Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.

Utah state executive official elections, 2016

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge-smaller use.png
Presidential • U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • Attorney General • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • State judges • Local judges • State ballot measures • School boards • Candidate ballot access
Flag of Utah.png
2017 →
← 2015
Seal of Utah.png

Utah Executive Official Elections
Top Ballot
Governor/Lt. Governor
Attorney General
Down Ballot
Auditor • Treasurer

The Beehive State
Key election dates
Filing deadline:
March 17, 2016
Nominating conventions:
April 2016Republican Party/May 2016Democratic Party
Primary date:
June 28, 2016
Filing deadline (write-ins):
September 9, 2016
General election date:
November 8, 2016
Recount request deadline:
TBD
Inauguration:
January 2, 2017

Five state executive offices in Utah were up for election in 2016:

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Utah has been under Republican trifecta control since 1995; all state executive offices up for election were held by Republicans.
  • Incumbents ran for and won re-election in all five offices.

    • Context of the 2016 elections

    Primary elections

    A primary election is an election in which voters select the candidate they believe should represent a political party in a general election. Primaries usually take place several months before a general election. In Utah, parties decide who may vote in their primaries. Registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters may vote in the Democratic primary. Only registered Republicans can vote in the Republican primary.[1]

    Unlike the major parties in most states, those in Utah elect delegates who vote to nominate the party candidates at the state conventions without a primary election.[2] In order to receive the nomination at the convention, a candidate must secure at least 60 percent of the vote. If no candidate wins at least 60 percent, a primary election is held.[3]

    Utah's primary elections took place on June 28, 2016. The Republican primary for governor was the only primary election on the ballot.

    Party control in Utah

    Utah state government has been under Republican trifecta control since as early as 1992. Additionally, all partisan state executive offices are also held by Republicans. The state has not seen a Democratic governor since Scott M. Matheson left office in 1985. Utah has not been represented by a Democrat in the U.S. Senate since 1977; the state's electoral college votes have gone to a Republican every presidential election since Lyndon B. Johnson (D) in 1964.[4]

    2016 elections

    Races we watched

    Governor and lieutenant governor

    Utah held an election for governor and lieutenant governor on November 8, 2016. Gov. Gary Herbert (R) won re-election, with Lt. Governor Spencer Cox (R) as his running mate.

    HIGHLIGHTS
  • Incumbent Governor Gary Herbert failed to secure 60 percent of the votes at the Republican nominating convention against challenger and Overstock.com CEO Jonathan Johnson (Utah), forcing him into a primary election.
  • Herbert defeated Johnson in the June 28 Republican primary by 44 percentage points. He faced businessman Mike Weinholtz (D) in the general election. At the time of the election, a Democrat had last held the governor’s office in Utah in 1985.
  • Herbert won re-election on November 8, 2016.

    • Elections by office

    Governor and lieutenant governor

    Attorney general

    Treasurer

    Auditor

    Voter registration

    For full information about voting in Utah, contact the state election agency.

    Registration

    To vote in Utah, you must meet the following requirements:[6]

    “

    ☐ Age: At least 18 years-old on or before the next election.
    ☐ Citizenship: A citizen of the United States.
    ☐ Residency: A resident of Utah for at least 30 days before the election. An applicant is considered a resident of Utah if he or she has their principal place of residence within Utah and intends to maintain their principal place of residence in Utah permanently or indefinitely.[7]

    		”
    —Lt. Governor Spencer J. Cox

    Online registration

    See also: Online voter registration

    Utah has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.


    Past elections

    Candidate ballot access
    Ballot Access Requirements Final.jpg
    Find detailed information on ballot access requirements in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

    2015

    There were no state executive elections in Utah in 2015.

    2014

    There was a special election for the attorney general's office in 2014.

    2012

    Five state executive offices were up for election including governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, treasurer and auditor.

    State profile

    Demographic data for Utah
     UtahU.S.
    Total population:2,990,632316,515,021
    Land area (sq mi):82,1703,531,905
    Race and ethnicity**
    White:87.6%73.6%
    Black/African American:1.1%12.6%
    Asian:2.2%5.1%
    Native American:1.1%0.8%
    Pacific Islander:0.9%0.2%
    Two or more:2.6%3%
    Hispanic/Latino:13.4%17.1%
    Education
    High school graduation rate:91.2%86.7%
    College graduation rate:31.1%29.8%
    Income
    Median household income:$60,727$53,889
    Persons below poverty level:12.7%11.3%
    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
    Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Utah.
    **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

    Presidential voting pattern

    See also: Presidential voting trends in Utah

    Utah voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.


    More Utah coverage on Ballotpedia

    See also

    Utah State Executive Elections News and Analysis
    Seal of Utah.png
    StateExecLogo.png
    Ballotpedia RSS.jpg
    Utah State Executive Offices
    Utah State Legislature
    Utah Courts
    2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016
    Utah elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016
    Party control of state government
    State government trifectas
    State of the state addresses
    Partisan composition of governors

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Voter Registration: Utah," accessed January 3, 2014
    2. ↑ In many states, the party nomination takes the form of an endorsement, with the nominee decided in the primary elections. In other states, the custom is for candidates who are defeated at the party convention to bow out of the race, though they are not required to do so, leaving the primary effectively a formality. Conversely, some states conduct conventions after the primary, making the nominating convention a formality.
    3. ↑ The Dallas Morning News, "Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch forced into primary fight," April 21, 2012
    4. ↑ National Records and Archives Administration, "Historical election results," accessed June 21, 2016
    5. ↑ Utah Political Hub, "Merrill Cook running for Utah State Treasurer," November 6, 2015
    6. ↑ elections.utah.gov, "Utah Voter Information Pamphlet," accessed January 26, 2015
    7. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.


    Flag of Utah
    v • e
    State of Utah
    Salt Lake City (capital)
    Elections

    What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

    Government

    Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy

    Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Utah_state_executive_official_elections,_2016&oldid=6675578"