The 2016 Utah gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2016, to elect the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and

Lieutenant Governor of Utah The office of the lieutenant governor of Utah was created in 1975. Nine people have held the position since then. Prior to the creation of the lieutenant governor's office, the succession to the governorship of Utah was held by the Utah Secretary ...

, concurrently with the

2016 U.S. presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...

, as well as

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative ...

to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

and

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and various

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

and

local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

Incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Governor

Gary Herbert Gary Richard Herbert (born May 7, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 17th Governor of Utah from 2009 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the National Governors Association during the 2015–2016 cycle. Herbert wo ...

ran for re-election to a second full term in office. Republican challenger Jonathan E. Johnson defeated Herbert in the state convention to secure a spot on the primary ballot, but Herbert won the June 28, 2016 primary and secured the nomination. The Democratic party nominated former

CHG Healthcare Services CHG Healthcare is an American healthcare services company that was founded in 1979 by Therus C. Kolff to deliver medical care to rural areas of the western United States. The company is based in Midvale, Utah, though the postal designation of near ...

CEO Mike Weinholtz at the Utah Democratic convention in April. Herbert won the general election, defeating Weinholtz by a large margin.

Background

Republican Governor

Jon Huntsman, Jr. Jon Meade Huntsman Jr. (born March 26, 1960) is an American businessman, diplomat and politician who served as the 16th Governor of Utah from 2005 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the Ambassador of the United States to ...

resigned in August 2009 to become

United States Ambassador to China The United States Ambassador to China is the chief American diplomat to People's Republic of China (PRC). The United States has sent diplomatic representatives to China since 1844, when Caleb Cushing, as commissioner, negotiated the Treaty of W ...

and Lieutenant Governor Herbert succeeded him. He was elected to serve out the remainder of Huntsman's term in a 2010 special election and was re-elected to a full four-year term in 2012.

Republican nomination

Former Speaker of the

Utah House of Representatives The Utah House of Representatives is the lower house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The House is composed of 75 representatives elected from single member constituent districts. Each district conta ...

Rebecca D. Lockhart was widely believed to be a potential Republican candidate, but she died of a rare neurodegenerative brain disease in January 2015. Incumbent governor Gary Herbert won the June 28, 2016 primary, defeating Overstock.com Chairman Jonathan Johnson.

Candidates

Declared

, incumbent Governor * Jonathan "JJ" Johnson, businessman and chairman of the board of

Overstock.com Overstock.com, Inc. is an American internet retailer selling primarily furniture headquartered in Midvale, Utah, near Salt Lake City. Businessman Patrick M. Byrne founded Overstock.com in 1999. The company initially sold exclusively surplus and ...

Polling

Results

Democratic nomination

Weinholtz defeated Cook at the Democratic convention to become the nominee.

Candidates

Declared

* Mike Weinholtz, former Chairman and CEO of

Withdrew

* Vaughn R Cook, founder and CEO of ZYTO Technologies

Declined

* Ed Allen, former State Senator *

Jim Dabakis Jim Dabakis is an American politician from Salt Lake City, Utah. While now a Republican for primary voting purposes, he served as a member of the Utah State Senate as a Democrat, where he represented the state's 2nd senate district. Early life, ...

, State Senator and former Chairman of the

Utah Democratic Party The Utah Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Utah. Its platform focuses on economic security, equal opportunity, the common good, and American leadership. The party also describes itself as a big tent pa ...

Jim Matheson James David Matheson (born March 21, 1960) is an American politician who served as a United States Representative from Utah from 2001 to 2015. He represented Utah's 2nd district from 2001 to 2013 and its from 2013 to 2015 as a member of the De ...

, former U.S. Representative * Ben McAdams, Mayor of

Salt Lake County Salt Lake County is located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 1,185,238, making it the most populous county in Utah. Its county seat and largest city is Salt Lake City, the state capital. The cou ...

and former State Senator

General election

Debates

Complete video of debate
September 26, 2016 - C-SPAN

Predictions

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The Cook Political Report ''The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter'' is an American online newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the U.S. Presidency, the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and U.S. governors' offices. Sel ...

, , August 12, 2016 , - , align=left ,

Daily Kos Daily Kos ( ) is a group blog and internet forum focused on the U.S. Democratic Party and liberal American politics. The site includes glossaries and other content. It is sometimes considered an example of " netroots" activism. Daily Kos was ...

, , November 8, 2016 , - , align=left ,

Rothenberg Political Report Stuart Rothenberg is an American editor, publisher, and political analyst. He is best known for his biweekly political newsletter ''The Rothenberg Political Report'', now known as ''Inside Elections''. He was also a regular columnist at ''Roll ...

, , November 3, 2016 , - , align=left , Sabato's Crystal Ball , , November 7, 2016 , - , align=left ,

Real Clear Politics RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator formed in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. The site features selected political new ...

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Governing Governance is the process of interactions through the laws, norms, power or language of an organized society over a social system ( family, tribe, formal or informal organization, a territory or across territories). It is done by the gove ...

