 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
 County results Rampton: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Strike: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Elections in Utah |
|---|
 |
The 1972 Utah gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1972. Democratic incumbent Cal Rampton defeated Republican nominee Nicholas L. Strike with 69.69% of the vote. Even as Incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon won the state with 67% of the vote on the same Ballot.
It is suggested that Rampton, as a moderate Democrat, was acceptable enough to Utah's Republican Party that in both the 1968 and 1972 elections, they put forward only token candidates.[1] By October 1972, Rampton was seen as very likely to win, with his election appearing "assured" according to The New York Times.[2]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Cal Rampton (incumbent) | 331,998 | 69.69% | ||
| Republican | Nicholas L. Strike | 144,449 | 30.31% | ||
| Majority | 187,549 | 39.38 | |||
| Turnout | 476,447 | ||||
| Democratic hold | Swing | ||||
