The 2020 Utah gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the governor of Utah. Incumbent Republican Governor Gary Herbert declined to run for election to a third full term.
Background
Although incumbent Republican governor Gary Herbert was eligible to run for re-election to a third full term, he initially announced shortly after being re-elected in 2016 that he would not run again, but indicated in January 2019 that he was open to the possibility of running again before ultimately deciding to retire and endorse his lieutenant governor, Spencer Cox. Utah had not had a Democratic governor since Scott M. Matheson left office in January 1985. This is the second longest active streak of one-party leadership, trailing only South Dakota, which had not had a Democratic governor since Harvey L. Wollman left office in 1979.
The primaries took place on June 30, 2020. The filing deadline was on June 19, 2020.
Description
The 2020 Utah gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the governor of Utah, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The winner of the election was the first non-incumbent gubernatorial candidate to be elected since Jon Huntsman Jr. in 2004, who ran in this election before he was eliminated in the primaries.
Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox won the general election by defeating the Democratic nominee, University of Utah law professor and former CFPB official Christopher Peterson. This election was the first open-seat gubernatorial election in Utah since 1992.
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Spencer Cox, Lieutenant Governor of Utah
- Running mate: Deidre Henderson, state senator and candidate for UT-03 in 2017
Eliminated in the primary
- Greg Hughes, former speaker of the Utah House of Representatives
- Running mate: Victor Iverson, Washington County Commission Chairman
- Jon Huntsman Jr., former United States Ambassador to Russia, China and Singapore, former governor of Utah, and candidate for president in 2012
- Running mate: Michelle Kaufusi, Mayor of Provo
- Thomas Wright, Republican National Committee executive committee member and former chair of the Utah Republican Party
- Running mate: Rob Bishop, U.S. representative for Utah's 1st congressional district and former speaker of the Utah House of Representatives
Eliminated at the convention
- Jeff Burningham, businessman
- Running mate: Dan McCay, state senator
- Jason Christensen, activist
- Running mate: Drew Chamberlain
- Jan Garbett, businesswoman
- Running mate: Joseph Jarvis, physician and small business owner
- Aimee Winder Newton, Salt Lake County councilwoman (Endorsed Cox)
- Running mate: John Dougall, Utah state auditor
Declined
- Rob Bishop, U.S. representative (endorsed Wright, who in turn chose Bishop to run with him as his lieutenant governor)
- Jason Chaffetz, former U.S. representative
- John Dougall, Utah state auditor
- Gary Herbert, incumbent governor (endorsed Cox)
- Mike Lee, U.S. senator (endorsed Huntsman)
- Greg Miller, former CEO of the Utah Jazz
- Sean Reyes, Attorney General of Utah
- Josh Romney, real estate developer and son of Mitt Romney
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Christopher Peterson, University of Utah law professor and former CFPB official
- Running mate: Karina Brown, community organizer
Eliminated at the convention
- Neil Hansen, former state representative
- Running mate: Brandy Farmer, candidate for Utah House of Representatives
- Ryan Jackson
- Zachary Moses, CEO of HeTravel.com
- Running mate: Nate Kizerian, community activist
- Nikki Pino Jr., youth counselor
- Running mate: Nikki Pino Sr., retired Army lieutenant colonel and father to Nikki Pino Jr.
- Archie A Williams, 2014 Democratic candidate for District 60 of the Utah House of Representatives III
Declined
- Peter Corroon, former Utah Democratic Party chair, former mayor of Salt Lake County, and nominee for governor in 2010
- Scott Howell, former state senator and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2000 and 2012
- Patricia W. Jones, former state senator
- Brian King, minority leader of the Utah House of Representatives (endorsed Peterson)
- Jim Matheson, former U.S. representative
- Ben McAdams, U.S. representative (running for re-election)
- Peter Metcalf, former CEO of Black Diamond Equipment
- Paul Rolly, former columnist for The Salt Lake Tribune
- Jim Winder, former Salt Lake County Sheriff
Other candidates
Independent American Party
Nominee
- Gregory Duerden,
- Wayne Hill, Vice Chair of the Utah Independent American Party
Libertarian Party
Nominee
- Daniel Cottam, Bariatric Surgeon
- Running mate: Barry Short, businessman and Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party of Utah
Republican write-in
- Madeline Kazantzis ran for election for Governor of Utah as a write-in in the general election on November 3, 2020. She received 18,988 votes.
Declined
- Jon Huntsman Jr., former United States Ambassador to Russia, China and Singapore, former governor of Utah, and candidate for president in 2012
General election
Campaign
An advertisement that featured both major-party candidates, calling for civility in politics, drew significant media coverage and praise.
Polling
Graphical summary
Polls
Results
By congressional district
Cox won all four congressional districts.