1944 Utah gubernatorial election
November 7, 1944
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County results Maw: 50–60% Lee: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Utah |
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The 1944 Utah gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1944. Incumbent Democrat Herbert B. Maw defeated Republican nominee J. Bracken Lee with 50.21% of the vote. This is the closest gubernatorial election in Utah to date.
This is also the last time a Democrat was elected Governor until 1964.
Primary election
Primary elections were held on July 11, 1944. No runoffs were required in the gubernatorial primaries.
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Stanley N. Child
- Herbert B. Maw, incumbent governor
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Herbert B. Maw (inc.) | 25,774 | 62.79% | |
| Democratic | Stanley N. Child | 15,274 | 37.21% | |
| Total votes | 41,048 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
- J. Bracken Lee, Mayor of Price
- Reed E. Vetterli
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | J. Bracken Lee | 23,677 | 65.46% | |
| Republican | Reed E. Vetterli | 12,493 | 34.54% | |
| Total votes | 36,170 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Candidates
- Herbert B. Maw, Democratic
- J. Bracken Lee, Republican
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Herbert B. Maw (incumbent) | 123,907 | 50.21% | −1.86% | |
| Republican | J. Bracken Lee | 122,851 | 49.79% | +2.09% | |
| Total votes | 246,758 | 100.00% | |||
| Majority | 1,056 | 0.43% | |||
| Democratic hold | Swing | -3.95% | |||
Results by county
| County[2] | Herbert B. Maw Demcoratic |
J. Bracken Lee Republican |
Margin | Total votes cast | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Beaver | 924 | 44.25% | 1,164 | 55.75% | -240 | -11.49% | 2,088 |
| Box Elder | 3,537 | 49.21% | 3,651 | 50.79% | -114 | -1.59% | 7,188 |
| Cache | 5,589 | 47.11% | 6,274 | 52.89% | -685 | -5.77% | 11,863 |
| Carbon | 3,284 | 42.78% | 4,392 | 57.22% | -1,108 | -14.43% | 7,676 |
| Daggett | 93 | 54.07% | 79 | 45.93% | 14 | 8.14% | 172 |
| Davis | 4,306 | 48.96% | 4,489 | 51.04% | -183 | -2.08% | 8,795 |
| Duchesne | 1,548 | 56.31% | 1,201 | 43.69% | 347 | 12.62% | 2,749 |
| Emery | 1,030 | 43.30% | 1,349 | 56.70% | -319 | -13.41% | 2,379 |
| Garfield | 493 | 34.96% | 917 | 65.04% | -424 | -30.07% | 1,410 |
| Grand | 292 | 35.92% | 521 | 64.08% | -229 | -28.17% | 813 |
| Iron | 1,505 | 41.51% | 2,121 | 58.49% | -616 | -16.99% | 3,626 |
| Juab | 1,269 | 47.58% | 1,398 | 52.42% | -129 | -4.84% | 2,667 |
| Kane | 246 | 27.73% | 641 | 72.27% | -395 | -44.53% | 887 |
| Millard | 1,749 | 46.42% | 2,019 | 53.58% | -270 | -7.17% | 3,768 |
| Morgan | 510 | 42.36% | 694 | 57.64% | -184 | -15.28% | 1,204 |
| Piute | 272 | 37.11% | 461 | 62.89% | -189 | -25.78% | 733 |
| Rich | 352 | 44.61% | 437 | 55.39% | -85 | -10.77% | 789 |
| Salt Lake | 58,315 | 55.46% | 46,828 | 44.54% | 11,487 | 10.93% | 105,143 |
| San Juan | 410 | 46.91% | 464 | 53.09% | -54 | -6.18% | 874 |
| Sanpete | 3,179 | 51.04% | 3,049 | 48.96% | 130 | 2.09% | 6,228 |
| Sevier | 1,686 | 38.04% | 2,746 | 61.96% | -1,060 | -23.92% | 4,432 |
| Summit | 1,444 | 44.96% | 1,768 | 55.04% | -324 | -10.09% | 3,212 |
| Tooele | 2,296 | 50.66% | 2,236 | 49.34% | 60 | 1.32% | 4,532 |
| Uintah | 1,560 | 52.12% | 1,433 | 47.88% | 127 | 4.24% | 2,993 |
| Utah | 11,505 | 45.28% | 13,906 | 54.72% | -2,401 | -9.45% | 25,411 |
| Wasatch | 1,121 | 48.53% | 1,189 | 51.47% | -68 | -2.94% | 2,310 |
| Washington | 1,633 | 50.02% | 1,632 | 49.98% | 1 | 0.03% | 3,265 |
| Wayne | 406 | 54.06% | 345 | 45.94% | 61 | 8.12% | 751 |
| Weber | 13,353 | 46.36% | 15,447 | 53.64% | -2,094 | -7.27% | 28,800 |
| Total | 123,907 | 50.21% | 122,851 | 49.79% | 1,056 | 0.43% | 246,758 |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
References
- ^ a b Utah State Archives, Abstract of the Returns of the Primary Election held in the State of Utah, Tuesday, July 11, 1944 for United States Senator, for Representatives in the Seventy-Ninth Congress of the United States, for State Officers, and District Officers in Districts comprising more than one County.
- ^ a b Utah State Archives, Abstract of the Returns of an Election held in the State of Utah, Tuesday, November 7, 1944 A.D.
- ^ Kalb, Deborah (December 24, 2015). Guide to U.S. Elections. ISBN 9781483380353. Retrieved May 18, 2020.