A 'two-fisted, three-party State': Utah's 1992 U.S. senate race

Update Item Information
Publication Type thesis
School or College College of Humanities
Department History
Author Cox, Carl Jonathan
Title A 'two-fisted, three-party State': Utah's 1992 U.S. senate race
Date 2011-08
Description In the 1992 United States Senate election, Utah continued its strong trend toward conservatism. Since the 1960s, Utahns identified themselves predominantly with the Republican Party. This ideological transformation occurred in conjunction with a significant population shift from urban areas to suburban communities, growing conservative strongholds in Utah politics. Traditional urban versus rural tension continued, but a decrease in rural residents limited its importance, particularly in general elections. With Utahns joining the conservative movement in large numbers, Republican Bob Bennett, a candidate with no previous elected experience, easily defeated four-term Democratic Congressman Wayne Owens in the 1992 U.S. Senate election. The most competitive contest in this race occurred in the Republican primary rather than the general election, a trend demonstrating the increasingly conservative nature of the state. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were key to potential change. They constituted two-thirds of the state's population in 1992. These were the rank and file of the conservative movement in the state. As Mormons turned to social conservatives and settled into homogenous suburbs, Republicans gained an electoral advantage that proved almost insurmountable for Democrats.
Type Text
Publisher University of Utah
Subject Elections
Dissertation Institution University of Utah
Dissertation Name Master of Arts
Language eng
Rights Management © Carl Jonathan Cox
Format Medium application/pdf
Format Extent 3,749,979 bytes
Identifier us-etd3,43700
Source original in Marriott Library Special Collections ; JS46.5 2011 .C69
ARK ark:/87278/s65x2qq7
Setname ir_etd
ID 194757
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s65x2qq7