1998 United States Senate election in Indiana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1998 United States Senate election in Indiana was held November 3, 1998. Republican incumbent Dan Coats decided to retire instead of seeking a second full term in office. Democratic former governor Evan Bayh won the open seat his father once held.
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November 3, 1998
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 County results Bayh: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Helmke: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Coats was later returned to the seat in the 2010 election.
General election
Candidates
- Evan Bayh, former governor of Indiana (Democratic)
- Paul Helmke, mayor of Fort Wayne (Republican)
- Rebecca Sink-Burris (Libertarian)
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) | Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Paul Helmke (R) |
Evan Bayh (D) |
Other / undecided[b] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harris Insights & Analytics[1] | October 30, 1998 | 977 | — | 33% | 64% | 3% |
| Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy[1][2] | October 25–27, 1998 | 819 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 33% | 58% | 9% |
| Harris Insights & Analytics[1] | October 20, 1998 | 831 | — | 27% | 63% | 10% |
| Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy[2] | September 11–13, 1998 | 814 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 32% | 55% | 13% |
| Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy[2] | July 25–27, 1998 | 803 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 31% | 53% | 16% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Evan Bayh | 1,012,244 | 63.72% | ||
| Republican | Paul Helmke | 552,732 | 34.79% | ||
| Libertarian | Rebecca Sink-Burris | 23,641 | 1.49% | ||
| Total votes | 1,588,617 | 100.0% | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | |||||
Results by county
Bayh won 88 of Indiana's counties compared to 4 for Helmke.[4]
| County | Bayh | Votes | Helmke | Votes | Sink-Burris | Votes | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams | 60.5% | 6,407 | 37.8% | 4,011 | 1.7% | 185 | 10,603 |
| Allen | 53.5% | 41,037 | 44.5% | 34,183 | 2.0% | 1,496 | 76,716 |
| Bartholomew | 60.9% | 11,937 | 37.7% | 7,383 | 1.4% | 275 | 19,595 |
| Benton | 62.2% | 2,019 | 36.1% | 1,172 | 1.7% | 54 | 3,245 |
| Blackford | 67.4% | 2,916 | 31.2% | 1,348 | 1.4% | 60 | 4,324 |
| Boone | 48.7% | 6,267 | 49.6% | 6,377 | 1.7% | 215 | 12,859 |
| Brown | 64.6% | 3,670 | 33.5% | 1,903 | 1.9% | 107 | 5,680 |
| Carroll | 62.4% | 3,987 | 36.6% | 2,340 | 1.0% | 63 | 6,390 |
| Cass | 60.5% | 7,454 | 38.0% | 4,691 | 1.5% | 184 | 12,329 |
| Clark | 71.8% | 18,747 | 27.1% | 7,090 | 1.1% | 291 | 26,128 |
| Clay | 73.2% | 6,099 | 25.7% | 2,137 | 1.1% | 95 | 8,331 |
| Clinton | 58.5% | 4,859 | 40.1% | 3,332 | 1.4% | 113 | 8,304 |
