1998 California gubernatorial election

none January 2025 September 2023 1998 California gubernatorial election California presidential no 1994 California gubernatorial election 1994 2002 California gubernatorial election 2002 November 3, 1998 41.43% Gray Davis, portrait.jpg Gray Davis Democratic Party (United States) 4,860,702 57.97% File:Dan Lungren (3x4a).jpg Dan Lungren Republican Party (United States) 3,218,030 38.38% 300px County results Davis: #a5b0ff 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% #3933e5 80–90%Lungren: #ffb2b2 40–50% #e27f7f 50–60% Governor Pete Wilson Republican Party (United States) Gray Davis Democratic Party (United States) The 1998 California gubernatorial election was an election that occurred on November 3, 1998, resulting in the election of Lieutenant Governor Gray Davis as the state's first Democratic governor in 16 years. Davis won the general election by an almost 20% margin over his closest opponent, Republican Attorney General Dan Lungren. Davis succeeded Pete Wilson, who was term limited. The 1998 California gubernatorial election featured the state's only gubernatorial blanket primary, a practice which was later struck down in United States Supreme Court in California Democratic Party v. Jones in 2000. The primary occurred on June 2, 1998. Davis defeated fellow Democrats Jane Harman and Al Checchi for the Democratic nomination. Davis received more votes than Lungren, who ran against less well-known opponents in the Republican primary. The primary set a record for spending in a California gubernatorial primary. Davis won 30 of California's 58 counties; no Democrat would win a majority of the counties again until Gavin Newsom in 2018.Jerry Brown won 29 counties (exactly half) in 2014. Davis carried Mono County by a single vote, becoming the first Democratic candidate to ever carry that county in a gubernatorial election.John R. McConnell, the Southern Democratic nominee in 1861, had won Mono County; 1861 was the first election that Mono County participated in. Independent John Bidwell also won Mono County in 1875. Until 1998, these were the only two elections in which the Republican candidate failed to carry Mono County. This is the most recent gubernatorial election in which a Democrat carried Amador County, Kings County, Riverside County, and Trinity County. San Bernardino County would not back a Democrat again until 2018. Primary election The Democratic field for the race became open when the state's most well-known and popular politician, Senator Dianne Feinstein, decided in January 1998 not to run for governor despite a request from President Bill Clinton. She decided not to run in the race because of the difficulty of campaigning, the "deteriorated" nature of California statewide campaigns, and her desire to continue her work in the Senate.http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/01/20/nfeinstein/ No California Gubernatorial Bid For Sen. Feinstein CNN 2007-09-21 https://web.archive.org/web/20070219030254/http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/01/20/nfeinstein/ 2007-02-19 dead Former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta also decided not to run.http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/03/26/calif.gov/ California Governor's Race Gets Tougher Cnn.com 1998-03-26 2018-03-19 Al Checchi, a Democratic airline executive and political newcomer, was among the first to declare for the race. Gray Davis also declared around the same time. Congresswoman Jane Harman joined the contest in early April 1998. In early polling the three candidates were within 12 points of each other, with Davis in last.http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/04/06/spotlight/rothenberg/ Millionaires Battle In California Governor's Primary Cnn.com 1998-04-06 2018-03-19 Harman spent $14.4 million in her race for governor. Checchi spent just under $39 million on his campaign.http://www.sos.ca.gov/prd/finance98_general_final/98gencandmainpage.htm