The 1998 United States Senate election in Colorado 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 Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell won re-election to a second term by a landslide. This was Campbell's first election as a Republican as he left the Democratic Party in 1995.
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 County results Nighthorse Campbell: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Lamm: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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As of 2024, this is the last time that a Republican won the Class 3 Senate seat from Colorado, and the last time that a Native American was elected to the United States Senate until 2022.
Democratic primary
editCandidates
edit- Dottie Lamm, former First Lady of Colorado
- Gil Romero, former state legislator[1]
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Dottie Lamm | 84,929 | 57.98% | |
| Democratic | Gil Romero | 61,548 | 42.02% | |
| Total votes | 146,477 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
editCandidates
edit- Ben Nighthorse Campbell, incumbent U.S. Senator
- Bill Eggert, 1994 Republican congressional candidate
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Incumbent) | 154,702 | 70.62% | |
| Republican | Bill Eggert | 64,347 | 29.38% | |
| Total votes | 219,049 | 100.00% | ||
General election
editCandidates
edit- Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R), incumbent U.S. Senator
- Dottie Lamm, former First Lady of Colorado
Campaign
editCampbell, who was elected in 1992 as a Democrat, switched parties after the 1994 Republican Revolution. He faced a primary challenger, but won with over 70% of the vote. In the general election, Democratic nominee Dottie Lamm criticized Campbell of flip flopping from being a moderate liberal to moderate conservative.[3][4] In fact, throughout the entire campaign, Lamm mostly sent out negative attack advertisements about Campbell.[5]
Polling
edit| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R) |
Dottie Lamm (D) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason Dixon[6] | October 26–28, 1998 | 831 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 58% | 32% | 10% |
| Mason Dixon[6] | October 9–12, 1998 | 804 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 50% | 37% | 13% |
| Ciruli Associates[6][A] | October 1–10, 1998 | 407 (LV) | ± 5.0% | 54% | 33% | 13% |
| Mason Dixon[6] | July 27–29, 1998 | 849 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 46% | 34% | 20% |
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Incumbent) | 829,370 | 62.49% | +19.78% | |
| Democratic | Dottie Lamm | 464,754 | 35.02% | −16.76% | |
| Libertarian | David S. Segal | 14,024 | 1.06% | +1.06% | |
| Constitution | Kevin Swanson | 9,775 | 0.74% | ||
| Natural Law | Jeffrey Peckham | 4,101 | 0.31% | ||
| Independent | John Heckman | 3,230 | 0.24% | ||
| Independent | Gary Swing | 1,981 | 0.15% | ||
| Majority | 364,616 | 27.47% | +18.40% | ||
| Turnout | 1,327,235 | ||||
| Republican hold | Swing | ||||
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear
- Partisan clients
- ^ Poll sponsored by 9News, KOA Radio, and The Denver Post
References
edit- ^ McAvoy, Tom (November 18, 1998). "Romero starts new career as lobbyist". Pueblo Chieftain. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
- ^ a b http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/ElectionArchives/1998/Primary/1998UnitedStatesSenateResults.pdf[permanent dead link]
- ^ By Blake, Peter; 700+ words. "Data". Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Archives : The Rocky Mountain News". nl.newsbank.com.
- ^ "Denver Post: Archive Results". nl.newsbank.com.
- ^ a b c d "CNN AllPolitics Election '98 - Colorado 1998 Polls". CNN. Archived from the original on June 16, 2025. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
- ^ "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives". Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved May 4, 2021.