The State Treasurer - The Public's Paymaster

Half the states elected State Treasurers in 1998. It was a tight race. Neither party received a majority of the votes cast. The Democrats elected 13 Treasurers and the Republicans elected 12. Some 34,639,010 votes were cast, with the Democrats receiving 16,701,950 or 48.2%, and the Republicans getting 16,398,135 or 47.3%. The independent candidates won 1,611,777 votes, or 4.5%.

In 23 states, the Governor was elected along with the Treasurer. Only about 1/3rd of the 23 states split party control of the Governor and Treasurer, which means that the voters generally see the Treasurer as a non-discretionary custodian of the public funds. First of all, 12% of the Treasurers ran unopposed. It is rare for statewide officials to be elected without opposition. In Idaho and Vermont, the unopposed Treasurer was a Republican; while in Oklahoma the unopposed Treasurer was a Democrat.

As mentioned above, 15 of the states that elected Governors elected Treasurers of the same political party. Of the other 8 states, Democratic Treasurers were elected in 6 states with Republican Governors: Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and South Dakota. In Minnesota, a Democratic Treasurer was elected with an Independent Governor. Only in Vermont, where the Republican Treasurer was running unopposed, did the Democratic Governor win with a Republican Treasurer.

While 10 of the 25 Treasurers won with more than 60% of the vote, 3 of those 10 were the unopposed Treasurers. In Idaho, the winning Republican Treasurer who had no Democratic opponent received 75.5% of the ballots, while a Reform Party candidate managed to get almost 1/4 of the vote. In Vermont, too, almost 1 voter in 6 cast ballots against the Treasurer who was endorsed by both the Republican and Democratic Parties. In Oklahoma, no third party candidate made it on to the ballot to oppose the State Treasurer.

Another 10 Treasurers won with more than 50% but less than 60%. And 5 candidates won with less than 50%, the lowest being in Massachusetts with 45.3% of the vote. It is especially outrageous that candidates should be running unopposed in a year when neither the Republicans nor the Democrats were able to win a majority of the vote for State Treasurer. The independents held the balance of power both nationally, and in the 5 races where the victor won with less than 50% of the vote.

Overall, voters don't consider the State Treasurer to be a very important office. The State Treasurer race received the 3rd highest vote total in only 3 states. It ran 4th in 1 state; 5th in 8 states; 6th in 6 states; 7th in 3 states; 8th in 2 states; 9th in 1 state; and received no votes in 1 state (Oklahoma). On average, the State Treasurer's race fell between 5th and 6th in importance, usually well behind Governor; Senator, House of Representatives, and Attorney General. The Secretary of State jockeys with State Treasurer for position in the order of importance of statewide offices.

