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Elections in Arizona | ||||||||||
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The 1978 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1978 for the post of Governor of Arizona. Democrat Bruce Babbitt defeated Republican nominee Evan Mecham. Babbitt was the former Attorney General of Arizona, but after the death of Governor Wesley Bolin, Babbit became governor. Bolin himself ascended to office from the position of Secretary of State, meaning his replacement, Rose Mofford was not eligible to the office as she was not elected. This drama of exchanging office would continue after Babbitt's term came to an end, as Mofford would become governor and succeeded Evan Mecham, Babbitt's challenger, in 1988.
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party. The Democrats' dominant worldview was once social conservatism and economic liberalism while populism was its leading characteristic in the rural South. In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt ran as a third-party candidate in the Progressive Party, beginning a switch of political platforms between the Democratic and Republican Party over the coming decades, and leading to Woodrow Wilson being elected as the first fiscally progressive Democrat. Since Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal coalition in the 1930s, the Democratic Party has also promoted a social liberal platform, supporting social justice.
Bruce Edward Babbitt is an American attorney and politician from the state of Arizona. A member of the Democratic Party, Babbitt served as the 16th governor of Arizona from 1978 to 1987, and as the United States Secretary of the Interior from 1993 through 2001.
The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major political parties in the United States; the other is its historic rival, the Democratic Party.
A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for an elected office but seldom wins. The term is not generally extended to incumbent politicians who successfully defend their seats repeatedly.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Bruce Edward Babbitt | 108,548 | 76.80 | |
Democratic | Dave Moss | 32,785 | 23.20 | |
Total votes | 141,333 | 100.00 |
Evan Mecham was an American businessman and the 17th governor of Arizona, serving from January 5, 1987, until his impeachment conviction on April 4, 1988. A decorated veteran of World War II, Mecham was a successful automotive dealership owner and occasional newspaper publisher. Periodic runs for political office earned him a reputation as a perennial candidate along with the nickname of "The Harold Stassen of Arizona" before he was elected governor, under the Republican banner. As governor, Mecham was plagued by controversy and became the first U.S. governor to simultaneously face removal from office through impeachment, a scheduled recall election, and a felony indictment. He was the first Arizona governor to be impeached.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Evan Mecham | 50,713 | 44.07 | |
Republican | Jack Londen | 40,116 | 34.86 | |
Republican | Charles King | 24,253 | 21.08 | |
Total votes | 115,082 | 100.00 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Bruce Babbitt | 282,605 | 52.47% | +2.06% | |
Republican | Evan Mecham | 241,093 | 44.77% | -4.79% | |
Libertarian | V. Gene Lewter | 10,421 | 1.93% | +1.93% | |
Socialist Workers | Jessica Sampson | 4,437 | 0.82% | +0.82% | |
Majority | 41,512 | 7.71% | +6.86% | ||
Turnout | 538,556 | ||||
Democratic hold | Swing |
Rose Perica Mofford was an American civil servant and politician who led a 51-year career in state government. Beginning her career with the State of Arizona as an office secretary, she worked her way up the ranks to become the state's first female secretary of state and first female governor of Arizona.
Harold Trent Franks is a former American politician and businessman who served as the U.S. Representative for Arizona's 8th congressional district from 2003 to 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party. The 8th district, numbered as the 2nd District from 2003 to 2013, is located in the West Valley portion of the Valley of the Sun and includes Glendale, Surprise, Sun City, Peoria and part of western Phoenix.
Wesley Bolin was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the 15th governor of the U.S. state of Arizona between 1977 and 1978. His five months in office mark the shortest term in office for any Arizona governor. Prior to ascending to the Governorship, Bolin was the longest serving Secretary of State of Arizona, where he served for 28 years.
