Attorney General of Ohio
November 3, 1998 · general election · 2 candidates with a page
The candidates
Listed alphabetically by surname. Ohio rotates the order candidates appear in by precinct, so no order on this page is the order on a ballot.
- Clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy, and for Judge Robert Bork on the D.C. Circuit.
- B.A. in legal and political theory, Michigan State University, 1981, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa.
- M.A. in philosophy, politics and economics, Brasenose College, Oxford University, as a Marshall Scholar.
9 of 11 sections researched · 27 sources
- Operates a private law practice and consulting firm.
- B.A., Bowling Green State University; J.D., University of Toledo College of Law.
- Vice chair, Bowling Green State University Board of Trustees; chair, Jo Ann Davidson Leadership Institute for young women.
8 of 11 sections researched · 11 sources
Richard Cordray
The numbers behind this figure, as a table
| Section | State |
|---|---|
| profile | researched |
| ballot | researched |
| positions | researched |
| claims | not researched |
| record | researched |
| money | researched |
| interests | researched |
| polling | researched |
| elections | researched |
| endorsements | not researched |
| sources | researched |
Betty Montgomery
The numbers behind this figure, as a table
| Section | State |
|---|---|
| profile | researched |
| ballot | researched |
| positions | researched |
| claims | not researched |
| record | researched |
| money | researched |
| interests | researched |
| polling | not researched |
| elections | researched |
| endorsements | not researched |
| sources | researched |
The race in pictures
The numbers behind this figure, as a table
| Status |
|---|
| None found in the records checked |
A note on our coverage
Read before the columns: where one candidate has more entries than another, this says which of the two reasons it is.
Richard Cordray's record in office has 9 entries and Betty Montgomery's has 4. The difference reflects the length of each public record and the depth of our research; it is not a judgment.
Sources: Richard Cordray has 22 entries and Betty Montgomery has 10 entries. The difference reflects the length of each public record and the depth of our research; it is not a judgment.
Jump to a candidate
- Richard Cordray: Where they stand · What they have said, checked · Record in office · Money
- Betty Montgomery: Where they stand · What they have said, checked · Record in office · Money
Where they stand
Their own words, by issue, with the date, the venue and the link. A paraphrase is marked as one.
Consumer protection and debt collection
Richard Cordray
None found in the records checked
Betty Montgomery
Paraphrase of a linked source, not their words:
Ran for re-election on her first-term record: rebuilding Ohio's crime laboratories with DNA testing capability, a consumer-protection division that would be recognized nationally in 2000 as the country's most outstanding such agency, and being the only Ohio Attorney General to collect over $1 billion owed to the state.
Source: bgsu.edu
Government ethics
Richard Cordray
None found in the records checked
Betty Montgomery
I have to live with myself everyday; my reputation is worth more than a dollar
Source: thelantern.com
Gun rights
Richard Cordray
None found in the records checked
Betty Montgomery
I Support The Second Amendment
Source: buckeyefirearms.org
I don't want to live in a country where everyone is packing heat
Source: buckeyefirearms.org
Healthcare
Richard Cordray
Paraphrase of a linked source, not their words:
Pledged to protect the ACA's pre-existing-condition coverage protections and to take on drug companies and insurance companies to protect health care.
Source: daytondailynews.com
Betty Montgomery
None found in the records checked
Opioid crisis
Richard Cordray
Paraphrase of a linked source, not their words:
Pledged to declare a state of emergency immediately and increase funding for opioid treatment and social-services programs.
Source: daytondailynews.com
Betty Montgomery
None found in the records checked
Qualifications for the office
Richard Cordray
Paraphrase of a linked source, not their words:
Entered the race as a first-time statewide candidate whose principal credential was appellate/legal work as Ohio's first Solicitor General (1993-1995), in contrast to Montgomery's background as an elected county prosecutor before she became Attorney General.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org
Betty Montgomery
None found in the records checked
Small-business lending
Richard Cordray
Paraphrase of a linked source, not their words:
Pledged to expand the state's linked-deposit program, under which the Treasurer deposits state funds in local banks that agree to make below-market-rate loans to small businesses.
Source: ideastream.org
Betty Montgomery
None found in the records checked
State fiscal oversight
Richard Cordray
None found in the records checked
Betty Montgomery
Paraphrase of a linked source, not their words:
Campaigned on continuing and extending the work of outgoing Republican Auditor Jim Petro, casting herself as the more aggressive choice to recover public funds lost through the era's wave of corporate accounting collapses (Enron, WorldCom and similar cases), and pledged vigilant fiscal oversight of Ohio's forthcoming roughly $5 billion school-construction program.
