ELECTIONS IN THE STATE OF UTAH

1952 Election

With Dwight D. Eisenhower leading the Republican party ticket, for the first time since Herbert Hoover and the 1928 election a majority of Utahns voted for the Republican candidate. The retired World War II Supreme Commander received 194,190 voted to 135,364 for Adlai M. Stevenson. With over 58 percent of the vote, Eisenhower represented a radical shift for Utah, which had given strong support to Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman during the previous quarter of a century. However, a shift away from the Democratic party had been evident in 1950 when Republican Wallace Bennett won a victory over the veteran New Dealer Elbert D. Thomas in the Senate contest of that year.

In the 1952 Senate race, incumbent Republican Arthur V. Watkins, who in 1946 had beaten the incumbent Democrat Abe Murdock by 101,000 votes to 96,000, defeated Democratic challenger Walter K. Granger by a count of 177,435 votes to 149,598. In the First Congressional District, Douglas Stringfellow, running on his record as a wounded World War II hero, easily defeated Ernest McKay, 76,545 to 49,898. However, before his term was over, Stringfellow confessed to having fabricated much of his war record and resigned just before the 1954 election. In the Second Congressional District, Utah′s first congresswomen, Reva Beck Bosone, was defeated by William A. Dawson, who she had unseated in 1948. Bosone had won by a large vote of 93,770 to 68,693 in 1948; she was defeated by Dawson in 1952 by a vote of 105,296 to 95,084. Bosone had been expected to win reelection easily, and analysts attributed her loss to the Republican deluge in 1952. With two Republicans in the House and two in the Senate, this marked the first time since 1914 that Utah′s entire congressional delegation was Republican.

In the governor′s race, Republican J. Bracken Lee won a second term

1 of 14 with a 180,516 to 147,188 victory over Earl J. Glade. Lee, considered one of the most conservative politicians during a very conservative time, was strongly opposed by organized labor and education but still won an easy victory over Glade. The Republican trend was also evident in the state senate and house, and in most county and district elections.

The Eisenhower/Republican victory came about for several reasons: Eisenhower′s war record and the confidence that Utahns had in him dealing with the Soviet Union; a very high percentage of young voters who, wearing "I Like Ike" campaign buttons, voted for Eisenhower; concerns that the Democrats were promoting socialism through such programs as the Truman Health Plan; the unpopularity of the Korean War, for which Utah National Guard units had been called up by Truman and which, voters felt, Eisenhower could end quickly; charges of corruption against the Truman administration; the feeling that it was "time for a change," since the Democrats under Roosevelt and Truman had been in control for twenty years; and the fear that the intellectual Stevenson, who admitted that he did not have all the answers, was not the best choice.

1956 Election

A Republican-dominated election through and through, the 1956 campaign in Utah was one of the most colorful in Utah history and three men contended for the position of governor-George Dewey Clyde, L.C. Romney and J. Bracken Lee. Lee, described by some as the most colorful and controversial public figure in Utah politics since statehood, had served two terms as governor, having been elected on a Republican ticket in 1948 and 1952. He led a field of four candidates at the Republican nominating convention, but it a direct primary runoff, Lee finished second to George Dewey Clyde, an engineer and director of Utah′s Water and Power Board, who had come in second at the nominating convention. Despite his earlier statements eschewing a third term, Lee decided to enter the race as an independent, claiming there was no real difference between the Republican Clyde and the Democrat Romney. As an independent, Lee finished a strong third with 94,438 votes (which was 28.3 percent of the vote) to 111,297 for Romney (33.4 percent) and 127,164 (38.2 percent) for Clyde.

Lee had won the vote of the conservative, anti-government, anti-tax bloc, but he found no support with teachers and educators, whom he

2 of 14 labeled as self-serving and self-invited guests at the public trough. He had alienated the Mormon Church authorities by vetoing a 1954 Sunday closing bill, offended organized labor by signing a right-to-work bill, and displeased the farmers by vetoing a bill providing them a tax rebate on off-highway gasoline use. He was anathema to most Republican party officials because he threatened to give the election to the Democrats by dividing the Republican vote and because he failed to cooperate with other party leaders, including bypassing them in making political appointments. Lee, who had campaigned on a slogan of "economy, efficiency, and honesty" in government, was hurt politically when lax practices in the liquor control commission and state employee financial contributions to his campaign were exposed. With a popular Republican in the White House, Clyde had strong appeal for many voters because of his experience in water issues, which was timely because of the current Colorado River reclamation projects.

