1998 Arkansas gubernatorial election

none related races 1998 United States gubernatorial elections January 2025 September 2023 1998 Arkansas gubernatorial election Arkansas 1924 presidential no 1994 Arkansas gubernatorial election 1994 2002 Arkansas gubernatorial election 2002 November 3, 1998 File:Mike Huckabee, August 2002 (cropped).jpg 150x150px 0.6 Mike Huckabee Republican Party (United States) 421,989 59.77% File:3x4.svg Bill Bristow Democratic Party (United States) 272,923 38.66% 1998 Arkansas gubernatorial election results map by county.svg 210px County resultsHuckabee: #ffb2b2 40–50% #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80%Bristow: #7996e2 50–60% Governor Mike Huckabee Republican Party (United States) Mike Huckabee Republican Party (United States) The 1998 Arkansas gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998 to elect the governor of Arkansas. Republican incumbent Mike Huckabee was re-elected to a second term in office over Democratic nominee Bill Bristow. Background In 1993, Mike Huckabee won a special election to become lieutenant governor of Arkansas after Jim Guy Tucker was elevated to governor following the resignation of Bill Clinton. Tucker resigned from office in 1996 after his conviction for arranging fraudulent loans as part of the Whitewater controversy, and Huckabee became governor of Arkansas on July 15, 1996.https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/16/us/arkansas-governor-resigns-after-furor.html Arkansas Governor Resigns After Furor Steve Barnes The New York Times 16 July 1996 Republican primary Candidates Mike Huckabee, incumbent governor of Arkansas since 1996 Gene McVay, Air National Guard colonel Results Republican Primary results Mike Huckabee (inc.) Republican Party (United States) 64,819 63.56 Gene McVay Republican Party (United States) 37,160 36.44 101,979 100.00 Democratic primary Candidates Dirk Anderson, farmer Bill Bristow, attorney Johnny Hoyt, state representative Results Democratic Party primary resultshttp://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=5&year=1998&f=0&off=5&elect=0 Map uselectionatlas.org Bill Bristow Democratic Party (United States) 129,639 55.22 Johnny Hoyt Democratic Party (United States) 90,057 38.36 Dirk Anderson Democratic Party (United States) 15,072 6.42 234,769 100.00 General election Candidates Bill Bristow, attorney (Democratic) Keith Carle (Reform) Mike Huckabee, incumbent governor of Arkansas since 1996 (Republican) Campaign Because Huckabee had not yet been elected to the post, and the aftermath of Tucker's resignation had temporarily tarnished the title of governor, he was expected to face a strong challenge from Bristow. However, Huckabee's appeal as an honest Southern Baptist minister in the wake of scandal and Bristow's lack of political experience made Huckabee a much more attractive candidate.https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/04/us/1998-elections-nation-governors-george-w-bush-re-elected-texas-his-brother-jeb.html THE 1998 ELECTIONS: THE NATION -- GOVERNORS; George W. Bush Is Re-elected in Texas; His Brother Jeb Is Victorious in Florida David E. Rosenbaum The New York Times 4 November 1998 He ran a well-funded grassroots campaign across all portions of the state, while the Democratic Party focused on Blanche Lincoln's campaign for U.S. Senate. Polling Poll source Date(s)administered SamplesizeKey:A – all adultsRV – registered votersLV – likely votersV – unclear Marginof error MikeHuckabee (R) BillBristow (D) KeithCarle (Rf) UndecidedMason-Dixon Polling & StrategyFiveThirtyEight'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 FiveThirtyEightCNN AllPolitics Election '98 - Arkansas 1998 Polls https://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/1998/states/AR/polls/AR98G.html CNN 13 June 2025 https://archive.today/20250613231511/https://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/1998/states/AR/polls/AR98G.html 13 June 2025 liveOctober 23–25, 1998810 (LV)± 3.5%58%33%–9%Mason-Dixon Polling & StrategyOctober 5–7, 1998838 (LV)± 3.5%60%30%–10%Mason-Dixon Polling & StrategySeptember 8–9, 1998811 (LV)± 3.5%61%31%1%7%McLaughlin Consulting GroupJuly 14–20, 1998400 (LV)± 4.9%69%22%1%8%Mason-Dixon Polling & StrategyJune 1–3, 1998805 (RV)± 3.5%62%28%1%9%Mason-Dixon Polling & StrategyMay 11–12, 1998814 (LV)± 3.5%61%27%–12% Results On election day, Huckabee won the election with nearly 60 percent of the vote, the largest margin for any Republican governor of Arkansas since Reconstruction. It would not be surpassed until 2018, when Asa Hutchinson received 65.3 percent. According to a CNN exit poll, Huckabee received 48 percent of the African American vote.http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/01/could_mike_huckabee_be_america_1.asp https://web.archive.org/web/20080120015044/http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/01/could_mike_huckabee_be_america_1.asp dead January 20, 2008 Could Mike Huckabee be America's Second Black President? Faughnahan Brian January 15, 2008 The Weekly Standard January 7, 2015 During Huckabee's 2008 presidential campaign, some experts questioned whether those numbers were a representative sample.Ahead of debate, Huckabee's claim of black support questioned http://archives.arkansasnews.com/2007/09/26/ahead-of-debate-huckabees-claim-of-black-support-questioned/ Arkansas News September 26, 2007 2017-02-21 https://web.archive.org/web/20150923194725/http://archives.arkansasnews.com/2007/09/26/ahead-of-debate-huckabees-claim-of-black-support-questioned/ 2015-09-23 deadArkansas gubernatorial election, 1998http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=5&year=1998&f=0&off=5&elect=0 1998 General: November 3, 1998 Arkansas Secretary of State December 28, 2016 Republican Party (United States) Mike Huckabee (inc.) 421,989 59.77% +19.61% Democratic Party (United States) Bill Bristow 272,923 38.66% -21.18% Reform Party (United States) Keith Carle 11,099 1.57% 149,066 19.54% +0.14% 706,011 Republican Party (United States) Notes References 2 1990s Politics United States 1998 Arkansas Gubernatorial Category:Mike Huckabee Category:November 1998 in the United States Category:May 1998 in the United States