Source: thelantern.com
State investments
Richard Cordray
Paraphrase of a linked source, not their words:
Ran on his record as Franklin County Treasurer managing a roughly $650 million investment portfolio with consistently 'clean' state audits, contrasting it with O'Brien's Ashtabula County audit record, where 11 of her 12 county audits drew citations.
Source: ideastream.org
Betty Montgomery
None found in the records checked
What they have said, checked
Newest first. Each check is shown in the checker's own rating word, with their name, the date and the link.
Richard Cordray
Not yet researched
Betty Montgomery
Not yet researched
Record in office
Dated actions. Any evaluation of an action is printed with the name of whoever made it and the link.
The numbers behind this figure, as a table
| Person | Date | Kind | Entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cordray (D) | 2002 | office | Franklin County Treasurer |
| Cordray (D) | 2007 | office | Ohio State Treasurer |
| Cordray (D) | 2009-01 | office | Attorney General of Ohio |
| Cordray (D) | 2012 | office | Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau |
| Cordray (D) | 2002 | office | Franklin County Treasurer |
| Cordray (D) | 1991 | office | Ohio House of Representatives, 33rd District |
| Cordray (D) | 1993-09 | office | Solicitor General of Ohio |
| Cordray (D) | 1992 | action | 1992 (action): Lost his first bid for federal office, the 1992 U.S. House race in Ohio's 15th District, to Republican Deborah Pryce in a three-way contest, |
| Cordray (D) | 1993-12 | action | 1993-12 (action): As Solicitor General, defended the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board's denial of a Ku Klux Klan cross-display permit at the Ohio Stat |
| Cordray (D) | 2002 | action | 2002 (action): As Franklin County Treasurer, set new records for delinquent property-tax collection through a tax-lien-certificate sale program, land-bank |
| Cordray (D) | 2009-07 | action | 2009-07 (action): Became the first state attorney general in the nation to sue a mortgage loan servicer (GMAC Mortgage/Ally Financial) over foreclosure practi |
| Cordray (D) | 2010 | action | 2010 (action): As Ohio Attorney General (2009-2011), sued or settled with major Wall Street firms and recovered roughly $2 billion for Ohio pension funds, |
| Cordray (D) | 2010-08 | action | 2010-08 (action): About 60% of his 2010 campaign fundraising came from the state Democratic Party, labor unions and law firms retained by his office as outsid |
| Cordray (D) | 2010-10 | action | 2010-10 (action): His office filed suit against GMAC Mortgage and parent Ally Financial alleging fraudulent 'robo-signing' affidavits to mislead courts in hun |
| Cordray (D) | 2016 | ruling | 2016 (ruling): As CFPB Director, Cordray's single-director enforcement action against PHH Corp. (raising an initial $6 million fine to $109 million) was fo |
| Cordray (D) | 2017-11 | action | 2017-11 (action): Resigned as CFPB Director in November 2017, before his term expired, to run for governor. |
| Montgomery (R) | 1981 | office | Wood County Prosecutor |
| Montgomery (R) | 1989 | office | Ohio State Senate, 2nd District |
| Montgomery (R) | 1995-01 | office | Attorney General of Ohio |
| Montgomery (R) | 2003-01 | office | Auditor of State of Ohio |
| Montgomery (R) | 1995 | action | 1995 (action): As Attorney General, her office's consumer-protection division was recognized nationally in 2000 as the country's 'most outstanding' such ag |
| Montgomery (R) | 1998-11 | action | 1998-11 (action): As part of a coalition of 46 states, her office joined the Master Settlement Agreement ending Ohio's lawsuit against the country's largest c |
| Montgomery (R) | 2003 | action | 2003 (action): As Auditor of State, within her first 18 months her audits identified more than $180 million in misspent tax dollars statewide. |
| Montgomery (R) | 2005 | statement | 2005 (statement): As sitting Auditor of State when the Coingate scandal broke, had accepted campaign contributions from GOP fundraiser Tom Noe before his rare |
Richard Cordray
-
November 2017 · action
Resigned as CFPB Director in November 2017, before his term expired, to run for governor.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, per CNN Money:
Personal political ambitions
· the sourceSource: money.cnn.com
-
2016 · ruling
As CFPB Director, Cordray's single-director enforcement action against PHH Corp. (raising an initial $6 million fine to $109 million) was found by a D.C. Circuit panel to be an abuse of discretion; the same panel's ruling in PHH Corp. v. CFPB held the bureau's single-director structure unconstitutional.
