The 1994 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1994, for the post of

Governor of Arizona A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Fife Symington John Fife Symington III (; born August 12, 1945) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 19th governor of Arizona from 1991 until his resignation in 1997. A member of the Republican Party, he resigned from office following c ...

, the incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, defeated the Democratic nominee

Eddie Basha Edward Najeeb Basha Jr. (August 24, 1937 – March 26, 2013) was the Chairman & CEO of Bashas', Inc., a grocery store chain in Arizona. His father, Eddie Basha Sr., and his uncle, Ike Basha, founded Bashas' in 1932. The first store under the ...

to win a second term in office. However, Symington resigned in 1997 due to a federal indictment on corruption charges.

Republican primary

In the Republican primary, incumbent Governor Fife Symington was challenged by businesswoman

Barbara Barrett Barbara McConnell Barrett (born December 26, 1950) is an American businesswoman, attorney and diplomat who served as the United States secretary of the Air Force from 2019 to 2021. She is also an instrument-rated pilot, and cattle and bison ranche ...

, wife of business executive Craig Barrett. Symington announced his primary campaign by stating, "I vowed to get state spending under control, reduce taxes and do my best to promote economic development and restore strength to the economy. I think I am in a strong position because I accomplished my goals." Barrett spent more than $1 million of her own money in the attempt to defeat Symington, who she stated she did not dislike personally, but simply felt that she could do a better job as governor. On September 13, 1994, Symington defeated Barrett in the primary by a margin of 68% to 32%. Political analysts stated that Barrett had failed to distinguish herself from the incumbent governor, and ran a flawed campaign.

Candidates

, businesswoman *

, incumbent governor

Results

Democratic primary

In the Democratic primary, 1990 Democratic gubernatorial nominee and former Phoenix Mayor

Terry Goddard Samuel Pearson Goddard III (born January 29, 1947) is an American attorney and politician. He served as the Mayor of Phoenix from 1984 to 1990, on the Central Arizona Water Conservation District from 2001 to 2003 and as the 24th Attorney General ...

attempted to seek the Democratic nomination once again, but was challenged by Paul Johnson, who was also a former Mayor of Phoenix, and Arizona Board of Regents member

, more famous for his involvement with the grocery store chain

Bashas' Bashas' is a family-owned grocery store chain, primarily located in Arizona, with two locations outside the state in Crownpoint, New Mexico, and Shiprock, New Mexico. Its headquarters are in unincorporated Maricopa County, Arizona, near Chan ...

. In the primary held on September 13, Basha defeated Goddard by a very small margin, with Johnson receiving a sizable level of support as well.

Candidates

, Arizona Board of Regents and businessman *

, former Mayor of Phoenix and 1990 Democratic gubernatorial nominee * Paul Johnson, former Mayor of Phoenix

Results

General election

Following the 1990 election, in which a

run-off election The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resu ...

was held in order to deter the possibility of a candidate winning with less than a plurality of all of the votes cast, as was the case with the 1986 election in which

Evan Mecham Evan Mecham ( ; May 12, 1924 – February 21, 2008) was an American businessman and the 17th governor of Arizona, serving from January 5, 1987, until his impeachment conviction on April 4, 1988. A decorated veteran of World War II, Mecham was a ...

was elected with only 39.96% of the vote, the 1994 election did not have a runoff. This was due to a measure that was approved by voters to eliminate the runoff system, which was marred by a longer than usual campaign and issues surrounding the date of when the runoff should be held.

Results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arizona Gubernatorial Election, 1994

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

1994 United States gubernatorial elections

Gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...