1998 Ohio gubernatorial election

1998 Ohio gubernatorial election

← 1994 November 3, 1998 2002 →
 
Nominee Bob Taft Lee Fisher
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,678,721 1,498,956
Percentage 50.0% 44.6%

County results
Taft:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Fisher:      40–50%      50–60%

Governor before election

George Voinovich
Republican

Elected Governor

Bob Taft
Republican

The 1998 Ohio gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Republican Governor of Ohio George Voinovich could not seek a third term as Governor due to term limits, and ran for the United States Senate instead. To replace him, former Attorney General of Ohio Lee Fisher and Ohio Secretary of State Bob Taft won the Democratic and Republican primaries, respectively. Taft and Fisher faced off in a highly competitive general election, and in the end, Taft (a great-grandson of U.S. President and Supreme Court Chief Justice William Howard Taft) beat out Fisher by a narrow margin, making this gubernatorial election one of Ohio's closest.