Sources: reason.com · housingwire.com
-
October 2010 · action
His office filed suit against GMAC Mortgage and parent Ally Financial alleging fraudulent 'robo-signing' affidavits to mislead courts in hundreds of Ohio foreclosure cases, and took formal legal action against 14 foreclosure-rescue scam operations targeting Ohio homeowners during his tenure.
Source: Ohio sues loan servicer for fraudulent practices involving hundreds of Ohio foreclosures
-
August 2010 · action
About 60% of his 2010 campaign fundraising came from the state Democratic Party, labor unions and law firms retained by his office as outside 'special counsel'; DeWine's campaign characterized this as 'almost exclusively' from those sources, which PolitiFact rated Half True.
PolitiFact, August 30, 2010:
Half True
· the source -
2010 · action
As Ohio Attorney General (2009-2011), sued or settled with major Wall Street firms and recovered roughly $2 billion for Ohio pension funds, investors, schools and cities, including a $475 million Merrill Lynch settlement, $400 million from Marsh & McLennan, and roughly $725 million from AIG.
-
July 2009 · action
Became the first state attorney general in the nation to sue a mortgage loan servicer (GMAC Mortgage/Ally Financial) over foreclosure practices, and pressed Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank and Wells Fargo to meet with his office.
Source: Ohio AG Cordray Files Suit Against GMAC Mortgage for Fraudulent Foreclosures
-
2002 · action
As Franklin County Treasurer, set new records for delinquent property-tax collection through a tax-lien-certificate sale program, land-bank creation, and personal-finance education initiatives; every state audit of his office came back clean.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
-
December 1993 · action
As Solicitor General, defended the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board's denial of a Ku Klux Klan cross-display permit at the Ohio Statehouse; lost at both the federal district court and the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the case was later decided against the state's position by the U.S. Supreme Court, 7-2, in June 1995, after Cordray had left the office.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
-
1992 · action
Lost his first bid for federal office, the 1992 U.S. House race in Ohio's 15th District, to Republican Deborah Pryce in a three-way contest, taking 37.9% of the vote to Pryce's 44.1%, with independent Linda Reidelbach drawing 17.9%.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Betty Montgomery
-
2005 · statement
As sitting Auditor of State when the Coingate scandal broke, had accepted campaign contributions from GOP fundraiser Tom Noe before his rare-coin investment fraud became public; she -- with Attorney General Jim Petro and Secretary of State Ken Blackwell -- returned a combined $17,100 in Noe-connected donations after the scandal broke.
Source: supreme.findlaw.com
-
2003 · action
As Auditor of State, within her first 18 months her audits identified more than $180 million in misspent tax dollars statewide.
Source: bgsu.edu
-
November 1998 · action
As part of a coalition of 46 states, her office joined the Master Settlement Agreement ending Ohio's lawsuit against the country's largest cigarette manufacturers; she said the litigation was to 'protect public health and prevent underage smoking' and that 'a significant portion of this money should go toward these causes.'
Source: citybeat.com
-
1995 · action
As Attorney General, her office's consumer-protection division was recognized nationally in 2000 as the country's 'most outstanding' such agency, and collected more than $1 billion owed to the state over her two terms.
Source: bgsu.edu
Money
Totals and donors exactly as filed with the FEC or the Ohio Secretary of State, each figure with its filing link.
