1998 New Mexico gubernatorial election

The 1998 New Mexico gubernatorial election was a contest to elect the next governor of New Mexico. The winner of the election would serve a term from January 1, 1999 until January 1, 2003. Incumbent Republican (now Libertarian) Governor Gary Johnson was re-elected to a second term. As of 2025, this is the last time a non-Hispanic was elected governor of New Mexico.

1998 New Mexico gubernatorial election

← 1994 November 3, 1998 2002 →

Nominee Gary Johnson Martin Chávez Party Republican Democratic Running mate Walter Bradley Diane Denish Popular vote 271,948 226,755 Percentage 54.53% 45.47%

County results Johnson:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Chávez:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Governor before election Gary Johnson Republican Elected Governor Gary Johnson Republican

In his campaign, Johnson promised to continue the policies of his first term: improving schools; cutting state spending, taxes, and bureaucracy; and frequent use of his veto and line-item veto power.^[1] Fielding a strong Hispanic candidate in a 40% Hispanic state, the Democrats were expected to oust Johnson,^[2] but Johnson won by a margin of 55% to 45%.^[3] This made him the first governor of New Mexico to serve two successive four-year terms after term limits were expanded to two terms in 1991.^[4] Johnson made the promotion of a school voucher system a "hallmark issue" of his second term.^[5] This election is the first time since 1968 that an incumbent Republican Governor of New Mexico was re-elected or won re-election.

Primary election

Democratic Party

Candidates

• Martin Chávez, Mayor of Albuquerque
• Gary K. King, State Representative and son of former Governor Bruce King
• Jerry Apodaca, former Governor of New Mexico and former Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
• Robert E. Vigil, incumbent New Mexico State Auditor
• Reese P. Fullerton, attorney
• Ben Chavez, 1994 New Mexico House of Representatives District 2 candidate

Results

Democratic primary results^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Martin J. Chávez	82,147	48.11%
	Democratic	Gary K. King	51,847	30.37%
	Democratic	Jerry Apodaca	16,303	9.55%
	Democratic	Robert E. Vigil	10,483	6.14%
	Democratic	Reese P. Fullerton	5,800	3.40%
	Democratic	Ben Chavez	4,127	2.42%
	Democratic	Frances Salas (write-in)	29	0.02%
Total votes			170,736	100.00%

Republican Party

Candidates

• Gary Johnson, incumbent Governor of New Mexico

Results

Republican primary results^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gary Johnson (incumbent)	64,669	100.00%
Total votes			64,669	100.00%

General election

Campaign

In his campaign, Johnson promised to continue the policies of his first term: improving schools; cutting state spending, taxes, and bureaucracy; and frequent use of his veto and line-item veto power.^[1] Fielding a strong Hispanic candidate in a 40% Hispanic state, the Democrats were expected to oust Johnson,^[2] but Johnson won by a margin of 55% to 45%.^[3] This made him the first governor of New Mexico to serve two successive four-year terms after term limits were expanded to two terms in 1991.^[4] Johnson made the promotion of a school voucher system a "hallmark issue" of his second term.^[5]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Gary Johnson (R)	Martin Chávez (D)	Undecided
Research & Polling, Inc.[7][A]	October 27–29, 1998	916 (RV)	± 3.0%	49%	39%	12%
Mason-Dixon[7]	October 6–7, 1998	412 (LV)	± 5.0%	45%	43%	12%
Mason-Dixon[7]	September 15–16, 1998	409 (LV)	± 5.0%	42%	44%	14%
Research & Polling, Inc.[7][A]	September 5–10, 1998	909 (RV)	± 3.0%	42%	40%	18%

Results

1998 New Mexico gubernatorial election^[8][9][b]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Gary Johnson (incumbent)	271,948	54.53%	+4.72%
	Democratic	Martin Chávez	226,755	45.47%	+5.55%
Majority			45,193	9.06%
Total votes			498,703	100.00%
	Republican hold		Swing	-0.83%

Results by county

County	Gary Johnson Republican		Martin Chávez Democratic		Margin		Total votes cast
	#	%	#	%	#	%
Bernalillo	96,329	57.55%	71,067	42.45%	25,262	15.09%	167,396
Catron	1,063	66.73%	530	33.27%	533	33.46%	1,593
Chaves	10,409	63.55%	5,969	36.45%	4,440	27.11%	16,378
Cibola	2,952	43.69%	3,805	56.31%	-853	-12.62%	6,757
Colfax	2,541	54.36%	2,133	45.64%	408	8.73%	4,674
Curry	7,248	71.49%	2,890	28.51%	4,358	42.99%	10,138
De Baca	714	65.63%	374	34.38%	340	31.25%	1,088
Doña Ana	16,635	49.67%	16,858	50.33%	-223	-0.67%	33,493
Eddy	8,927	60.47%	5,835	39.53%	3,092	20.95%	14,762
Grant	4,689	47.14%	5,259	52.86%	-570	-5.73%	9,948
Guadalupe	756	33.80%	1,481	66.20%	-725	-32.41%	2,237
Harding	389	57.89%	283	42.11%	106	15.77%	672
Hidalgo	1,117	53.55%	969	46.45%	148	7.09%	2,086
Lea	9,066	74.12%	3,166	25.88%	5,900	48.23%	12,232
Lincoln	3,613	63.70%	2,059	36.30%	1,554	27.40%	5,672
Los Alamos	5,729	64.02%	3,220	35.98%	2,509	28.04%	8,949
Luna	3,375	57.03%	2,543	42.97%	832	14.06%	5,918
McKinley	5,788	41.72%	8,085	58.28%	-2,297	-16.56%	13,873
Mora	697	27.86%	1,805	72.14%	-1,108	-44.28%	2,502
Otero	8,721	66.38%	4,417	33.62%	4,304	32.76%	13,138
Quay	2,265	60.22%	1,496	39.78%	769	20.45%	3,761
Rio Arriba	3,206	30.26%	7,389	69.74%	-4,183	-39.48%	10,595
Roosevelt	3,387	69.12%	1,513	30.88%	1,874	38.24%	4,900
San Juan	20,233	70.53%	8,454	29.47%	11,779	41.06%	28,687
San Miguel	2,015	22.91%	6,781	77.09%	-4,766	-54.18%	8,796
Sandoval	14,595	59.94%	9,756	40.06%	4,839	19.87%	24,351
Santa Fe	13,821	33.81%	27,053	66.19%	-13,232	-32.37%	40,874
Sierra	2,624	63.54%	1,506	36.46%	1,118	27.07%	4,130
Socorro	2,920	45.21%	3,539	54.79%	-619	-9.58%	6,459
Taos	2,713	31.12%	6,005	68.88%	-3,292	-37.76%	8,718
Torrance	2,623	61.16%	1,666	38.84%	957	22.31%	4,289
Union	1,077	64.76%	586	35.24%	491	29.52%	1,663
Valencia	9,711	54.03%	8,263	45.97%	1,448	8.06%	17,974
Total	271,948	54.53%	226,755	45.47%	45,193	9.06%	498,703

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Colfax
• De Baca
• Harding
• Torrance

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Doña Ana

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
2. The New Mexico Secretary of State has not published the complete statewide general election canvass on its 1998 election page. The county results can be obtained from the individual county pages and the statewide total from an archived version of the Secretary of State's website

Partisan clients

1. Poll sponsored by Albuquerque Journal