2020 Utah gubernatorial election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2020 Utah gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the governor of Utah. Incumbent Republican Governor Gary Herbert declined to run for election to a third full term.
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November 3, 2020
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| Turnout | 69.17%  | |||||||||||||||||||
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   Cox: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Peterson: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 40–50% 50% No data | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Background
Although incumbent Republican governor Gary Herbert was eligible to run for re-election to a third full term, he initially announced shortly after being re-elected in 2016 that he would not run again, but indicated in January 2019 that he was open to the possibility of running again before ultimately deciding to retire and endorse his lieutenant governor, Spencer Cox.[1][2][3] Utah had not had a Democratic governor since Scott M. Matheson left office in January 1985. This is the second longest active streak of one-party leadership, trailing only South Dakota, which had not had a Democratic governor since Harvey L. Wollman left office in 1979.[4][5]
The primaries took place on June 30, 2020. The filing deadline was on June 19, 2020.
Description
The 2020 Utah gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the governor of Utah, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The winner of the election was the first non-incumbent gubernatorial candidate to be elected since Jon Huntsman Jr. in 2004, who ran in this election before he was eliminated in the primaries.
Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox won the general election by defeating the Democratic nominee, University of Utah law professor and former CFPB official Christopher Peterson. This election was the first open-seat gubernatorial election in Utah since 1992.
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Spencer Cox, Lieutenant Governor of Utah[6][7][8]
- Running mate: Deidre Henderson, state senator and candidate for UT-03 in 2017[9]
Eliminated in the primary
- Greg Hughes, former speaker of the Utah House of Representatives[10][11]
- Running mate: Victor Iverson, Washington County Commission Chairman[12]
- Jon Huntsman Jr., former United States Ambassador to Russia, China and Singapore, former governor of Utah, and candidate for president in 2012[13]
- Running mate: Michelle Kaufusi, Mayor of Provo[14]
- Thomas Wright, Republican National Committee executive committee member and former chair of the Utah Republican Party[15]
- Running mate: Rob Bishop, U.S. representative for Utah's 1st congressional district and former speaker of the Utah House of Representatives[16][17]
Eliminated at the convention
- Jeff Burningham, businessman[18]
- Jason Christensen, activist[20]
- Running mate: Drew Chamberlain[12]
- Jan Garbett, businesswoman[21]
- Running mate: Joseph Jarvis, physician and small business owner[22]
- Aimee Winder Newton, Salt Lake County councilwoman[23] (Endorsed Cox)
- Running mate: John Dougall, Utah state auditor[24]
Declined
- Rob Bishop, U.S. representative (endorsed Wright, who in turn chose Bishop to run with him as his lieutenant governor)[25][26][27]
- Jason Chaffetz, former U.S. representative[28]
- John Dougall, Utah state auditor[27]
- Gary Herbert, incumbent governor (endorsed Cox)[2][3]
- Mike Lee, U.S. senator (endorsed Huntsman)[29][30]
- Greg Miller, former CEO of the Utah Jazz[31][27]
- Sean Reyes, Attorney General of Utah[32]
- Josh Romney, real estate developer and son of Mitt Romney[33][34]
Endorsements
Spencer Cox
Federal officials
State officials
Local officials
- Aimee Winder Newton, Salt Lake County councilwoman and former Republican candidate in 2020 Utah gubernatorial election[37]
Organizations
Individuals
- Gail Miller, Utah Jazz owner[39][40]
Jon Huntsman Jr.
