1990–91 Arizona gubernatorial election
The 1990–91 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1990, for the post of Governor of Arizona. Incumbent Democratic Governor, Rose Mofford, declined to run for a full term. Republican Fife Symington defeated the Democratic nominee and Mayor of Phoenix Terry Goddard. Because no candidate received a majority of votes, a runoff election was held later on February 26, 1991, which Symington also won. This is the only election where Arizona used a runoff election.
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  Symington: 50–60% Goddard: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | ||||||||||||||||
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Evan Mecham, a former governor who was removed from office in 1988 upon being convicted in his impeachment trial, unsuccessfully ran for another term. This would be the last gubernatorial election until 2018 when the victorious gubernatorial candidate in the state would be of the same party as the incumbent president.
Democratic primary
Declared
- Terry Goddard, mayor of Phoenix
- Dave Moss, perennial candidate
Declined
- Rose Mofford, incumbent Governor
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Terry Goddard | 212,579 | 84.0 | |
| Democratic | Dave Moss | 40,478 | 16.0 | |
| Total votes | 253,057 | 100.0 | ||
Republican primary
Declared
- Fife Symington, Real estate developer
- Evan Mecham, former Governor
- Fred Koory, Jr, former State Senator
- Sam Steiger, former U.S. Representative for Arizona
- Bob Barnes, former Governor's aide
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Fife Symington | 163,010 | 43.8 | |
| Republican | Evan Mecham | 91,136 | 24.5 | |
| Republican | Fred Koory, Jr | 61,487 | 16.5 | |
| Republican | Sam Steiger | 49,019 | 13.2 | |
| Republican | Bob Barnes | 7,672 | 2.1 | |
| Total votes | 372,324 | 100.0 | ||
General election
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Fife Symington III | 523,984 | 49.7% | +10.0% | |
| Democratic | Terry Goddard | 519,691 | 49.2% | +14.8% | |
| Stop Abortion | Max Hawkins (write-in) | 10,983 | 1.0% | +1.0% | |
| Libertarian | Ed Yetman (write-in) | 316 | 0.0% | ||
| Write-ins | 432 | 0.0% | |||
| Majority | 4,293 | 0.4% | -4.5% | ||
| Turnout | 1,055,406 | ||||
Runoff election
Prior to 1992, the Arizona State Constitution required a runoff election for the office of Governor if no candidate received a majority of the votes. As a result, a runoff election was held on February 28, 1991.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Fife Symington III | 492,569 | 52.4 | |
| Democratic | Terry Goddard | 448,168 | 47.6 | |
| Majority | 44,401 | 4.7 | ||
| Turnout | 940,736 | |||
| Republican gain from Democratic | ||||
References
- Kalb, Deborah, ed. (2010). Guide to U.S. Elections. Washington, DC: CQ Press. ISBN 978-1-60426-536-1.
- "1990 General Election Canvass" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 14, 2009. Retrieved April 21, 2009.