| Outgoing Members: | These seats' last election (1994) |
| Elected Members: | These seats' next election (2002) |
| Election Name: | 1998 West Virginia Senate elections |
| Seats Needed2: | 7 |
| Country: | West Virginia |
| Image1 Size: | x180px |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Before Election: | Earl Ray Tomblin |
| Senate President | |
| After Election: | Earl Ray Tomblin |
| After Party: | West Virginia Democratic Party |
| Type: | legislative |
| Map Size: | 250px |
| Before Party: | West Virginia Democratic Party |
| Party1: | West Virginia Democratic Party |
| Leader1: | Earl Ray Tomblin |
| Leaders Seat1: | SD 7 |
| Leader Since1: | 1995 |
| Popular Vote1: | 265,373 |
| Percentage1: | 63.2% |
| 1Blank: | Seats up |
| 1Data1: | 12 |
| 1Data2: | 6 |
| 2Blank: | Seats won |
| 2Data1: | 16 |
| 2Data2: | 2 |
| Next Year: | 2000 |
| Leader2: | Vic Sprouse |
| Leader Since2: | 1998 |
| Party2: | West Virginia Republican Party |
| Next Election: | 2000 West Virginia Senate election |
| Seats For Election: | 18 of 34 seats in the West Virginia Senate (17 regular, 1 special) |
| Majority Seats: | 18 |
| Previous Election: | 1996 West Virginia Senate election |
| Previous Year: | 1996 |
| Election Date: | November 3, 1998 |
| Leaders Seat2: | SD 8 |
| Popular Vote2: | 149,651 |
| Percentage2: | 35.6% |
| Seat Change1: | 4 |
| Seat Change2: | 4 |
| Seats Before1: | 25 |
| Seats Before2: | 9 |
| Seats After1: | 29 |
| Seats After2: | 5 |
The 1998 West Virginia Senate election took place on Tuesday, November 3, 1998. State senate seats in West Virginia are staggered, with senators serving 4-year terms. 18 of the 34 state senate seats were up for election,[1] with SD 2 holding an additional special election for Larry Wiedebusch's seat, who died on October 25, 1997. [2] Jeffrey V. Kessler was appointed to fill the seat and was re-elected by a wide margin. The election took place concurrently with the U.S. House elections. The Democratic Party won over 60% of the vote for state senate candidates and flipped 4 Republican seats, retaining a supermajority in the state legislature's upper chamber.
| - | --> | ||||||||
| Party | Candidates | Votes | % | Seats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before | Up | Won | After | +/– | |||||
| Democratic | 18 | 265,373 | 63.2% | 25 | 12 | 16 | 29 | 4 | |
| Republican | 13 | 149,651 | 35.6% | 9 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 4 | |
| Libertarian | 3 | 5,100 | 1.2% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Write-in | 1 | 8 | nil | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 420,124 | 100% | 34 | 18 | 34 | ||||