Federal officials
- Orrin Hatch, former U.S. senator from Utah (1977-2019)[41]
- Mike Lee, U.S. senator from Utah[42]
Individuals
- Karl Malone, retired professional basketball player[43]
Thomas Wright
Federal officials
- Rob Bishop, U.S. representative from Utah's 1st congressional district (Running mate)[44]
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Rob Bishop |
Jeff Burningham |
Jason Chaffetz |
Spencer Cox |
Jan Garbett |
Greg Hughes |
Jon Huntsman Jr. |
Greg Miller |
Aimee Winder Newton |
Sean Reyes |
Thomas Wright |
Other / Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Jones & Associates/Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce[45][46] | June 17–24, 2020 | 1,247 (LV) | ± 2.77% | — | — | — | 30% | — | 15% | 29% | — | — | — | 6% | 19%[a] |
| Y2 Analytics UtahPolicy/KUTV 2 News[47] | June 9–17, 2020 | 797 (LV)[b] | — | — | — | — | 32% | — | 23% | 36% | — | — | — | 9% | — |
| Y2 Analytics/Cox for Governor[48][A] | June 13–16, 2020 | 691 (LV) | ± 3.72% | — | — | — | 34% | — | 20% | 28% | — | — | — | 9% | 9%[c] |
| Dan Jones & Associates/Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce[49] | June 1–10, 2020 | 676 (LV) | ± 3.77% | — | — | — | 32%[d] | — | 10% | 37% | — | — | — | 5% | 4%[e] |
| Suffolk University/Salt Lake Tribune[50] | June 4–7, 2020 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.4% | — | — | — | 32% | — | 10% | 30% | — | — | — | 8% | 17% |
| Deseret News/Hinckley Institute[51] | May 25–31, 2020 | 643 (LV) | — | — | — | — | 28% | — | 18% | 24% | — | — | — | 4% | 26% |
| Y2 Analytics/UtahPolicy/KUTV 2 News[52][53] | May 9–15, 2020 | 610 (LV)[f] | — | — | — | — | 40% | — | 18% | 34% | — | — | — | 8% | — |
| All remaining candidates except Cox, Hughes, Huntsman Jr. and Wright eliminated at convention | |||||||||||||||
| Y2 Analytics[54][55] | March 21–30, 2020 | 738 (LV)[g] | – | — | 5% | — | 39% | < 1% | 17% | 33% | — | 4% | — | 1% | < 1%[h] |
| Hinckley Institute[56] | March 23–28, 2020 | 326 (LV) | ± 5.4% | — | 7% | — | 24% | 1% | 7% | 26% | — | 2% | — | 2% | 32% |
| Dan Jones & Associates[57] | February 28 – March 11, 2020 | 338 (V) | ± 5.3% | — | 6% | — | 30% | 2% | 12% | 27% | — | 4% | — | 6% | 15% |
| Hinckley Institute[58] | February 24 – March 1, 2020 | 312 (LV) | ± 5.5% | — | 7% | — | 20% | 1% | 7% | 32% | — | 2% | — | 1% | 30% |
| Garbett announces her candidacy[59] | |||||||||||||||
| Suffolk University/Salt Lake Tribune[60] | January 18–22, 2020 | 246 (LV) | ± 6.3% | — | 1% | — | 18% | – | 7% | 26% | — | 1% | — | 1% | 46% |
| Hinckley Institute/Deseret News[61] | January 15–22, 2020 | 424 (LV) | ± 4.8% | — | 6% | — | 25% | – | 3% | 35% | — | 3% | — | 3% | 25% |
| Reyes announces he will not run | |||||||||||||||
| Bishop announces he will not run | |||||||||||||||
| Hughes announces his candidacy[62] | |||||||||||||||
| Wright announces his candidacy[63] | |||||||||||||||
| Y2 Analytics[64] | November 19 – December 7, 2019 | 457 (V) | ± 4.6% | 9% | 5% | — | 41% | – | 5% | 29% | – | 5% | 5% | 1% | — |
| Huntsman Jr. announces his candidacy[65] | |||||||||||||||
| Newton announces her candidacy[66] | |||||||||||||||
| Dan Jones & Associates/Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce[67] |
October 3–10, 2019 | 271 (V) | – | — | 2% | — | 34% | – | 2% | 30% | — | — | – | 7% | 25% |
| Miller announces he will not run[68] | |||||||||||||||
| Burningham announces his candidacy[69] | |||||||||||||||
| Chaffetz announces he will not run | |||||||||||||||
| Cox announces his candidacy[70] | |||||||||||||||
| University of Utah[71] | January 15–24, 2019 | 311 (RV) | ± 5.6% | 10% | – | 27% | 28% | – | 4% | – | 2% | — | 4% | – | 24% |
| University of Utah[72] | October 3–9, 2018 | 291 (RV) | ± 6.0% | 11% | – | 25% | 16% | – | 3% | – | 2% | — | 7% | – | 36% |
| Hinckley Institute/Salt Lake Tribune[73] | June 11–18, 2018 | 510 (V) | ± 4.3% | 9% | – | 25% | 16% | – | 3% | – | – | — | 9% | – | 37% |
