1972 Utah gubernatorial election
November 7, 1972
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County results Rampton: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Strike: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Utah |
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The 1972 Utah gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1972. Democratic incumbent Cal Rampton defeated Republican nominee Nicholas L. Strike with 69.68% of the vote. Rampton's victory was despite incumbent Republican president Richard Nixon winning the state with over 67% of the vote in the concurrent presidential election. The election made Rampton the first governor to serve three terms.
Rampton's vote share is the highest ever achieved by a Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Utah. It remained the highest share by a gubernatorial candidate from any party in the state until 1996. Rampton flipped Kane County, which had previously never voted Democratic for governor (though it had voted Democratic for president in 1916), but Strike managed to simultaneously flip Uintah County, preventing a statewide sweep by Rampton.