| Crawford | 70.0% | 2,673 | 28.2% | 1,075 | 1.8% | 70 | 3,818 |
| Daviess | 62.8% | 5,056 | 36.3% | 2,918 | 0.9% | 75 | 8,049 |
| Dearborn | 57.1% | 6,650 | 40.4% | 4,704 | 2.5% | 286 | 11,640 |
| Decatur | 63.5% | 4,372 | 35.4% | 2,434 | 1.1% | 79 | 6,885 |
| DeKalb | 57.3% | 5,217 | 41.1% | 3,736 | 1.6% | 145 | 9,098 |
| Delaware | 67.4% | 23,142 | 31.3% | 10,758 | 1.3% | 458 | 34,358 |
| Dubois | 71.2% | 8,623 | 26.4% | 3,199 | 2.4% | 292 | 12,114 |
| Elkhart | 51.9% | 17,863 | 47.1% | 16,238 | 1.0% | 334 | 34,435 |
| Fayette | 71.9% | 5,717 | 26.9% | 2,137 | 1.2% | 99 | 7,953 |
| Floyd | 68.1% | 15,150 | 30.7% | 6,832 | 1.2% | 261 | 22,243 |
| Fountain | 65.4% | 4,143 | 33.5% | 2,125 | 1.1% | 70 | 6,338 |
| Franklin | 64.4% | 3,817 | 33.9% | 2,014 | 1.7% | 100 | 5,931 |
| Fulton | 66.9% | 4,751 | 31.6% | 2,248 | 1.5% | 107 | 7,106 |
| Gibson | 73.2% | 8,265 | 25.8% | 2,914 | 0.9% | 107 | 11,286 |
| Grant | 61.9% | 13,067 | 37.1% | 7,829 | 1.0% | 212 | 21,108 |
| Greene | 71.5% | 8,002 | 27.4% | 3,062 | 1.1% | 123 | 11,187 |
| Hamilton | 42.4% | 18,793 | 56.2% | 24,948 | 1.4% | 611 | 44,352 |
| Hancock | 54.8% | 9,135 | 43.7% | 7,303 | 1.5% | 244 | 16,682 |
| Harrison | 69.4% | 8,245 | 28.9% | 3,430 | 1.7% | 200 | 11,875 |
| Hendricks | 46.8% | 11,458 | 52.0% | 12,757 | 1.2% | 301 | 24,516 |
| Henry | 66.2% | 10,029 | 32.6% | 4,954 | 1.2% | 176 | 15,159 |
| Howard | 63.6% | 15,811 | 35.0% | 8,686 | 1.4% | 347 | 24,844 |
| Huntington | 52.8% | 5,412 | 45.8% | 4,692 | 1.4% | 144 | 10,248 |
| Jackson | 68.2% | 8,557 | 30.7% | 3,856 | 1.1% | 144 | 12,557 |
| Jasper | 56.2% | 3,764 | 42.5% | 2,850 | 1.3% | 90 | 6,704 |
| Jay | 64.3% | 4,202 | 34.2% | 2,240 | 1.5% | 96 | 6,538 |
| Jefferson | 64.9% | 6,134 | 25.9% | 2,450 | 9.2% | 865 | 9,449 |
| Jennings | 63.8% | 4,507 | 34.6% | 2,448 | 1.6% | 110 | 7,065 |
| Johnson | 55.0% | 15,965 | 43.5% | 12,637 | 1.5% | 422 | 29,024 |
| Knox | 74.5% | 9,101 | 24.6% | 3,003 | 0.9% | 108 | 12,212 |
| Kosciusko | 48.1% | 8,423 | 49.9% | 8,750 | 2.0% | 342 | 17,515 |
| LaGrange | 58.1% | 3,715 | 40.6% | 2,596 | 1.3% | 81 | 6,392 |
| Lake | 78.0% | 80,073 | 20.9% | 21,429 | 1.1% | 1,139 | 102,641 |
| LaPorte | 71.2% | 21,495 | 27.5% | 8,304 | 1.3% | 386 | 30,185 |
| Lawrence | 61.2% | 7,967 | 37.3% | 4,850 | 1.5% | 201 | 13,018 |
| Madison | 69.6% | 29,134 | 29.4% | 12,317 | 1.0% | 426 | 41,877 |
| Marion | 60.9% | 122,830 | 37.5% | 75,688 | 1.6% | 3,329 | 201,847 |
| Marshall | 59.6% | 6,504 | 39.5% | 4,310 | 0.9% | 97 | 10,911 |
| Martin | 69.7% | 2,624 | 29.1% | 1,099 | 1.2% | 44 | 3,767 |
| Miami | 57.6% | 5,689 | 40.4% | 3,993 | 2.0% | 195 | 9,877 |
| Monroe | 66.2% | 19,044 | 30.8% | 8,845 | 3.0% | 862 | 28,751 |
| Montgomery | 56.2% | 5,062 | 42.5% | 3,835 | 1.3% | 113 | 9,010 |
| Morgan | 55.1% | 9,056 | 43.3% | 7,109 | 1.6% | 271 | 16,436 |
| Newton | 65.5% | 2,654 | 32.2% | 1,306 | 2.3% | 94 | 4,054 |
| Noble | 58.8% | 6,014 | 39.5% | 4,046 | 1.7% | 171 | 10,231 |
| Ohio | 59.6% | 1,208 | 37.5% | 760 | 2.9% | 58 | 2,026 |