Convention results
| Republican convention results[74] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate/running mate | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | ||||||
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Spencer Cox/Deidre Henderson | 1081 | 30.2% | 1082 | 30.2% | 1223 | 34.3% | 1287 | 36.3% | 1488 | 42.4% | 1884 | 55.0% |
| Greg Hughes/Victor Iverson | 663 | 18.5% | 674 | 18.8% | 719 | 20.2% | 901 | 25.4% | 1107 | 31.5% | 1544 | 45.0% |
| Aimee Winder Newton/John 'Frugal' Dougall | 500 | 14.0% | 508 | 14.2% | 540 | 15.1% | 703 | 19.8% | 918 | 26.1% | Eliminated | |
| Thomas Wright/Rob Bishop | 489 | 13.7% | 494 | 13.8% | 553 | 15.5% | 658 | 18.5% | Eliminated | |||
| Jeff Burningham/Dan McCay | 487 | 13.6% | 504 | 14.1% | 530 | 14.9% | Eliminated | |||||
| Jon Huntsman Jr./Michelle Kaufusi | 315 | 8.8% | 315 | 8.8% | Eliminated | |||||||
| Jason Christensen/Drew Chamberlain | 44 | 1.2% | Eliminated | |||||||||
| Inactive ballots | 0 ballots | 2 ballots | 14 ballots | 30 ballots | 66 ballots | 151 ballots | ||||||
Debate
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn |
||||||||
| Spencer Cox | Greg Hughes | Jon Huntsman Jr. | Thomas Wright | |||||
| 1 | Jun. 1, 2020 | Utah Debate Commission | Bruce Lindsay | [75] | P | P | P | P |
Primary results
Cox
- Cox—60–70%
- Cox—50–60%
- Cox—40–50%
- Cox—30–40%
Huntsman
- Huntsman—30–40%
- Huntsman—40–50%
- Huntsman—50–60%
Hughes
- Hughes—30–40%
- Hughes—40–50%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Spencer Cox | 190,565 | 36.15% | |
| Republican | Jon Huntsman Jr. | 184,246 | 34.95% | |
| Republican | Greg Hughes | 110,835 | 21.02% | |
| Republican | Thomas Wright | 41,532 | 7.88% | |
| Total votes | 527,178 | 100% | ||
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Christopher Peterson, University of Utah law professor and former CFPB official[77]
Eliminated at the convention
- Neil Hansen, former state representative[20]
- Running mate: Brandy Farmer, candidate for Utah House of Representatives
- Ryan Jackson[20]
- Zachary Moses, CEO of HeTravel.com[80]
- Running mate: Nate Kizerian, community activist[81]
- Nikki Pino Jr., youth counselor[82]
- Running mate: Nikki Pino Sr., retired Army lieutenant colonel and father to Nikki Pino Jr.[81]
- Archie A Williams, 2014 Democratic candidate for District 60 of the Utah House of Representatives III[83]
Declined
- Peter Corroon, former Utah Democratic Party chair, former mayor of Salt Lake County, and nominee for governor in 2010[84]
- Scott Howell, former state senator and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2000 and 2012[84]
- Patricia W. Jones, former state senator[84]
- Brian King, minority leader of the Utah House of Representatives[84] (endorsed Peterson)[85]
- Jim Matheson, former U.S. representative[33]
- Ben McAdams, U.S. representative[86] (running for re-election)
- Peter Metcalf, former CEO of Black Diamond Equipment[84]
- Paul Rolly, former columnist for The Salt Lake Tribune[84]
- Jim Winder, former Salt Lake County Sheriff[84]
Polling
Convention results
| Democratic convention results[88] | |
|---|---|
| Candidate | Pct. |
| Christopher Peterson | 88.4% |
| Zachary Moses | 4.7% |
| Neil Hansen | 4.0% |
| Nikki Ray Pino | 1.4% |
| Ryan Jackson | 1.4% |
| Archie Williams III | 0.1% |
Other candidates
Independent American Party
Nominee
- Gregory Duerden,[89]
- Wayne Hill, Vice Chair of the Utah Independent American Party[90]
Libertarian Party
Nominee
- Daniel Cottam, Bariatric Surgeon[91]
- Running mate: Barry Short, businessman and Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party of Utah[92]
Republican write-in
- Madeline Kazantzis ran for election for Governor of Utah as a write-in in the general election on November 3, 2020. She received 18,988 votes.
