1998 St. Louis County Executive election

1998 St. Louis County Executive election
	November 3, 1998
County Executive before election; Buzz Westfall; Democratic	Elected County Executive ; Buzz Westfall; Democratic

The 1998 St. Louis County Executive election took place on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Democratic County Executive Buzz Westfall ran for re-election to a third term. Though local Republicans attempted to recruit a well-known challenger to Westfall, he faced minimal opposition.^[1] He won the Democratic primary and then was opposed by Republican Joe Passanise, a retired county engineer, in the general election. Westfall defeated Passanise in a landslide, winning his third term with 61 percent of the vote.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Buzz Westfall, incumbent County Executive^[2]
John Hogan, perennial candidate^[3]
Joe Mondrak, activist^[4]

Results

Democratic primary results^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Buzz Westfall (inc.)	25,671	77.31%
	Democratic	John Hogan	5,700	17.17%
	Democratic	Joe Mondrak	1,834	5.52%
Total votes			33,205	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Joe Passanise, retired engineer^[6]
Ben Murphy, businessman^[4]
Robert J. Crump, convenience store manager^[7]
Anthony B. Geyer, retired county planner^[4]
Mike Kontominas, computer professional^[4]

Declined

Edith Cunnane, Couty Councilwoman^[8]
Franc Flotron, State Senator^[9]
Gene McNary, former County Executive, former Commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service^[10]

Results

Republican primary results^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Passanise	13,562	40.75%
	Republican	Ben Murphy	7,288	21.90%
	Republican	Robert J. Crump	6,090	18.30%
	Republican	Anthony B. Geyer	3,590	10.79%
	Republican	Mike Kontominas	2,752	8.27%
Total votes			33,282	100.00%

Libertarian primary

Candidates

James E. Higgins, computer systems analyst^[11]

Results

Libertarian primary results^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	James E. Higgins	250	100.00%
Total votes			250	100.00%

General election

Results

1998 St. Louis County Executive election^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Buzz Westfall (inc.)	203,692	60.88%
	Republican	Joe Passanise	84,087	31.52%
	Libertarian	James E. Higgins	7,080	2.12%
Total votes			334,600	100.00%
	Democratic hold

References

^ Sutin, Phil (April 1, 1998). "Westfall gets 8 challengers, none of them well-known". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. p. B1. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
^ "Westfall files to run for his third term". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. March 20, 1998. p. D2. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
^ "Activist Hogan files for county executive". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. March 3, 1998. p. B2. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Westfall is opposed in St. Louis County re-election bid". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. August 2, 1998. p. H6. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c "OFFICIAL RESULTS - COUNTY EXECUTIVE - ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MISSOURI - TUESDAY, AUGUST 4, 1998". St. Louis County Board of Elections. Archived from the original on January 31, 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
^ Mihalopoulos, Dan (May 19, 1998). "GOP leaders back newcomer in drive to unseat Westfall". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. p. B1. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
^ "Third Republican files for top county post". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. March 29, 1998. p. B2. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
^ Mihalopoulos, Dan (March 12, 1998). "Edith Cunnane will not try to unseat Westfall". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. p. B1. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
^ Mannies, Jo (February 26, 1998). "Flotron decides against run for county executive". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. p. B1. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
^ Sutin, Phil (March 26, 1998). "McNary won't run for county executive". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. p. B1. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
^ Mihalopoulos, Dan (October 22, 1998). "Westfall may gain a third term without suspense". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. p. B1, B4. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
^ "OFFICIAL RESULTS - COUNTY EXECUTIVE, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY & COUNTYWIDE PROPOSITIONS - ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MISSOURI - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1998". St. Louis County Board of Elections. Archived from the original on January 31, 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2025.

[1] Sutin, Phil (April 1, 1998). "Westfall gets 8 challengers, none of them well-known". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. p. B1. Retrieved July 9, 2025.

[2] "Westfall files to run for his third term". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. March 20, 1998. p. D2. Retrieved July 9, 2025.

[3] "Activist Hogan files for county executive". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. March 3, 1998. p. B2. Retrieved July 9, 2025.

[Westfall_opposed-4] "Westfall is opposed in St. Louis County re-election bid". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. August 2, 1998. p. H6. Retrieved July 9, 2025.

[primary_results-5] "OFFICIAL RESULTS - COUNTY EXECUTIVE - ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MISSOURI - TUESDAY, AUGUST 4, 1998". St. Louis County Board of Elections. Archived from the original on January 31, 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2025.

[6] Mihalopoulos, Dan (May 19, 1998). "GOP leaders back newcomer in drive to unseat Westfall". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. p. B1. Retrieved July 9, 2025.

[7] "Third Republican files for top county post". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. March 29, 1998. p. B2. Retrieved July 9, 2025.

[8] Mihalopoulos, Dan (March 12, 1998). "Edith Cunnane will not try to unseat Westfall". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. p. B1. Retrieved July 9, 2025.

[9] Mannies, Jo (February 26, 1998). "Flotron decides against run for county executive". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. p. B1. Retrieved July 9, 2025.

[10] Sutin, Phil (March 26, 1998). "McNary won't run for county executive". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. p. B1. Retrieved July 9, 2025.

[11] Mihalopoulos, Dan (October 22, 1998). "Westfall may gain a third term without suspense". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. p. B1, B4. Retrieved July 9, 2025.

[12] "OFFICIAL RESULTS - COUNTY EXECUTIVE, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY & COUNTYWIDE PROPOSITIONS - ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MISSOURI - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1998". St. Louis County Board of Elections. Archived from the original on January 31, 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2025.

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