1998 United States Senate election in New York

none March 2026 September 2023 1998 United States Senate election in New York New York Flag of New York (1909–2020).svg presidential no 1992 United States Senate election in New York 1992 2004 United States Senate election in New York 2004 November 3, 1998 150x150px Charles Schumer official portrait.jpg Chuck Schumer Democratic Party (United States) font-weight:normal;background:transparent;text-align:left; Parties Independence Liberal 2,551,065 54.62% Alfonse D'Amato (cropped).jpg Al D'Amato Republican Party (United States) font-weight:normal;background:transparent;text-align:left; Parties Conservative Right to Life 2,058,988 44.08% 1998 United States Senate election in New York results map by county.svg 300px County resultsSchumer: #a5b0ff 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% #3933e5 80–90%D'Amato: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80% U.S. Senator Al D'Amato Republican Party (United States) Chuck Schumer Democratic Party (United States) The 1998 United States Senate election in New York was held November 3, 1998. Republican incumbent Al D'Amato ran for a fourth term in office but was defeated by Democratic U.S. representative Chuck Schumer in the "high[est] profile and nastiest" contest of the 1998 United States elections.http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1998/11/03/election/senate/new.york/ CNN Schumer topples D'Amato in New York Senate race November 3, 1998 Rothenburg Stuart Primary elections were held on September 15. Schumer defeated the early favorite for the Democratic nomination, television host and 1984 vice presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro, who was making her second unsuccessful bid to face D'Amato. The third candidate in the Democratic race was New York City public advocate Mark Green, whom D'Amato had defeated in a 1986 landslide. Schumer was also nominated by the Liberal and Independence parties, while D'Amato was nominated by the Conservative and Right to Life parties. This was the first time since 1950 that Democrats won the Class 3 United States Senate seat from New York, and the last time an incumbent U.S. Senator from New York lost a general election. Schumer's swearing in marked the first time since 1947 that Democrats held both of New York's U.S. Senate seats. Democratic primary Candidates Geraldine Ferraro, host of Crossfire, former U.S. representative from Queens, 1984 nominee for vice president, and 1992 candidate for U.S. Senate Mark Green, New York City public advocate and 1986 nominee for U.S. Senate (also running as Independence) Eric Ruano-Melendez, perennial candidateOctober 2022 Chuck Schumer, U.S. representative from Brooklyn (also running as Liberal and Independence) Campaign Ferraro was well known for having been the 1984 Democratic vice presidential nominee, and had also run, but lost, in the Democratic primary in the 1992 U.S. Senate election in New York. Green had been the Democratic nominee in the 1986 election, but lost in the general election to D'Amato. At the start of 1998, Ferraro had done no fund-raising, out of fear of conflict of interest with her job, hosting the CNN program Crossfire, but was nonetheless perceived as the front-runner by virtue of her name recognition;https://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/04/nyregion/friends-say-ferraro-will-seek-d-amato-s-seat.html Friends Say Ferraro Will Seek D'Amato's Seat Nagourney, Adam Adam Nagourney The New York Times January 4, 1998 indeed, December and January polls had her 25 percentage points ahead of Green in the race, and even further ahead of Schumer.https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/17/nyregion/the-1998-campaign-the-farewell-for-ferraro-early-promise-lopsided-loss.html The Farewell: For Ferraro, Early Promise, Lopsided Loss Waldman, Amy The New York Times September 17, 1998Schumer Chuck Chuck Schumer Positively American: Winning Back the Middle-Class Majority One Family at a Time Rodale Books 2007 978-1-59486-572-5 registration https://archive.org/details/positivelyameric00schu p. 17. Unlike her previous campaigns, Ferraro's family finances never became an issue in 1998. However, she lost ground during the summer, with Schumer catching her in the polls by early August, and then soon passing her.Schumer, Positively American, p. 31. Schumer, a tireless fund-raiser, outspent her by a five-to-one margin, and Ferraro failed to establish a political image current with the times.Schumer, Positively American, pp. 18, 30. In the September 15, 1998, primary, she was beaten soundly by Schumer, with a 51 percent to 26 percent margin. Unlike the bitter 1992 Democratic