2012 Utah gubernatorial election

The 2012 Utah gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2012. It was won by Republican incumbents, Governor Gary Herbert and Lieutenant Governor Greg Bell.

2012 Utah gubernatorial election

November 6, 2012 (2012-11-06)

Nominee Gary Herbert Peter Cooke Party Republican Democratic Running mate Greg Bell Vincent Rampton Popular vote 624,678 253,514 Percentage 68.4% 27.7%

County Results Herbert:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Governor before election Gary Herbert Republican Elected Governor Gary Herbert Republican

Republican nomination

Candidates

• Gary Herbert, incumbent governor[1][2]

Defeated at convention

• David Kirkham, businessman and co-founder of the Utah tea party[3]
• Morgan Philpot, former state representative and nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010[4]
• Lane Ronnow[2]
• William Skokos, energy entrepreneur and CEO of Standard American Oil Company[2]
• Ken Sumsion, state representative[5][6]

[2]

Declined

• Stephen Sandstrom, state representative[7]
• Mark Shurtleff, state attorney general[8]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Gary Herbert	David Kirkham	Morgan Philpot	Ken Sumison	Other/ Undecided
Mason-Dixon	April 9–11, 2012	422	± 4.9%	69%	2%	13%	1%	15%

Convention results

Republican convention, 1st round results[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gary Herbert	2,253	57.67
	Republican	Morgan Philpot	905	23.16
	Republican	David Kirkham	358	9.16
	Republican	Ken Sumsion	254	6.50
	Republican	William Skokos	128	3.28
	Republican	Lane Ronnow	9	0.23
Total votes			3,907	100

Republican convention, 2nd round results[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gary Herbert	2,464	63.26
	Republican	Morgan Philpot	1,431	36.74
Total votes			3,895	100

Democratic nomination

Candidate

• Peter Cooke, businessman and retired major general in the United States Army Reserve[1]

Declined

• Jim Matheson, U.S. representative[10][11]

General election

Candidates

• Gary Herbert (Republican), incumbent governor

• Running mate: Greg Bell, incumbent lieutenant governor

• Peter Cooke (Democratic), businessman and retired major general in the United States Army Reserve

• Running mate: Vincent Rampton, attorney and son of former Governor Cal Rampton[12]

• Kirk D Pearson (Constitution)[13]

• Running mate: Tim Aalders

• Ken Larsen (Libertarian), medical researcher [14]

• Running mate: Robert Latham, attorney [15]

Debates

• Complete video of debate, October 11, 2012 - C-SPAN

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[16]	Solid R	November 1, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[17]	Safe R	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg Political Report[18]	Safe R	November 2, 2012
Real Clear Politics[19]	Safe R	November 5, 2012

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Gary Herbert (R)	Peter Cooke (D)	Other/ Undecided
Deseret News/KSL	October 26–November 1, 2012	870	± 43.4%	69%	24%	5%
Key Research	October 9–13, 2012	500	± 4.4%	65%	19%	15%
Utah State University	October 8–13, 2012	n/a	± 7.6%	76%	17%	7%
Mason-Dixon	April 9–11, 2012	625	± 4%	65%	27%	8%

Results

2012 Utah gubernatorial election [20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Gary Herbert (incumbent)	688,592	68.41%	+4.34%
	Democratic	Peter Cooke	277,622	27.58%	-4.32%
	Libertarian	Ken Larsen	22,611	2.25%	+0.25%
	Constitution	Kirk D. Pearson	17,696	1.76%	N/A
	n/a	Write-ins	3	0.00%	N/A
Total votes			'1,006,524'	'100.0%'	N/A
	Republican hold

References

1. Gehrke, Robert (December 19, 2011). "Retired general poised to take on Herbert in gubernatorial race". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
2. Gehrke, Robert; Canham, Matt (April 21, 2012). "Herbert wins nod, Philpot feels betrayed". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
3. Meyers, Donald W. (January 18, 2012). "Utah tea party founder Kirkham takes on Herbert". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
4. Hesterman, Billy (November 30, 2011). "Philpot to challenge Herbert in 2012". Daily Herald. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
5. Davidson, Lee (November 11, 2011). "Utah governor faces challenge from inside the GOP". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
6. Roche, Lisa Riley (November 10, 2011). "GOP lawmaker to run against Gov. Herbert". Deseret News. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
7. Romboy, Dennis (November 14, 2011). "Sandstrom announces bid for Utah's new congressional district seat". Deseret News. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
8. Roche, Lisa Riley (June 9, 2011). "Two Utah political heavyweights eyeing key races". Deseret News. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
9. "Election Results: Utah Governor's Race". Utah Republican Party. April 21, 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
10. Isenstadt, Alex (December 15, 2011). "Matheson to run for reelection". Politico. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
11. Toeplitz, Shira (December 15, 2011). "Matheson to Run in New Utah District". Roll Call. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
12. Gehrke, Robert (April 19, 2012). "Rampton named as Peter Cooke's running mate". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
13. "2012 Candidate Filings - Lieutenant Governor's Office: Elections". Elections.utah.gov. 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
14. Ken Larsen Free Speech Message. "Ken Larsen". Vote Utah. Archived from the original on 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
15. "Why Choose Rob? « J. Robert Latham | Attorney at Law". Jrobertlatham.pro. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
16. "2012 Governor Race Ratings for November 1, 2012". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
17. "PROJECTION: OBAMA WILL LIKELY WIN SECOND TERM". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
18. "2012 Gubernatorial Ratings". Gubernatorial Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
19. "2012 Elections Map - 2012 Governor Races". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
20. https://elections.utah.gov/election-resources/election-results

External links

• Utah Government Services – Elections

Campaign sites (Archived)

• Peter Cooke for Governor
• Gary Herbert for Governor