The 1998 Iowa gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998. Incumbent
RepublicanGovernorTerry Branstad did not seek re-election to a fifth consecutive term; he later successfully ran again in
2010 and
2014.
To replace him,
State SenatorTom Vilsack narrowly won the nomination of the
Democratic Party while former
United States CongressmanJim Ross Lightfoot, who was previously the Republican nominee for the
United States Senate in
1996, won his party's nomination. Lightfoot was the odds-on favorite to succeed Branstad and polling consistently showed him in the lead.[1] However, Vilsack comfortably won the general election in a stunning upset, becoming the first Democrat to serve as governor of Iowa in 30 years and only the fifth Democrat to hold the office in the 20th century. Lightfoot never
conceded defeat.[2]