1994 Arizona gubernatorial election

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.

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

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

• Barbara Barrett, businesswoman
• Fife Symington, incumbent governor

Results

Republican primary results [3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Fife Symington	202,588	68.14
	Republican	Barbara Barrett	94,740	31.86
Total votes			297,328	100.00

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

• Eddie Basha, Arizona Board of Regents and businessman
• Terry Goddard, former Mayor of Phoenix and 1990 Democratic gubernatorial nominee
• Paul Johnson, former Mayor of Phoenix

Results

Democratic primary results [4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Eddie Basha	96,613	36.82
	Democratic	Terry Goddard	92,239	35.16
	Democratic	Paul Johnson	73,512	28.02
Total votes			262,364	100.00

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	52.54%	+2.89%
	Democratic	Eddie Basha	500,702	44.33%	-4.91%
	Libertarian	John A. Buttrick	35,222	3.12%	+3.09%
	Write-ins		191	0.02%
Majority			92,790	8.21%	+7.80%
Turnout			1,129,607
	Republican hold		Swing

References

1. 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. Our Campaigns - AZ Governor - D Primary Race - Sep 13, 1994
5. Berman, David (1998). "Arizona Politics & Government: The Quest for Autonomy, Democracy, and Development". Retrieved May 10, 2017.
6. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2014-01-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)