In 1998, he ran for the presidency of Venezuela as the candidate of Project Venezuela, a national party developing out of Römer's regional Project Carabobo party. Four days before the election, the two main political parties in Venezuela at the time, COPEI and Democratic Action, switched their support to him. In the election, he was runner-up to Hugo Chávez, garnering 40% of the vote in a six-man race. As an outcome of his presidential campaign, he founded a new political organization, Proyecto Venezuela.