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UTAH |
Nov. 8, 2016 Governor |
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Plurality: 427,501 votes (38.00 percentage points). UT Lt. Gov. -
Elections
Notes: Gov. Gary Herbert (R) won re-election, defeating Michael Weinholtz (D), former chairman and CEO of CHG Healthcare Services, by 38 percentage points in the general election. Herbert ascended to the governorship on Aug. 11, 2009, after then Gov. Jon Huntsman (R) became ambassador to China. He won the 2010 special election to complete Huntsman's term, and was elected to a full-four year term in 2012. In 2016 Herbert faced a primary challenge from Overstock.com chairman Jonathan Johnson, Johnson finished ahead of Herbert by 55%-45% at the Utah State Republican Convention on Apr. 23, but Herbert trounced Johnson in the June 28 primary by 71.75% to 28.25% to win the nomination. Herbert and Weinholtz debated twice: Sept. 16 - Utah League of Cities and Towns, in Salt Lake City. Sept. 26 - Utah Debate Commission at Utah State University (1, 2). FollowTheMoney.org reported that the Herbert campaign received contributions totalling $3.7 million, while Weinholtz funded much of his campaign, accounting for $2.8 million of $3.1 million total contributions (>). The last Democrat elected governor of Utah was Scott Matheson, who served from 1977-85. Campaign Manager: Gary Herbert: Marty Carpenter Prior to starting as campaign manager, Carpenter served as Gov. Herbert's communications director, Dec. 2013-July 2015. Executive vice president of communication (Jan.-Dec. 2013) and director of communication and marketing (June 2008-Dec. 2012) for the Salt Lake Chamber. Director of communications on Herbert for Governor, July-Nov. 2012. Manager at Spring Communications retail location, May 2007-May 2008. Sports reporter/anchor at KJRH in Tulsa, Aug. 2003-May 2007. Co-host/sports director at KTKA in Topeka, KS, July 2002-July 2003. News editor at KSL, Aug. 2001-Aug. 2002. B.A. in communication, electronic media from Weber State University, 2001; A.A. from Utah Valley University, 2000. Michael Weinholtz: Bob Kubichek (as reported by Utah Policy, Kubichek had been serving as field director, but replaced Jeff Bell in an Aug. 2016 shake up) Principal at ELLA WY, LLC, a consulting firm, from 2013. Wyoming state director on Obama for America, Nov. 2011-Nov. 2012. B.A. in political science and government from University of Wyoming, 2012. Grew up in Casper, WY. |
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