senatorial primary, this contest was not divisive, and Ferraro and third-place finisher Green endorsed Schumer at a unity breakfast the following day.Schumer, Positively American, pp. 33, 39. Polling Source Date Mark Green Geraldine Ferraro Chuck Schumer Quinnipiac September 25, 1997 25% 48% 15% Quinnipiac December 11, 1997 25% 48% 12% Quinnipiac February 26, 1998 19% 46% 18% Quinnipiac March 26, 1998 20% 50% 15% Quinnipiac June 18, 1998 23% 46% 19% Quinnipiac July 16, 1998 24% 39% 28% Results thumb|300px|Democratic primary results by county #6674de Schumer #A5B0FF Schumer—40–50% #7996E2 Schumer—50–60% #6674DE Schumer—60–70% #37c837 Ferraro #87de87 Ferraro—40–50% #5fd35f Ferraro—50–60% #37c837 Ferraro—60–70% #2ca02c Ferraro—70–80% |center The primaries were held on September 15, 1998. 1998 U.S. Senate Democratic primary Democratic Party (United States) Chuck Schumer 388,701 50.84% Democratic Party (United States) Geraldine Ferraro 201,625 26.37% Democratic Party (United States) Mark Green 145,819 19.07% Democratic Party (United States) Eric Ruano-Melendez 28,493 3.73% Republican primary Candidates Al D'Amato, incumbent U.S. senator since 1981 Declined Betsy McCaughey Ross, incumbent lieutenant governor of New York (ran for governor as Democratic and Liberal) Polling Source Date Alfonse D'Amato Betsy McCaughey Ross Quinnipiac September 25, 1997 55% 26% Other primaries Independence 1998 Independence Party U.S. Senate primaryOctober 2026 Independence Party (New York) Chuck Schumer 2,562 58.04% Independence Party (New York) Mark Green 1,852 41.96% Right to Life 1998 Right to Life U.S. Senate primaryOctober 2026 Right to Life Al D'Amato (incumbent) 3,798 63.07% Right to Life Thomas Drolesky 2,224 36.93% General election Candidates Rose Ana Berbeo (Socialist Workers Party) Al D'Amato, incumbent U.S. senator since 1981 (Republican, Conservative, and Right to Life) Joel Kovel, psychiatrist and eco-socialist activist (Green Party) Corinne Kurtz (Marijuana Reform Party) William McMillen (Libertarian Party) Chuck Schumer, U.S. representative from Brooklyn (Democratic, Liberal, and Independence) Campaign During the campaign, D'Amato attempted to brand Schumer as a die-hard liberal, while Schumer accused D'Amato of being a liar. When D'Amato's first strategy failed, D'Amato attacked his opponent's attendance record as a member of Congress, which Schumer refuted.https://www.pbs.org/newshour/election98/nyu_11-4.html Online NewsHour: 98 Election - The New York Wrap-up - November 4, 1998 September 17, 2017 January 8, 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140108030430/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/election98/nyu_11-4.html dead https://www.pbs.org/newshour/election98/damato_schumer/nysenate_10-28.html Online NewsHour: New York Senate Race - October 28, 1998 September 17, 2017 July 25, 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130725215919/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/election98/damato_schumer/nysenate_10-28.html dead Late in the campaign, D'Amato called Schumer a "putzhead" in a private meeting with Jewish supporters ("putz" is Yiddish for penis, and can be slang for "fool"). He later apologized for the comment. In the last days of the campaign, D'Amato campaigned with popular New York governor George Pataki, who was also running for reelection, and was also supported by New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Democratic mayor Ed Koch.http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1998/10/30/ny.senate/ CNN Randall Gene October 30, 1998 New York Senate race an old-fashioned street fight Vice President Al Gore and First Lady Hillary Clinton personally campaigned for Schumer, as D'Amato was a prominent critic of President Bill Clinton who led the investigation into Whitewater. Though the Republican Party was well organized, the Democratic Party benefited from robocalls from President Clinton and mobilization from two major unions, the United Federation of Teachers and 1199SEIU. Though D'Amato was effective in obtaining federal government funds for New York state projects during his Senate career, he failed to capitalize on this in the election. Also, Schumer was a tenacious fundraiser, and was aggressive in his attacks.https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/04/nyregion/1998-elections-new-york-state-senate-schumer-uses-d-amato-s-tactics-win-senate.html The New York Times THE 1998 ELECTIONS: NEW YORK STATE - THE SENATE; Schumer Uses D'Amato's Tactics To Win Senate Election Handily Adam Nagourney November 4, 1998 The candidates spent $30 million during the race. Polling Poll source Date(s) Samplesize Marginof error Al D'Amato(R) Chuck