, , October 27, 2016

Polling

{, class="wikitable" , - valign= bottom ! style="width:160px;", Poll source ! style="width:160px;", Date(s)
administered ! class=small , Sample
size ! Margin of
error ! style="width:100px;", Gary
Herbert (R) ! style="width:100px;", Mike
Weinholtz (D) ! Other ! Undecided , -
SurveyMonkey
, align=center, November 1–7, 2016 , align=center, 1,479 , align=center, ± 4.6% , align=center, 58% , align=center, 38% , align=center, — , align=center, 4% , -
SurveyMonkey
, align=center, Oct 31–Nov 6, 2016 , align=center, 1,428 , align=center, ± 4.6% , align=center, 59% , align=center, 38% , align=center, — , align=center, 3% , -
Y2 Analytics
�� , align=center, November 1–3, 2016 , align=center, 500 , align=center, ± 4.4% , align=center, 64% , align=center, 26% , align=center, 5% , align=center, 5% , -
SurveyMonkey
, align=center, Oct 28–Nov 3, 2016 , align=center, 1,327 , align=center, ± 4.6% , align=center, 60% , align=center, 37% , align=center, — , align=center, 3% , -
Monmouth University
, align=center, Oct 30–Nov 2, 2016 , align=center, 402 , align=center, ± 4.9% , align=center, 63% , align=center, 30% , align=center, 5% , align=center, 2% , -
SurveyMonkey
, align=center, Oct 27–Nov 2, 2016 , align=center, 1,247 , align=center, ± 4.6% , align=center, 60% , align=center, 36% , align=center, — , align=center, 4% , -
SurveyMonkey
, align=center, Oct 26–Nov 1, 2016 , align=center, 1,057 , align=center, ± 4.6% , align=center, 61% , align=center, 34% , align=center, — , align=center, 5% , -
SurveyMonkey
, align=center, October 25–31, 2016 , align=center, 1,078 , align=center, ± 4.6% , align=center, 61% , align=center, 35% , align=center, — , align=center, 4% , -
UtahPolicy/Dan Jones
, align=center, October 12–18, 2016 , align=center, 818 , align=center, ± 3.4% , align=center, 64% , align=center, 25% , align=center, 6% , align=center, 5% , -
Monmouth University
, align=center, October 10–12, 2016 , align=center, 403 , align=center, ± 4.9% , align=center, 63% , align=center, 30% , align=center, 2% , align=center, 5% , -
UtahPolicy/Dan Jones
, align=center, September 1–9, 2016 , align=center, 605 , align=center, ± 4.0% , align=center, 62% , align=center, 24% , align=center, 6% , align=center, 7% , -
Public Policy Polling
, align=center, August 19–21, 2016 , align=center, 1,018 , align=center, ± 3.1% , align=center, 57% , align=center, 21% , align=center, 7% , align=center, 14% , -
SurveyUSA
, align=center, June 6–8, 2016 , align=center, 1,238 , align=center, ± 2.8% , align=center, 55% , align=center, 34% , align=center, 4% , align=center, 6% , -
Gravis Marketing
, align=center, May 31–June 1, 2016 , align=center, 1,519 , align=center, ± 2.5% , align=center, 56% , align=center, 29% , align=center, 15% , align=center, — * → Internal poll conducted on behalf of the

Utah Republican Party The Utah Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Utah. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all four of Utah's U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, the governorship, and has sup ...

. ;with Jonathan Johnson {, class="wikitable" , - valign= bottom ! style="width:160px;", Poll source ! style="width:160px;", Date(s)
administered ! class=small , Sample
size ! Margin of
error ! style="width:100px;", Jonathan
Johnson (R) ! style="width:100px;", Mike
Weinholtz (D) ! Other ! Undecided , -
SurveyUSA
, align=center, June 6–8, 2016 , align=center, 1,238 , align=center, ± 2.8% , align=center, 38% , align=center, 35% , align=center, 9% , align=center, 17% , -
Gravis Marketing
, align=center, May 31–June 1, 2016 , align=center, 1,519 , align=center, ± 2.5% , align=center, 40% , align=center, 29% , align=center, 31% , align=center, — ;with Jim Matheson {, class="wikitable" , - valign= bottom ! style="width:160px;", Poll source ! style="width:160px;", Date(s)
administered ! class=small , Sample
size ! Margin of
error ! style="width:100px;", Gary
Herbert (R) ! style="width:100px;", Jim
Matheson (D) ! Other ! Undecided , -
UtahPolicy/Dan Jones
, align=center, March 30–April 7, 2015 , align=center, 601 , align=center, ± 4.0% , align=center, 57% , align=center, 33% , align=center, — , align=center, 11%

Results

References

External links

;Official campaign websites
Gary Herbert (R) for GovernorMike Weinholtz (D) for Governor
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Gubernatorial Elections, 2016

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

2016 Utah elections