1998 Connecticut State Treasurer election
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November 3, 1998
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Nappier: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Silvester: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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The 1998 Connecticut State Treasurer election took place on November 3, 1998, to elect the Connecticut State Treasurer. Incumbent Republican State Treasurer Paul J. Silvester was appointed to the office by Governor John G. Rowland to complete the term of Chris Burnham, who resigned to work at an investment firm.
Silvester lost election to a full term to Democratic nominee Denise L. Nappier by 2,684 votes, a margin of just 0.3%. As of 2026, this was the last time the State Treasurer of Connecticut changed partisan control.
Candidates
Nominee
- Paul J. Silvester, incumbent state treasurer (1997–1999)[1]
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Denise L. Nappier, Hartford City Treasurer (1989–1998), former executive director of the Hartford Riverfront Recapture, former chair of the Hartford Redevelopment Authority, and former Director of Institutional Relations for UConn Health (1981–1984)[2][3]
Eliminated in primary
- Frank A. Leece
Endorsements
U.S. representatives
- Barbara B. Kennelly, U.S. representative from CT-01 (1982–1991), Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus (1995–1999), and former secretary of the state (1979–1982)[4]
Convention
The Democratic statewide nominating convention was held on July 19, 1998.
The nomination for Secretary of the State was at the center of the race issue during the 1998 conventions. Black Democratic leaders were urging the party to nominate at least one black candidate to an otherwise all-white ticket. Incumbent Republican Governor John G. Rowland had been touting his party as the exemplar of diversity in the state, with the Republican ticket including two black and two Hispanic candidates, much to the frustration of Democrats. In response to black Democratic leaders threatening to boycott an all-white ticket, Barbara B. Kennelly, the party's nominee for governor, endorsed black candidate Denise L. Nappier.
Early delegate counts showed Nappier trailing Frank A. Leece, but she ultimately won the party's endorsement narrowly with 51% of the vote to Leece's 49%. According to NYT, "Mr. Lecce stormed from the convention hall and said he planned to wage a primary battle against Ms. Nappier on Sept. 15, which he is allowed to do under party rules." Leece, an Italian-American, had criticized the effort to usher in a candidate based on race, saying, "That's the old, antiquated way it used to be done."[4]
Results
The Democratic primary was held on September 18, 1998.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Denise L. Nappier | 58,315 | 59.25% | |
| Democratic | Frank A. Leece | 40,114 | 40.75% | |
| Total votes | 98,429 | 100.0% | ||