The 1998 United States Senate election in Florida was held November 3, 1998 alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Graham won re-election to a third term, defeating future Attorney General and Governor of Florida Charlie Crist. As of 2022[update], this was the last time a Democrat has won the Class 3 Senate seat from Florida.
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November 3, 1998
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   Graham: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Crist: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 40–50% 50% No votes | |||||||||||||||||
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Democratic primary
editCandidates
edit- Bob Graham, incumbent United States Senator
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Bob Graham (incumbent) | 909,349 | 100.00% | |
Republican primary
editCandidates
edit- Charlie Crist, State Senator from St. Petersburg
- Andy Martin, perennial candidate
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Charlie Crist | 365,894 | 66.40% | |
| Republican | Andy Martin | 184,739 | 33.60% | |
| Total votes | 550,633 | 100.00% | ||
General election
editCandidates
edit- Bob Graham (D), incumbent U.S. Senator
- Charlie Crist (R), State Senator
Polling
edit| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Bob Graham (D) |
Charlie Crist (R) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason-Dixon[2] | October 26–28, 1998 | 822 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 59% | 31% | 10% |
| Independent Market Research of Tampa[2][A] | October 21–13, 1998 | 670 (LV) | ± 3.8% | 61% | 25% | 14% |
| Mason-Dixon[2] | October 15–18, 1998 | 836 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 58% | 32% | 10% |
| Mason-Dixon[2] | September 22–24, 1998 | 815 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 59% | 30% | 11% |
| Forman Center for Political Studies[2] | September 9–23, 1998 | 403 (LV) | ± 5.0% | 62% | 26% | 12% |
| Mason-Dixon[2] | August 24–25, 1998 | 804 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 59% | 28% | 13% |
| Mason-Dixon[2] | July 17–20, 1998 | 802 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 61% | 28% | 11% |
| Mason-Dixon[2] | April 16–18, 1998 | 813 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 59% | 27% | 14% |
Results
editGraham defeated Crist in a landslide, with Crist winning just four of the state's sixty-seven counties: Clay, Collier, Okaloosa, and Santa Rosa. There were no third party or independent candidates.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Bob Graham (incumbent) | 2,436,407 | 62.47% | −2.93% | |
| Republican | Charlie Crist | 1,463,755 | 37.53% | +2.94% | |
| Majority | 972,652 | 24.94% | −5.87% | ||
| Turnout | 3,900,162 | 46.84% | |||
| Total votes | 3,900,162 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic hold | Swing | ||||
See also
editNotes
edit- ↑ Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear
- Partisan clients
- ↑ Poll sponsored by the St. Petersburg Times
References
edit- ↑ "Florida Department of State - Election Results". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "CNN AllPolitics Election '98 - Florida 1998 Polls". CNN. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives".
External links
editOfficial campaign websites (archived)