holds Colorado: Incumbent Republican Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell defeated Dottie Lamm, a columnist for The Denver Post and the wife of former Governor Dick Lamm, by a wide margin. It was Campbell's first race as a Republican, as he had been elected to the Senate in 1992 as a Democrat, but switched parties in 1995 after the 1994 Republican takeover of both houses of Congress. Georgia: Incumbent Republican Senator Paul Coverdell defeated Michael Coles, the millionaire founder of the Great American Cookie, in a close race. Missouri: Incumbent Republican Senator Kit Bond defeated Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon, who would be elected Governor ten years later. Change in composition Before the elections After the elections Race summary Special elections during the 105th Congress There were no special elections in 1998. Elections leading to the next Congress In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1999; ordered by state. All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats. Closest races Eight races had a margin of less than 10%: California was the tipping point state with a margin of 10.1%. Alabama Incumbent Republican Richard Shelby won re-election to a third term. Shelby had been elected in 1986 and 1992 as a Democrat, but switched to the Republican party in 1994, making this the first election he competed in as a Republican. He beat Democrat Clayton Suddith, an army veteran and former Franklin County Commissioner. Alaska Incumbent Republican Frank Murkowski easily won re-election to a fourth term against Democratic nominee Joseph Sonneman, a perennial candidate, earning nearly 75% of the vote. Arizona Incumbent Republican John McCain won re-election to a third term over Democratic attorney Ed Ranger. Arkansas Incumbent Dale Bumpers retired. U.S. Representative Blanche Lincoln won the open seat. California Incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer won re-election to a second term. Although the race was predicted to be fairly close, Boxer still defeated Fong by a ten-point margin. Boxer as expected did very well in Los Angeles County, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Colorado Incumbent Republican Ben Nighthorse Campbell won re-election to a second term. Campbell, who was elected in 1992 as a Democrat, switched parties after the 1994 Republican Revolution. He faced a primary challenger, but won with over 70% of the vote. In the general election, Democratic nominee Dottie Lamm criticized Campbell of flip flopping from being a moderate liberal to moderate conservative.