2002 United States gubernatorial elections
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Governorships of AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IA, KS, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, WI, and WY | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results: Republican holds Republican pickups Democratic holds Democratic pickups | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Although Republicans made some gains from Democrats, Democrats increased their overall number of governorships.
Democratic gains
- Arizona - State Attorney General Janet Napolitano won an open seat held by term-limited Gov. Jane Dee Hull
- Illinois - Representative Rod Blagojevich won an open seat held by retring Gov. George H. Ryan, becoming the first Democratic governor since 1972.
- Kansas - State Insurance Commissioner Kathleen Sebelius won an open seat held by term-limited Gov. Bill Graves
- Maine - Representative John Baldacci won an open seat held by Independent term-limited Gov. Angus King
- Michigan - State Attorney General Jennifer Granholm won an open seat held by term-limited Gov. John Engler
- New Mexico - Former U.S. Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson won an open seat held by term-limited Gov. Gary E. Johnson
- Oklahoma - State Sen. Brad Henry won an open seat held by term-limited Gov. Frank Keating
- Pennsylvania - Former Mayor of Philadelphia and DNC Chairman Ed Rendell won an open seat held by retring Gov. Mark Schweiker
- Tennessee - Former Nashville Mayor Phil Bredesen won an open seat held by term-limited Gov. Don Sundquist
- Wisconsin - State Attorney General Jim Doyle defeated incumbent Gov. Scott McCallum
- Wyoming - U.S. Attorney Dave Freudenthal won an open seat held by term-limited Gov. Jim Geringer
Republican gains
- Alabama - Representative Bob Riley narrowly defeated incumbent Gov. Don Siegelman
- Alaska - U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski won an open seat held by term-limited Gov. Tony Knowles
- Georgia - Sonny Perdue defeated incumbent Gov. Roy Barnes and became first GOP Governor in Georgia since 1870s
- Hawaii - Linda Lingle won an open seat held by term-limited Gov. Benjamin Cayetano, becoming the first Republican Governor since 1962.
- South Carolina - Representative Mark Sanford defeated incumbent Gov. Jim Hodges
- Maryland - Representative Robert Ehrlich won an open seat held by term-limited Gov. Parris Glendening, becoming the first Republican Governor since Spiro Agnew in 1966.
- Minnesota - State House Majority Leader Tim Pawlenty won an open seat held by retring Independent Gov. Jesse Ventura in difficult, three-way (GOP, DFL and IMP) race
- New Hampshire - Craig Benson won an open seat held by retring Gov. Jeanne Shaheen
- Vermont - State Treasurer Jim Douglas won an open seat held by retring Gov. Howard Dean
Election results
A bolded state name features an article about the specific election.
| State | Incumbent | Party | Status | Opposing Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Don Siegelman | Democratic | Defeated, 49.0% | Bob Riley (Republican) 49.2% John Sophocleus (Libertarian) 1.7% |
| Alaska | Tony Knowles | Democratic | Term-Limited, Republican victory | Frank Murkowski (Republican) 55.8% Fran Ulmer (Democratic) 40.7% Diane E. Benson (Green) 1.3% Don Wright (Alaskan Indep.) Raymond VinZant (Rep. Mod.) 0.7% Billy Toien (Libertarian) 0.5% |
| Arizona | Jane Dee Hull | Republican | Term-Limited, Democratic victory | Janet Napolitano (Democratic) 46.2% Matt Salmon (Republican) 45.2% Richard Mahoney (Independent) 6.9% Barry Hess (Libertarian) 1.7% |
| Arkansas | Mike Huckabee | Republican | Re-elected, 53% | Jimmie Lou Fisher (Democratic) 46% |
| California | Gray Davis | Democratic | Re-elected, 47.4% | Bill Simon (Republican) 42.4% Peter Camejo (Green) 5.3% Gary Copeland (Libertarian) 2.2% Reinhold Gulke (American Ind.) 1.7% Iris Adam (Natural Law) 1.1% |
| Colorado | Bill Owens | Republican | Re-elected, 62.6% | Rollie Heath (Democratic) 33.7% Ronald Forthofer (Green) 2.3% Ralph Shnelvar (Libertarian) 1% |
| Connecticut | John G. Rowland | Republican | Re-elected, 56.1% | Bill Curry (Democratic) 43.9% |
| Florida | Jeb Bush | Republican | Re-elected, 56% | Bill McBride (Democratic) 43.1% |
| Georgia | Roy Barnes | Democratic | Defeated, 46.3% | Sonny Perdue (Republican) 51.4% Garrett Hayes (Libertarian) 2.3% |
| Hawaii | Benjamin Cayetano | Democratic | Term-Limited, Republican victory | Linda Lingle (Republican) 51.6% Mazie Hirono (Democratic) 47% Kau`i Hill (Natural Law) 0.7% Tracy Ryan (Libertarian) 0.4% Jim Brewer (Independent) 0.3% |
| Idaho | Dirk Kempthorne | Republican | Re-elected, 56.3% | Jerry Brady (Democratic) 41.7% Daniel Adams (Libertarian) 2% |
