4,79662.33%2,89937.67%00.00%1,89724.65%7,695Ontonagon1,55351.84%1,44248.13%10.03%1113.70%2,996Osceola4,91866.46%2,48233.54%00.00%2,43632.92%7,400Oscoda2,01764.90%1,09135.10%00.00%92629.79%3,108Otsego5,52571.57%2,19528.43%00.00%3,33043.13%7,720Ottawa67,05485.40%11,45114.58%90.01%55,60370.82%78,514Presque Isle3,87167.09%1,89932.91%00.00%1,97234.18%5,770Roscommon6,32063.66%3,60836.34%00.00%2,71227.32%9,928Saginaw43,76663.44%25,21336.55%90.01%18,55326.89%68,988Sanilac9,94171.15%4,02328.79%80.06%5,91842.36%13,972Schoolcraft1,59455.52%1,27744.48%00.00%31711.04%2,871Shiawassee16,46566.31%8,34733.62%180.07%8,11832.69%24,830St. Clair32,29964.18%18,02535.82%00.00%14,27428.36%50,324St. Joseph11,02674.86%3,70325.14%00.00%7,32349.72%14,729Tuscola12,07466.70%6,02733.30%00.00%6,04733.41%18,101Van Buren13,71567.85%6,49932.15%00.00%7,21635.70%20,214Washtenaw53,22757.03%40,07842.94%320.03%13,14914.09%93,337Wayne243,23542.85%324,35157.14%170.00%-81,116-14.29%567,603Wexford6,34767.06%3,10832.84%100.11%3,23934.22%9,465Total1,883,00562.20%1,143,57437.78%5250.02%739,43124.43%3,027,104 Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Genesee Notes Partisan clients References 1998 Governor Michigan