Matthew James Salmon is an American Republican politician, who retired from office after serving as representative for Arizona's 5th congressional district. The district is based in Mesa and includes most of the East Valley. He previously represented the district, then numbered as the 1st District, from 1995 to 2001. In 2002, he lost by less than 1% to Janet Napolitano in a highly competitive governor's race. He regained his old congressional seat in the 2012 election. Salmon and his wife Nancy have been married for 34 years. They have four children and seven grandchildren.
The United States Senate elections, 1968 were elections for the United States Senate which coincided with the presidential election. Although Richard Nixon won the presidential election narrowly, the Republicans picked up five net seats in the Senate. Republicans would gain another seat after the election when Alaska Republican Ted Stevens was appointed to replace Democrat Bob Bartlett.
The 1988 Democratic presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 1988 U.S. presidential election. Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1988 Democratic National Convention held from July 18 to July 21, 1988, in Atlanta, Georgia. This is also the last time Illinois, Missouri, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana chose delegates for a candidate who did not win the nomination.
The 1996 Republican presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 1996 U.S. presidential election. Former Senator Bob Dole of Kansas, former Senate Majority Leader was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1996 Republican National Convention held from August 12 to August 15, 1996, in San Diego, California.
The 2014 Arizona gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor of Arizona, concurrently with elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 1962 United States Senate election in Arizona took place on November 6, 1962. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Carl Hayden ran for reelection to a seventh term, defeating Republican nominee State Senator Evan Mecham in the general election. Mecham became Governor of Arizona more than two decades later, and was subsequently impeached from office.
The 1994 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1994 for the post of Governor of Arizona. Fife Symington, the incumbent Republican Governor of Arizona, defeated the Democratic nominee Eddie Basha.
The 1990 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1990 for the post of Governor of Arizona. Republican Fife Symington defeated the Democratic nominee and Mayor of Phoenix Terry Goddard. Because no candidate received a majority of votes, a runoff election was held later on February 26, 1991, which Symington also won. This is the only election where Arizona used a runoff election.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Arizona on November 4, 2014. All of Arizona's executive officers were up for election as well as all of Arizona's nine seats in the United States House of Representatives. Primary elections were held on August 26, 2014.
The 2018 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the governor of Arizona, concurrently with the election of Arizona's Class I U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Arizona on November 6, 2018. All of Arizona's executive offices were up for election as well as a United States Senate seat and all of Arizona's nine seats in the United States House of Representatives. The Democratic Party picked up three statewide offices, as well as a seat in the U.S. House.
Carolyn Rexroat Warner was an American politician who served as the 15th Superintendent of Public Instruction for the state of Arizona, elected as a Democrat, from 1975 to 1987. Warner was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Arizona in 1986, but was defeated by then-State Senator Evan Mecham, who would go on to be impeached.
William R. Schulz is an American politician who was an Independent candidate for Governor of Arizona in the 1986 gubernatorial election, and was the Democratic nominee against Barry Goldwater in the 1980 U.S. Senate election.
The 33rd Arizona State Legislature, consisting of the Arizona State Senate and the Arizona House of Representatives, was constituted in Phoenix from January 1, 1977 to December 31, 1978. The legislature met during the terms of three Arizona Governors. When it was constituted, Raúl Héctor Castro still had two years remaining on his only term in office as Governor of Arizona. When Castro left the office to become Ambassador to Argentina in October 1977, he was succeeded by Wesley Bolin, Arizona's Secretary of State. Arizona's constitution mandates that the Secretary of State is first in line of succession to the office of Governor. However, Bolin died in office five month's later, on March 4, 1978, and was succeeded by Bruce Babbitt, who was then the Attorney General. Bolin was not succeeded by his replacement, Rose Mofford, because she had been appointed, not elected to the office. Succession fell to the next in line, Babbitt. Both the Senate and the House membership remained constant at 30 and 60, respectively. The Republicans made inroads into the Democrat lead in the Senate, picking up two seats, although the Democrats maintained a 16–14 edge in the upper house. In the lower chamber, the Republicans increased their majority by 5 seats, giving them a 38–22 margin.