1990–91 Arizona gubernatorial election

For related races, see 1990 United States gubernatorial elections.

1990–91 Arizona gubernatorial election

November 6, 1990 (first round) February 26, 1991 (runoff)

Candidate Fife Symington Terry Goddard Party Republican Democratic First round 523,984 49.7% 519,691 49.2% Runoff 492,569 52.4% 448,168 47.6%

Symington:      50–60% Goddard:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Governor before election Rose Mofford Democratic Elected Governor Fife Symington Republican

The 1990–91 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1990, for the post of Governor of Arizona. Incumbent Democratic Governor, Rose Mofford, declined to run for a full term. Republican Fife Symington defeated the Democratic nominee and Mayor of Phoenix Terry Goddard. Because no candidate received a majority of votes, a runoff election was held later on February 26, 1991, which Symington also won. This is the only election where Arizona used a runoff election.

Evan Mecham, a former governor who was removed from office in 1988 upon being convicted in his impeachment trial, unsuccessfully ran for another term. This would be the last gubernatorial election until 2018 when the victorious gubernatorial candidate in the state would be of the same party as the incumbent president.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Terry Goddard, mayor of Phoenix
• Dave Moss, perennial candidate

Declined

• Rose Mofford, incumbent Governor

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Terry Goddard	212,579	84.0
	Democratic	Dave Moss	40,478	16.0
Total votes			253,057	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• Fife Symington, Real estate developer
• Evan Mecham, former Governor
• Fred Koory, Jr, former State Senator
• Sam Steiger, former U.S. Representative for Arizona
• Bob Barnes, former Governor's aide

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Fife Symington	163,010	43.8
	Republican	Evan Mecham	91,136	24.5
	Republican	Fred Koory, Jr	61,487	16.5
	Republican	Sam Steiger	49,019	13.2
	Republican	Bob Barnes	7,672	2.1
Total votes			372,324	100.0

General election

Results

Arizona gubernatorial election, 1990

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Fife Symington III	523,984	49.7%	+10.0%
	Democratic	Terry Goddard	519,691	49.2%	+14.8%
	Stop Abortion	Max Hawkins (write-in)	10,983	1.0%	+1.0%
	Libertarian	Ed Yetman (write-in)	316	0.0%
	Write-ins		432	0.0%
Majority			4,293	0.4%	-4.5%
Turnout			1,055,406

Runoff election

Prior to 1992, the Arizona State Constitution required a runoff election for the office of Governor if no candidate received a majority of the votes. As a result, a runoff election was held on February 28, 1991.

Results

Arizona Gubernatorial Runoff Election, 1991

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Fife Symington III	492,569	52.4
	Democratic	Terry Goddard	448,168	47.6
Majority			44,401	4.7
Turnout			940,736
	Republican gain from Democratic