1982 Arizona gubernatorial election

1982 Arizona gubernatorial election
	County results; Babbitt: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Governor before election; Bruce Babbitt; Democratic	Elected Governor ; Bruce Babbitt; Democratic

The 1982 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1982, for the post of Governor of Arizona. Democratic incumbent Bruce Babbitt defeated Republican nominee Leo Corbet and Libertarian candidate and former U.S. Representative Sam Steiger. Evan Mecham unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination. This was the last time until 2002 that a Democrat was elected governor of Arizona, and the last time a male Democrat was elected governor.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Bruce Babbitt, incumbent Governor
Steve Jancek

Results

Democratic primary results ^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bruce Babbitt (incumbent)	142,559	85.85%
	Democratic	Steve Jancek^[a]	23,492	14.15%
Total votes			166,051	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Leo Corbet, member of Arizona Senate
Evan Mecham, perennial candidate
Gene Thon

Results

Republican primary results ^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Leo Corbet	108,766	61.71%
	Republican	Evan Mecham	67,456	38.27%
	Republican	Gene Thon (write-in)	23	0.01%
Total votes			176,245	100.00%

General election

Results

Arizona gubernatorial election, 1982^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bruce Babbitt (incumbent)	453,795	62.47%	+10.00%
	Republican	Leo Corbet	235,877	32.47%	−12.29%
	Libertarian	Sam Steiger	36,649	5.05%	+3.11%
	Republican	Dave Duncan (write-in)	28	0.00%
	Independent	Sandy Greeneltch (write-in)	13	0.00%
	Independent	Frank Henry Beversdorf, Sr. (write-in)	2	0.00%
Majority			217,918	30.00%
Total votes			726,364	100.00%
	Democratic hold		Swing	+22.29%

Results by county

County	Bruce Babbitt Democratic		Leo Corbet Republican		Sam Steiger Libertarian		Write-in		Margin		Total votes cast^[2]
County	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	Total votes cast^[2]
Apache	6,584	66.82%	2,723	27.64%	548	5.54%	0	0.00%	3,861	39.19%	9,853
Cochise	13,196	65.67%	6,082	30.27%	815	4.06%	0	0.00%	7,114	35.41%	20,093
Coconino	14,773	68.97%	4,997	23.33%	1,643	7.67%	6	0.03%	9,776	45.64%	21,419
Gila	7,343	62.46%	3,645	31.00%	769	6.54%	0	0.00%	3,698	31.45%	11,757
Graham	4,127	62.07%	2,123	31.93%	399	6.00%	0	0.00%	2,004	30.14%	6,649
Greenlee	2,578	78.53%	580	17.67%	125	3.81%	0	0.00%	1,998	60.86%	3,283
Maricopa	228,217	58.27%	142,938	36.50%	20,457	5.22%	23	0.01%	85,279	21.78%	391,635
Mohave	10,533	57.93%	6,617	36.39%	1,033	5.68%	0	0.00%	3,916	21.54%	18,183
Navajo	8,566	61.44%	4,611	33.07%	759	5.44%	7	0.05%	3,955	28.37%	13,943
Pima	113,982	72.10%	38,235	24.19%	5,873	3.71%	2	0.00%	75,747	47.91%	158,092
Pinal	14,527	67.61%	5,882	27.38%	1,076	5.01%	1	0.00%	8,645	40.24%	21,486
Santa Cruz	3,519	73.65%	1,098	22.98%	161	3.37%	0	0.00%	2,421	50.67%	4,778
Yavapai	14,339	54.32%	9,930	37.62%	2,127	8.06%	2	0.01%	4,409	16.70%	26,398
Yuma	11,511	61.25%	6,416	34.14%	866	4.61%	2	0.01%	5,095	27.11%	18,795
Totals	453,795	62.47%	235,877	32.47%	36,649	5.05%	43	0.01%	217,918	30.00%	726,364

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Notes

^ Died before election day

References

^ ^a ^b "Official Canvass Primary Election - September 7, 1982". Arizona Secretary of State. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Official Canvass State of Arizona General Election - November 2, 1982". Arizona Secretary of State. Retrieved July 14, 2024.

[2] Died before election day

[primary-1] "Official Canvass Primary Election - September 7, 1982". Arizona Secretary of State. Retrieved July 14, 2024.

[results-3] "Official Canvass State of Arizona General Election - November 2, 1982". Arizona Secretary of State. Retrieved July 14, 2024.

[1]

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