1978 Arizona gubernatorial election

Arizona gubernatorial election, 1978
	Election results by county
Governor before election; Bruce Babbitt; Democratic	Elected Governor ; Bruce Babbitt; Democratic

The 1978 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1978 for the post of Governor of Arizona. Democrat Bruce Babbitt defeated Republican nominee Evan Mecham. Babbitt was the former Attorney General of Arizona, but after the death of Governor Wesley Bolin, Babbit became governor. Bolin himself ascended to office from the position of Secretary of State, meaning his replacement, Rose Mofford was not eligible to the office as she was not elected. This drama of exchanging office would continue after Babbitt's term came to an end, as Mofford would become governor and succeeded Evan Mecham, Babbitt's challenger, in 1988.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Bruce Babbitt, incumbent Governor
Dave Moss, perennial candidate

Results

Democratic primary results ^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bruce Edward Babbitt	108,548	76.80
	Democratic	Dave Moss	32,785	23.20
Total votes			141,333	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

Charles King
Jack Londen, businessman
Evan Mecham, perennial candidate

Results

Republican primary results ^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Evan Mecham	50,713	44.07
	Republican	Jack Londen	40,116	34.86
	Republican	Charles King	24,253	21.08
Total votes			115,082	100.00

General election

Results

Arizona gubernatorial election, 1978^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bruce Babbitt	282,605	52.47%	+2.06%
	Republican	Evan Mecham	241,093	44.77%	−4.79%
	Libertarian	V. Gene Lewter	10,421	1.93%	+1.93%
	Socialist Workers	Jessica Sampson	4,437	0.82%	+0.82%
Majority			41,512	7.71%	+6.86%
Turnout			538,556
	Democratic hold		Swing

References

^ Our Campaigns - AZ Governor - D Primary Race - Sep 12, 1978
^ Our Campaigns - AZ Governor - R Primary Race - Sep 12, 1978
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-20. Retrieved 2014-12-31. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[1] Our Campaigns - AZ Governor - D Primary Race - Sep 12, 1978

[2] Our Campaigns - AZ Governor - R Primary Race - Sep 12, 1978

[3] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-20. Retrieved 2014-12-31. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[1]

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