| Illinois | George Ryan | Republican | Retired, Democratic victory | Rod Blagojevich (Democratic) 52.2% Jim Ryan (Republican) 45.1% Cal Skinner (Libertarian) 2.1% |
| Iowa | Tom Vilsack | Democratic | Re-elected, 52.7% | Doug Gross (Republican) 44.5% Jay Robinson (Green) 1.4% Clyde Cleveland (Libertarian) 1.3% |
| Kansas | Bill Graves | Republican | Term-Limited, Democratic victory | Kathleen Sebelius (Democratic) 52.9% Tim Shallenburger (Republican) 45.1% Ted Pettibone (Reform) 1.1% Dennis Hawver (Libertarian) 1.0% |
| Maine | Angus King | Independent | Term-Limited, Democratic victory | John Baldacci (Democratic) 47.2% Peter Cianchette (Republican) 41.5% Jonathan Carter (Green) 9.3% John Michael (Independent) 2.1% |
| Maryland | Parris Glendening | Democratic | Term-Limited, Republican victory | Robert Ehrlich (Republican) 51.6% Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (Democratic) 47.7% Spear Lancaster (Libertarian) 0.7% |
| Massachusetts | Jane Swift | Republican | Not running for governor, Republican victory | Mitt Romney (Republican) 49.8% Shannon O'Brien (Democratic) 44.9% Jill Stein (G-R) 3.5% Carla Howell (Libertarian) 1.1% Barbara Johnson (Independent) 0.7% |
| Michigan | John Engler | Republican | Term-Limited, Democratic victory | Jennifer Granholm (Democratic) 51.4% Dick Posthumus (Republican) 47.4% Douglas Campell (Green) 0.8% Joseph Pilchak (U.S. Taxpayers) 0.4% |
| Minnesota | Jesse Ventura | Reform Party/Independence | Retired, Republican victory | Tim Pawlenty (Republican) 44.4% Roger Moe (Democratic) 36.5% Tim Penny (Independence) 16.2% Ken Pentel (Green) 2.3% Kari Sachs (Socialist Workers) 0.1% Lawrence Aeshliman (Constitution) 0.1% |
| Nebraska | Mike Johanns | Republican | Re-elected, 68.9% | Stormy Dean (Democratic) 27.5% Paul Rosberg (Nebraska) 3.8% |
| Nevada | Kenny Guinn | Republican | Re-elected, 68.3% | Joseph Neal (Democratic) 22% None of the above 4.7% Dick Geyer (Libertarian) 1.6% David Holmgren (Indep. American) 1.4% Jerry Norton (Independent) 1.1% Charles Laws (Green) 1% |
| New Hampshire | Jeanne Shaheen | Democratic | Retired, Republican victory | Craig Benson (Republican) 58.6% Mark Fernald (Democratic) 38.2% John Babiarz (Libertarian) 2.9% |
| New Mexico | Gary E. Johnson | Republican | Term-Limited, Democratic victory | Bill Richardson (Democratic) 55.5% John Sanchez (Republican) 34.9% David Bacon (Green) 5.5% |
| New York | George Pataki | Republican, Conservative | Re-elected, 49.4% | Carl McCall (Democratic), (Working Families 33.5% Thomas Golisano) (Independence) 14.3% Gerard J. Cronin (Right to Life) 0.9% Stanley Aronowitz (Green) 0.9% Thomas K. Leighton (Marijuana Reform) 0.5% Andrew M. Cuomo (Liberal) 0.3% Scott Jeffrey (Libertarian) 0.1%% |
| Ohio | Bob Taft | Republican | Re-elected, 57.7% | Tim Hagan (Democratic) 38.3% John Eastman (Independent) 3.9% |
| Oklahoma | Frank Keating | Republican | Term-Limited, Democratic victory | Brad Henry (Democratic) 43.3% Steve Largent (Republican) 42.6% Gary Richardson (Independent) 14.1% |
| Oregon | John Kitzhaber | Democratic | Term-Limited, Democratic victory | Ted Kulongoski (Democratic) 49% Kevin Mannix (Republican) 46.1% Tom Cox (Libertarian) 4.58% |
| Pennsylvania | Mark Schweiker | Republican | Not running for governor, Democratic victory | Ed Rendell (Democratic) 53.4% Mike Fisher (Republican) 44.4% Ken Krawchuk (Libertarian) 1.3% Michael Morrill (Green) 1.2% |
| Rhode Island | Lincoln C. Almond | Republican | Term-Limited, Republican victory | Donald Carcieri (Republican) 54.8% Myrth York (Democratic) 45.2% |
| South Carolina | Jim Hodges | Democratic | Defeated, 47.1% | Mark Sanford (Republican) 52.9% |
| South Dakota | Bill Janklow | Republican | Term-Limited, Republican victory | Mike Rounds (Republican) 56.8% Jim Abbott (Democratic) 41.9% James Carlson (Independent) 0.7% Nathan Barton (Libertarian) 0.6% |
| Tennessee | Don Sundquist | Republican | Term-Limited, Democratic victory | Phil Bredesen (Democratic) 50.7% Van Hilleary (Republican) 47.6% |
| Texas | Rick Perry | Republican | Re-elected, 57.8% | Tony Sanchez (Democratic) 40% Jeff Daiell (Libertarian) 1.4% Rahul Mahajan (Green) 1% |
| Vermont | Howard Dean | Democratic | Retired, Republican victory | Jim Douglas (Republican) 44.9% Doug Racine (Democratic) 42.4% Cornelius Hogan (Independent) 9.7% Cris Ericson (Make Marijuana Legal) 0.8% Michael Badamo (VT Progressive) 0.6% Joel Williams (Libertarian) 0.4% Patricia Hejny (VT Grassroots) 0.3% Marilynn Christian (Restore Justice-Freedom) 0.3% Pete Diamondstone (Liberty Union) 0.3% |
| Wisconsin | Scott McCallum | Republican | Defeated, 41.4% | Jim Doyle (Democratic) 45.1% Ed Thompson (Libertarian) 10.5% Jim Young (Green) 2.5% |
| Wyoming | Jim Geringer | Republican | Term-Limited, Democratic victory | Dave Freudenthal (Democratic) 50% Eli Bebout (Republican) 47.9% Dave Dawson (Libertarian) 2.12% |