1996 Utah gubernatorial election

For related races, see 1996 United States gubernatorial elections.

1996 Utah gubernatorial election
November 5, 1996
Turnout65.78% (of registered voters)[1]
 
Nominee Mike Leavitt Jim Bradley
Party Republican Democratic
Running mate Olene Walker Shari Holweg
Popular vote 503,693 156,616
Percentage 74.97% 23.31%
County results
Leavitt:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Governor before election

Mike Leavitt
Republican

Elected Governor

Mike Leavitt
Republican

The 1996 Utah gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1996. Republican nominee and incumbent Governor Michael Leavitt easily won reelection.

Primary election

Democrat E. James Bradley, who had been elected as a Salt Lake County Commissioner in 1990 and lost re-election in 1994, announced his candidacy on March 18, 1996, the last day for candidates to file. If he had not run, it was likely the Democratic party would not have had a candidate on the ballot.[2]

Utah held a primary election on June 25, 1996. All candidates in the gubernatorial election were nominated without opposition and no names of gubernatorial candidates appeared on the ballot.[3][4]

General election

Campaign

In a poll released in early April 1996, Bradley trailed Leavitt by 63 points.[5] Leavitt, with high popularity ratings as the incumbent Governor, maintained a formidable lead in subsequent polls as well.[6]

Leavitt and Bradley participated in a televised debate on October 26, 1996, at Brigham Young University.[7] Winning by the greatest margin in the state's history, Leavitt won every county.[8][9] Leavitt outspent Bradley four times over in his campaign, and raised over $650,000.[10]

Candidates

Major party candidates

  • Mike Leavitt, Republican
  • Jim Bradley, Democratic

Other candidates[11][12]

  • Ken Larsen, Independent American
  • Dub Richards, Independent
  • Robert C. Lesh, Natural Law

Results

1996 Utah gubernatorial election[1][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Mike Leavitt (incumbent) 503,693 74.97% +32.78%
Democratic Jim Bradley 156,616 23.31% +0.07%
Independent American Ken Larsen 4,741 0.71% +0.61%
Independent Dub Richards 3,845 0.57%
Natural Law Robert C. Lesh 2,969 0.44%
Write-in Linda Metzger-Agin 15 0.00% −0.12%
Total votes 671,879 100.00%
Majority 347,077 51.66%
Republican hold Swing +32.70%

Results by county

County[1] Mike Leavitt
Republican 		Jim Bradley
Demcoratic 		All Others
Various 		Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # %
Beaver 1,760 80.88% 392 18.01% 24 1.10% 1,368 62.87% 2,176
Box Elder 11,695 85.71% 1,762 12.91% 188 1.38% 9,933 72.80% 13,645
Cache 22,872 85.10% 3,614 13.45% 392 1.46% 19,258 71.65% 26,878
Carbon 4,215 54.88% 3,365 43.81% 101 1.31% 850 11.07% 7,681
Daggett 292 72.46% 108 26.80% 3 0.74% 184 45.66% 403
Davis 57,137 80.38% 12,810 18.02% 1,140 1.60% 44,327 62.36% 71,087
Duchesne 3,545 83.33% 655 15.40% 54 1.27% 2,890 67.94% 4,254
Emery 3,236 78.18% 835 20.17% 68 1.64% 2,401 58.01% 4,139
Garfield 1,582 57.60% 215 11.90% 9 0.50% 1,367 75.69% 1,806
Grand 2,066 63.03% 1,094 33.37% 118 3.60% 972 29.65% 3,278
Iron 8,608 87.20% 1,105 11.19% 158 1.60% 7,503 76.01% 9,871
Juab 1,967 76.57% 573 22.30% 29 1.13% 1,394 54.26% 2,569
Kane 2,054 86.59% 274 11.55% 44 1.85% 1,780 75.04% 2,372
Millard 3,652 84.32% 599 13.83% 80 1.85% 3,053 70.49% 4,331
Morgan 2,395 82.70% 480 16.57% 21 0.73% 1,915 66.13% 2,896
Piute 609 86.38% 95 13.48% 1 0.14% 514 72.91% 705
Rich 675 85.44% 109 13.80% 6 0.76% 566 71.65% 790
Salt Lake 189,680 67.15% 87,170 30.86% 5,639 2.00% 102,510 36.29% 282,489
San Juan 2,492 60.91% 1,550 37.89% 49 1.20% 942 23.03% 4,091
Sanpete 5,088 81.04% 1,053 16.77% 137 2.18% 4,035 64.27% 6,278
Sevier 5,486 86.94% 741 11.74% 83 1.32% 4,745 75.20% 6,310
Summit 6,096 64.95% 3,101 33.04% 188 2.00% 2,995 31.91% 9,385
Tooele 6,676 70.27% 2,664 28.04% 161 1.69% 4,012 42.23% 9,501
Uintah 6,133 81.33% 1,264 16.76% 144 1.91% 4,869 64.57% 7,541
Utah 86,852 87.20% 11,508 11.55% 1,238 1.24% 75,344 75.65% 99,598
Wasatch 3,370 77.70% 915 21.10% 52 1.20% 2,455 56.61% 4,337
Washington 21,324 84.70% 3,512 13.95% 341 1.35% 17,812 70.75% 25,177
Wayne 963 84.85% 162 14.27% 10 0.88% 801 70.57% 1,135
Weber 41,173 72.04% 14,891 26.05% 1,092 1.91% 26,282 45.98% 57,156
Total 503,693 74.97% 156,616 23.31% 11,570 1.72% 347,077 51.66% 671,879

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Counties that flipped from Independent to Republican

References

  1. ^ a b c "Official Results - State of Utah General Election November 5, 1996" (PDF). Retrieved December 30, 2025.
  2. ^ Bernick, Bob, Jr. (19 March 1996). Demos Get Bradley To Step Forward, The Deseret News
  3. ^ "Official Results - State of Utah Primary Election June 25, 1996" (PDF). Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  4. ^ "Official Primary Ballot". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City. June 23, 1996. p. 19. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  5. ^ Bernick, Bob, Jr. (9 April 1996). Jim who? Bradley trailing Leavitt, The Deseret News
  6. ^ (17 July 1996). Dole, Leavitt and Graham Lead in Utah, The Deseret News
  7. ^ "Utah Gubernatorial Debate - C-SPAN Video Library". C-SPAN. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  8. ^ "1996 Gubernatorial General Election Data Graphs - Utah". Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  9. ^ "Leavitt Hints at 3rd Term After Record-Breaking Win". The Deseret News. November 6, 1996. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  10. ^ Rolly, Paul (November 3, 1996). "Leavitt Easily Wins Money-Raising and Spending Title". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  11. ^ "Candidates: Governor/Lt. Governor". The Deseret News. Salt Lake City. November 3, 1996. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  12. ^ "General Election Ballot for Wasatch County, Utah - November 5, 1996". The Wasatch Wave. p. 23. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  13. ^ Gubernatorial Elections, 1787-1997. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc. 1998. p. 82. ISBN 1-56802-396-0.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.