2012 Utah Attorney General election

2012 Utah Attorney General election

← 2008 November 6, 2012 2014 (sp) →
 
GOP
DEM
LIB
Nominee John Swallow Dee W. Smith W. Andrew McCullough
Party Republican Democratic Libertarian
Popular vote 638,492 295,317 53,018
Percentage 64.70% 29.93% 5.37%

Swallow:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Smith:      40–50%

Attorney General before election

Mark Shurtleff
Republican

Elected Attorney General

John Swallow
Republican

The 2012 Utah Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2012. Mark Shurtleff, incumbent Attorney General of Utah, elected to retire. Republican John Swallow won the election, defeating Weber County Attorney Dee W. Smith in a landslide. Swallow underperformed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in the concurrent presidential election by 13%. Swallow resigned less than a year into his term after investigations into improprieties.

General election

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Candidates

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  • John Swallow, Chief Deputy Attorney General for Utah and former state senator (Republican)
  • Dee W. Smith, Weber County Attorney (Democratic)[1]
  • W. Andrew McCullough, perennial candidate, Libertarian nominee for this office in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 (Libertarian)

Results

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2012 Utah Attorney General election[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican John Swallow 638,492 64.70% Decrease4.62
Democratic Dee W. Smith 295,317 29.93% Increase3.33
Libertarian W. Andrew McCullough 53,018 5.37% Increase1.29
Total votes 986,827 100.00% N/A
Republican hold

By congressional district

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Swallow won all four congressional districts, including one that elected a Democrat.[3]

District Swallow Smith McCullough Representative
1st 66% 29% 5% Rob Bishop
2nd 61% 33% 5% Chris Stewart
3rd 71% 24% 5% Jason Chaffetz
4th 60% 34% 6% Jim Matheson

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Dee W. Smith". Ballotpedia. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
  2. ^ "2012 General". Utah Voter Information. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
  3. ^ "utah 2012 ag-by-cd".