https://archive.today/20070611100052/http://www.sos.ca.gov/prd/finance98_general_final/98gencandmainpage.htm dead June 11, 2007 Spending in the 1998 Governor's race Sos.ca.gov 2017-12-13 2018-03-19 The airline executive's campaign included numerous advertisings, one of which included school children trying to pronounce his name and another with his wife speaking Spanish. Checchi did not identify himself as a Democrat in most of his early campaign advertisings.http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/04/14/ip.interview/ The "Inside Politics" Interview: The California Governor's Race Cnn.com 2018-03-19 Harman briefly overtook Checchi in state polls but declined after Checchi launched a series of negative campaign advertisings against her. Many of Feinstein's top campaign advisers worked for Harman during the Gubernatorial primary. Harman's campaign ran a biographical ad of her at the 1960 Democratic National Convention. Davis ran on the campaign slogan "experience money can't buy", and he promised to make education his top priority, which matched voters' concerns in exit polls. All three major Democratic candidates made education one of their top priorities in the campaign.https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/keyraces98/stories/ca060398.htm Lt. Governor Wins Primary in California Washingtonpost.com 1998-06-03 2018-03-19 Davis was third in polling until the final week of the campaign, and because he had trouble raising money during the early months of the campaign, he did not run campaign advertisings early in the race as did Harman and Checchi. Davis spent 9 million in total campaign funds in the primary, and later criticized Checchi for giving money to Republicans Steve Forbes and Bob Dole in 1996. Davis finished first in the primary, followed by Lungren, Checchi, and Harman. Lungren spent $7.7 million in the primary. Candidates Democratic Gray Davis, incumbent lieutenant governor Jane Harman, U.S. Representative Al Checchi, businessman Chuck Pineda Jr. Pia Jensen Michael Palitz Republican Dan Lungren, incumbent attorney general Dennis Peron, businessman, veteran, and activist James D. Crawford Eduardo M. Rivera Jeff Williams Green Dan Hamburg, former U.S. Representative Libertarian Steve Kubby, businessman Peace and Freedom Gloria La Riva, activist and perennial candidate Marsha Feinland, perennial candidate American Independent Nathan E. Johnson Natural Law Harold H. Bloomfield, author Results Open primary resultsStatement of Vote Primary Election June 2, 1998 California Secretary of State Sacramento, California 1-8 https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov//sov/1998-primary/1998-sov-primary.pdf 23 July 2024 October 17, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201017131929/https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov//sov/1998-primary/1998-sov-primary.pdf dead California Democratic Party Gray Davis 2,083,396 34.74% California Democratic Party Al Checchi 748,828 12.49% California Democratic Party Jane Harman 741,251 12.36% California Democratic Party Charles "Chuck" Pineda Jr. 23,367 0.39% California Democratic Party Pia Jensen 12,403 0.21% California Democratic Party Michael Palitz 12,050 0.20% California Republican Party Dan Lungren 2,023,618 33.75% California Republican Party Dennis Peron 72,613 1.21% California Republican Party James D. Crawford 28,881 0.48% California Republican Party Eduardo M. Rivera 22,222 0.37% California Republican Party Jeff Williamshttp://www.ccis.com/home/jrwms007 Engineered Finishing Systems | Robotics & Automation CCIS 2018-03-19 19,799 0.33% Green Party of California Dan Hamburg 92,298 1.54% Libertarian Party of California Steve W. Kubby 47,025 0.78% Peace and Freedom Party (United States) Gloria Estela La Riva 21,505 0.36% Peace and Freedom Party (United States) Marsha Feinland 15,572 0.26% American Independent Party Nathan E. Johnson 19,540 0.33% Natural Law Party Harold H. Bloomfield 12,422 0.21% 209,828 3.38% 5,996,790"total" Total votes cast for candidates; does not include blank votes. The percentages in the Statement of Vote are based on this total, while the percentage for blank votes is calculated using the combined total of valid votes and blank votes. 