1976 Utah gubernatorial election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1976 Utah gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1976. Democratic candidate Scott M. Matheson defeated Republican nominee Vernon B. Romney, who had defeated Dixie L. Leavitt for his party's nomination, with 52.02% of the vote.
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November 2, 1976
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 County results Matheson: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Romney: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Primary election
Primary elections were held on September 14, 1976.
Democratic primary
Candidates
- John P. Creer, attorney and Democratic nominee for Attorney General in 1968
- Scott M. Matheson, attorney and general counsel for Union Pacific Railroad
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Scott M. Matheson | 50,505 | 58.96% | |
| Democratic | John P. Creer | 35,154 | 41.04% | |
| Total votes | 85,659 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
- Dixie L. Leavitt, member of Utah State Senate
- Vernon B. Romney, Attorney General of Utah
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Vernon B. Romney | 87,251 | 53.40% | |
| Republican | Dixie L. Leavitt | 76,139 | 46.60% | |
| Total votes | 163,390 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Candidates
- Scott M. Matheson, Democratic
- Vernon B. Romney, Republican
- L. S. Brown, American Party
- Betty Bates, Concerned Citizens
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Scott M. Matheson | 280,706 | 52.02% | −17.67% | |
| Republican | Vernon B. Romney | 248,027 | 45.96% | +15.64% | |
| American | L. S. Brown | 7,201 | 1.33% | ||
| Concerned Citizens | Betty Bates | 3,715 | 0.69% | ||
| Total votes | 539,649 | 100.00% | |||
| Majority | 32,679 | 6.06% | |||
| Democratic hold | Swing | -33.31% | |||
Results by county
| County[2] | Scott M. Matheson Democratic |
Vernon B. Romney Republican |
L. S. Brown American |
Betty Bates Concerned Citizens |
Margin | Total votes cast | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Beaver | 1,270 | 61.83% | 760 | 37.00% | 16 | 0.78% | 8 | 0.39% | 510 | 24.83% | 2,054 |
| Box Elder | 5,681 | 42.19% | 7,241 | 53.78% | 465 | 3.45% | 78 | 0.58% | -1,560 | -11.59% | 13,465 |
| Cache | 9,528 | 41.29% | 12,713 | 55.10% | 603 | 2.61% | 230 | 1.00% | -3,185 | -13.80% | 23,074 |
| Carbon | 6,601 | 76.41% | 1,971 | 22.82% | 40 | 0.46% | 27 | 0.31% | 4,630 | 53.59% | 8,639 |
| Daggett | 185 | 51.82% | 164 | 45.94% | 5 | 1.40% | 3 | 0.84% | 21 | 5.88% | 357 |
| Davis | 22,420 | 47.58% | 23,618 | 50.12% | 564 | 1.20% | 522 | 1.11% | -1,198 | -2.54% | 47,124 |
| Duchesne | 1,874 | 47.28% | 1,941 | 48.97% | 124 | 3.13% | 25 | 0.63% | -67 | -1.69% | 3,964 |
| Emery | 2,180 | 60.25% | 1,348 | 37.26% | 72 | 1.99% | 18 | 0.50% | 832 | 23.00% | 3,618 |
| Garfield | 774 | 43.95% | 920 | 52.24% | 56 | 3.18% | 11 | 0.62% | -146 | -8.29% | 1,761 |
| Grand | 1,653 | 59.01% | 1,100 | 39.27% | 23 | 0.82% | 25 | 0.89% | 553 | 19.74% | 2,801 |
| Iron | 3,878 | 56.95% | 2,787 | 40.93% | 117 | 1.72% | 28 | 0.41% | 1,091 | 16.02% | 6,810 |
| Juab | 1,285 | 51.28% | 1,172 | 46.77% | 28 | 1.12% | 21 | 0.84% | 113 | 4.51% | 2,506 |
| Kane | 663 | 44.23% | 789 | 52.64% | 41 | 2.74% | 6 | 0.40% | -126 | -8.41% | 1,499 |
| Millard | 1,746 | 44.27% | 2,046 | 51.88% | 119 | 3.02% | 33 | 0.84% | -300 | -7.61% | 3,944 |
| Morgan | 1,049 | 48.30% | 1,065 | 49.03% | 45 | 2.07% | 13 | 0.60% | -16 | -0.74% | 2,172 |
| Piute | 284 | 42.97% | 344 | 52.04% | 33 | 4.99% | 0 | 0.00% | -60 | -9.08% | 661 |
| Rich | 392 | 48.51% | 407 | 50.37% | 7 | 0.87% | 2 | 0.25% | -15 | -1.86% | 808 |
| Salt Lake | 134,442 | 56.48% | 100,346 | 42.16% | 1,654 | 0.69% | 1,593 | 0.67% | 34,096 | 14.32% | 238,035 |
| San Juan | 1,434 | 46.24% | 1,592 | 51.34% | 63 | 2.03% | 12 | 0.39% | -158 | -5.10% | 3,101 |
| Sanpete | 2,650 | 44.81% | 3,070 | 51.91% | 163 | 2.76% | 31 | 0.52% | -420 | -7.10% | 5,914 |
| Sevier | 2,307 | 41.01% | 2,773 | 49.29% | 510 | 9.07% | 36 | 0.64% | -466 | -8.28% | 5,626 |
| Summit | 1,997 | 53.81% | 1,638 | 44.14% | 57 | 1.54% | 19 | 0.51% | 359 | 9.67% | 3,711 |
| Tooele | 5,596 | 61.09% | 3,432 | 37.47% | 61 | 0.67% | 71 | 0.78% | 2,164 | 23.62% | 9,160 |
| Uintah | 2,204 | 38.01% | 3,334 | 57.49% | 211 | 3.64% | 50 | 0.86% | -1,130 | -19.49% | 5,799 |
| Utah | 29,693 | 41.94% | 39,422 | 55.68% | 1,244 | 1.76% | 439 | 0.62% | -9,729 | -13.74% | 70,798 |
| Wasatch | 1,507 | 48.12% | 1,582 | 50.51% | 27 | 0.86% | 16 | 0.51% | -75 | -2.39% | 3,132 |
| Washington | 3,335 | 38.79% | 4,972 | 57.83% | 227 | 2.64% | 64 | 0.74% | -1,637 | -19.04% | 8,598 |
| Wayne | 392 | 42.06% | 430 | 46.14% | 106 | 11.37% | 4 | 0.43% | -38 | -4.08% | 932 |
| Weber | 33,686 | 56.53% | 25,050 | 42.04% | 520 | 0.87% | 330 | 0.55% | 8,636 | 14.49% | 59,586 |
| Total | 280,706 | 52.02% | 248,027 | 45.96% | 7,201 | 1.33% | 3,715 | 0.69% | 32,679 | 6.06% | 539,649 |
