U.S. Senate (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.
- Represented Ohio on the National Association of Counties' Board of Directors while serving as a county commissioner.
- B.A., Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana.
- Founding trustee of the Heights Community Congress and past president of the Cuyahoga Women's Political Caucus before entering elected office.
8 of 11 sections researched · 10 sources
- Senior Fellow at Cleveland State University and Ohio Visiting Professor of Leadership and Public Affairs at Ohio University after leaving the Senate in 2011.
- B.A. in government, Ohio University, 1958; J.D., Ohio State University College of Law, 1961.
9 of 11 sections researched · 18 sources
Mary O. Boyle
The numbers behind this figure, as a table
| Section | State |
|---|---|
| profile | researched |
| ballot | researched |
| positions | researched |
| claims | not researched |
| record | researched |
| money | researched |
| interests | not researched |
| polling | researched |
| elections | researched |
| endorsements | not researched |
| sources | researched |
George Voinovich
The numbers behind this figure, as a table
| Section | State |
|---|---|
| profile | researched |
| ballot | researched |
| positions | researched |
| claims | none found |
| record | researched |
| money | researched |
| interests | researched |
| polling | researched |
| elections | researched |
| endorsements | none found |
| sources | researched |
The race in pictures
The numbers behind this figure, as a table
| Field date | Candidate | Share | Poll |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1998 | Mary O. Boyle | 37 | Mason-Dixon, 815 likely voters, +/-3.5% |
| Oct 1998 | George Voinovich | 55 | Mason-Dixon, 815 likely voters, +/-3.5% |
Jump to a candidate
- Mary O. Boyle: Where they stand · What they have said, checked · Record in office · Money
- George Voinovich: 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.
Campaign identity
Mary O. Boyle
The United States Senate does not need any millionaires, and it does not need any more lawyers. What the United States Senate does need is a few more mothers.
Source: cbsnews.com
George Voinovich
None found in the records checked
Federal tax policy / the deficit
Mary O. Boyle
None found in the records checked
George Voinovich
Paraphrase of a linked source, not their words:
One of a small group of Senate Republicans, with Olympia Snowe, who forced the Bush administration's second tax-cut package down from a proposed $726 billion/$550 billion figure to $350 billion, citing deficit concerns; the only Senate Republican to vote against the 2000 marriage-penalty relief bill, and had opposed the second round of Bush tax cuts. Ohio press coverage described him as someone who "considers the impact of his votes... choosing carefully without regard for what the political impact might be on him personally."
Sources: cbsnews.com · forbes.com
Government ethics
Mary O. Boyle
Paraphrase of a linked source, not their words:
With state party chairman David Leland, expressed concern that Republican domination of state government would prevent the discovery of any evidence of a quid pro quo involving Treasurer Joe Deters, pointing to the composition of the Ohio Ethics Commission.
Source: citybeat.com
Paraphrase of a linked source, not their words:
Joined other Ohio Democratic leaders in accusing incumbent Treasurer Joe Deters of an apparent quid pro quo arrangement involving Cleveland stockbroker Frank Gruttadauria, whose firms, SG Cowen and Lehman Brothers, had traded $5.9 billion in securities for the state between 1999 and 2001; Gruttadauria had contributed $50,000 to the Hamilton County Republican Party's operating fund.
Source: citybeat.com
George Voinovich
None found in the records checked
Iraq / national security
Mary O. Boyle
None found in the records checked
George Voinovich
Paraphrase of a linked source, not their words:
During his first term (2000-2004) voiced early skepticism about aspects of Iraq strategy but did not break with the administration or vote against the war effort; ran as a mainstream supporter of the broader Bush-era national-security posture rather than as a war critic.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Jobs and welfare reform
Mary O. Boyle
None found in the records checked
George Voinovich
Paraphrase of a linked source, not their words:
Ran on continuity and his record as governor: more than 500,000 new jobs created and unemployment at a 25-year low, plus more than 362,000 welfare recipients moved into jobs under Ohio's welfare-reform program, without new taxes late in his term.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
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.