100.00% General election Polling Poll source Date(s) SamplesizeKey:A – all adultsRV – registered votersLV – likely votersV – unclear Marginof error DanLungren (R) GrayDavis (D) Other / undecidedpolling Calculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined. SurveyUSAFiveThirtyEight'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 FiveThirtyEight November 1, 1998 800 — 37% 60% 3% Harris Insights & Analytics October 30, 1998 5,735 — 42% 53% 5%The Field InstituteCNN AllPolitics Election '98 - California 1998 Polls https://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/1998/states/CA/polls/CA98G.html CNN 14 June 2025 https://archive.today/20250614185700/https://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/1998/states/CA/polls/CA98G.html 14 June 2025 liveOctober 26–28, 1998809 (LV)± 3.5%43%50%7%The Field InstituteOctober 22–27, 1998678 (LV)± 4.0%39%53%8%Los Angeles TimesOctober 17–21, 1998883 (LV)± 4.0%42%53%5%Mason-Dixon Polling & StrategyOctober 11–13, 1998820 (LV)± 3.5%42%48%10%Public Policy Institute of CaliforniaOctober 1–6, 1998793 (LV)± 3.5%41%49%10%The Fields InstituteSeptember 27 – October 5, 1998703 (LV)± 3.7%42%48%10%Public Policy Institute of CaliforniaSeptember 1–7, 19981,046 (LV)± 3.0%38%47%15%The Field InstituteAugust 18–24, 1998625 (LV)± 4.1%37%49%14% Harris Insights & Analytics October 20, 1998 4,531 — 39% 50% 11%Mason-Dixon Polling & StrategyJuly 26–28, 1998832 (LV)± 3.5%39%48%13%The Field InstituteMarch 5–15, 1998727 (LV)± 4.0%42%41%17% Results right 300px Swing by county 300px Trend by county Legend #006D92 Democratic —+>40% #00a1c8 Democratic —+30−40% #00bdec Democratic —+25−30% #09ceff Democratic—+20%−25% #4bdbff Democratic—+15%−20% #77e3ff Democratic—+10−15% #aaeeff Democratic—+5−10% #D5F6FF Democratic—+<5% #FFD5D5 Republican—+<5% #FFAAAA Republican—+5−10% #FF8080 Republican—+10−15% #FF5555 Republican—+15−20% #FF2A2A Republican—+20−25% #FF0000 Republican—+25−30% 300px County flips Legend Democratic #92c5de Hold #0671b0 Flip Republican #f48882 Hold 1998 California gubernatorial electionStatement of Vote General Election November 3, 1998 California Secretary of State Sacramento, California 1-3 https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov//sov/1998-general/sov1998-general.pdf 23 July 2024 January 14, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230114180844/https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov//sov/1998-general/sov1998-general.pdf dead California Democratic Party Gray Davis 4,860,702 57.97% +17.35% California Republican Party Dan Lungren 3,218,030 38.38% -16.80% Green Party of California Dan Hamburg 104,179 1.24% Libertarian Party of California Steve Kubby 73,845 0.88% -0.84% Peace and Freedom Party (United States) Gloria Estela La Riva 59,218 0.71% -0.22% American Independent Party Nathan E. Johnson 37,964 0.45% -1.09% Natural Law Party (United States) Harold H. Bloomfield 31,237 0.37% Independent Gale Shangold (write-in) 16 0.00% Independent Phillip Ashamallah (write-in) 3 0.00% Independent Holden Charles Hollom (write-in) 1 0.00% Independent Lark D. Jursek (write-in) 1 0.00% 235,925 2.73% 1,642,672 19.59% 8,385,196"total" 100.00% California Democratic Party California Republican Party +34.15% Results by county County Gray DavisDemocratic Dan LungrenRepublican Dan HamburgGreen Steve KubbyLibertarian GloriaLa RivaPFP Nathan E. JohnsonAIP Harold H. BloomfieldNLP Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % # % # % # % # %Alameda282,29773.47%86,74522.58%6,9191.80%3,0410.79%2,7270.71%1,1300.29%1,3780.36%195,55250.89%384,237Alpine28550.35%24743.64%142.47%30.53%81.41%30.53%61.06%386.71%566Amador6,61449.20%6,47848.19%860.64%1120.83%640.48%570.42%320.24%1361.01%13,443Butte30,18446.00%32,71749.86%1,1761.79%5450.83%3620.55%4000.61%2330.36%-2,533-3.86%65,617Calaveras7,35845.46%8,15050.35%1490.92%2981.84%710.44%1010.62%590.36%-792-4.89%16,186Colusa2,13643.60%2,62153.50%360.73%390.80%330.67%270.55%70.14%-485-9.90%4,899Contra