The general election was held on November 3, 1998 and Jim Hodges was decisively elected as the next governor of South Carolina. Unsurprisingly, Hodges performed extremely well in the rural counties, but it was the unexpectedly strong vote of the Lowcountry in his favor that enabled Hodges to defeat Beasley. Turnout was much less percentage-wise than the previous election because approximately a half-million new voters were added to the rolls, but many of those chose not to vote in the election.