Mary O. Boyle
Not yet researched
George Voinovich
None found in the records checked
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boyle (D) | 1979 | office | Ohio House of Representatives (Cleveland Heights) |
| Boyle (D) | 1984 | office | Cuyahoga County Commissioner |
| Boyle (D) | 1984 | action | 1984 (action): First woman ever elected to a non-judicial county office in Cuyahoga County; served three terms as president of the Board of County Commissi |
| Boyle (D) | 1998 | action | 1998 (action): Became the first woman in Ohio history nominated by a major party for U.S. Senate, winning the 1998 Democratic nomination before losing the |
| Voinovich (R) | 1999-01 | office | U.S. Senator from Ohio |
| Voinovich (R) | 1991-01 | office | Governor of Ohio |
| Voinovich (R) | 1980 | office | Mayor of Cleveland |
| Voinovich (R) | 1980 | action | 1980 (action): As mayor of Cleveland, led the city out of its 1978 municipal debt default, negotiating a repayment plan and a $36.2 million bank loan that |
| Voinovich (R) | 1991 | action | 1991 (action): As governor, inherited and closed a roughly $1.5 billion state budget deficit; unemployment fell to what was then a 25-year low with over 50 |
| Voinovich (R) | 1997 | action | 1997 (action): Despite increased school funding during his governorship, the Ohio Supreme Court's DeRolph v. State rulings, beginning 1997, found the state |
| Voinovich (R) | 1999 | vote | 1999 (vote): In his first Senate term, built a reputation as a fiscal "debt hawk," pushing to shrink the 2003 Bush tax cut package on deficit grounds and |
Mary O. Boyle
-
1998 · action
Became the first woman in Ohio history nominated by a major party for U.S. Senate, winning the 1998 Democratic nomination before losing the general election to Republican Gov. George Voinovich, 56.46% to 43.54%.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ohiostatehouse.org
-
1984 · action
First woman ever elected to a non-judicial county office in Cuyahoga County; served three terms as president of the Board of County Commissioners and represented Ohio on the National Association of Counties' Board of Directors.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
George Voinovich
-
1999 · vote
In his first Senate term, built a reputation as a fiscal "debt hawk," pushing to shrink the 2003 Bush tax cut package on deficit grounds and voting against 2000 marriage-penalty tax relief as the lone Senate Republican to do so; worked across the aisle with Michigan's Carl Levin on Great Lakes protection; sponsored Appalachian Regional Commission reauthorizations benefiting southeastern Ohio.
Sources: cbsnews.com · forbes.com
-
1997 · action
Despite increased school funding during his governorship, the Ohio Supreme Court's DeRolph v. State rulings, beginning 1997, found the state's school-funding system unconstitutional. His own push to raise the state sales tax to address the funding gap was defeated at referendum when Democrats opposed it, leaving the underlying constitutional funding problem unresolved when he left office.
The Ohio Supreme Court, in DeRolph v. State:
the state's school-funding system was unconstitutional
· the sourceSources: oepiohio.org · ideastream.org
-
1991 · action
As governor, inherited and closed a roughly $1.5 billion state budget deficit; unemployment fell to what was then a 25-year low with over 500,000 net new jobs; cut Medicaid cost growth by more than two-thirds and roughly halved welfare rolls under welfare reform; dramatically expanded state funding for Head Start; appointed Kenneth Blackwell as state treasurer, Ohio's first Black statewide elected/appointed official; signed the state's first charter-school law and backed a Cleveland school-voucher program that survived a U.S. Supreme Court challenge; base cost per pupil in the K-12 school-funding formula rose from $2,530 in FY1990 to $3,663 in FY1998 as the DeRolph v. State school-funding litigation proceeded.
Sources: nga.org · en.wikipedia.org
-
1980 · action
As mayor of Cleveland, led the city out of its 1978 municipal debt default, negotiating a repayment plan and a $36.2 million bank loan that returned Cleveland to sound footing by 1980; oversaw a downtown building boom (BP Building, Society Center/Key Tower); the city won the All-America City Award three times in five years (1982, 1984, 1986); backed North Coast Harbor, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Great Lakes Science Center.
Sources: case.edu · teachingcleveland.org
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 |
Mary O. Boyle
The numbers behind this figure, as a table
| From | To | Dollars | Share of total | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raised | Spent | 2,232,988.38 | 30.2% | |
| Other funds (derived) | Spent | 3,148.62 | 0.0% | |
| Raised | Cash on hand | 981.6 | 0.0% | |
| Other funds (derived) | Cash on hand | 1.4 | 0.0% |
Totals as filed
FEC, as of December 31, 1998: raised $2,233,970, spent $2,236,137, cash on hand $983.
