1998Flipped from DemocraticFinal results
1998 election for U.S. Senate in Kentucky
U.S. Senate · Kentucky
Jim Bunning (R) won with 49.7% of the vote, defeating Scotty Baesler (D) by 0.6 points, a seat Democrats won last time.
Jim BunningRepublican · winner
49.7%569,817
Scotty BaeslerDemocrat
49.2%563,051
Charles R. ArbegustReform
1.1%12,546
1,145,414 votes
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1998
Races before and after
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
Money in this race
Each line compares the two campaigns on one scale.
Scotty BaeslerJim Bunning
$3.9M
Raised by the campaign
$3.6M
$3.8M
Spent by the campaign
$3.7M
$13.7K
Cash on hand
$67.3K
Campaign money: FEC, through Dec 31, 1998.
Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 1998