1994 Arizona gubernatorial election
November 8, 1994
 
Nominee Fife Symington Eddie Basha
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 593,492 500,702
Percentage 52.5% 44.3%
County results

Symington:      40–50%      50-60%      60–70%

Basha:      50–60%      70–80%
Governor before election

Fife Symington
Republican

 Elected Governor

Fife Symington
Republican

The 1994 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1994, for the post of Governor of Arizona. Fife Symington, the incumbent Republican Governor of Arizona, defeated the Democratic nominee Eddie Basha to win a second term in office. However, Symington resigned in 1997 due to a federal indictment on corruption charges.

Republican primary

In the Republican primary, incumbent Governor Fife Symington was challenged by businesswoman Barbara Barrett, wife of business executive Craig Barrett. Symington announced his primary campaign by stating, "I vowed to get state spending under control, reduce taxes and do my best to promote economic development and restore strength to the economy. I think I am in a strong position because I accomplished my goals."[1] Barrett spent more than $1 million of her own money in the attempt to defeat Symington, who she stated she did not dislike personally, but simply felt that she could do a better job as governor.[1]

On September 13, 1994, Symington defeated Barrett in the primary by a margin of 68% to 32%.[2] Political analysts stated that Barrett had failed to distinguish herself from the incumbent governor, and ran a flawed campaign.[1]

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results [3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Fife Symington (incumbent) 202,588 68.1
Republican Barbara Barrett 94,740 31.9
Total votes 297,328 100.0

Democratic primary

In the Democratic primary, 1990 Democratic gubernatorial nominee and former Phoenix Mayor Terry Goddard attempted to seek the Democratic nomination once again, but was challenged by Paul Johnson, who was also a former Mayor of Phoenix, and Arizona Board of Regents member Eddie Basha, more famous for his involvement with the grocery store chain Bashas'. In the primary held on September 13, Basha defeated Goddard by a very small margin, with Johnson receiving a sizable level of support as well.[4]

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results [4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Eddie Basha 96,613 36.8
Democratic Terry Goddard 92,239 35.2
Democratic Paul Johnson 73,512 28.0
Total votes 262,364 100.0

General election

Following the 1990 election, in which a run-off election was held in order to deter the possibility of a candidate winning with less than a plurality of all of the votes cast, as was the case with the 1986 election in which Evan Mecham was elected with only 39.96% of the vote, the 1994 election did not have a runoff. This was due to a measure that was approved by voters to eliminate the runoff system, which was marred by a longer than usual campaign and issues surrounding the date of when the runoff should be held.[5]

Results

Arizona gubernatorial election, 1994[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Fife Symington (inc.) 593,492 52.5% +2.9%
Democratic Eddie Basha 500,702 44.3% -4.9%
Libertarian John A. Buttrick 35,222 3.1% +3.1%
Write-ins 191 0.0%
Majority 92,790 8.2% +7.8%
Turnout 1,129,607
Republican hold Swing

References

  1. 1 2 3 Pittman, David (September 9, 1994). "Governor race nears first stage". Tucson Citizen. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  2. ↑ "AZ Governor – R Primary Race – Sep 13, 1994". Our Campaigns. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  3. ↑ Our Campaigns – AZ Governor – R Primary Race – Sep 13, 1994
  4. 1 2 Our Campaigns – AZ Governor – D Primary Race – Sep 13, 1994
  5. ↑ Berman, David (1998). Arizona Politics & Government: The Quest for Autonomy, Democracy, and Development. ISBN 0803212887. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 2, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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