Dwight D. Eisenhower had won in Utah by a significant margin over Adlai E. Stevenson in 1952; his victory over Stevenson in 1956 was even greater. With 215,631 to 118,364 votes, Eisenhower′s 64.7 percent of the total vote was nearly a six percent improvement over that of 1952. In 1952 Eisenhower had designated Apostle Ezra Taft Benson of the Mormon Church to the be Secretary of Agriculture, the highest political appointment for a Mormon to that time. In foreign affairs, as the Middle East crisis over the Suez Canal threatened, Eisenhower was seen as a careful and experienced leader who could keep the country out of war.

In the Senate race, incumbent Wallace F. Bennett won reelection to a second term with 178,261 to 152,120 victory over Democrat Alonzo F. Hopkin, a long-time Utah legislator and livestock raiser from northeastern Utah. In the congressional races, Republicans Henry A. Dixon and William A. Dawson each won reelection with substantial victories over Democratic candidates Carlyle F. Gronning (74,107 to 47,533) and Oscar W. McConkie, Jr., (119,683 to 87,970). The Utah state senate and house of representatives remained solidly Republican, with ratios of twenty-five to ten and forty to twenty-three, respectively.

1960 Election

Whereas the 1956 election had been dominated by the controversial three-way contest for governor, the 1960 election saw a patchwork of

3 of 14 issues, contests, and charges that enlivened the campaign on several fronts. Although Richard Nixon carried Utah in his unsuccessful bid to move from vice-president to president, his margin of victory was far below that given Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956. With 205,361 votes to 169,248 votes for John F. Kennedy, Nixon′s 54.7 percent was ten percent lower than that given to Eisenhower in 1956. Both presidential candidates spoke in Salt Lake City, and John Kennedy′s speech in the Mormon Tabernacle, with references to Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Mormon scriptures, and even praise for Republicans Reed Smoot and Ezra Taft Benson, seem much more effective than the cordial but less specific remarks by Richard Nixon. Both candidates met with Mormon Church president David O. McKay, and, while the eighty-six-year-old, lifelong Republican told Kennedy that the Mormon Church would support him if he were elected, he told Nixon that he hoped he would be the next president. His comments implied, for some, an endorsement for Richard Nixon by the Mormon Church. However, in a subsequent statement, McKay clarified that, while he had wished a fellow Republican success, this did not constitute a church endorsement for Nixon and Mormons who favored Kennedy should vote for him.

J. Bracken Lee was not a factor in the 1960 election, and he suffered humiliating defeat at the state Republican convention in an unsuccessful attempt to be named a delegate in the national convention. However, he had played a key role in the 1958 senatorial campaign, running as an independent candidate in a three-way race that saw incumbent Arthur V. Watkins defeated by Democratic newcomer Frank E. Moss. With a vote of 112,827 for Moss, 101,471 for Watkins, and 77,013 for Lee, it was clear that the conservative vote was split between Watkins and Lee, giving the victory to Moss. Watkins was especially bitter because he believed that Lee had entered the race out of spite for Watkin′s role as chairman of the Senate select committee that censored outspoken Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin.

Democratic good fortune continued as Democrats N. Blaine Peterson and David S. King were elected to the House of Representatives. King, representing the Second Congressional District, won reelection with a 120,771 to 116,881 victory over Sherman P. Lloyd. Two years earlier, he had defeated three-time incumbent Republican William A. Dawson by a vote of 91,213 to 87,234. In an extremely close First Congressional District contest, Democrat N. Blaine Peterson beat Republican A. Walter Stevenson by 68 votes, 65,939 to 65,871.

Republicans did hold on to the governorship with the sixty-nine-year-old

4 of 14 George Dewey Clyde winning reelection by a 52.7 percent margin (195,634 to 175,855) over thirty-nine-year-old St. George mayor William Barlocker. Barlocker appeared to have the election in hand but his popularity dropped as rumors of moral misconduct circulated; he also was ineffective in public debates and Republicans increased their attacks on his competency. Republicans promoted Clyde as an experienced, responsible, trusted, and efficient, if sometime dull, public servant.

In the state legislature, Democrats, who had regained control of both houses in the 1958 election, maintained control with a margin of thirty­ six to twenty-eight in the house and fourteen to eleven in the senate.

