The 1998 New Mexico gubernatorial election was a contest to elect the next governor of New Mexico. The winner of the election would serve a term from January 1, 1999 until January 1, 2003. Incumbent Republican (now Libertarian) Governor Gary Johnson was re-elected to a second term. As of 2024, this is the last time a non-Hispanic was elected governor of New Mexico.
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 County results Johnson: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Chávez: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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In his campaign, Johnson promised to continue the policies of his first term: improving schools; cutting state spending, taxes, and bureaucracy; and frequent use of his veto and line-item veto power.[1] Fielding a strong Hispanic candidate in a 40% Hispanic state, the Democrats were expected to oust Johnson,[2] but Johnson won by a margin of 55% to 45%.[3] This made him the first governor of New Mexico to serve two successive four-year terms after term limits were expanded to two terms in 1991.[4] Johnson made the promotion of a school voucher system a "hallmark issue" of his second term.[5] This election is the first time since 1968 that an incumbent Republican Governor of New Mexico was re-elected or won re-election.
Primary election
editDemocratic Party
editCandidates
edit- Martin Chávez, Mayor of Albuquerque
- Gary K. King, State Representative and son of former Governor Bruce King
- Jerry Apodaca, former Governor of New Mexico and former Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
- Robert E. Vigil, incumbent New Mexico State Auditor
- Reese P. Fullerton, attorney
- Ben Chavez, 1994 New Mexico House of Representatives District 2 candidate
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Martin J. Chávez | 82,147 | 48.11% | |
| Democratic | Gary K. King | 51,847 | 30.37% | |
| Democratic | Jerry Apodaca | 16,303 | 9.55% | |
| Democratic | Robert E. Vigil | 10,483 | 6.14% | |
| Democratic | Reese P. Fullerton | 5,800 | 3.40% | |
| Democratic | Ben Chavez | 4,127 | 2.42% | |
| Democratic | Frances Salas (write-in) | 29 | 0.02% | |
| Total votes | 170,736 | 100.00% | ||
Republican Party
editCandidates
edit- Gary Johnson, incumbent Governor of New Mexico
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Gary Johnson (incumbent) | 64,669 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 64,669 | 100.00% | ||
General election
editCampaign
editIn his campaign, Johnson promised to continue the policies of his first term: improving schools; cutting state spending, taxes, and bureaucracy; and frequent use of his veto and line-item veto power.[1] Fielding a strong Hispanic candidate in a 40% Hispanic state, the Democrats were expected to oust Johnson,[2] but Johnson won by a margin of 55% to 45%.[3] This made him the first governor of New Mexico to serve two successive four-year terms after term limits were expanded to two terms in 1991.[4] Johnson made the promotion of a school voucher system a "hallmark issue" of his second term.[5]
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Gary Johnson (incumbent) | 271,948 | 54.53% | +4.72% | |
| Democratic | Martin Chávez | 226,755 | 45.47% | +5.55% | |
| Majority | 45,193 | 9.06% | |||
| Total votes | 498,703 | 100.00% | |||
| Republican hold | Swing | -0.83% | |||
Results by county
edit| County | Gary Johnson Republican |
Martin Chávez Democratic |
Margin | Total votes cast | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Bernalillo | 96,329 | 57.55% | 71,067 | 42.45% | 25,262 | 15.09% | 167,396 |
| Catron | 1,063 | 66.73% | 530 | 33.27% | 533 | 33.46% | 1,593 |
| Chaves | 10,409 | 63.55% | 5,969 | 36.45% | 4,440 | 27.11% | 16,378 |
