1982 Arizona gubernatorial election
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The 1982 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1982, for the post of Governor of Arizona. Democratic incumbent Bruce Babbitt defeated Republican nominee Leo Corbet and Libertarian candidate and former U.S. Representative Sam Steiger. Evan Mecham unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination.
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November 2, 1982
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 County results Babbitt: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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This was the last time until 2002 that a Democrat would be elected Governor of Arizona.[a]
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Bruce Babbitt, incumbent Governor
- Steve Jancek
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Bruce Babbitt (incumbent) | 142,559 | 85.85% | |
| Democratic | Steve Jancek[b] | 23,492 | 14.15% | |
| Total votes | 166,051 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
- Leo Corbet, member of Arizona Senate
- Evan Mecham, perennial candidate
- Gene Thon
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Leo Corbet | 108,766 | 61.71% | |
| Republican | Evan Mecham | 67,456 | 38.27% | |
| Republican | Gene Thon (write-in) | 23 | 0.01% | |
| Total votes | 176,245 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Bruce Babbitt (incumbent) | 453,795 | 62.47% | +10.00% | |
| Republican | Leo Corbet | 235,877 | 32.47% | −12.29% | |
| Libertarian | Sam Steiger | 36,649 | 5.05% | +3.11% | |
| Republican | Dave Duncan (write-in) | 28 | 0.00% | ||
| Independent | Sandy Greeneltch (write-in) | 13 | 0.00% | ||
| Independent | Frank Henry Beversdorf, Sr. (write-in) | 2 | 0.00% | ||
| Majority | 217,918 | 30.00% | |||
| Total votes | 726,364 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic hold | Swing | +22.29% | |||
Results by county
| County | Bruce Babbitt Democratic |
Leo Corbet Republican |
Sam Steiger Libertarian |
Write-in | Margin | Total votes cast[2] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Apache | 6,584 | 66.82% | 2,723 | 27.64% | 548 | 5.54% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,861 | 39.19% | 9,853 |
| Cochise | 13,196 | 65.67% | 6,082 | 30.27% | 815 | 4.06% | 0 | 0.00% | 7,114 | 35.41% | 20,093 |
| Coconino | 14,773 | 68.97% | 4,997 | 23.33% | 1,643 | 7.67% | 6 | 0.03% | 9,776 | 45.64% | 21,419 |
| Gila | 7,343 | 62.46% | 3,645 | 31.00% | 769 | 6.54% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,698 | 31.45% | 11,757 |
| Graham | 4,127 | 62.07% | 2,123 | 31.93% | 399 | 6.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,004 | 30.14% | 6,649 |
| Greenlee | 2,578 | 78.53% | 580 | 17.67% | 125 | 3.81% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,998 | 60.86% | 3,283 |
| Maricopa | 228,217 | 58.27% | 142,938 | 36.50% | 20,457 | 5.22% | 23 | 0.01% | 85,279 | 21.78% | 391,635 |
| Mohave | 10,533 | 57.93% | 6,617 | 36.39% | 1,033 | 5.68% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,916 | 21.54% | 18,183 |
| Navajo | 8,566 | 61.44% | 4,611 | 33.07% | 759 | 5.44% | 7 | 0.05% | 3,955 | 28.37% | 13,943 |
| Pima | 113,982 | 72.10% | 38,235 | 24.19% | 5,873 | 3.71% | 2 | 0.00% | 75,747 | 47.91% | 158,092 |
| Pinal | 14,527 | 67.61% | 5,882 | 27.38% | 1,076 | 5.01% | 1 | 0.00% | 8,645 | 40.24% | 21,486 |
| Santa Cruz | 3,519 | 73.65% | 1,098 | 22.98% | 161 | 3.37% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,421 | 50.67% | 4,778 |
| Yavapai | 14,339 | 54.32% | 9,930 | 37.62% | 2,127 | 8.06% | 2 | 0.01% | 4,409 | 16.70% | 26,398 |
| Yuma | 11,511 | 61.25% | 6,416 | 34.14% | 866 | 4.61% | 2 | 0.01% | 5,095 | 27.11% | 18,795 |
| Totals | 453,795 | 62.47% | 235,877 | 32.47% | 36,649 | 5.05% | 43 | 0.01% | 217,918 | 30.00% | 726,364 |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
Notes
- Rose Mofford, a Democrat, would serve as governor from 1988 to 1991 following the impeachment of Governor Evan Mecham, but was never officially elected as Governor.
- Died before election day