1964 Election

For the first time since 1948, Utah voters gave a majority to the Democratic presidential candidate, Lyndon B. Johnson. John F. Kennedy′ s vice presidential running mate, who became president when Kennedy was assassinated on 22 November 1963, Lyndon Johnson might be considered an incumbent, and his 219,628 votes to the 181,785 votes for Barry N. Goldwater gave a 54.7 percent victory for Johnson and his "Great Society" over the conservative Goldwater. Nationally, the American voters gave Johnson 61.4 percent of the vote, so the Utah vote for Johnson was nearly six percent behind the national average. Some analysts attributed Goldwater′s better showing in Utah to local support for Ronald Reagan, whose nominating speech for Goldwater at the Republican national convention was broadcast several times in Utah.

Democrat Frank E. Moss won his bid for a second term to the United States Senate, decisively defeating Ernest L. Wilkinson, who took a leave of absence from his position as president of Brigham Young University; the vote was 227,822 to 169,562. The Moss victory coupled with Wallace F. Bennett′s successful campaign for a third term in 1962, with 166,755 votes to 151,656 for David S. King, maintained a balance for Utah of one Republican and one Democrat in the United States Senate. The balance also was reestablished in the House of Representatives when David S. King defeated Republican Thomas G. Judd 149,754 to 110,512 for the Second Congressional District seat, while Republican Laurence J. Burton won his second term from the First Congressional District, beating William G. Bruhn 75,986 to 59,768.

5 of 14 After sixteen years of Republican domination in the statehouse, a Democrat, Calvin L. Rampton, was elected governor of Utah by a vote of 225,956 against 171,300 for Mitchell Melich. In the Utah legislature, Democrats maintained a comfortable margin over Republicans, with a thirty-nine to thirty margin in the house and one of thirteen to ten in the senate.

1968 Election

With the exception of Calvin L. Rampton winning election to his second term as governor, Utah went with the Republicans in the major races during the 1968 election. Richard M. Nixon easily defeated Hubert H. Humphrey, who became the Democratic standard-bearer when President Lyndon B. Johnson decided not to run for reelection. Nixon′s 238,728 votes to Humphrey′s 156,665 gave him 54.6 percent of the Utah vote and began an unbroken string of Utah victories for Republican presidential candidates that has continued through the 1992 election. Conservative candidate George Wallace of the American Independent party polled 26,906 votes, which was 6.4 percent of the total vote.

All three candidates appeared in Utah and spoke in the Salt Lake Tabernacle. Hubert Humphrey′s 30 September visit was perhaps the most significant. He had been jeered by hecklers at other campaign stops but met with enthusiastic response from his supporters in Salt Lake City. After his Tabernacle speech he went to a Sale Lake City television studio and told a nationwide audience that he favored halting the bombing of North Vietnam. Salt Lake City marked a turning point in the Humphrey campaign. Throughout October and up until the election Humphrey began to close the gap in his race with Nixon, but he lost to the Republican by just over one percent of the popular vote.

Wallace F. Bennett won election to his fourth and final term in the United States Senate with a 225,075 to 192,168 margin over Democratic contender Milton L. Weilenman. In the House of Representatives, Laurence J. Burton won election to his fourth term in the First Congressional District with 139,456 votes to 65,265 for Democrat Richard J. Maughn. In the second Congressional District, Republican Sherman P. Lloyd also won by a large margin-130,127 to 80,948 for Galen Ross. However, the largest total vote in Utah when to Calvin L. Rampton, who received 289,283 votes to 131,719 for Republican businessman Carl W. Buehner. Utahns, who claimed to vote

6 of 14 for the man and not the party, proved themselves true, at least in the case of Calvin L. Rampton-nearly one-third of the voters scratched their ballots to vote for a Democratic governor after voting for a Republican president. Rampton′s 68.7 percent of the vote was nearly fourteen percent more than that cast for Richard Nixon.

During the 1966 election, Democrats had lost control of the Utah legislature. Twenty-nine Democratic representatives and eleven senators went down to defeat; the new alignment put fifty-nine Republicans against ten Democrats in the house and twenty-three Republicans against five Democrats in the senate. Democrats made somewhat of a comeback in the 1968 election, but the Republicans continued to dominate, with forty-eight seats to twenty-one in the Utah house of representatives and twenty to eight in the senate. Liquor by the drink, the proposal to license private establishments to dispense wine and alcohol, made its appearance as an initiative on the November ballot. Proponents argued that less stringent liquor laws would boost tourism; but, with LDS Church opposition to the measure, it was defeated by a vote of 320,000 to 97,000.

