1982 Michigan gubernatorial election

1982 Michigan gubernatorial election

←  1978 November 2, 1982 1986  →

Nominee James Blanchard Richard Headlee Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,561,291 1,369,582 Percentage 51.4% 45.1%

County results Blanchard:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70% Headlee:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

Governor before election William Milliken Republican Elected Governor James Blanchard Democratic

The 1982 Michigan gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Governor William Milliken decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth full term as governor. The primary elections occurred on August 10, 1982. Businessman Richard Headlee narrowly defeated incumbent lieutenant governor James Brickley in a four way race on the Republican side. Congressman James Blanchard defeated Michigan Senate Majority Leader William B. Fitzgerald Jr. by a wide margin a fractured seven way race. Blanchard won the general election by a relatively comfortable 6.31% margin. Blanchard became the first Democrat to win the governor’s mansion in Michigan in 22 years. ^[1]

Republican primary

Candidates

• James H. Brickley, Lieutenant Governor of Michigan
• Richard Headlee, businessman and anti-tax activist
• L. Brooks Patterson, Oakland County Prosecutor
• Jack Welborn

Results

1982 Michigan gubernatorial Republican primary election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Richard Headlee	220,378	34.36
	Republican	James H. Brickley	194,429	30.31
	Republican	L. Brooks Patterson	180,065	28.07
	Republican	Jack Welborn	46,505	7.25
	Republican	Write-ins	42	0.01
Total votes			641,419	100.00

Democratic primary

Candidates

• James Blanchard, U.S. Representative from Pleasant Ridge
• Zolton Ferency, Ingham County Commissioner, law professor, and nominee for governor in 1966
• William B. Fitzgerald Jr., Michigan Senate Majority Leader and nominee for governor in 1978
• Kerry Kammer
• Edward H. Pierce
• David A. Plaweki
• John Safran

Results

1982 Michigan gubernatorial Democratic primary election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James Blanchard	406,941	50.23
	Democratic	William B. Fitzgerald Jr.	138,453	17.09
	Democratic	David A. Plaweki	95,805	11.82
	Democratic	Zolton Ferency	85,088	10.50
	Democratic	Edward H. Pierce	44,894	5.54
	Democratic	Kerry Kammer	32,221	3.98
	Democratic	John Safran	6,782	0.84
	Democratic	Write-ins	60	0.01
Total votes			810,244	100.00

General election

Results

1982 Michigan gubernatorial election ^{[2] [3]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James Blanchard	1,561,291	51.36
	Republican	Richard Headlee	1,369,582	45.05
	Tisch Independent Citizens	Robert Tisch	80,288	2.64
	Libertarian	Dick Jacobs	15,603	0.51
	American Independent	James Phillips	7,356	0.24
	Socialist Workers	Tim Craine	3,682	0.12
	Workers League	Martin P. McLaughlin	1,980	0.07
	Write-ins		226	0.01
Majority			191,709
	Democratic gain from Republican

References

1. Michigan (1985). Michigan manual. 1983/1984 – via HathiTrust.
2. Parker, Randy (June 6, 2010). "Our Campaigns: MI Governor". Our Campaigns.
3. Dave Leip. "1982 Gubernatorial General Election Results – Michigan". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.