The numbers behind this figure, as a table
| Status |
|---|
| None found in the records checked |
Richard Cordray
The numbers behind this figure, as a table
| Status |
|---|
| None found in the records checked |
Totals as filed
None found in the records checked
Top donors, as filed
None found in the records checked
Outside spending
None found in the records checked
In-state share
Not yet researched
Betty Montgomery
The numbers behind this figure, as a table
| Status |
|---|
| None found in the records checked |
Totals as filed
None found in the records checked
Top donors, as filed
None found in the records checked
Outside spending
None found in the records checked
In-state share
Not yet researched
The result
Betty Montgomery · certified 1998-11-03
| Candidate | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Betty Montgomery | 2,037,864 | 62.2% |
| Richard Cordray | 1,240,102 | 37.8% |
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Sources
Data from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0: 1998 Ohio Attorney General election · Richard Cordray · 2018 Ohio gubernatorial election · 2010 Ohio Attorney General election · 2006 Ohio State Treasurer election · Solicitor General of Ohio · Capitol Square Review & Advisory Board v. Pinette · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Montgomery · 2006 Ohio Attorney General election · 2002 Ohio State Auditor election
- 1998 Ohio Attorney General election · Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-21
- Richard Cordray · Ballotpedia · accessed 2026-09-19
- Richard Cordray · Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-19
- 2018 Ohio gubernatorial election · Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-19
- 2010 Ohio Attorney General election · Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-19
- Governor Race: What you need to know about Richard Cordray, where he stands on issues · Dayton Daily News · accessed 2026-09-19
- Ohio Attorney General Fights Against Wall Street · CNBC · 2010-10-12 · accessed 2026-09-19
- Ohio Attorney General Fights Wall Street Wrongs · NPR · 2009-12-07 · accessed 2026-09-19
- A Limited Victory for Limited Government · Reason · 2016-10-11 · accessed 2026-09-19
- PHH vs. CFPB: Cordray won't be around to see the outcome of the case · HousingWire · accessed 2026-09-19
- Cordray resignation sets off scramble over Consumer Financial Protection Bureau · CNN Money · 2017-11-24 · accessed 2026-09-19
- Richard Cordray - Ohio Candidate · Transparency USA · accessed 2026-09-19
- Teacher unions plunk $1 million behind Richard Cordray · The Columbus Dispatch · 2018-10-12 · accessed 2026-09-19
- CFPB Director Richard Cordray biography · Consumer Financial Protection Bureau · accessed 2026-09-19
- Cordray leads GOP's DeWine by 5 points in Ohio governor's race: poll · The Hill · accessed 2026-09-19
- Ohio Attorney General election, 2010 · Ballotpedia · accessed 2026-09-21
- 2006 Ohio State Treasurer election · Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-21
- State Treasurer Candidates Debate · Ideastream Public Media · 2006-10-19 · accessed 2026-09-21
- Solicitor General of Ohio · Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-21
- Capitol Square Review & Advisory Board v. Pinette · Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-21
- https://www.transparencyusa.org/oh/committee/cordraysutton-committee-562-can/contributors?cycle=2018-election-cycle
- Who has the money? Cordray outraises DeWine in September · Dayton Daily News · accessed 2026-09-21
- Mike DeWine says Attorney General Richard Cordray's campaign is funded 'almost exclusively' by party, labor unions and special counsels · PolitiFact · 2010-08-30 · accessed 2026-09-21
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Montgomery
- Ohio AG Cordray Files Suit Against GMAC Mortgage for Fraudulent Foreclosures · National Mortgage Professional · accessed 2026-09-21
- Ohio sues loan servicer for fraudulent practices involving hundreds of Ohio foreclosures · Cleveland 19 · accessed 2026-09-21
- 2006 Ohio Attorney General election · Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-21
- Betty D. Montgomery's story · Bowling Green State University · accessed 2026-09-21
- Ohio's 'Coingate' Scandal: How It Exposes the Flaws of Our Campaign Finance System · FindLaw · accessed 2026-09-21
- Betty 'Just call me Kerry' Montgomery begins chase for gun vote · Buckeye Firearms Association · accessed 2026-09-21
- Betty Montgomery Money Profile · OpenSecrets · accessed 2026-09-21
- 2002 Ohio State Auditor election · Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-21
- Candidates contending for state auditor's office · The Lantern, Ohio State University · accessed 2026-09-21
- Ohio's Goal to Spend Tobacco Settlement on Education Is a Cruel Hoax · Cincinnati CityBeat · accessed 2026-09-21
Quick answers
When was the 1998 Attorney General of Ohio election?
The election for Attorney General of Ohio was held on November 3, 1998.
Who ran for Attorney General of Ohio in 1998?
On the ballot for Attorney General of Ohio, in surname order: Richard Cordray (Democratic), Betty Montgomery (Republican).
Who won the 1998 Attorney General of Ohio election?
Betty Montgomery won the election for Attorney General of Ohio. Results as certified: Richard Cordray 37.8%, Betty Montgomery 62.2%.
Cite and data
Cite this page as:
Cracked Buckeye, "Attorney General of Ohio, 1998", https://crackedbuckeye.com/election/1998/attorney-general/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].
How to cite · Report a correction · Built 2026-10-31