1972 Election

Calvin L. Rampton won an unprecedented third consecutive term as Utah ′s governor with almost seventy percent of the vote. He defeated his Republican opponent, Nicholas G. Strike, by a vote of 331,998 to 144,449. In the presidential contest, Republican Richard M. Nixon made a strong showing, defeating Democrat George McGovern by a popular vote of 323,643 to 126,284. Nixon won 67.7 percent of the vote, increasing by thirteen percentage points his 1968 total. Nationwide, Nixon′s margin was 62 percent; he won all but the state of Massachusetts.

There was no local senatorial contest in the 1972 election; however, Democrat Frank E. Moss was elected to his third term in 1970 with a 214,000 to 159,000 victory over Republican challenger Laurence J. Burton. Democrats took both of the congressional seats. Incumbent K. Gunn McKay defeated Robert Wolthuis by a 127,027 to 96,296 vote count to gain a second term in the First congressional District. Wayne Owens defeated Republican incumbent Sherman Lloyd 132,832 to 107,185 votes to capture the other congressional seat. However, Republicans did win control of the Utah State Legislature, holding

7 of 14 margins of forty-four to thirty-one in the house and sixteen to thirteen in the senate.

The conservative American Independent party ran candidates for the two congressional seats and for president of the United States. John G. Schmitz received 28,549 votes (six percent) of the Utah total for president while party congressional contenders did not do as well. Leonard S. Brown polled 6,043, which was 2.8 percent of the vote in the First Congressional race, and Bruce R. Bangerter received 3,685 votes, or 1.5 percent of the vote, in the Second Congressional District.

1976 Election

In the aftermath of the Watergate scandal and the resignation of Richard Nixon, Republican candidate Gerald Ford won a substantial victory in Utah, polling 336,467 votes to Jimmy Carter′s 181,979. While Ford′s margin of victory over Carter in Utah was 62.3 percent to 33.7 percent, nationally Ford lost to Carter by a slim two percent margin in the popular vote.

After three terms as Utah′s governor, Calvin L. Rampton chose not to run for reelection. Scott M. Matheson, an attorney for the Union Pacific Railroad, continued the Democrat′s hold on the governor′s office by defeating Republican Vernon Romney 279,455 to 246,392. In the U.S. Senate race, three-term Democratic incumbent Frank Moss lost his bid for a fourth term to Republican Orrin Hatch by a vote of 288,842 to 241,006. This gave Republicans both of Utah′s Senate seats. Following the retirement of Senator Wallace Bennett in 1974, former Sale Lake City mayor Jake Garn defeated Democrat and one-term congressman Wayne Owens by a vote count of 210,000 to 185,000.

In the two congressional races, K. Gunn McKay won reelection to a fourth term in the First District by defeating Republican Joe Ferguson 147,255 to 106,009. In the Second Congressional District, Democrat Allen T. Howe was defeated in his bid for a second term by Republican Dan Marriott. In the three-way race, Marriott gained 143,851 votes, Howe 104,513, and fellow Democrat Daryl McCarty was written in by 20,689 voters. The entry of McCarty into the race as a write-in candidate came after Congressman Howe′s arrest and conviction in Salt Lake City for soliciting sex for hire during the summer of 1976.

8 of 14 The Utah Legislature continued under Republican control with a forty to thirty-five seat majority in the house and one of seventeen to twelve in the senate. Included among the Democratic representatives were the first Afro-American, Reverend Robert Harris, and the first Hispanic, John Ulibarri-both elected from districts in Weber County. Voters also approved a Utah constitutional amendment lowering the voting age to eighteen years old to be in line with the twenty-sixth Amendment to the United State Constitution, which was ratified in July 1971.

Because of the efforts of right-wing activists, three initiative proposals were on the ballot. Despite strong opposition by dentists and the medical community, voters approved the "Freedom from Compulsory Fluoridation and Medication Act," which prohibited the Utah State Board of Health from adding fluorides and other medications to any public water supply. The two other proposals-one authorizing the recall of an elected or appointed public officer for any reason, including political reasons, and the other, which imposed an annual budget ceiling while phasing out the receipt of federal revenues-were both defeated.