Source: fec.gov
Top donors, as filed
None found in the records checked
Outside spending
None found in the records checked
In-state share
Not yet researched
George Voinovich
The numbers behind this figure, as a table
| From | To | Dollars | Share of total | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raised | Spent | 5,571,914.35 | 75.3% | |
| Other funds (derived) | Spent | 1,184,797.65 | 16.0% | |
| Raised | Cash on hand | 526,705.65 | 7.1% | |
| Other funds (derived) | Cash on hand | 111,997.35 | 1.5% |
Totals as filed
FEC, as of December 31, 1998: raised $6,098,620, spent $6,756,712, cash on hand $638,703.
Source: fec.gov
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
George Voinovich · certified 1998-11-03
| Candidate | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| George Voinovich | 1,922,087 | 56.5% |
| Mary O. Boyle | 1,482,054 | 43.5% |
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Sources
Data from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0: 1998 United States Senate election in Ohio · Mary O. Boyle · 2002 Ohio State Treasurer election · George Voinovich · 2004 United States Senate election in Ohio
- 1998 United States Senate election in Ohio · Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-21
- Mary O. Boyle · Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-21
- 2002 Ohio State Treasurer election · Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-21
- BOYLE, MARY -- Candidate overview · FEC.gov · accessed 2026-09-21
- Deters' Questionable Fund-Raising Reveals Loopholes in Ohio Campaign Finance Laws · Cincinnati CityBeat · accessed 2026-09-21
- MARY BOYLE FOR U S SENATE COMMITTEE -- Committee overview (1998 cycle) · FEC.gov · accessed 2026-09-21
- oh_sen_BOYLE · CBS News · accessed 2026-09-21
- Remarks at a Luncheon for Senatorial Candidate Mary Boyle in Cleveland, Ohio, October 2, 1998 · The American Presidency Project · accessed 2026-09-21
- CNN AllPolitics Election '98 -- Ohio 1998 Polls · CNN · accessed 2026-09-21
- Mary Boyle · Ohio Statehouse Museum · accessed 2026-09-26
- George Voinovich · Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-21
- 2004 United States Senate election in Ohio · Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-21
- VOINOVICH, GEORGE V -- Candidate overview · FEC.gov · accessed 2026-09-21
- Thanks a Lot, George · Cleveland Scene · accessed 2026-09-21
- https://www.ohio.edu/voinovich-school/about/george-voinovich
- https://www.nga.org/governor/george-v-voinovich/
- https://www.cleveland19.com/story/32201964/former-ohio-gov-us-senator-and-cleveland-mayor-george-voinovich-dies/
- https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/candidate/S8OH00011/totals/?cycle=2004
- https://case.edu/ech/articles/m/mayoral-administration-george-v-voinovich
- https://mysterypollster.com/2004/10/ohio/
- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/voinovich-wont-budge-on-tax-cuts/
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/taxanalysts/2016/06/20/ohios-voinovich-opposed-only-the-second-round-of-bush-tax-cuts/
- https://teachingcleveland.org/george-voinovich-biography/
- https://www.oepiohio.org/2022/03/21/the-central-importance-of-the-derolph-rulings-to-school-funding-in-ohio/
- https://www.ideastream.org/education/2017-04-25/ohio-school-funding-unequal-20-years-after-supreme-court-case
Quick answers
When was the 1998 U.S. Senate (Ohio) election?
The election for U.S. Senate (Ohio) was held on November 3, 1998.
Who ran for U.S. Senate (Ohio) in 1998?
On the ballot for U.S. Senate (Ohio), in surname order: Mary O. Boyle (Democratic), George Voinovich (Republican).
Who won the 1998 U.S. Senate (Ohio) election?
George Voinovich won the election for U.S. Senate (Ohio). Results as certified: Mary O. Boyle 43.5%, George Voinovich 56.5%.
Cite and data
Cite this page as:
Cracked Buckeye, "U.S. Senate (Ohio), 1998", https://crackedbuckeye.com/election/1998/us-senate/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].
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