Governor Bangerter consistently trailed in the polls behind Democrat Ted Wilson until near election day. This was due to his unpopular tax increases that spawned a protest movement against his policies, resulting in three tax ballot measures installed, and independent candidate Merrill Cook championing in support of them.[1] Bangerter justified the increases due to the regional recession in Utah caused by declining energy commodity prices in 1986 to 1987, which caused mining employment to fall by 60%, and construction by 30%. Two major companies, Geneva Steel and Kennecott Copper, had to be closed temporarily. Combined with rapid raising school enrollments, Bangerter was forced to raise taxes to counter the declining state budget.[2] Nevertheless, by election day, polls had shown that Bangerter had closed the near 20–30-point lead Wilson had just three weeks earlier, with previous governor Scott Matheson attributing it to his well received debate performance. In the early morning the day after the election, Bangerter was declared the winner with around 40% of the popular vote.[1]
Governor Bangerter descended from his hotel room around 3:15 am, the morning after election day, to greet reporters and a small group of 40 "cheerful" supporters in the hotel's banquet room upon receiving a concession call from Ted Wilson. In a speech, Bangerter declared that "This morning we start bringing the state back together on an agenda that will move us into the 1990s."[1]
All three of the tax protest ballot initiatives were defeated, with their biggest supporter, independent candidate Merrill Cook, stating: "I'm conceding the race, but I'm not conceding the fight."[24] Cook would run for governor as an independent again in the 1992 gubernatorial election.
Democrats, who thought Wilson would win easily, were astounded by the stunning upset, and had trouble explaining the loss. Former Democratic governor Scott Matheson was asked why he thought Wilson lost: "That is an intriguing question we will be talking about for years. There are so many factors, the matter of a strong independent candidate, the presence of the tax initiatives which took attention away from the regular races. But we can't dismiss the fact we live in a strong Republican state where it is difficult for Democrats to win and that Ted Wilson was running against an incumbent who had the advantage of using the power of incumbency to make his case to the people."[1]
Bangerter would later announce in November 1990 that he would not see a third time and would retire to private life.[2]
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