1980 Election

Republican Ronald Reagan received nearly three-quarters of the Utah presidential vote, with 439,687 votes (72.8 percent of the vote). The incumbent president and Democratic nominee, Jimmy Carter, polled only 124,266, votes, or 20.6 percent of the votes cast. Carter received nearly 58,000 fewer votes in Utah than he had in 1976, and he dropped 13 percent from his figure in the election four years earlier. The tremendous Republican victory came because of disillusionment with Carter and also due to the great popularity of Ronald Reagan in Utah. Nationally, Reagan won by a 10 percent margin. Yet Reagan won in all twenty-nine Utah counties, although by only three votes in the traditionally Democratic stronghold of Carbon County.

Democratic Governor Scott M. Matheson proved to be a popular governor, winning reelection to a second term by 330,974 votes to 266,578 for Republican Bob Wright. Matheson widened his margin of victory from 52 percent in 1976 to more than 55 percent in 1980, and his victory once again demonstrated the willingness of a majority of Utahns to cross party lines in voting for candidates for the major offices.

In the United States Senate race, Republican E.J. (Jake) Garn won

9 of 14 reelection to a second term with a huge victory over Democratic candidate Dan German-437,675 votes to 151,454. Garn′s 73.6 percent of the vote was one of the largest percentages ever gained for a United States Senate seat from Utah. The two House of Representatives elections also went to Republicans. James V. Hansen defeated Democrat K. Gunn McKay′s bid for a fifth consecutive term from the First Congressional District with a vote of 157,111 to 144,459. In the second district, Republican Dan Marriott won his third consecutive term with an easy 290,765 to 194,885 victory over Democratic challenger Arthur L. Monson.

In the Utah State Legislature, Republicans continued their control, with fifty-seven to eighteen seats in the house and twenty-two to seven seats in the senate. Utahns defeated two tax initiative proposals: one that would have removed the sales tax from food, and another that would have placed a ceiling limit on property taxes. Voters also defeated a proposition that would have raised compensation for state legislators from twenty-four dollars a day to forty dollars a day, even though Utah′s legislative compensation ranked forty-eighth in the nation. Two constitutional amendments did pass: one provided that the governor and lieutenant governor would belong to the same party; the other removed a constitutional prohibition against work-release programs for prisoners as well as employment of women in mines.

1984 Election

Ronald Reagan continued to be Utah′s favorite president since it obtained statehood, winning the 1984 election with 469,105 votes (74.5 percent) over Democratic challenger Walter Mondale, who polled 155,369 votes. When Scott Matheson decided not to run for a third term as Utah′s governor, Wayne Owens was nominated by the Democrats to succeed Matheson. However, Owens lost the election to the Republican Norman H. Bangerter, a home builder, real estate developer, and two-term Speaker of the Utah house of representative. Bangerter won with 351,792 votes to 275,669 for Owens. While there was no Senate contest in 1984, two years earlier Republican Orrin Hatch won reelection to a second term with a 308,332 vote to 219,482 vote margin over Democrat and former Sale Lake City mayor Ted Wilson.

In 1982 Utah was given a third seat in the U.S. House of

10 of 14 Representatives, and Brigham Young University professor Howard C. Nelson won election to it. Nelson won reelection to a second term from the Third Congressional District with a large margin-138,918 votes to 46,560-over Democrat Bruce R. Baird. In the First Congressional District, incumbent James V. Hansen won reelection to a third term with 142,952 votes compared to 56,619 for Democrat Milton C. Abrams, former director of the Utah State University Library and chair of the Utah Board of State History. In the Second Congressional District, incumbent Dan Marriott did not run; but Republicans held onto the seat with a slim victory of 496 votes for David S. Monson over Democratic contender Francis Farley (105,540 to 105,044 votes). Farley had lost to Marriott in 1982, but her campaigns in 1982 and 1984 represented the first women candidate for Congress since Reva Beck Bosone in 1952 and set the stage for a two-women race for the seat in 1992.

In the Utah State Legislature, Republicans widened their margin over what it was in the 1980 with a sixty-one to fourteen margin in the house and a twenty-three to six count in the senate. Voters approved a proposition that changed the legislative session from a sixty-day general session in odd years and a twenty-day budget session in an even year to an annual forty-five day session. The right to bear arms was strengthened by a proposal that outlined that that right could not be limited. Voters rejected by a vote of 364,873 to 233,082 a controversial cable television regulation initiative that sought to deal with indecent and obscene materials.

1988 Election

Although not as popular with Utah voters as was Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Reagan′s two-term vice-president, easily won the 1988 presidential election in Utah with a 428,442 to 207,343 vote count over Democrat Michael Dukakis. While nationwide Bush won eight percent more of the vote than Dukakis, in Utah his margin over Dukakis was twenty-six percent.

