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1988 Utah gubernatorial election
	County results ; Bangerter: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% ; Wilson: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Governor before election; Norman H. Bangerter; Republican	Elected Governor ; Norman H. Bangerter; Republican

The 1988 Utah gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1988. Republican nominee and incumbent governor Norman H. Bangerter defeated Democratic nominee Ted Wilson and independent Merrill Cook with 40.13% of the vote. As of 2023, this is the closest a Democrat has come to winning the governorship in Utah since Scott M. Matheson left office in 1985.

Background

Governor Bangerter consistently trailed in the polls behind Democrat Ted Wilson until near election day. This was due to his unpopular tax increases that spawned a protest movement against his policies, resulting in three tax ballot measures installed, and independent candidate Merrill Cook championing in support of them.^[1] Bangerter justified the increases due to the regional recession in Utah caused by declining energy commodity prices in 1986 to 1987, which caused mining employment to fall by 60%, and construction by 30%. Two major companies, Geneva Steel and Kennecott Copper, had to be closed temporarily. Combined with rapid raising school enrollments, Bangerter was forced to raise taxes to counter the declining state budget.^[2] Nevertheless, by election day, polls had shown that Bangerter had closed the near 20–30-point lead Wilson had just three weeks earlier, with previous governor Scott Matheson attributing it to his well received debate performance. In the early morning the day after the election, Bangerter was declared the winner with around 40% of the popular vote.^[1]

Republican nomination

Candidates

Declared

Norman H. Bangerter, incumbent governor^[3]
Dean Samuels, teacher^[4]

Withdrawn

Jon Huntsman Sr., industrialist and former White House Staff Secretary^[5]

Results

Bangerter defeated Samuels at the state convention on June 11^[6] with over 70% of the vote and therefore avoided a primary.^[7]

Republican convention, 11 June 1988^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Norm Bangerter (incumbent)	1,502	80.6%
	Republican	W. Dean Samuels	361	19.4%
	Write-in	Merrill Cook	1	0.1%
Total votes			1,864

Democratic nomination

Candidates

Declared

Ted Wilson, former Mayor of Salt Lake City
David E. Hewett, physician^[9]

Results

Wilson defeated Hewett at the state convention on June 25 with over 70% of the vote and therefore avoided a primary.

Democratic convention, 25 June 1988^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ted Wilson	1,654	97.4%
	Democratic	David E. Hewett	44	2.6%
Total votes			1,698

American Party nomination

Candidates

Declared

Arly H. Pedersen, National chairman^[11]
Lawrence Ray Topham, perennial candidate

Results

Pedersen defeated Topham at the state convention on June 25^[12] with over 70% of the vote and therefore avoided a primary.^[13]

American Party convention, 25 June 1988^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	American	Arly H. Pedersen	42	77.8%
	American	Lawrence Rey Topham	12	22.2%
Total votes			54

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Norm Bangerter (R)	Ted Wilson (D)	Merrill Cook (I)	Other	Undecided
Dan Jones & Associates^[15]	April 19–21, 1988	904	± 3.0%	28%	56%	8%	1%	7%
Deseret News/KSL^[16]	(May 3, 1988)			27%	52%	6%	1%
Dan Jones & Associates^[17]	(June 27, 1988)			30%	49%	11%
Dan Jones & Associates^[18]	July 26–28, 1988	905	± 3.2%	31%	50%	12%	1%	7%
Dan Jones & Associates^[19]	(September 3, 1988)			31%	50%	12%
Dan Jones & Associates^[20]	November 6, 1988			36%	36%	24%

Candidates

Ted Wilson, Democratic
Norm Bangerter, Republican
Arly H. Pedersen, American
Merrill Cook, Independent
Kitty K. Burton, Libertarian

Results

1988 Utah gubernatorial election^[21]^[22]^[23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Norman H. Bangerter (incumbent)	260,462	40.13%
	Democratic	Ted Wilson	249,321	38.41%
	Independent	Merrill Cook	136,651	21.05%
	Libertarian	Kitty K. Burton	1,661	0.26%
	American	Arly H. Pedersen	1,019	0.16%
Majority			11,141	1.72%
Turnout			649,114	100.00%
	Republican hold		Swing

Aftermath

Governor Bangerter descended from his hotel room around 3:15 am, the morning after election day, to greet reporters and a small group of 40 "cheerful" supporters in the hotel's banquet room upon receiving a concession call from Ted Wilson. In a speech, Bangerter declared that "This morning we start bringing the state back together on an agenda that will move us into the 1990s."^[1]

All three of the tax protest ballot initiatives were defeated, with their biggest supporter, independent candidate Merrill Cook, stating: "I'm conceding the race, but I'm not conceding the fight."^[24] Cook would run for governor as an independent again in the 1992 gubernatorial election.

Democrats, who thought Wilson would win easily, were astounded by the stunning upset, and had trouble explaining the loss. Former Democratic governor Scott Matheson was asked why he thought Wilson lost: "That is an intriguing question we will be talking about for years. There are so many factors, the matter of a strong independent candidate, the presence of the tax initiatives which took attention away from the regular races. But we can't dismiss the fact we live in a strong Republican state where it is difficult for Democrats to win and that Ted Wilson was running against an incumbent who had the advantage of using the power of incumbency to make his case to the people."^[1]

Bangerter would later announce in November 1990 that he would not see a third time and would retire to private life.^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Salt Lake Tribune | November 10, 1988 | Page 1". newspapers.lib.utah.edu. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Utah History Encyclopedia". www.uen.org. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
^ "Here's a list of those who've filed to run for public office throughout the State". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, UT. April 16, 1988. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
^ "Midvale educator jumps into race for Governor, vowing to battle taxes". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, UT. April 20, 1988. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
^ Bernick, Bob Jr. (April 13, 1988). "Huntsman bows out of State House race". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, UT. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
^ Bernick, Bob Jr. (June 10, 1988). "Bangerter tries to win back dissidents". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, UT. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
^ "Ex-candidate decides against fighting Bangerter nomination". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, UT. July 14, 1988. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
^ Davidson, Lee (June 20, 1988). "Bangerter's convention win challenged. Kearns legislative candidate says write-ins for Cook weren't counted". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, UT. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
^ Bernick, Bob Jr. (April 17, 1988). "They're off! But Utah's political sprint may resemble walkathon more than a horse race". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, UT. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
^ Bernick, Bob Jr. (June 26, 1988). "Demos relish 'new unity'. Wilson will lead slate that has rousing support". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, UT. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
^ World Almanac 1989, p. 332.
^ Davidson, Lee (June 26, 1988). "American Party's convention fraught with mudslinging. Chairman wins nomination for Governor's race by 78 percent of vote". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, UT. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
^ Davidson, Lee (June 30, 1988). "American Party nomination assailed". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, UT. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
^ "UT Governor, 1988 – Amer Convention". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
^ Dan Jones & Associates
^ Deseret News/KSL
^ Dan Jones & Associates
^ Dan Jones & Associates
^ Dan Jones & Associates
^ Dan Jones & Associates
^ "UT Governor, 1988". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
^ "1988 Gubernatorial General Election Results – Utah". US Election Atlas. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
^ Congressional Quarterly 1998, p. 82.
^ "Salt Lake Tribune | November 9, 1988 | Page 1". newspapers.lib.utah.edu. Retrieved August 12, 2024.

Bibliography

Gubernatorial Elections, 1787–1997. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc. 1998. ISBN 1-56802-396-0.
The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 1989. New York, NY: Pharos Books. 1988. ISBN 0-88687-361-4.