1998 United States House of Representatives elections
District Incumbent Party First elected Results Candidates
Kentucky 1 Ed Whitfield Republican 1994 Incumbent re-elected Y Ed Whitfield ( Republican ) 55.2% Tom Barlow ( Democratic ) 44.8%
Kentucky 2 Ron Lewis Republican 1994 Incumbent re-elected Y Ron Lewis ( Republican ) 63.7% Bob Evans ( Democratic ) 35.3% Jim Ketchel ( Reform ) 1%
Kentucky 3 Anne Northup Republican 1996 Incumbent re-elected Y Anne Northup ( Republican ) 51.5% Chris Gorman ( Democratic ) 47.5% Patricia Jo Metten ( Natural Law ) 1%
Kentucky 4 Jim Bunning Republican 1986 Incumbent retired to run for U.S . Senator . New member elected . Democratic gain Y Ken Lucas ( Democratic ) 53.4% Gex Williams ( Republican ) 46.6%
Kentucky 5 Hal Rogers Republican 1980 Incumbent re-elected Y Hal Rogers ( Republican ) 78.2% Sidney Bailey-Bamer ( Democratic ) 21.8%
Kentucky 6 Scotty Baesler Democratic 1992 Incumbent retired to run for U.S . Senator . New member elected . Republican gain Y Ernie Fletcher ( Republican ) 53.1% Ernesto Scorsone ( Democratic ) 46% Wasley Krogdahl ( U.S. Taxpayers ) 0.9%
Kentucky
See also : List of United States Representatives from Kentucky
The 1998 United States House of Representatives elections were part of the midterm elections held during President Bill Clinton's second term. They were a major disappointment to the Republicans, who were expecting to gain seats due to the embarrassment Clinton suffered during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, and the six-year itch effect observed in most second-term midterm elections. However, the Republicans lost five seats to the Democrats, but retained a narrow majority in the House. A wave of Republican discontent with Speaker Newt Gingrich prompted him to resign shortly after the election; he was replaced by Congressman Dennis Hastert of Illinois. The campaign was marked by Republican attacks on the morality of President Bill Clinton, with Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr having released his report on the Lewinsky scandal and House leaders having initiated an inquiry into whether impeachable offenses had occurred. However, exit polls indicated that most voters opposed impeaching Clinton, and predictions of high Republican or low Democratic turnout due to the scandal failed to materialize. Some speculate that the losses reflected a backlash against the Republicans for attacking the popular President Clinton. With the Republicans having lost 4 House seats and failing to gain any seats in the Senate, it was the first time since 1934 that the non-presidential party failed to gain congressional seats in a mid-term election. It was also the first time since 1822 that the non-presidential party had failed to gain seats in the mid-term election of a President's second term. Seats picked up by the Democrats included Kansas's 3rd district, Nevada's 1st district, Pennsylvania's 13th district, New Mexico's 3rd district, New Jersey's 12th district, Kentucky's 4th district, Mississippi's 4th district, California's 1st district, Wisconsin's 2nd district, Washington's 1st district, and Washington's 3rd district. The Republicans, however, picked up seats in Kentucky's 6th district, Wisconsin's 8th district, California's 3rd district, California's 36th district, Pennsylvania's 15th district, and North Carolina's 8th district.