Schumer(D) Other / undecidedCalculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined. Zogby Interactive/JZ 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 FiveThirtyEight October 31, 1998 1,196 — 47.3% 46.5% 6.2% Harris Insights & Analytics October 30, 1998 2,243 — 46% 50% 4% Quinnipiac University October 29, 1998 584 — 42% 50% 8% Zogby Interactive/JZ Analytics October 29, 1998 700 — 37% 41% 22% Blum & Weprin Associates October 28, 1998 662 — 42% 46% 12% Marist College October 27, 1998 351 — 47% 50% 3% Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy October 27, 1998 808 — 43% 46% 11% Zogby Interactive/JZ Analytics October 27, 1998 700 — 38% 44% 18% Manhattanville College October 25, 1998 601 (RV) — 42% 50% 8% Zogby Interactive/JZ Analytics October 25, 1998 700 — 39% 43% 18% CBS News/The New York Times October 23, 1998 1,235 (RV) — 44% 44% 12% Quinnipiac University October 23, 1998 600Sample size unavailable; 600 is a default estimate used in the source dataset. — 44% 48% 8% Zogby Interactive/JZ Analytics October 23, 1998 700 — 42% 40% 18% SurveyUSA October 21, 1998 500 — 43% 48% 9% Zogby Interactive/JZ Analytics October 21, 1998 702Average of multiple versions or turnout models listed in the poll; the source dataset gives the sample size as 701.5. — 43% 39% 18% Harris Insights & Analytics October 20, 1998 1,792 — 46% 44% 10% Zogby Interactive/JZ Analytics October 15, 1998 706 — 42% 37% 21% Quinnipiac University October 14, 1998 — — 45% 46% 9% Blum & Weprin Associates October 13, 1998 364 — 52% 44% 4% Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group (D)Poll conducted for an unspecified Democratic sponsor. October 13, 1998 902 — 42% 46% 12% Quinnipiac University September 24, 1998 — — 43% 47% 10% Quinnipiac University June 18, 1998 — — 49% 37% 14% Quinnipiac University March 26, 1998 — — 45% 41% 14% Quinnipiac University February 26, 1998 — — 45% 41% 14% Quinnipiac University December 11, 1997 — — 45% 40% 15% Quinnipiac University September 25, 1997 — — 40% 43% 17% background:#cff Hypothetical polling border:solid 1px silver; padding:8px; background:var(--background-color-base); color:var(--color-base); with Ferraro Source Date AlD'Amato (R) GeraldineFerraro (D) Quinnipiac July 23, 1997 32% 55% Quinnipiac September 25, 1997 36% 54% Quinnipiac December 11, 1997 38% 52% Quinnipiac February 26, 1998 38% 50% Quinnipiac March 26, 1998 37% 53% with Ferraro and Schumer Source Date AlD'Amato (R) GeraldineFerraro (D) ChuckSchumer (L) Quinnipiac June 18, 1998 41% 38% 12% with Green Source Date AlD'Amato (R) MarkGreen (D) Quinnipiac September 25, 1997 39% 47% Quinnipiac December 11, 1997 41% 46% Quinnipiac February 26, 1998 43% 43% Quinnipiac March 26, 1998 44% 44% with Green and Schumer Source Date AlD'Amato (R) MarkGreen (D) ChuckSchumer (L) Quinnipiac June 18, 1998 44% 28% 14% Results The race was ultimately not close, with Schumer defeating the incumbent D'Amato by just over 10%.http://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/elections/1998/USSENWEB.pdf 1998 General Election Results Elections.NY.gov July 24, 2012 August 23, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120823020655/http://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/elections/1998/USSENWEB.pdf dead D'Amato did win a majority of New York's counties, but his wins were in less populated areas. Schumer's win is attributed to strong performance in New York City. Schumer also performed well in heavily populated upstate cities, like Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, and Albany. Schumer was sworn in on January 3, 1999. 1998 United States Senate election in New York Democratic Party (United States) Chuck Schumer 2,386,314 51.09% +5.52% Independence Party (New York) Chuck Schumer 109,027 2.33% Liberal Party (New York) Chuck Schumer 55,724 1.19% -1.03% Total Chuck Schumer 2,551,065 54.62% +6.84% Republican Party (United States) Al D'Amato 1,680,203 35.97% -5.10% Conservative Party (New York) Al D'Amato 274,220 5.87% +1.39% New York State Right to Life Party Al D'Amato 104,565 2.24% -1.24% Total Al D'Amato (incumbent) 2,058,988 44.08% -4.95% Marijuana Reform Party Corinne Kurtz 34,281 0.73% Green Party (United States) Joel Kovel 14,735 0.32% Libertarian Party (United States) William McMillen 8,223 0.18% -1.50% Socialist Workers Party (United States) Rose Ana Berbeo 3,513 0.08% -0.18% 4,670,805 100.00% Democratic Party (United States) Republican Party (United States) See also 1998 United States Senate elections Notes References External links Official campaign websites (archived) Chuck Schumer (D) for Senate Al D'Amato (R) for Senate United States Senate 1998 New York Category:Geraldine Ferraro Category:Chuck Schumer