In the governor′s race, incumbent Norman H. Bangerter won a come­ from-behind victory over Democratic challenger Ted Wilson, with 260,462 votes to 249,321. Incumbent Republican Orrin Hatch won reelection to his third term in the United States Senate by defeating Democratic challenger Brian H. Moss 430,089 votes to 203,364. Two years earlier, in 1986, incumbent E.J. "Jake" Garn won reelection to his

11 of 14 third term in the Senate with a 314,608 to 115,523 count over Democratic challenger Craig Oliver.

In the United States House of Representatives, all three incumbents won reelection: James V. Hansen gained his fifth term in the First Congressional District with a victory over Democrat Gunn McKay by 130,893 votes to 87,976; Democrat Wayne Owens in the Second Congressional District defeated Republican Richard Snelgrove 112,129 votes to 80,212; and Republican Howard Nielsen won his fourth election in the Third Congressional District with 129,951 votes to Democrat Robert W. Stringham′s 60,018 votes. In the Utah State Legislature Republicans prevailed with a forty-eight to twenty-seven seat majority in the house and a twenty-two to seven seat count in the senate.

1992 Election

Remarkable aspects of the 1992 election included the poor showing in the state by two major Democratic candidates, the significant decline in support for incumbent George Bush, the popularity of independent candidates Ross Perot and Merrill Cook, and the increased participation of women as candidates. Both Bill Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate who defeated Republican incumbent George Bush in the national election, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stewart Hanson finished third in Utah. Clinton received 182,590 votes, or 25 percent of the Utah total. A strong showing by Ross Perot with 202,796 votes (twenty-seven percent) put the independent candidate in second place in Utah, making Utah the only state in the nation where Perot came in second and Clinton third. George Bush won the election in Utah with 320,858 votes, which was 43 percent of the total. Nevertheless, Bush had lost considerable popularity in Utah-he received over 108,000 fewer votes in 1992 than he had in 1988. Clinton polled nearly 25,000 votes less than had Dukakis in 1988, indicating that Perot was the recipient of strong support by voters discontented with both parties.

The governor′s race was a three-way contest between Republican Michael Leavitt, Democrat Stewart Hansen, and independent Merrill Cook. Leavitt won the election with 320,015 votes (42 percent of the total), but Cook finished strong with 254,960 votes (34 percent of the total). Democrat Stewart Hanson won only 176,404 votes, or 23 percent of the total.

12 of 14 Senator Jake Garn decided not to seek a fourth term, and following a close contest in the primaries against fellow Republican Joseph Cannon, Robert Bennett defeated Wayne Owens to win the United States Senate seat which had been occupied by his father, Wallace Bennett, from 1951 to 1975. Bennett won with 417,993 votes to 300,111 votes for Owens, who had vacated his congressional seat, which he had held since the 1986 election, to run for Senate. However, trouble with overdrafts growing out of the House bank scandal hurt Owens.

The Second Congressional District race proved most interesting, as both parties ran female candidates. Democrat Karen Shepherd won election, defeating Republican Enid Greene 127,543 to 118,103 votes. Shepherd became the second woman congressperson in Utah′s history and the first woman elected since Reva Beck Bosone in 1950. In the First and Third congressional districts incumbents won by substantial margins. James V. Hansen won a seventh term from the First District, defeating Ronald Holt by 159,601 votes to 68,547. Democrat Bill Orton won in the Third District with a 133,909 to 83,009 vote count over Richard R. Harrington.

Utahns also elected their first women as attorney general and lieutenant governor. Democrat Jan Graham narrowly defeated Republican Scott Burns by 362,805 to 356,751 votes to become Utah Attorney General. Olene Walker won on the Republican ticket with Mike Leavitt in a race in which all three contenders for lieutenant governor-Olene Walker, Frances Hatch Merrill (Independent), and Paula Julander (Democrat)­ were women.

In the Utah State Legislature, Republicans continued their control of both houses with a forty-nine to twenty-six margin in the house and an eighteen to eleven margin in the senate. An initiative to legalize pari­ mutuel betting on horse races failed by a vote of 449,052 to 296,529.

Allan Kent Powell

SOURCE... Article is from the Utah History Encyclopedia. Powell, Allan Kent, ed.

13 of 14 Salt Lake City, Utah : The University of Utah Press, 1994

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