Costa190,20062.82%103,68634.25%3,2391.07%2,2410.74%1,3990.46%9670.32%1,0200.34%86,51428.58%302,753"Shangold" Includes 1 for ShangoldDel Norte3,82051.34%3,08741.49%2423.25%871.17%540.73%1031.38%470.63%7339.85%7,440El Dorado25,42943.84%30,53452.64%7271.25%5750.99%2600.45%2830.49%1920.33%-5,105-8.80%58,000Fresno82,29347.68%85,36949.46%9620.56%1,2570.73%1,4210.82%9180.53%3880.22%-3,076-1.78%172,608Glenn3,15041.74%4,14054.86%570.76%540.72%460.61%771.02%220.29%-990-13.12%7,546Humboldt23,88051.22%17,65837.88%3,9128.39%4891.05%2770.59%2040.44%1990.43%6,22213.35%46,619Imperial13,26256.15%8,59236.38%2020.86%1610.68%1,0334.37%2250.95%1440.61%4,67019.77%23,619Inyo3,08245.36%3,37749.70%1061.56%691.02%600.88%701.03%310.46%-295-4.34%6,795Kern59,13241.80%78,21355.29%8400.59%8720.62%8940.63%1,0400.74%4570.32%-19,081-13.49%141,448Kings11,37049.98%10,70447.06%1170.51%1160.51%2050.90%1840.81%510.22%6662.93%22,747Lake11,07458.83%6,73435.77%5092.70%2081.10%1010.54%1180.63%810.43%4,34023.05%18,825Lassen3,79245.85%4,06549.15%831.00%770.93%770.93%1301.57%460.56%-273-3.30%8,270Los Angeles1,297,89665.69%615,64231.16%18,7360.95%15,9780.81%14,2650.72%7,0040.35%6,1400.31%682,25434.53%1,975,672Includes 9 for Shangold, 2 for AshamallahMadera10,86941.10%14,86456.20%1500.57%1960.74%1330.50%1620.61%730.28%-3,995-15.11%26,447Marin70,10868.94%27,39226.94%2,1712.13%9380.92%4810.47%2590.25%3440.34%42,71642.00%101,693Mariposa3,00541.86%3,85553.70%881.23%1031.43%380.53%700.98%200.28%-850-11.84%7,179Mendocino16,45057.37%8,65930.20%2,5318.83%4561.59%2290.80%1930.67%1540.54%7,79127.17%28,672Merced21,20053.39%17,53544.16%2420.61%1870.47%2550.64%1940.49%950.24%3,6659.23%39,708Modoc1,42840.74%1,85652.95%451.28%411.17%391.11%712.03%250.71%-428-12.21%3,505Mono1,64147.35%1,64047.32%601.73%551.59%210.61%240.69%250.72%10.03%3,466Monterey54,46459.76%33,05336.27%1,1091.22%7.930.87%7150.78%5050.55%4970.55%21,41123.49%91,136Napa25,80959.86%15,19335.24%1,0212.37%4190.97%2630.61%2080.48%2010.47%10,61624.62%43,114Nevada17,52244.98%19,72050.62%8752.25%3991.02%1680.43%1460.37%1290.33%-2,198-5.64%38,959Orange318,19844.69%370,73652.07%6,6220.93%6,5120.91%4,2350.59%2,9500.41%2,8070.39%-52,538-7.38%712,060Placer38,73443.55%47,74553.68%7470.84%7100.80%3430.39%3700.42%2920.33%-9,011-10.13%88,941Plumas3,76443.99%4,47252.26%1081.26%951.11%410.48%490.57%280.33%-708-8.27%8,557Riverside173,56751.15%155,17545.73%2,4630.73%2,2750.67%2,7280.80%1,9360.57%1,2050.36%18,3925.42%339,349Sacramento206,87057.37%142,97039.65%3,3440.93%2,5250.70%2,2900.64%1,5440.43%1,0180.28%63,90017.72%360,561San Benito7,53157.42%4,96737.87%1270.97%1841.40%1411.08%830.63%830.63%2,56419.55%13,116San Bernardino174,62952.60%144,05643.39%2,9820.90%3,1770.96%3,2290.97%2,4410.74%1,5070.45%30,5739.21%332,021San Diego364,16949.45%340,83446.28%7,7421.05%8,4391.15%6,4510.88%4,3690.59%4,4200.60%23,3353.17%736,426Includes 1 for Shangold, 1 for AshamallahSan Francisco192,49680.03%36,46415.16%5,9802.49%2,1430.89%2,1540.90%6660.28%6200.26%156,03264.87%240,527Includes 3 for Shangold, 1 for HollomSan Joaquin64,37752.03%56,44745.62%7150.58%6530.53%7050.57%5230.42%3150.25%7,9306.41%123,735San Luis Obispo42,54349.04%40,36346.53%1,6191.87%8290.96%5390.62%5020.58%3470.40%2,1802.51%86,743Includes 1 for JursekSan Mateo142,14468.43%59,24928.52%2,3821.15%1,7800.86%9470.46%6040.29%6070.29%82,89539.91%207,713Santa Barbara65,93753.33%52,87342.76%1,8951.53%9550.77%8780.71%4950.40%6040.49%13,06410.57%123,637Santa Clara270,10564.28%133,01531.66%4,9921.19%5,3951.28%3,0830.73%1,7200.41%1,8650.44%137,09032.63%420,176"Shangold"Santa