The 1998 New York gubernatorial election was an election for the state governorship held on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Republican governor George Pataki was re-elected with 54% of the vote. This remains the last statewide election in New York where a Republican won a majority of the vote.

The 1994 New York gubernatorial election was an election for the state governorship held on November 8, 1994. Incumbent Democratic Governor Mario Cuomo ran for a fourth term, but was defeated by Republican George Pataki in an upset victory. Pataki had previously been described by the New York Daily News as "a little-known Republican state senator." The conservative New York Post attributed the result to how voters "had grown tired of the 12-year incumbent Cuomo and his liberalism."