Ab. Treas. 98 Davis (R) Baxley (D) Write-in Treasurer 98
443,901 810,746 496 1,255,143
35.3666% 64.5939% 0.0395% 496
Az. Treas. 98 Springer (R) No Democrat Price (I) Treasurer 90
714,739 0 171,769 886,508
80.6241% 0.0000% 19.3759% Ind. total 171,769
Ca. Treas. 1998 Pringle (R) Angelides (D) Kaiser (AI) Petersen (Lib) Tucker (P&F) Aguirre (NL) Treasurer 1998
3,158,624 4,164,708 91,764 183,356 146,134 172,744 7,917,330 (700,319)
39.8951% 52.6024% 1.1590% 2.3159% 1.8457% 2.1818% 0.0000% Ind. Total 593,998
Co. Treas. 1998 Coffman (R) Polsfut (D) Bryant (L) Burks (NL) Treasurer 1998
638,521 561,329 29,560 27,424 1,327,325 1,256,834 -70491
50.8039% 44.6621% 2.3519% 2.1820% Ind. total 56,984
Ct. Treas. 98 Silvester (R) Nappier (D) Ciccomascolo (CC) Garofolo (L) Treasurer
433,889 436,573 9,051 11,375 1,022,453 890,888 (131,565)
0.49 0.49 0.01 -0.09 Ind. total 20426
Del. Treas. 98 Rzewnicki (R) Markell (D) Treasurer 1998
R to D 74,633 103,407 178,040
41.9192% 58.0808% 0
Fla. Treas. 98 Ireland (R) Bill Nelson (D) Treasurer 98
1,687,712 2,195,283 3,882,995
43.4642% 56.5358% 1.46936793852786E-39
Id. Treas. 98 Ron Crane (R) No Democrat L. Williams (Ref) Treasurer 98
258,755 0 83,840 342,595 (44,125)
75.5280% 0.0000% 24.4720% Ind. total 83840
Ill. Treas. 98 Topinka (R) McLaughlin (D) Bain (Ref) Mastroviovanni (W-I) Treasurer 98
1,610,498 1,548,219 64,001 226 3,222,944 -318435
49.9698% 48.0374% 1.9858% 0.0070% 64227
Ind. Treas. 98 Tim Berry (R) Washington (D) McPherson (L) Treasurer 98
812,904 638,078 56,575 1,507,557
53.9219% 42.3253% 3.7528% Ind. Total 56,575
Iowa Treas. 98 Bolin (R) Fitzgerald (D) Spivak (NL) Scattering Voting 1988 Treasurer 1998
390,054 500,853 13,135 217 0 0 0 0 0 0 904,259
43.1352% 55.3882% 1.4526% 0.0240% 0.0000% 0.0000% 0.0000% 0.0000% 0.0000% 1.46936793852786E-39 Ind. total 13,352
Kan. Treas. 98 Shallenburger(R Rita Cline (D) Treasurer 98
431,190 264,567 695,757 406148
61.9742% 38.0258% Ind. total 1.46936793852786E-39
Ma. Treas. 98 Maginn (R) O'Brien (D) Hardwick (Lib) Others Treasurer 98
626,286 1,120,757 53,299 675 1,801,017
34.7740% 62.2291% 2.9594% 0.0375% Ind. Total 53,974
Minn. Treas. 98 Knight (R) Johnson (D) Dunlop (RP) Berg (Lib) Berg (Lib) Treasurer 1998
792,117 887,597 235,271 37,855 2,354 1,955,194 (150,149)
40.5135% 45.3969% 12.0331% 1.9361% 0.1204% 275,480
Neb. Treas. 98 Heineman (R) David Tagart (D) Sam Spilker (R) Write-in Treasurer 90
310,881 162,762 16,400 298 581,775 490,341 (91,434)
63.4010% 33.1936% 3.3446% 0.0608% Ind. total 16,698
Nv Treas. 98 Krolicki (R) No Democrat Fylstra (L) Yochum (IA) None of These Voting 1998 Treasurer 98
249,594 0 40,683 38,781 72,852 440,042 329,058 (110,984)
62.1020% 0.0000% 10.1224% 9.6492% 18.1264% Ind. total 79,464
NMex. Treas.98 Garcia (R) Montoya (D) Treasurer 1998
221,224 251,795 473,019
46.7685% 53.2315% 1.46936793852786E-39
Ohio Treas. 98 Deters (R) Donofrio (D) Treasurer 98
1,687,771 1,444,473 3,132,244 (331,239)
53.8838% 46.1162% 0.0000%
Ok. Treas. 98 No Republican Butkin (D) Votin 1990 Treasurer 98
0 0 0 0 0
100.0000% 100.0000% Ind. total 1.46936793852786E-39
RI Treas. 1998 Bennett (R) Tavares (D) Moffitt (Ref) Write-in Treasurer 1998
130,832 134,518 22,043 167 287,560
45.4973% 46.7791% 7.6655% 0.0581% Ind. total 22,210
SC Treasurer 98 Eckstrom (R) Patterson (D) Write-in Treasurer 98
R to D 519,754 526,538 521 1,098,484 1,046,813 (51,671)
49.6511% 50.2991% 0.0498% Ind. total 521
SD Treasurer 98 Drewes (R) Dick Butler (D) Treasurer 1998
109,518 142,915 252,433
43.3850% 56.6150% Ind. total 1.46936793852786E-39
Vt. Treas. 98 Douglas (R&A) No Democrat Peter Baker (L) Linskey (LU) Bushey (VG) Write-in Treasurer 1998
175,026 0 7,501 9,810 12,312 208 204,857 (16,134)
85.4381% 0.0000% 3.6616% 4.7887% 6.0100% 0.1015% Ind. total 29,831
Wi. Treas. 1998 Voight (R) Sass (D) Peterson (Lib) Peterson (WGR) Bernhoft (W-I) Scattering Voting 1988 Wi. Treas. 1998
814,380 754,177 28,561 31,452 171 1,724 1,630,465
49.9477% 46.2553% 1.7517% 1.9290% 0.0105% 0.1057% Ind. total 61,908
Wy. Treas. 98 Lummis (R) Loveridge (D) Blomquist (L) Voting 1998 Treasurer 98
105,332 52,655 10,024 178,401 168,011 (10,390)
62.6935% 31.3402% 5.9663% Ind. total 10,024
Total 16,398,135 16,701,950 934,494 341,636 233,823 174,676 0 0 34,639,010
47.3401% 48.2172% Independents 1,611,777
4.6531%

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Contact: Joshua Leinsdorf