1982 Arizona gubernatorial election

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.

1982 Arizona gubernatorial election

← 1978 November 2, 1982 1986 →
 
Nominee Bruce Babbitt Leo Corbet Sam Steiger
Party Democratic Republican Libertarian
Popular vote 453,795 235,877 36,649
Percentage 62.5% 32.5% 5.1%

County results
Babbitt:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Governor before election

Bruce Babbitt
Democratic

Elected Governor

Bruce Babbitt
Democratic

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Results

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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

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Candidates

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Results

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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

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Results

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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

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County Bruce Babbitt
Democratic
Leo Corbet
Republican
Sam Steiger
Libertarian
Write-in Margin 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

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Notes

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  1. ^ Died before election day

References

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