Utah Auditor election, 2016
|
← 2012
|
 |
June 2016 |
November 8, 2016 |
John Dougall (R) |
John Dougall (R) |
Governor and Lt. Governor Attorney General • Treasurer Down Ballot Auditor |
March 17, 2016 |
April 2016  /May 2016 |
June 28, 2016 |
September 9, 2016 |
November 8, 2016 |
TBD |
January 2, 2017 |
Utah held an election for Auditor on November 8, 2016.
Candidates
Mike Mitchell (D)
Accountant
John Dougall (R)
Incumbent State auditor since 2013
Jared Green (IAP)
Employee; Fedex Express, Napa Auto Parts
Results
Incumbent John Dougall defeated Mike Mitchell and Jared Green in the Utah auditor election.
| Utah Auditor, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  John Dougall Incumbent |
63.23% | 679,655 | |
| Democratic | Mike Mitchell | 30.66% | 329,621 | |
| Independent American Party | Jared Green | 6.11% | 65,690 | |
| Total Votes | 1,074,966 | |||
| Source: Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office-Elections | ||||
Context of the 2016 election
Primary elections
A primary election is an election in which voters select the candidate they believe should represent a political party in a general election. Primaries usually take place several months before a general election. In Utah, parties decide who may vote in their primaries. Registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters may vote in the Democratic primary. Only registered Republicans can vote in the Republican primary.[1]
Unlike the major parties in most states, those in Utah elect delegates who vote to nominate the party candidates at the state conventions without a primary election.[2] In order to receive the nomination at the convention, a candidate must secure at least 60 percent of the vote. If no candidate wins at least 60 percent, a primary election is held.[3]
Utah's primary elections took place on June 28, 2016. The Republican primary for governor was the only primary election on the ballot. No primary elections were held for state auditor, as all candidates were nominated at party conventions.
Incumbent John Dougall (R)
Dougall was first elected auditor in 2012, when he unseated incumbent Auditor Auston G. Johnson in the Republican primary by a seven point margin. He won the general election by a 35 percent margin. Prior to his election, Dougall had served in the state House since 2003; he stepped down to take the auditor post. He previously worked as an electrical engineer and businessman.
Party control in Utah
Utah state government has been under Republican trifecta control since as early as 1992. Additionally, all partisan state executive offices are also held by Republicans. The state has not seen a Democratic governor since Scott M. Matheson left office in 1985. Utah has not been represented by a Democrat in the U.S. Senate since 1977; the state's electoral college votes have gone to a Republican every presidential election since Lyndon B. Johnson (D) in 1964.[4]
A Democrat has not held the office of auditor in Utah since Sharp M. Larsen left office in 1969. Republicans have won election to the office by margins of at least 20 percent since 2000, with Republican Auston G. Johnson running unopposed in the 2000 general election.
Campaigns
Campaign finance
| John Dougall Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| Convention report | January 1, 2016 - April 13, 2016 | $0 | $27,359.43 | $(6,493.78) | $20,865.65 | ||||
| Primary report | April 14, 2016 - June 6, 2016 | $20,865.65 | $3,290.44 | $(2,060.50) | $22,095.59 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $30,649.87 | $(8,554.28) | ||||||||
| Mike Mitchell Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| Convention report | January 1, 2016 - April 13, 2016 | $0 | $725.00 | $(725.00) | $0 | ||||
| Primary report | April 14, 2016 - June 6, 2016 | $0 | $1,300.00 | $(19.75) | $1,280.25 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $2,025 | $(744.75) | ||||||||
| Jared Green Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| Convention report | January 1, 2016 - April 13, 2016 | $0 | $0 | $(0) | $0 | ||||
| Primary report | April 14, 2016 - June 6, 2016 | $0 | $0 | $(0) | $0 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $0 | $(0) | ||||||||
About the office
- See also: Utah State Auditor
The Utah State Auditor is an elected position in the Utah state government. The auditor is the chief watchdog for the state, providing independent audits of Utah's state and local governments. The auditor operates independently of any executive or administrative officers of the state.
Incumbent
The incumbent was Republican John Dougall. He first won election on November 6, 2012, and took office on January 7, 2013.
Qualifications Article VII, Section 3 of the Utah Constitution establishes the qualifications of the office:
|
Authority
The Office of State Auditor is established in Article VII, Section 1 of the state constitution.
Article VII, Section 1:
| The elective constitutional officers of the Executive Department shall consist of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, State Auditor, State Treasurer, and Attorney General... |
Elections
According to Article VII, Section 2 of the state constitution, Utah voters elect the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, treasurer, and auditor...
|
...every four years at the time and place of voting for members of the Legislature. The candidates respectively having the highest number of votes cast for the office voted for shall be elected. If two or more candidates have an equal and the highest number of votes for any one of the offices, the two houses of the Legislature at its next session shall elect by joint ballot one of those candidates for that office. |
- Per Article VII, Section 1, the newly elected auditor takes office beginning on the first Monday of January next after his election.
Full history
To view the electoral history dating back to 2000 for the office of Utah State Auditor, click [show] to expand the section. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2012 Incumbent Auston Johnson (R) ran for re-election in 2012 but lost in the primary. John Dougall (R) defeated Mark Sage (D) and Richard Proctor (C) in the November 6, 2012 general election.
On November 4, 2008, Auston Johnson won re-election to the office of Utah State Auditor. He defeated Clare Collard (D), Mike Stoddard (L) and Richard D. Proctor (C) in the general election.
2004 On November 2, 2004, Auston Johnson won re-election to the office of Utah State Auditor. He defeated Carlos Vasquez (D), Valerie S. Larsen (PC) and Mike Stoddard (L) in the general election.
2000 On November 7, 2000, Auston G. Johnson won re-election to the office of Utah State Auditor. He ran unopposed in the general election.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Utah Auditor. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
|
Utah government: |
Previous elections: |
Ballotpedia exclusives: |
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Voter Registration: Utah," accessed January 3, 2014
- ↑ In many states, the party nomination takes the form of an endorsement, with the nominee decided in the primary elections. In other states, the custom is for candidates who are defeated at the party convention to bow out of the race, though they are not required to do so, leaving the primary effectively a formality. Conversely, some states conduct conventions after the primary, making the nominating convention a formality.
- ↑ The Dallas Morning News, "Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch forced into primary fight," April 21, 2012
- ↑ National Records and Archives Administration, "Historical election results," accessed June 21, 2016
| ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||
