1998 United States Senate election in Kentucky

The 1998 United States Senate election in Kentucky was held November 3, 1998. It was concurrent with elections to the United States House of Representatives. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Wendell Ford decided to retire, instead of seeking a fifth term. Republican U.S. Representative Jim Bunning narrowly won the open seat, defeating Democratic U.S. Representative Scotty Baesler. This was the first open Senate seat since 1972.

1998 United States Senate election in Kentucky

November 3, 1998

Nominee Jim Bunning Scotty Baesler Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 569,817 563,051 Percentage 49.8% 49.2%

County results Bunning:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Baesler:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Wendell Ford Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Jim Bunning Republican

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Scotty Baesler, U.S. Representative
• Jim Brown
• Steve Henry, Lieutenant Governor
• Charlie Owen, businessman
• Ken Buchanan Thompson
• David L. Williams, member of the Kentucky Senate

Results

Democratic Primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Scotty Baesler	194,125	34.16%
	Democratic	Charlie Owen	166,472	29.29%
	Democratic	Steve Henry	156,576	27.55%
	Democratic	Jim Brown	19,975	3.51%
	Democratic	David L. Williams	16,366	2.88%
	Democratic	Ken Buchanan Thompson	14,778	2.60%
Total votes			568,292	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Jim Bunning, U.S. Representative
• Barry Metcalf, State Senator

Results

Republican primary results[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Bunning	152,493	74.28%
	Republican	Barry Metcalf	52,798	25.72%
Total votes			205,291	100.00%

General election

Candidates

• Scotty Baesler (D), U.S. Representative
• Jim Bunning (R), U.S. Representative

Results

General election results[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Jim Bunning	569,817	49.75%	+13.94%
	Democratic	Scotty Baesler	563,051	49.16%	-13.73%
	Reform	Charles R. Arbegust	12,546	1.10%
Majority			6,766	0.59%	-26.48%
Total votes			1,145,414	100.00%
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

See also

• United States Senate elections, 1998

References

1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-13. Retrieved 2011-04-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-13. Retrieved 2011-04-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-11-13. Retrieved 2011-04-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)