| Cibola | 2,952 | 43.69% | 3,805 | 56.31% | -853 | -12.62% | 6,757 |
| Colfax | 2,541 | 54.36% | 2,133 | 45.64% | 408 | 8.73% | 4,674 |
| Curry | 7,248 | 71.49% | 2,890 | 28.51% | 4,358 | 42.99% | 10,138 |
| De Baca | 714 | 65.63% | 374 | 34.38% | 340 | 31.25% | 1,088 |
| Doña Ana | 16,635 | 49.67% | 16,858 | 50.33% | -223 | -0.67% | 33,493 |
| Eddy | 8,927 | 60.47% | 5,835 | 39.53% | 3,092 | 20.95% | 14,762 |
| Grant | 4,689 | 47.14% | 5,259 | 52.86% | -570 | -5.73% | 9,948 |
| Guadalupe | 756 | 33.80% | 1,481 | 66.20% | -725 | -32.41% | 2,237 |
| Harding | 389 | 57.89% | 283 | 42.11% | 106 | 15.77% | 672 |
| Hidalgo | 1,117 | 53.55% | 969 | 46.45% | 148 | 7.09% | 2,086 |
| Lea | 9,066 | 74.12% | 3,166 | 25.88% | 5,900 | 48.23% | 12,232 |
| Lincoln | 3,613 | 63.70% | 2,059 | 36.30% | 1,554 | 27.40% | 5,672 |
| Los Alamos | 5,729 | 64.02% | 3,220 | 35.98% | 2,509 | 28.04% | 8,949 |
| Luna | 3,375 | 57.03% | 2,543 | 42.97% | 832 | 14.06% | 5,918 |
| McKinley | 5,788 | 41.72% | 8,085 | 58.28% | -2,297 | -16.56% | 13,873 |
| Mora | 697 | 27.86% | 1,805 | 72.14% | -1,108 | -44.28% | 2,502 |
| Otero | 8,721 | 66.38% | 4,417 | 33.62% | 4,304 | 32.76% | 13,138 |
| Quay | 2,265 | 60.22% | 1,496 | 39.78% | 769 | 20.45% | 3,761 |
| Rio Arriba | 3,206 | 30.26% | 7,389 | 69.74% | -4,183 | -39.48% | 10,595 |
| Roosevelt | 3,387 | 69.12% | 1,513 | 30.88% | 1,874 | 38.24% | 4,900 |
| San Juan | 20,233 | 70.53% | 8,454 | 29.47% | 11,779 | 41.06% | 28,687 |
| San Miguel | 2,015 | 22.91% | 6,781 | 77.09% | -4,766 | -54.18% | 8,796 |
| Sandoval | 14,595 | 59.94% | 9,756 | 40.06% | 4,839 | 19.87% | 24,351 |
| Santa Fe | 13,821 | 33.81% | 27,053 | 66.19% | -13,232 | -32.37% | 40,874 |
| Sierra | 2,624 | 63.54% | 1,506 | 36.46% | 1,118 | 27.07% | 4,130 |
| Socorro | 2,920 | 45.21% | 3,539 | 54.79% | -619 | -9.58% | 6,459 |
| Taos | 2,713 | 31.12% | 6,005 | 68.88% | -3,292 | -37.76% | 8,718 |
| Torrance | 2,623 | 61.16% | 1,666 | 38.84% | 957 | 22.31% | 4,289 |
| Union | 1,077 | 64.76% | 586 | 35.24% | 491 | 29.52% | 1,663 |
| Valencia | 9,711 | 54.03% | 8,263 | 45.97% | 1,448 | 8.06% | 17,974 |
| Total | 271,948 | 54.53% | 226,755 | 45.47% | 45,193 | 9.06% | 498,703 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
editCounties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
editNotes
edit- ^ The New Mexico Secretary of State has not published the complete statewide general election canvass on its 1998 election page. The county results can be obtained from the individual county pages and the statewide total from an archived version of the Secretary of State's website
References
edit- ^ a b Ayres, B. Drummond Jr. (October 23, 1998). "Democrats Renew Push in New Mexico". The New York Times. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ a b "America's boldest governor". The Economist. April 15, 1999. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
- ^ a b "CNN election results 1998". Retrieved July 2, 2012.
- ^ a b Lynch, Michael W. (January 2001). "America's Most Dangerous Politician – Republican Governor of New Mexico Gary E. Johnson". Reason. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
- ^ a b Janofsky, Michael (January 31, 2000). "Parents Lead Way as States Debate School Vouchers". The New York Times. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ a b "Canvass of Returns of Primary Election Held on June 2, 1998 – State of New Mexico". New Mexico Secretary of State. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
- ^ "STATE OF NEW MEXICO Official 1998 General Election Results for GOVERNOR OF NEW MEXICO". April 12, 1998. Archived from the original on June 22, 2006.
- ^ "Election Results 1998". New Mexico Secretary of State. Retrieved July 29, 2024.