owens was elected as the 40th governor of colorado in the 1998 governor's race, when he defeated democratic opponent gail schoettler by 8,300 votes (less than one percent of ballots cast). when he was inaugurated on january 12, 1999, owens became colorado's first republican governor in 24 years. his platform was three pronged: cut taxes, repair colorado's aging infrastructure, and continue school accountability reforms.