Cruz56,07865.62%23,69927.73%3,0073.52%1,1791.38%6870.80%3550.42%4520.53%32,37937.89%85,457Shasta23,07643.28%28,13052.76%4790.90%5521.04%3510.66%5311.00%1960.37%-5,054-9.48%53,315Sierra73441.70%92452.50%291.65%452.56%110.63%120.68%50.28%-190-10.80%1,760Siskiyou7,49345.54%8,10049.23%2561.56%2301.40%1220.74%1741.06%790.48%-607-3.69%16,454Solano63,79162.81%34,28833.76%1,0030.99%9660.95%6580.65%4580.45%3950.39%29,50329.05%101,559Sonoma103,23564.29%46,61629.03%6,6314.13%1,6571.03%9440.59%7630.48%7280.45%56,61935.26%160,575"Shangold"Stanislaus50,79350.69%47,09547.00%5490.55%5430.54%4570.46%5350.53%2380.24%3,6983.69%100,210Sutter9,29642.07%12,31355.73%1310.59%1390.63%730.33%1010.46%420.19%-3,017-13.65%22,095Tehama8,56146.02%9,34350.23%1520.82%1700.91%1410.76%1790.96%560.30%-782-4.20%18,602Trinity2,44749.01%2,16843.42%1322.64%901.80%571.14%681.36%310.62%2795.59%4,993Tulare32,18644.11%39,07253.54%3530.48%4930.68%3630.50%3730.51%1330.18%-6,886-9.44%72,973Tuolumne9,73148.38%9,77148.58%2011.00%1610.80%700.35%1170.58%610.30%-40-0.20%20,112Ventura110,22652.95%91,09343.73%2,0490.98%1,6160.78%1,4490.70%9110.44%8260.40%19,1339.19%208,170Yolo31,93963.06%16,78333.14%9581.89%4170.82%2640.52%1620.32%1250.25%15,15629.92%50,648Yuba6,30246.54%6,74349.79%1270.94%1060.78%1080.80%1000.74%560.41%-441-3.26%13,542Total4,860,70257.97%3,218,03038.38%104,1791.24%73,8450.88%59,2180.71%37,9640.45%31,2370.37%1,642,67219.59%8,385,196 Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Alpine Amador Contra Costa Del Norte Humboldt Imperial Kings Lake Los Angeles Mendocino Merced Mono Monterey Napa Riverside Sacramento San Benito San Bernardino San Diego San Joaquin San Luis Obispo Santa Barbara Santa Clara Solano Stanislaus Trinity Ventura Analysis Gray Davis won the general election by almost 20% over Dan Lungren. Davis outspent Lungren 28.6 million to 23.8 million. Davis tried to portray Lungren as too conservative. In one debate, Davis attacked Lungren for voting against a Safe Drinking Water Bill in the 1980s while Lungren tried to cast himself as the political heir of former President (and former California Governor) Ronald Reagan. The policy differences between Davis and Lungren were substantial. Davis was pro-abortion rights in a staunchly pro-abortion-rights state, and Lungren was anti-abortion rights. Lungren favored giving children abstinence only education. Both candidates were Roman Catholic. Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and Bob Kerrey made campaign stops in California on Davis's behalf.https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Lungren-Davis-Feisty-In-Debate-Democrat-scoffs-2984188.php Lungren, Davis Feisty In Debate Democrat scoffs as GOP hopeful invokes Reagan Sfgate.com 1998-10-16 2018-03-19Carla Marinucci https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Lungren-Davis-Deep-Divide-Over-Abortion-3000446.php Lungren, Davis – Deep Divide Over Abortion: Candidates' religion is not common ground Sfgate.com 1998-07-28 2018-03-19 Davis succeeded in casting Lungren as too far right for California. Even normally conservative San Diego County went for Davis, and – foreshadowing their Democratic trends in the 21st century — remote high mountain Mono County backed a Democratic Governor for the first time ever, and adjacent Alpine County for the first time since 1978. Upon his victory, Davis promised he would focus his attention on education and would convene a special session of the legislature.https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/keyraces98/stories/ca110598.htm Democrats' Sweep in California Could Have Lasting Impact Washingtonpost.com 1998-11-05 2018-03-19 The race determined who would control reapportionment of congressional districts after the 2000 census. Notes References 30em External links Digitized political advertisements on California Revealed Official Results from California Secretary of State Candidate Statements Candidate Statements – primaries California Journal Article https://web.archive.org/web/20071110001005/http://www.calvoter.org/voter/elections/archive/98primary/caljournal/governor.html November 10, 2007 Official campaign websites (archived) Gray Davis (D) for Governor Dan Lungreen (R) for Governor Gubernatorial 1998 California