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 County results Municipality resultsKing: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Longley: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% >90% Connolly: 50–60% Clarke: 30–40% Tie: 40–50% 50% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The1998 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998 to elect thegovernor of Maine. IncumbentIndependent governorAngus King won re-election to a second term, defeatingRepublican nomineeJames B. Longley Jr.,Democratic nomineeThomas J. Connolly,Green Independent nomineePat LaMarche andTaxpayers' Party nominee William P. Clarke Jr.
This election was the first since1982 in which the winning candidate received greater than 50% of the vote; this was not achieved again until2018. As of the 2022 election, this is the most recent time Maine elected an independent governor.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Thomas J. Connolly | 36,954 | 81.72 | |
| Democratic | Joseph Ricci | 8,264 | 18.28 | |
| Total votes | 45,218 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | James B. Longley, Jr. | 38,192 | 66.04 | |
| Republican | Henry L. Joy | 11,411 | 19.73 | |
| Republican | Leo G. Martin | 8,229 | 14.23 | |
| Total votes | 57,832 | 100.00 | ||
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| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | Angus King (I) | James Longley Jr. (R) | Thomas Connolly (D) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strategic Marketing Services[6] | October 6–11, 1998 | 400 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 60% | 13% | 6% | 21% |
Connolly was inspired to run following King's handling of theJanuary 1998 North American ice storm, which hit Maine particularly hard,[7] while Longley criticized Maine's tax burden and echoed the Republican line that King was a "Democrat in disguise."[8]
King won in a landslide, carrying all sixteen counties and almost every municipality in Maine. Longley did manage to carry 22 municipalities in ruralAroostook,Penobscot,Piscataquis, andWashington counties, and he also tied King in two other municipalities. Connolly would win only thePassamaquoddy Indian Township Reservation, though he did tie King 4–4 inBeddington, whileConstitution Party candidate William P. Clarke Jr. would carry the town ofTalmadge over King, eight votes to seven. Despite getting nearly twice the votes of Clarke, LaMarche would fail to carry any municipality, though she did manage to tie King inAllagash and come in second to King inJackson.[9]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Angus King (incumbent) | 246,772 | 58.61% | +23.25% | |
| Republican | James B. Longley Jr. | 79,716 | 18.93% | −4.14% | |
| Democratic | Thomas J. Connolly | 50,506 | 12.00% | −21.83% | |
| Green | Pat LaMarche | 28,722 | 6.82% | +0.43% | |
| Constitution | William P. Clarke Jr. | 15,293 | 3.63% | ||
| Majority | 167,056 | 39.68% | +38.14% | ||
| Turnout | 421,009 | ||||
| Independenthold | Swing | ||||
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