1998 St. Charles County Executive election

1998 St. Charles County Executive election
	November 3, 1998
County Executive before election; Joe Ortwerth; Republican	Elected County Executive ; Joe Ortwerth; Republican

The 1998 St. Charles County Executive election took place on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Republican County Executive Joe Ortwerth ran for re-election to a second term. He was challenged in the Republican primary by former State Representative Ron Stivison, and he won renomination with 78 percent of the vote. In the Democratic primary, St. Charles Mayor Robert Moeller defeated former County Presiding Judge Lee Schwendemann with 60 percent of the vote, and advanced to the general election against Ortwerth. Moeller outspent Ortwerth and attracted local union endorsements, but Ortwerth won re-election in a landslide, receiving 60 percent of the vote to Moeller's 40 percent.^[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Robert Moeller, Mayor of St. Charles^[2]
Charles L. "Lee" Schwendemann, former County Presiding Judge^[3]
Chuck Rabenau, Vietnam War veteran^[3]

Results

Democratic primary results^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robert Moeller	3,954	59.78%
	Democratic	Charles L. "Lee" Schwendemann	2,090	31.60%
	Democratic	Chuck Rabenau	570	8.62%
Total votes			6,614	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Joe Ortwerth, incumbent County Executive^[5]
Ron Stivison, former State Representative^[5]

Results

Republican primary results^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Ortwerth (inc.)	9,999	78.21%
	Republican	Ron Stivison	2,786	21.79%
Total votes			12,785	100.00%

General election

Results

1998 St. Charles County Executive election^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Ortwerth (inc.)	45,703	60.41%
	Democratic	Robert Moeller	29,951	39.59%
Total votes			75,654	100.00%
	Republican hold

References

^ Dummit, Ralph (November 4, 1998). "Ortwerth is re-elected by defeating Moeller for county executive". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
^ "St. Charles mayor files to oppose Ortwerth". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. March 19, 1998. p. C2. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
^ ^a ^b Dummit, Ralph (March 6, 1998). "Two seek Democratic nomination to challenge for county executive". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
^ ^a ^b "AUGUST 4TH, 1998 PRIMARY ELECTION". St. Charles County Clerk/Election Authority. Archived from the original on August 9, 2002. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
^ ^a ^b Dummit, Ralph (April 7, 1998). "Three incumbents face no challenge in August primary". St. Charles Post. St. Charles, Missouri. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
^ "NOVEMBER 3, 1998 GENERAL ELECTION". St. Charles County Clerk/Election Authority. Archived from the original on August 9, 2002. Retrieved July 17, 2025.

[1] Dummit, Ralph (November 4, 1998). "Ortwerth is re-elected by defeating Moeller for county executive". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. Retrieved July 17, 2025.

[2] "St. Charles mayor files to oppose Ortwerth". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. March 19, 1998. p. C2. Retrieved July 17, 2025.

[two_seek-3] Dummit, Ralph (March 6, 1998). "Two seek Democratic nomination to challenge for county executive". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. Retrieved July 17, 2025.

[primary_results-4] "AUGUST 4TH, 1998 PRIMARY ELECTION". St. Charles County Clerk/Election Authority. Archived from the original on August 9, 2002. Retrieved July 17, 2025.

[no_challenge-5] Dummit, Ralph (April 7, 1998). "Three incumbents face no challenge in August primary". St. Charles Post. St. Charles, Missouri. Retrieved July 17, 2025.

[6] "NOVEMBER 3, 1998 GENERAL ELECTION". St. Charles County Clerk/Election Authority. Archived from the original on August 9, 2002. Retrieved July 17, 2025.

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