1980 Utah gubernatorial election

none related races 1980 United States gubernatorial elections January 2025 September 2023 1980 Utah gubernatorial election Utah 1922 Presidential no 1976 Utah gubernatorial election 1976 1984 Utah gubernatorial election 1984 November 4, 1980 File:Scott Matheson speaking at the commissioning ceremony of the USS Salt Lake City, May 12, 1984 (cropped).JPEG 150x150px Scott M. Matheson Democratic Party (United States) 330,974 55.16% 3x4.svg Bob Wright Republican Party (United States) 266,578 44.43% 1980 Utah gubernatorial election results map by county.svg 230px County resultsMatheson: #a5b0ff 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% Wright: #e27f7f 50–60% Governor Scott M. Matheson Democratic Party (United States) Scott M. Matheson Democratic Party (United States) The 1980 Utah gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1980. Democratic incumbent Scott M. Matheson defeated Republican nominee Bob Wright with 55.16% of the vote. 2025, this is the last time a Democrat was elected Governor of Utah; since Matheson left office in 1985, all of Utah's governors have been Republican. In fact, Democrats, save in the "asterisk election" of 1988 featuring a Republican running as an Independent, have not even had a close call during that time; coming no closer in a strict two-candidate race than Matheson's Scott Jr. losing by more than sixteen points in 2004.Benjamin Wood Zachary Moses, a Democratic candidate for governor, wants to break up Republican control of Utah and build a space port https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2019/07/19/zachary-moses-democratic/ Salt Lake Tribune 19 September 2023 19 July 2019uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/compare.php?year=2024&fips=49&f=0&off=5&elect=0&type=state Matheson's victory was despite Republican presidential candidate Ronald Reagan and incumbent Republican Senator Jake Garn both winning over 72% of the vote in their respective races on the same ballot.1980 Presidential Election Statistics https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/stats.php?year=1980&f=0&off=0&elect=0 US Election Atlas 19 September 20231980 Utah General Election Abstract https://vote.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/1980Gen.pdf 29 December 2025 Primary election Primary elections were held on September 9, 1980.State of Utah - 1980 Primary Election Abstract https://vote.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/1980Pri.pdf 31 December 2025 Democratic primary Incumbent governor Scott M. Matheson was renominated without opposition. Republican primary Bob Wright, former Chair of the Utah Republican Party, was nominated without opposition. General election Candidates Scott M. Matheson, Democratic Bob Wright, Republican Lawrence Rey Topham, American Party Results 1980 Utah gubernatorial election Democratic Party (United States) Scott M. Matheson (incumbent) 330,974 55.16% +3.14% Republican Party (United States) Bob Wright 266,578 44.43% -1.53% American Party (1969) Lawrence Rey Topham 2,467 0.41% -0.92% 600,019 100.00% 64,396 10.73% Democratic Party (United States) Republican Party (United States) +4.68% Results by county County Scott M. MathesonDemocratic Bob WrightRepublican Lawrence Rey TophamAmerican Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # %Beaver1,46468.12%68331.78%20.09%78136.34%2,149Box Elder6,96346.39%8,00953.36%380.25%-1,046-6.97%15,010Cache11,19243.90%14,20255.71%1000.39%-3,010-11.81%25,494Carbon6,86776.15%2,14323.76%80.09%4,72452.38%9,018Daggett27666.99%13633.01%00.00%14033.98%412Davis28,76349.96%28,52149.54%2920.51%2420.42%57,576Duchesne2,05542.21%2,80757.66%60.12%-752-15.45%4,868Emery2,89763.70%1,64036.06%110.24%1,25727.64%4,548Garfield1,17359.09%81040.81%20.10%36318.29%1,985Grand1,84956.61%1,41043.17%70.21%43913.44%3,266Iron4,79561.94%2,92637.80%200.26%1,86924.14%7,741Juab1,62760.66%1,04939.11%60.22%57821.55%2,682Kane91450.64%88649.09%50.28%281.55%1,805Millard2,52956.74%1,92143.10%70.16%60813.64%4,457Morgan1,19548.72%1,25551.16%30.12%-60-2.45%2,453Piute39354.81%32044.63%40.56%7310.18%717Rich51154.89%41844.90%20.21%939.99%931Salt Lake149,98559.70%99,69139.68%1,5430.61%50,29420.02%251,219San Juan1,62546.32%1,86453.14%190.54%-239-6.81%3,508Sanpete3,54653.92%3,00645.70%250.38%5408.21%6,577Sevier3,65452.98%3,20946.53%340.49%4456.45%6,897Summit3,13562.70%1,85937.18%60.12%1,27625.52%5,000Tooele5,05152.10%4,61447.60%290.30%4374.51%9,694Uintah3,14543.57%4,06456.30%100.14%-919-12.73%7,219Utah40,80447.66%44,69352.20%1220.14%-3,889-4.54%85,619Wasatch2,29958.38%1,63541.52%40.10%66416.86%3,938Washington5,46546.00%6,36553.57%510.43%-900-7.58%11,881Wayne49244.97%59954.75%30.27%-107-9.78%1,094Weber36,31058.32%25,84341.51%1080.17%10,46716.81%62,261Total330,97455.16%266,57844.43%2,4670.41%64,39610.73%600,019 Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Davis Garfield Kane Millard Piute Rich Sanpete Sevier Wasatch References Utah Politics 1980 Utah Gubernatorial