The 1998 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998. Acting Governor Paul Cellucci was elected to his first term as Governor of Massachusetts.
The race between Cellucci and Malone was acrimonious, with each candidate accusing the other of committing ethical violations.
On September 16, Cellucci defeated Malone to win his party's nomination.
After Harshbarger's primary victory, many moderate Democrats who had voted for McGovern or Donnelly, chose to support the socially liberal, fiscally moderate Cellucci instead of the more liberal Harshbarger.
In a January opinion poll, Cellucci lead Harshbarger 50%-30%. By August, Harshbarger had taken a 37%-35% lead over Cellucci.
On November 3, Cellucci defeated Harshbarger by 65,317 votes.
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic