2020 Utah gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2020 United States gubernatorial elections.

The 2020 Utah gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the governor of Utah. Incumbent Republican governor Gary Herbert declined running for re-election to a third full term.

2020 Utah gubernatorial election

← 2016 November 3, 2020 2024 →
Turnout	69.17%
Nominee Spencer Cox Christopher Peterson Party Republican Democratic Running mate Deidre Henderson Karina Brown Popular vote 918,754 442,754 Percentage 62.98% 30.35%
County results Congressional district results Precinct results Cox:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Peterson:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      40–50%      50%      No data
Governor before election Gary Herbert Republican Elected Governor Spencer Cox Republican

Background

Although incumbent Republican governor Gary Herbert was eligible to run for re-election to a third full term, he initially announced shortly after being re-elected in 2016 that he would not run again, but indicated in January 2019 that he was open to the possibility of running again before ultimately deciding to retire and endorse his lieutenant governor, Spencer Cox.^[1][2][3] Utah had not had a Democratic governor since Scott M. Matheson left office in January 1985. This is the second longest active streak of one-party leadership, trailing only South Dakota, which had not had a Democratic governor since Harvey L. Wollman left office in 1979.^[4][5]

The primaries took place on June 30, 2020. The filing deadline was on June 19, 2020.

Description

The 2020 Utah gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the governor of Utah, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

The winner of the election was the first non-incumbent gubernatorial candidate to be elected since Jon Huntsman Jr. in 2004, who ran in this election before he was eliminated in the primaries.

Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox won the general election by defeating the Democratic nominee, University of Utah law professor and former CFPB official Christopher Peterson. This election was the first open-seat gubernatorial election in Utah since 1992.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Spencer Cox, Lieutenant Governor of Utah^[6][7][8]
  • Running mate: Deidre Henderson, state senator and candidate for UT-03 in 2017^[9]

Eliminated in the primary

• Greg Hughes, former speaker of the Utah House of Representatives^[10][11]
  • Running mate: Victor Iverson, Washington County Commission Chairman^[12]
• Jon Huntsman Jr., former United States Ambassador to Russia, China and Singapore, former governor of Utah, and candidate for president in 2012^[13]
  • Running mate: Michelle Kaufusi, Mayor of Provo^[14]
• Thomas Wright, Republican National Committee executive committee member and former chair of the Utah Republican Party^[15]
  • Running mate: Rob Bishop, U.S. representative for Utah's 1st congressional district and former speaker of the Utah House of Representatives^[16][17]

Eliminated at the convention

• Jeff Burningham, businessman^[18]
  • Running mate: Dan McCay, state senator^[19]
• Jason Christensen, activist^[20]
  • Running mate: Drew Chamberlain^[12]
• Jan Garbett, businesswoman^[21]
  • Running mate: Joseph Jarvis, physician and small business owner^[22]
• Aimee Winder Newton, Salt Lake County councilwoman^[23] (Endorsed Cox)
  • Running mate: John Dougall, Utah state auditor^[24]

Declined

• Rob Bishop, U.S. representative (endorsed Wright, who in turn chose Bishop to run with him as his lieutenant governor)^[25][26][27]
• Jason Chaffetz, former U.S. representative^[28]
• John Dougall, Utah state auditor^[27]
• Gary Herbert, incumbent governor (endorsed Cox)^[2][3]
• Mike Lee, U.S. senator (endorsed Huntsman)^[29][30]
• Greg Miller, former CEO of the Utah Jazz^[31][27]
• Sean Reyes, Attorney General of Utah^[32]
• Josh Romney, real estate developer and son of Mitt Romney^[33][34]

Endorsements

Spencer Cox

Federal officials

• John Curtis, United States representative from Utah's 3rd congressional district^[35]

State officials

• Gary Herbert, Governor of Utah^[36]

Local officials

• Aimee Winder Newton, Salt Lake County councilwoman and former Republican candidate in 2020 Utah gubernatorial election^[37]

Organizations

• Utah Education Association (UEA)^[38]

Individuals

• Gail Miller, Utah Jazz owner^[39][40]

Jon Huntsman Jr.

Federal officials

• Orrin Hatch, former U.S. senator from Utah (1977-2019)^[41]
• Mike Lee, U.S. senator from Utah^[42]

Individuals

• Karl Malone, retired professional basketball player^[43]

Thomas Wright

Federal officials

• Rob Bishop, U.S. representative from Utah's 1st congressional district (Running mate)^[44]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Rob Bishop	Jeff Burningham	Jason Chaffetz	Spencer Cox	Jan Garbett	Greg Hughes	Jon Huntsman Jr.	Greg Miller	Aimee Winder Newton	Sean Reyes	Thomas Wright	Other / Undecided
Dan Jones & Associates/Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce[45][46]	June 17–24, 2020	1,247 (LV)	± 2.77%	—	—	—	30%	—	15%	29%	—	—	—	6%	19%[a]
Y2 Analytics UtahPolicy/KUTV 2 News[47]	June 9–17, 2020	797 (LV)[b]	—	—	—	—	32%	—	23%	36%	—	—	—	9%	—
Y2 Analytics/Cox for Governor[48][A]	June 13–16, 2020	691 (LV)	± 3.72%	—	—	—	34%	—	20%	28%	—	—	—	9%	9%[c]
Dan Jones & Associates/Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce[49]	June 1–10, 2020	676 (LV)	± 3.77%	—	—	—	32%[d]	—	10%	37%	—	—	—	5%	4%[e]
Suffolk University/Salt Lake Tribune[50]	June 4–7, 2020	500 (LV)	± 4.4%	—	—	—	32%	—	10%	30%	—	—	—	8%	17%
Deseret News/Hinckley Institute[51]	May 25–31, 2020	643 (LV)	—	—	—	—	28%	—	18%	24%	—	—	—	4%	26%
Y2 Analytics/UtahPolicy/KUTV 2 News[52][53]	May 9–15, 2020	610 (LV)[f]	—	—	—	—	40%	—	18%	34%	—	—	—	8%	—
	April 25, 2020	All remaining candidates except Cox, Hughes, Huntsman Jr. and Wright eliminated at convention
Y2 Analytics[54][55]	March 21–30, 2020	738 (LV)[g]	–	—	5%	—	39%	< 1%	17%	33%	—	4%	—	1%	< 1%[h]
Hinckley Institute[56]	March 23–28, 2020	326 (LV)	± 5.4%	—	7%	—	24%	1%	7%	26%	—	2%	—	2%	32%
Dan Jones & Associates[57]	February 28 – March 11, 2020	338 (V)	± 5.3%	—	6%	—	30%	2%	12%	27%	—	4%	—	6%	15%
Hinckley Institute[58]	February 24 – March 1, 2020	312 (LV)	± 5.5%	—	7%	—	20%	1%	7%	32%	—	2%	—	1%	30%
	February 21, 2020	Garbett announces her candidacy[59]
Suffolk University/Salt Lake Tribune[60]	January 18–22, 2020	246 (LV)	± 6.3%	—	1%	—	18%	–	7%	26%	—	1%	—	1%	46%
Hinckley Institute/Deseret News[61]	January 15–22, 2020	424 (LV)	± 4.8%	—	6%	—	25%	–	3%	35%	—	3%	—	3%	25%
	January 17, 2020	Reyes announces he will not run
	January 13, 2020	Bishop announces he will not run
	January 8, 2020	Hughes announces his candidacy[62]
	January 2, 2020	Wright announces his candidacy[63]
Y2 Analytics[64]	November 19 – December 7, 2019	457 (V)	± 4.6%	9%	5%	—	41%	–	5%	29%	–	5%	5%	1%	—
	November 14, 2019	Huntsman Jr. announces his candidacy[65]
	October 23, 2019	Newton announces her candidacy[66]
Dan Jones & Associates/Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce[67]	October 3–10, 2019	271 (V)	–	—	2%	—	34%	–	2%	30%	—	—	–	7%	25%
	October 2, 2019	Miller announces he will not run[68]
	September 10, 2019	Burningham announces his candidacy[69]
	June 3, 2019	Chaffetz announces he will not run
	May 14, 2019	Cox announces his candidacy[70]
University of Utah[71]	January 15–24, 2019	311 (RV)	± 5.6%	10%	–	27%	28%	–	4%	–	2%	—	4%	–	24%
University of Utah[72]	October 3–9, 2018	291 (RV)	± 6.0%	11%	–	25%	16%	–	3%	–	2%	—	7%	–	36%
Hinckley Institute/Salt Lake Tribune[73]	June 11–18, 2018	510 (V)	± 4.3%	9%	–	25%	16%	–	3%	–	–	—	9%	–	37%

Convention results

Republican convention results[74]
Candidate/running mate	Round 1		Round 2		Round 3		Round 4		Round 5		Round 6
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
Spencer Cox/Deidre Henderson	1081	30.2%	1082	30.2%	1223	34.3%	1287	36.3%	1488	42.4%	1884	55.0%
Greg Hughes/Victor Iverson	663	18.5%	674	18.8%	719	20.2%	901	25.4%	1107	31.5%	1544	45.0%
Aimee Winder Newton/John 'Frugal' Dougall	500	14.0%	508	14.2%	540	15.1%	703	19.8%	918	26.1%	Eliminated
Thomas Wright/Rob Bishop	489	13.7%	494	13.8%	553	15.5%	658	18.5%	Eliminated
Jeff Burningham/Dan McCay	487	13.6%	504	14.1%	530	14.9%	Eliminated
Jon Huntsman Jr./Michelle Kaufusi	315	8.8%	315	8.8%	Eliminated
Jason Christensen/Drew Chamberlain	44	1.2%	Eliminated
Inactive ballots	0 ballots		2 ballots		14 ballots		30 ballots		66 ballots		151 ballots

Debate

2020 Utah gubernatorial election republican primary debate

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Republican	Republican	Republican	Republican
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Spencer Cox	Greg Hughes	Jon Huntsman Jr.	Thomas Wright
1	Jun. 1, 2020	Utah Debate Commission	Bruce Lindsay	[75]	P	P	P	P

Primary results

Results by county:

Cox

•   Cox—60–70%
•   Cox—50–60%
•   Cox—40–50%
•   Cox—30–40%

Huntsman

•   Huntsman—30–40%
•   Huntsman—40–50%
•   Huntsman—50–60%

Hughes

•   Hughes—30–40%
•   Hughes—40–50%

Republican primary results^[76]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Spencer Cox	190,565	36.15%
	Republican	Jon Huntsman Jr.	184,246	34.95%
	Republican	Greg Hughes	110,835	21.02%
	Republican	Thomas Wright	41,532	7.88%
Total votes			527,178	100%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Christopher Peterson, University of Utah law professor and former CFPB official^[77]
  • Running mate: Karina Brown, community organizer^[78][79]

Eliminated at the convention

• Neil Hansen, former state representative^[20]
  • Running mate: Brandy Farmer, candidate for Utah House of Representatives
• Ryan Jackson^[20]
• Zachary Moses, CEO of HeTravel.com^[80]
  • Running mate: Nate Kizerian, community activist^[81]
• Nikki Pino Jr., youth counselor^[82]
  • Running mate: Nikki Pino Sr., retired Army lieutenant colonel and father to Nikki Pino Jr.^[81]
• Archie A Williams, 2014 Democratic candidate for District 60 of the Utah House of Representatives III^[83]

Declined

• Peter Corroon, former Utah Democratic Party chair, former mayor of Salt Lake County, and nominee for governor in 2010^[84]
• Scott Howell, former state senator and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2000 and 2012^[84]
• Patricia W. Jones, former state senator^[84]
• Brian King, minority leader of the Utah House of Representatives^[84] (endorsed Peterson)^[85]
• Jim Matheson, former U.S. representative^[33]
• Ben McAdams, U.S. representative^[86] (running for re-election)
• Peter Metcalf, former CEO of Black Diamond Equipment^[84]
• Paul Rolly, former columnist for The Salt Lake Tribune^[84]
• Jim Winder, former Salt Lake County Sheriff^[84]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[i]	Margin of error	Neil Hansen	Ryan Jackson	Zachary Moses	Christopher Peterson	Nikki Pino	Archie Williams III	Other / Undecided
Y2 Analytics/UtahPolicy/KUTV 2 News[87]	March 21–30, 2020	167 (LV)	± 7.6%	11%	11%	7%	38%	28%	5%	10%

Convention results

Democratic convention results[88]
Candidate	Pct.
Christopher Peterson	88.4%
Zachary Moses	4.7%
Neil Hansen	4.0%
Nikki Ray Pino	1.4%
Ryan Jackson	1.4%
Archie Williams III	0.1%

Other candidates

Independent American Party

Nominee

• Gregory Duerden,^[89]
  • Wayne Hill, Vice Chair of the Utah Independent American Party^[90]

Libertarian Party

Nominee

• Daniel Cottam, Bariatric Surgeon^[91]
  • Running mate: Barry Short, businessman and Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party of Utah^[92]

Republican write-in

• Madeline Kazantzis ran for election for Governor of Utah as a write-in in the general election on November 3, 2020. She received 18,988 votes.

Declined

• Jon Huntsman Jr., former United States Ambassador to Russia, China and Singapore, former governor of Utah, and candidate for president in 2012^[93]

General election

Campaign

An advertisement that featured both major-party candidates, calling for civility in politics, drew significant media coverage and praise.^[94][95]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[96]	Safe R	October 23, 2020
Inside Elections[97]	Safe R	October 28, 2020
Sabato's Crystal Ball[98]	Safe R	November 2, 2020
Politico[99]	Safe R	November 2, 2020
Daily Kos[100]	Safe R	October 28, 2020
RCP[101]	Safe R	November 2, 2020
270towin[102]	Safe R	November 2, 2020

Endorsements

Spencer Cox (R)

Federal officials

• John Curtis, United States representative from Utah's 3rd congressional district^[35]

State officials

• Gary Herbert, Governor of Utah^[36]

Local officials

• Aimee Winder Newton, Salt Lake County councilwoman and former Republican candidate in 2020 Utah gubernatorial election^[37]

Organizations

• Utah Education Association (UEA)^[38]

Individuals

• Gail Miller, Utah Jazz owner^[39][40]

Polling

Graphical summary

Polls

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[i]	Margin of error	Spencer Cox (R)	Christopher Peterson (D)	Daniel Cottam (L)	Gregory Duerden (IAP)	Other	Undecided
Y2 Analytics/Salt Lake Tribune[103]	October 15–24, 2020	660 (LV)	± 3.8%	58%	33%	–	–	–	–
RMG Research/Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics[104]	October 12–17, 2020	1,000 (LV)	± 3.1%	50%	26%	6%	3%	–	16%
Y2 Analytics/Salt Lake Tribune[105]	September 26 – October 4, 2020	1,214 (LV)	± 2.8%	57%	29%	–	–	14%	–
RMG Research/Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics[106]	September 7–12, 2020	1,000 (LV)	± 3.1%	52%	19%	4%	3%	–	22%
Lighthouse Research/Salt Lake Tribune[107][108]	August 31 – September 12, 2020	2,000 (RV)	± 4.38%	55%	20%	5%	3%	3%	15%
RMG Research[109]	July 27 – August 1, 2020	1000 (RV)	± 4.0%	49%	17%	3%	3%	–	29%

Hypothetical polling

with Spencer Eccles

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[i]	Margin of error	Jeff Burningham	Spencer Cox	Spencer Eccles	Greg Hughes	Jon Huntsman Jr.	Thomas Wright	Other / Undecided
Dan Jones & Associates/Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce[67]	Oct 3–10, 2019	599 (LV)	± 4%	2%	26%	5%	2%	33%	4%	21%

with only Spencer Cox, Greg Hughes and Jon Huntsman

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[i]	Margin of error	Spencer Cox	Greg Hughes	Jon Huntsman Jr.	Other / Undecided
Dan Jones & Associates/Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce[110]	Jun 11-Jul 1, 2019	801 (LV)	–	37%	8%	43%	12%

with Generic Democrat

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[i]	Margin of error	Spencer Cox	Greg Hughes	Jon Huntsman Jr.	Aimee Winder-Newton	Thomas Wright	Generic Democrat (D)	Other / Undecided
Dan Jones & Associates/Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce[110]	Jun 11-Jul 1, 2019	801 (LV)	–	33%	5%	32%	2%	5%	11%	13%

with Bishop, Chaffetz, Cox, Dougall, Hughes, Miller, Newton, Reyes and Generic Democrat (D)

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[i]	Margin of error	Rob Bishop	Jason Chaffetz	Spencer Cox	Generic Democrat (D)	Other / Undecided
Dan Jones & Associates/UtahPolicy[111]	Jan 3–15, 2019	822 (RV)	± 3.4%	7%	18%	24%	11%	39%[j]

with Jason Chaffetz, Spencer Cox, Spencer Eccles, Greg Hughes, Ben McAdams, Greg Miller and Josh Romney

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[i]	Margin of error	Jason Chaffetz	Spencer Cox	Ben McAdams	Josh Romney	Other	Undecided
Dan Jones & Associates/Salt Lake Tribune/Hinkley Institute[112]	Oct 10–13, 2017	605 (RV)	± 3.98%	24%	11%	20%	9%	11%[k]	26%

Results

2020 Utah gubernatorial election^[113]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Spencer Cox Deidre Henderson	918,754	62.98%	−3.76%
	Democratic	Christopher Peterson Karina Brown	442,754	30.35%	+1.61%
	Libertarian	Daniel Cottam Barry Short	51,393	3.52%	+0.42%
	Independent American	Gregory Duerden Wayne Hill	25,810	1.77%	+0.36%
	Write-in		20,167	1.38%	+1.37%
Total votes			1,458,878	100%
Turnout			1,515,845	69.17%
Registered electors			1,682,512
	Republican hold

By county

By county

County Spencer Cox Republican Chris Peterson Democratic Daniel Cottam Libertarian Greg Duerden Ind. American Write-in Margin Total votes # % # % # % # % # % # % Beaver 2,468 83.27 291 9.82 102 3.44 48 1.62 55 1.86 2,177 73.45 2,964 Box Elder 20,642 77.75 3,507 13.21 1,038 3.91 553 2.08 809 3.05 17,135 64.54 26,549 Cache 39,952 70.64 12,943 22.88 1,948 3.44 835 1.48 882 1.56 27,009 47.75 56,560 Carbon 6,506 72.10 2,091 23.17 271 3.00 155 1.72 0 0.00 4,415 48.93 9,023 Daggett 469 79.36 91 15.40 10 1.69 15 2.54 6 1.02 378 63.96 591 Davis 115,501 68.61 41,101 24.41 6,018 3.57 4,374 2.60 1,359 0.81 74,400 44.19 168,353 Duchesne 6,096 73.93 739 8.96 308 3.74 210 2.55 893 10.83 5,357 64.96 8,246 Emery 3,918 82.82 489 10.34 105 2.22 88 1.86 131 2.77 3,429 72.48 4,731 Garfield 2,123 80.26 428 16.18 73 2.76 21 0.79 0 0.00 1,695 64.08 2,645 Grand 2,303 45.59 2,499 49.47 158 3.13 56 1.11 36 0.71 -196 -3.88 5,052 Iron 17,650 73.19 3,854 15.98 1,425 5.91 644 2.67 543 2.25 13,796 57.21 24,116 Juab 4,606 80.30 470 8.19 211 3.68 219 3.82 230 4.01 4,136 72.11 5,736 Kane 2,802 69.70 918 22.84 140 3.48 71 1.77 89 2.21 1,884 46.87 4,020 Millard 4,528 75.57 519 8.66 183 3.05 168 2.80 594 9.91 4,009 66.91 5,992 Morgan 5,190 81.09 770 12.03 229 3.58 122 1.91 89 1.39 4,420 69.06 6,400 Piute 672 80.96 65 7.83 36 4.34 27 3.25 30 3.61 607 73.13 830 Rich 1,081 81.03 158 11.84 28 2.10 16 1.20 51 3.82 923 69.19 1,334 Salt Lake 266,177 50.32 238,249 45.04 16,001 3.02 6,137 1.16 2,402 0.45 27,928 5.28 528,966 San Juan 3,477 52.84 2,642 40.15 258 3.92 135 2.05 68 1.03 835 12.69 6,580 Sanpete 10,326 82.91 1,012 8.13 363 2.91 388 3.12 365 2.93 9,314 74.79 12,454 Sevier 8,364 82.43 882 8.69 288 2.84 271 2.67 342 3.37 7,482 73.74 10,147 Summit 11,290 44.62 13,066 51.64 587 2.32 205 0.81 153 0.60 -1,776 -7.02 25,301 Tooele 21,293 69.47 7,058 23.03 1,383 4.51 662 2.16 253 0.83 14,235 46.45 30,649 Uintah 10,290 69.35 1,482 9.99 509 3.43 367 2.47 2,190 14.76 8,808 59.36 14,838 Utah 208,514 74.07 52,524 18.66 10,798 3.84 5,355 1.90 4,307 1.53 155,990 55.41 281,498 Wasatch 11,472 66.34 4,911 28.40 509 2.94 202 1.17 199 1.15 6,561 37.94 17,293 Washington 61,125 69.57 16,698 19.00 4,432 5.04 2,520 2.87 3,087 3.51 44,427 50.56 87,862 Wayne 1,115 70.52 321 20.30 55 3.48 46 2.91 44 2.76 794 50.22 1,581 Weber 68,804 63.37 32,976 30.37 3,927 3.62 1,900 1.75 960 0.88 35,828 33.00 108,567 Totals 918,754 62.98 442,754 30.35 51,393 3.52 25,810 1.77 20,167 1.38 476,000 32.63 1,458,878 Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Grand (largest municipality: Moab)

By congressional district

Cox won all four congressional districts.^[114]

District	Cox	Peterson	Representative
1st	66%	25%	Rob Bishop
			Blake Moore
2nd	57%	33%	Chris Stewart
3rd	67%	27%	John Curtis
4th	59%	35%	Ben McAdams
			Burgess Owens

Notes

Additional candidates

1. "Prefer not to answer" with 19%
2. Including registered Republican likely primary voters and currently unaffiliated likely primary voters
3. "Don't know/refused" with 9%
4. Including voters who lean towards a given candidate
5. Undecided with 4%
6. Including registered Republican likely primary voters and currently unaffiliated likely primary voters
7. Including registered Republican likely primary voters and currently unaffiliated likely primary voters
8. Christensen with <1%
9. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
10. Undecided with 26%, Reyes with 5%; "Other" with 3%; Miller and Winder-Newton with 2%; Hughes with 1%; Dougall with 0%
11. Eccles, Hughes and "Other" with 3%; Miller with 2%

General

1. Poll sponsored by Cox's campaign