1998 Washington, D.C., mayoral election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On November 3, 1998, Washington, D.C., held an election for its mayor. The Democratic candidate, former chief financial officer (CFO) Anthony A. Williams, defeated Republican candidate Carol Schwartz, a member of the Council of the District of Columbia. The parties' primary elections had been held on September 15, 1998.[1]
 | |||||||||||||||||
November 3, 1998
| |||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 40.2% | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
_(cropped).jpg)
Party primaries
Anthony A. Williams, who had been appointed as chief financial officer under outgoing mayor Marion Barry in 1995, ran as a technocratic candidate against three members of the Council of the District of Columbia. The Washington Post reported that the entry of Williams, who at the time had only resided in DC for three years, "vastly changed the playing field for three council members who had prepared to run against Barry or against each other in the Democratic primary".[2]
His closest opponent, councilmember Kevin P. Chavous, received the support of the Metropolitan Washington AFL-CIO, their first mayoral primary endorsement since the 1986 Washington election.[3]
Democratic primary
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Anthony A. Williams | 45,216 | 49.91 | |
| Democratic | Kevin P. Chavous | 31,499 | 34.77 | |
| Democratic | Jack Evans | 8,621 | 9.52 | |
| Democratic | Harold Brazil | 3,994 | 4.41 | |
| Democratic | Sylvia Robinson-Green | 363 | 0.40 | |
| Democratic | Jeff Gildenhorn | 358 | 0.40 | |
| Democratic | Osie Thorpe | 167 | 0.18 | |
| Democratic | Write-in | 367 | 0.41 | |
| Total votes | 90,585 | 100 | ||
Republican primary
Councilwoman Carol Schwartz won the Republican nomination as the only candidate on the primary ballot. Former US Senator from South Dakota Larry Pressler considered a run for mayor but ultimately decided against it.[5]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Carol Schwartz | 2,516 | 88.53 | |
| Republican | Write-in | 326 | 11.47 | |
| Total votes | 2,842 | 100 | ||
D.C. Statehood primary
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DC Statehood | John Gloster | 245 | 62.98 | |
| DC Statehood | Write-in | 144 | 37.02 | |
| Total votes | 389 | 100 | ||
Umoja Party primary
General election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Anthony A. Williams | 92,504 | 66.16 | |
| Republican | Carol Schwartz | 42,280 | 30.24 | |
| DC Statehood | John Gloster | 2,312 | 1.65 | |
| Independent | Alpha Brown | 693 | 0.49 | |
| Independent | Brian P. Moore | 501 | 0.36 | |
| Independent | Faith Dane | 430 | 0.31 | |
| Socialist Workers | Sam Manuel | 330 | 0.24 | |
| Independent | Albert Ceccone | 236 | 0.17 | |
| Write-in | 539 | 0.38 | ||
| Total votes | 139,825 | 100 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||