1992 Utah gubernatorial election

For related races, see 1992 United States gubernatorial elections.

1992 Utah gubernatorial election

←  1988 November 3, 1992 1996  →

Nominee Mike Leavitt Merrill Cook Stewart Hanson Party Republican Independent Democratic Running mate Olene Walker Frances H. Merrill Paula Julander Popular vote 321,713 255,753 177,181 Percentage 42.19% 33.54% 23.23%

County results Leavitt:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70% Cook:     30–40% Hanson:     30–40%     40–50%

Governor before election Norman Bangerter Republican Elected Governor Mike Leavitt Republican

The 1992 Utah gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1992. Republican nominee Michael Leavitt won the three-way election.

Primary election

Primary elections were held on September 8, 1992.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Richard M. Eyre, author
• Mike Leavitt, CEO of the Leavitt Group

Results

Republican primary results ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Leavitt	143,647	56.00%
	Republican	Richard M. Eyre	112,881	44.00%
Total votes			256,528	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Stewart Hanson, attorney
• Pat Shea, attorney

Results

Democratic primary results ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Stewart Hanson	64,084	56.79%
	Democratic	Pat Shea	48,758	43.21%
Total votes			112,842	100.00%

Independent American primary

Candidates

• Frank W. Richins
• Lawrence Rey Topham

Results

Independent American primary results ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent American	Frank W. Richins	770	67.66%
	Independent American	Lawrence Rey Topham	368	32.34%
Total votes			1,138	100.00%

General election

Candidates

Major party candidates

• Mike Leavitt, Republican
• Stewart Hanson, Democratic
• Merrill Cook, Independent

Other candidates

• Eleanor Garcia, Socialist Workers
• Rita Gum, Populist
• Linda Metzger-Agin, Independent
• Frank W. Richins, Independent American
• Gary R. Van Horn, American

Results

1992 Utah gubernatorial election ^{[3] [4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mike Leavitt	321,713	42.19%	+3.78%
	Independent	Merrill Cook	255,753	33.54%	+12.49%
	Democratic	Stewart Hanson	177,181	23.24%	−16.89%
	Populist	Rita Gum	3,593	0.47%
	American	Gary R. Van Horn	1,492	0.20%	+0.04%
	Socialist Workers	Eleanor Garcia	1,158	0.15%
	Independent	Linda Metzger-Agin	917	0.12%
	Independent American	Frank W. Richins	729	0.10%
Total votes			762,536	100.00%
Plurality			65,960	8.65%
	Republican hold		Swing	+6.93%

Results by county

County [3]	Mike Leavitt Republican		Merrill Cook Independent		Stewart Hanson Demcoratic		All Others Various		Margin [a]		Total votes cast
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Beaver	1,121	51.54%	502	23.08%	547	25.15%	5	0.23%	574 [b]	26.39%	2,175
Box Elder	7,863	49.02%	5,994	37.37%	2,005	12.50%	178	1.11%	1,869	11.65%	16,040
Cache	17,251	54.68%	9,199	29.16%	4,736	15.01%	362	1.15%	8,052	25.52%	31,548
Carbon	2,149	23.77%	2,956	32.70%	3,850	42.59%	84	0.93%	-894 [c]	-9.89%	9,039
Daggett	189	44.68%	108	25.53%	124	29.31%	2	0.47%	65 [b]	15.37%	423
Davis	37,921	45.69%	29,949	36.09%	14,359	17.30%	760	0.92%	7,972	9.61%	82,989
Duchesne	2,144	45.73%	1,735	37.01%	755	16.10%	54	1.15%	409	8.72%	4,688
Emery	1,941	43.58%	1,376	30.89%	1,076	24.16%	61	1.37%	565	12.69%	4,454
Garfield	1,289	65.90%	409	20.91%	248	12.68%	10	0.51%	880	44.99%	1,956
Grand	1,163	34.45%	1,057	31.31%	1,117	33.09%	39	1.16%	46 [b]	1.36%	3,376
Iron	6,167	64.01%	2,125	22.06%	1,241	12.88%	102	1.06%	4,042	41.95%	9,635
Juab	1,225	42.80%	1,009	35.26%	597	20.86%	31	1.08%	216	7.55%	2,862
Kane	1,253	56.11%	660	29.56%	300	13.43%	20	0.90%	593	26.56%	2,233
Millard	2,510	51.20%	1,703	34.74%	644	13.14%	45	0.92%	807	16.46%	4,902
Morgan	1,354	46.85%	1,029	35.61%	470	16.26%	37	1.28%	325	11.25%	2,890
Piute	444	59.44%	191	25.57%	109	14.59%	3	0.40%	253	33.87%	747
Rich	485	55.81%	208	23.94%	173	19.91%	3	0.35%	277	31.88%	869
Salt Lake	115,583	35.42%	107,549	32.96%	100,570	30.82%	2,606	0.80%	8,034	2.46%	326,308
San Juan	2,020	48.00%	563	13.38%	1,596	37.93%	29	0.69%	424 [b]	10.08%	4,208
Sanpete	3,233	46.73%	2,511	36.29%	1,072	15.49%	103	1.49%	722	10.44%	6,919
Sevier	3,389	52.43%	2,275	35.19%	754	11.66%	46	0.71%	1,114	17.23%	6,464
Summit	3,194	33.49%	2,629	27.57%	3,645	38.22%	69	0.72%	-451 [d]	-4.73%	9,537
Tooele	3,712	35.03%	4,017	37.90%	2,785	26.28%	84	0.79%	-305	-2.88%	10,598
Uintah	3,328	41.81%	3,224	40.51%	1,308	16.43%	99	1.24%	104	1.31%	7,959
Utah	59,933	54.10%	37,067	33.46%	12,414	11.21%	1,366	1.23%	22,866	20.64%	110,780
Wasatch	1,952	42.64%	1,521	33.22%	1,063	23.22%	42	0.92%	431	9.41%	4,578
Washington	12,113	54.74%	6,590	29.78%	3,037	13.72%	390	1.76%	5,523	24.96%	22,130
Wayne	773	63.99%	243	20.12%	191	15.81%	1	0.08%	530	43.87%	1,208
Weber	26,014	36.63%	27,354	38.52%	16,395	23.08%	1,258	1.77%	-1,340	-1.89%	71,021
Total	321,713	42.19%	255,753	33.54%	177,181	23.24%	7,889	1.03%	65,960	8.65%	762,536

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Beaver
• Daggett
• Duchesne
• Emery
• Grand
• Juab
• Salt Lake
• San Juan
• Wasatch

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Independent

• Tooele
• Weber

Notes

1. Leavitt's margin over Cook unless otherwise noted
2. Leavitt's margin over Hanson
3. Hanson's margin over Cook
4. Hanson's margin over Leavitt

References

1. "State of Utah - Primary Election Report - September 8, 1992" (PDF). Retrieved January 1, 2026.
2. "Official Primary Ballot". The San Juan Record. Monticello. September 2, 1992. p. 21. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
3. "State of Utah - General Election Report - November 3, 1992" (PDF). Retrieved December 31, 2025.
4. Gubernatorial Elections, 1787-1997. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc. 1998. p. 82. ISBN   1-56802-396-0.
5. "Sample Ballot". The Morgan County News. Morgan. October 30, 1992. p. 15. Retrieved December 31, 2025.