1990–91 Arizona gubernatorial election

1990–91 Arizona gubernatorial election

← 1986 November 6, 1990 (first round)
February 26, 1991 (runoff)
1994 →
 
Candidate Fife Symington Terry Goddard
Party Republican Democratic
First round 523,984
49.7%
519,691
49.2%
Runoff 492,569
52.4%
448,168
47.6%

Symington:      50–60%
Goddard:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Governor before election

Rose Mofford
Democratic

Elected Governor

Fife Symington
Republican

The 1990–91 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1990, for the post of Governor of Arizona. Incumbent Democratic Governor, Rose Mofford, declined to run for a full term. 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.

Evan Mecham, a former governor who was removed from office in 1988 upon being convicted in his impeachment trial, unsuccessfully ran for another term. This would be the last gubernatorial election until 2018 when the victorious gubernatorial candidate in the state would be of the same party as the incumbent president.

Democratic primary

[edit]

Candidates

[edit]

Declared

[edit]

Declined

[edit]

Results

[edit]
Democratic primary results [1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Terry Goddard 212,579 84.00%
Democratic Dave Moss 40,478 16.00%
Total votes 253,057 100.00%

Republican primary

[edit]

Candidates

[edit]

Declared

[edit]
  • Fife Symington, Real estate developer
  • Evan Mecham, former Governor
  • Fred Koory, Jr, former State Senator
  • Sam Steiger, former U.S. Representative for Arizona
  • Bob Barnes, former Governor's aide

Results

[edit]
Republican primary results [1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Fife Symington 163,010 43.78%
Republican Evan Mecham 91,136 24.48%
Republican Fred Koory, Jr 61,487 16.51%
Republican Sam Steiger 49,019 13.17%
Republican Bob Barnes 7,672 2.06%
Total votes 372,324 100.00%

General election

[edit]

Results

[edit]
Arizona gubernatorial election, 1990[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Fife Symington 523,984 49.65% +9.98%
Democratic Terry Goddard 519,691 49.24% +14.76%
Stop Abortion Max Hawkins (write-in) 10,983 1.04% +1.04%
Libertarian Ed Yetman (write-in) 316 0.03% +0.03%
Independent Rick Lee Campbell (write-in) 163 0.02%
Independent Allen Weinstein (write-in) 76 0.01%
Republican Patrick P. Castronovo (write-in) 75 0.01%
Independent Robert P. Winn (write-in) 64 0.01%
Independent Peter J. Cojanis (write-in) 54 0.01%
Majority 4,293 0.41%
Total votes 1,055,406 100.00%

Results by county

[edit]
County Fife Symington
Republican
Terry Goddard
Democratic
Max Hawkins
Stop Abortion
Ed Yetman
Libertarian
All Others
Write-in
Margin Total votes
cast[2]
# % # % # % # % # % # %
Apache 3,638 27.49% 9,485 71.67% 91 0.69% 6 0.05% 14 0.11% -5,847 -44.18% 13,234
Cochise 11,472 47.17% 12,685 52.16% 136 0.56% 13 0.05% 14 0.06% -1,213 -4.99% 24,320
Coconino 11,330 39.72% 17,050 59.78% 123 0.43% 11 0.04% 8 0.03% -5,720 -20.05% 28,522
Gila 6,283 43.88% 7,893 55.13% 128 0.89% 5 0.03% 8 0.06% -1,610 -11.25% 14,317
Graham 3,614 48.47% 3,699 49.61% 141 1.89% 2 0.03% 0 0.00% -85 -1.14% 7,456
Greenlee 1,071 36.70% 1,836 62.92% 11 0.38% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -765 -26.22% 2,918
La Paz 1,829 52.45% 1,622 46.52% 33 0.95% 1 0.03% 2 0.06% 207 5.94% 3,487
Maricopa 330,261 53.17% 282,409 45.46% 8,156 1.31% 139 0.02% 234 0.04% 47,852 7.70% 621,199
Mohave 14,068 51.33% 13,131 47.91% 154 0.56% 11 0.04% 41 0.15% 937 3.42% 27,405
Navajo 7,708 43.31% 9,867 55.44% 204 1.15% 9 0.05% 11 0.06% -2,159 -12.13% 17,799
Pima 87,701 43.53% 112,572 55.87% 1,028 0.51% 94 0.05% 83 0.04% -24,871 -12.34% 201,478
Pinal 11,762 41.13% 16,562 57.92% 257 0.90% 9 0.03% 7 0.02% -4,800 -16.78% 28,597
Santa Cruz 2,140 35.93% 3,801 63.82% 10 0.17% 2 0.03% 3 0.05% -1,661 -27.89% 5,956
Yavapai 22,682 55.69% 17,567 43.13% 467 1.15% 11 0.03% 4 0.01% 5,115 12.56% 40,731
Yuma 8,425 46.84% 9,512 52.88% 44 0.24% 3 0.02% 3 0.02% -1,087 -6.04% 17,987
Totals 523,984 49.65% 519,691 49.24% 10,983 1.04% 316 0.03% 432 0.04% 4,293 0.41% 1,055,406

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

[edit]

Runoff election

[edit]

Prior to 1992, the Arizona State Constitution required a runoff election for the office of Governor if no candidate received a majority of the votes. As a result, a runoff election was held on February 26, 1991.

Results

[edit]
Arizona Gubernatorial Runoff Election, 1991 [3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Fife Symington 492,569 52.36% +2.71%
Democratic Terry Goddard 448,168 47.64% −1.60%
Majority 44,401 4.72%
Total votes 940,737 100.00%
Republican hold Swing +4.31%

Results by county

[edit]
County Fife Symington
Republican
Terry Goddard
Democratic
Margin Total votes
cast[3]
# % # % # %
Apache 2,982 26.45% 8,294 73.55% -5,312 -47.11% 11,276
Cochise 9,862 48.08% 10,651 51.92% -789 -3.85% 20,513
Coconino 9,444 41.88% 13,107 58.12% -3,663 -16.24% 22,551
Gila 5,670 46.09% 6,632 53.91% -962 -7.82% 12,302
Graham 3,512 56.07% 2,752 43.93% 760 12.13% 6,264
Greenlee 1,003 41.19% 1,432 58.81% -429 -17.62% 2,435
La Paz 1,558 56.45% 1,202 43.55% 356 12.90% 2,760
Maricopa 315,811 55.95% 248,691 44.05% 67,120 11.89% 564,502
Mohave 13,106 55.00% 10,722 45.00% 2,384 10,01% 23,828
Navajo 7,081 44.81% 8,721 55.19% -1,640 -10.38% 15,802
Pima 82,594 45.79% 97,773 54.21% -15,179 -8.42% 180,367
Pinal 10,562 44.01% 13,435 55.99% -2,873 -11.97% 23,997
Santa Cruz 1,741 44.79% 2,146 55.21% -405 -10.42% 3,887
Yavapai 21,515 58.68% 15,148 41.32% 6,367 17.37% 36,663
Yuma 6,128 45.09% 7,462 54.91% -1,334 -9.82% 13,590
Totals 492,569 52.36% 448,168 47.64% 44,4013 4.72% 940,737

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "State of Arizona Official Canvass Primary Election - September 11, 1990". Arizona Secretary of State. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "State of Arizona Official Canvass - General Election - November 6, 1990". Arizona Secretary of State. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "State of Arizona Official Canvass - Second Election - February 26, 1991". Arizona Secretary of State. Retrieved July 14, 2024.