Chris Peterson (Utah)
Chris Peterson (Democratic Party) ran for election for Governor of Utah. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Peterson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.
On April 20, 2020, Peterson announced that he chose Karina Andelin Brown as his running mate.[1]
Biography
Chris Peterson was born in West Valley City, Utah. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Utah in 1998 and a J.D. from the University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law, in 2001.[2]
Elections
2020
See also: Utah gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2020
Utah gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2020 (June 30 Republican primary)
General election
General election for Governor of Utah
The following candidates ran in the general election for Governor of Utah on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Spencer Cox (R) | 63.0 | 918,754 |
 | Chris Peterson (D)  | 30.3 | 442,754 | |
 | Daniel Cottam (L) | 3.5 | 51,393 | |
 | Gregory Duerden (Independent American Party of Utah) | 1.8 | 25,810 | |
 | Madeline Kazantzis (Independent) (Write-in) | 1.3 | 18,988 | |
 | Kristena Conlin (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.1 | 937 | |
 | Richard Whitney (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 230 | |
| Tyler Batty (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 12 | |
| Total votes: 1,458,878 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Utah
Spencer Cox defeated Jon Huntsman, Gregory Hughes, and Thomas Wright in the Republican primary for Governor of Utah on June 30, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Spencer Cox | 36.1 | 190,565 |
 | Jon Huntsman | 34.9 | 184,246 | |
 | Gregory Hughes | 21.0 | 110,835 | |
 | Thomas Wright | 7.9 | 41,532 | |
| Total votes: 527,178 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jan Garbett (R)
Democratic convention
Democratic convention for Governor of Utah
The following candidates ran in the Democratic convention for Governor of Utah on April 25, 2020.
Candidate | ||
 | Neil Hansen (D) | |
| Ryan Jackson (D) | |
 | Zachary Moses (D) | |
| ✔ | | Chris Peterson (D) |
 | Nikki Pino (D) | |
 | Archie Williams III (D) | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican convention
Republican Convention for Governor of Utah
The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Gregory Hughes in round 6 , and Spencer Cox in round 6 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.
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Total votes: 3,579 |
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
Campaign advertisements
On October 20, 2020, Peterson and Cox released two joint ads in which they spoke about civility and transfer of power.
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Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Chris Peterson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Peterson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Chris Peterson is a fifth-generation Utahn and a law professor. He was raised by a disabled, single-mother in West Valley City. Following graduation from law school, Peterson worked as a law clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. He then moved to Washington D.C. to work as a consumer rights attorney for a non-profit on Capitol Hill. Then he began his teaching career as a law professor at the University of Florida. After publishing an award-winning book and numerous scholarly articles, he returned to Utah to teach at his alma mater, the University of Utah.
After the financial crisis of 2008, Peterson helped build the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau-a federal agency dedicated to ensuring banks and other financial businesses treat customers fairly. Peterson's team stopped illegal practices by Wall Street banks, payday lenders, and debt collectors, returning nearly $12 billion in restitution to working Americans. Peterson also served at Department of Defense where he helped lead the Pentagon's efforts to prevent predatory lending to military families.
Chris lives in Salt Lake City with his wife and three wonderful children. The Petersons enjoy hiking, camping, and skiing in Utah's majestic outdoors.
- Ensuring quality education for our children: Every student deserves a quality education. The Utah Constitution established a permanent school fund to guarantee that all Utah children would have access to the best possible education. But, too often our government has failed to use and develop this fund to provide the resources our kids need. I will work to bring more resources to Utah's K-12 schools and to make higher education better and more accessible. Utah should build the best public education system in America.
- Standing up for Utah's workers: Workers deserve good jobs, fair wages, and humane working conditions. Too many Utahns work hard, but cannot keep up with the rising cost of housing, health care, and other expenses. I will fight to ensure that Utah's economy works for working families.
- Responsible environmental stewardship and clean air. The Wasatch Front has some of the poorest air quality in the nation. Our children, families, and businesses need clean air to thrive. I will fight to reduce air pollution and transition to a clean energy future. Our national and state parks, forests, and wilderness areas are a heritage we should preserve for all. At the same time we must work together to ensure that familiy farms and ranches succeed in a changing economy.
Safeguarding consumer rights: Every Utahn deserves to be treated with honesty and fairness in organizing their finances. Utah government has a responsibility to ensure that predatory businesses do not prey on working families. And honest businesses deserve a marketplace that is free from unfair competition.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Salt Lake Tribune, "Democratic governor candidate Chris Peterson announces running mate," April 20, 2020
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 25, 2020
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