1978 Arizona gubernatorial election
November 7, 1978
 
Nominee Bruce Babbitt Evan Mecham
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 282,605 241,093
Percentage 52.5% 44.8%
County results
Babbitt:      50–60%      60–70%
Mecham:      40–50%      50–60%
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.

Until 2022, this was the last gubernatorial election where a Democratic governor was elected during the tenure of a Democratic president.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Withdrew

Results

Democratic primary results [1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Bruce Babbitt (incumbent) 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 (incumbent) 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

  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 September 20, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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