| Orange | 64.2% | 4,343 | 33.8% | 2,293 | 2.0% | 134 | 6,770 |
| Owen | 67.7% | 3,625 | 30.4% | 1,632 | 1.9% | 101 | 5,358 |
| Parke | 71.4% | 4,192 | 27.4% | 1,611 | 1.2% | 71 | 5,874 |
| Perry | 76.2% | 4,218 | 22.9% | 1,265 | 0.9% | 49 | 5,532 |
| Pike | 74.0% | 3,883 | 24.5% | 1,284 | 1.5% | 79 | 5,246 |
| Porter | 69.6% | 26,219 | 28.9% | 10,890 | 1.5% | 557 | 37,666 |
| Posey | 73.9% | 6,870 | 24.9% | 2,316 | 1.2% | 116 | 9,302 |
| Pulaski | 62.6% | 2,853 | 36.0% | 1,641 | 1.4% | 62 | 4,556 |
| Putnam | 61.5% | 5,706 | 37.0% | 3,437 | 1.5% | 138 | 9,281 |
| Randolph | 61.3% | 4,351 | 37.3% | 2,643 | 1.4% | 101 | 7,095 |
| Ripley | 61.2% | 5,105 | 37.7% | 3,149 | 1.1% | 96 | 8,350 |
| Rush | 64.0% | 4,051 | 34.5% | 2,184 | 1.5% | 92 | 6,327 |
| Saint Joseph | 68.3% | 47,214 | 30.7% | 21,229 | 1.0% | 667 | 69,110 |
| Scott | 75.2% | 4,492 | 23.9% | 1,428 | 0.9% | 55 | 5,975 |
| Shelby | 62.4% | 7,201 | 36.3% | 4,186 | 1.3% | 155 | 11,542 |
| Spencer | 69.0% | 5,121 | 30.4% | 2,253 | 0.6% | 48 | 7,422 |
| Starke | 71.7% | 5,127 | 26.4% | 1,892 | 1.9% | 135 | 7,154 |
| Steuben | 55.3% | 4,204 | 42.5% | 3,237 | 2.2% | 166 | 7,607 |
| Sullivan | 79.0% | 5,565 | 19.7% | 1,387 | 1.3% | 90 | 7,042 |
| Switzerland | 67.7% | 1,847 | 31.2% | 851 | 1.1% | 30 | 2,728 |
| Tippecanoe | 60.1% | 20,293 | 38.6% | 13,025 | 1.3% | 452 | 33,770 |
| Tipton | 62.3% | 3,517 | 36.3% | 2,051 | 1.4% | 78 | 5,646 |
| Union | 60.7% | 1,451 | 37.2% | 889 | 2.1% | 51 | 2,391 |
| Vanderburgh | 71.5% | 36,558 | 27.3% | 14,010 | 1.2% | 590 | 51,158 |
| Vermillion | 82.2% | 4,195 | 16.5% | 842 | 1.3% | 65 | 5,102 |
| Vigo | 76.6% | 22,070 | 22.2% | 6,415 | 1.2% | 337 | 28,822 |
| Wabash | 55.1% | 4,739 | 44.0% | 3,781 | 0.9% | 78 | 8,598 |
| Warren | 67.0% | 2,324 | 31.6% | 1,095 | 1.4% | 50 | 3,469 |
| Warrick | 70.8% | 11,889 | 28.0% | 4,700 | 1.2% | 194 | 16,783 |
| Washington | 65.7% | 5,282 | 28.5% | 2,289 | 5.9% | 472 | 8,043 |
| Wayne | 63.5% | 12,704 | 35.3% | 7,068 | 1.2% | 247 | 20,019 |
| Wells | 56.6% | 5,146 | 41.9% | 3,806 | 1.5% | 137 | 9,089 |
| White | 68.3% | 5,791 | 30.5% | 2,592 | 1.2% | 103 | 8,486 |
| Whitley | 58.9% | 5,586 | 38.8% | 3,680 | 2.3% | 222 | 9,488 |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Delaware
- Porter
- Madison
- Spencer
- Starke
- Tippecanoe
- Vanderburgh
- Blackford
- Marion
- Monroe
- Knox
- Pike
- Posey
- Warrick
- Adams
- Allen
- Bartholomew
- Benton
- Brown
- Carroll
- Cass
- Clay
- Clinton
- Daviess
- Dearborn
- Jasper
- Decatur
- DeKalb
- Dubois
- Elkhart
- Fayette
- Fountain
- Franklin
- Fulton
- Grant
- Greene
- Hancock
- LaPorte
- Henry
- Howard
- Huntington
- Jackson
- Jay
- Jennings
- Johnson
- LaGrange
- Lawrence
- Marshall
- Martin
- Miami
- Montgomery
- Morgan
- Newton
- Noble
- Ohio
- Orange
- Owen
- Parke
- Pulaski
- Putnam
- Randolph
- Ripley
- Rush
- St. Joseph
- Shelby
- Steuben
- Tipton
- Union
- Wabash
- Warren
- Washington
- Wayne
- Wells
- White
- Whitley