Declined
- Jon Huntsman Jr., former United States Ambassador to Russia, China and Singapore, former governor of Utah, and candidate for president in 2012[93]
General election
Campaign
An advertisement that featured both major-party candidates, calling for civility in politics, drew significant media coverage and praise.[94][95]
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[96] | Safe R | October 23, 2020 |
| Inside Elections[97] | Safe R | October 28, 2020 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[98] | Safe R | November 2, 2020 |
| Politico[99] | Safe R | November 2, 2020 |
| Daily Kos[100] | Safe R | October 28, 2020 |
| RCP[101] | Safe R | November 2, 2020 |
| 270towin[102] | Safe R | November 2, 2020 |
Endorsements
Spencer Cox (R)
Federal officials
State officials
Local officials
- Aimee Winder Newton, Salt Lake County councilwoman and former Republican candidate in 2020 Utah gubernatorial election[37]
Organizations
Individuals
- Gail Miller, Utah Jazz owner[39][40]
Polling
Graphical summary
Polls
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[i] |
Margin of error |
Spencer Cox (R) |
Christopher Peterson (D) |
Daniel Cottam (L) |
Gregory Duerden (IAP) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Y2 Analytics/Salt Lake Tribune[103] | October 15–24, 2020 | 660 (LV) | ± 3.8% | 58% | 33% | – | – | – | – |
| RMG Research/Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics[104] | October 12–17, 2020 | 1,000 (LV) | ± 3.1% | 50% | 26% | 6% | 3% | – | 16% |
| Y2 Analytics/Salt Lake Tribune[105] | September 26 – October 4, 2020 | 1,214 (LV) | ± 2.8% | 57% | 29% | – | – | 14% | – |
| RMG Research/Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics[106] | September 7–12, 2020 | 1,000 (LV) | ± 3.1% | 52% | 19% | 4% | 3% | – | 22% |
| Lighthouse Research/Salt Lake Tribune[107][108] | August 31 – September 12, 2020 | 2,000 (RV) | ± 4.38% | 55% | 20% | 5% | 3% | 3% | 15% |
| RMG Research[109] | July 27 – August 1, 2020 | 1000 (RV) | ± 4.0% | 49% | 17% | 3% | 3% | – | 29% |
Hypothetical polling
with Spencer Eccles
with only Spencer Cox, Greg Hughes and Jon Huntsman
with Generic Democrat
with Bishop, Chaffetz, Cox, Dougall, Hughes, Miller, Newton, Reyes and Generic Democrat (D)
with Jason Chaffetz, Spencer Cox, Spencer Eccles, Greg Hughes, Ben McAdams, Greg Miller and Josh Romney
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[i] |
Margin of error |
Jason Chaffetz |
Spencer Cox |
Ben McAdams |
Josh Romney |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Jones & Associates/Salt Lake Tribune/Hinkley Institute[112] | Oct 10–13, 2017 | 605 (RV) | ± 3.98% | 24% | 11% | 20% | 9% | 11%[k] | 26% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | 918,754 | 62.98% | −3.76% | ||
| Democratic |
|
442,754 | 30.35% | +1.61% | |
| Libertarian |
|
51,393 | 3.52% | +0.42% | |
| Independent American |
|
25,810 | 1.77% | +0.36% | |
| Write-in | 20,167 | 1.38% | +1.37% | ||
| Total votes | 1,458,878 | 100% | |||
| Turnout | 1,515,845 | 69.17% | |||
| Registered electors | 1,682,512 | ||||
| Republican hold | |||||
By county
By county | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By congressional district
Cox won all four congressional districts.[114]
| District | Cox | Peterson | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 66% | 25% | Rob Bishop |
| Blake Moore | |||
| 2nd | 57% | 33% | Chris Stewart |
| 3rd | 67% | 27% | John Curtis |
| 4th | 59% | 35% | Ben McAdams |
| Burgess Owens | |||
Notes
Additional candidates
- "Prefer not to answer" with 19%
- Including registered Republican likely primary voters and currently unaffiliated likely primary voters
- "Don't know/refused" with 9%
- Including voters who lean towards a given candidate
- Undecided with 4%
- Including registered Republican likely primary voters and currently unaffiliated likely primary voters
- Including registered Republican likely primary voters and currently unaffiliated likely primary voters
- Christensen with <1%
- Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear - Undecided with 26%, Reyes with 5%; "Other" with 3%; Miller and Winder-Newton with 2%; Hughes with 1%; Dougall with 0%
- Eccles, Hughes and "Other" with 3%; Miller with 2%
General
- Poll sponsored by Cox's campaign