2002 Michigan gubernatorial election
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The Michigan gubernatorial election of 2002 was one of the 36 United States gubernatorial elections held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican John Engler, after serving three terms, had stepped down and was not running; his lieutenant governor Dick Posthumus, also a Republican, ran in his place. Jennifer Granholm, then Attorney General of Michigan, ran on the Democratic Party ticket. Douglas Campbell ran on the Green Party ticket, and Joseph M. Pilchak[1] ran on the Constitution Party[2] ticket.
Granholm won with 51% of the vote, followed by Posthumus' 48%, Campbell with 1%, and Pilchak with less than 1%.[3][4] This made Granholm the first female Michigan governor and the first Democratic governor of Michigan in 12 years.[5]
Republican Primary
With incumbent Gov. John Engler barred from seeking a fourth term due to term-limits,[6] Posthumus, Michigan's lieutenant governor, was considered the overwhelming favorite for the Republican nomination. Following his primary win, Posthumus selected state Sen. Loren Bennett as his running mate.[7]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dick Posthumus | 474,804 | 81.39 | |
| Republican | Joe Schwarz | 108,581 | 18.61 | |
| Total votes | 583,385 | 100.00 | ||
Jim Moody created a candidate committee and filed a Statement of Organization, but did not submit sufficient ballot-access petition signatures to be included on the 2002 primary ballot.[9]
Democratic Primary
The Democratic Party was a competitive, three-way race with between state Attorney General Jennifer Granholm, former Gov. Jim Blanchard (who was upset by Engler in 1990) and former House Minority Whip David Bonior.
Granholm was accused in the 2002 Democratic primary of several allegations of cronyism while working as Wayne County Corporation Counsel. Her husband, Daniel Mulhern, had received several contracts for his leadership training company shortly after Granholm left her position as a Wayne County Corporation Counsel in 1998. He received nearly $300,000 worth of contracts, despite being the highest bidder for one of those contracts. Opponents criticized Granholm supporters for engaging in cronyism and giving contracts to her husband immediately after leaving county employment. Granholm and her supporters responded that no ethical violations occurred and that Mulhern had earned the contracts on his own merits.[10]
Granholm was the first woman ever nominated by a major party to be Michigan governor.[11] Following her primary victory, Granholm chose state Sen. John Cherry as her running mate.[7]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jennifer Graholm | 499,129 | 47.69 | |
| Democratic | David Bonior | 292,958 | 27.99 | |
| Democratic | James Blanchard | 254,586 | 24.32 | |
| Total votes | 1,046,673 | 100.00 | ||
Minor Parties
Candidates
Green Party
The Green Party of Michigan nominated Douglas Campbell. Campbell, a registered professional engineer and published Atheist from Ferndale, joined the Green party upon learning of its existence in 2000,[12] and was the Wayne-Oakland-Macomb county campaign coordinator for Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader, 2000.[13] During the 2002 campaign he claimed he was beaten, arrested and jailed (in Brighton, Michigan) for attempting to participate in a gubernatorial debate from which he was excluded, at the time being the only candidate who was not either a Republican or Democrat.[14]
United States Taxpayers Party (Constitution Party)
Capac resident Joseph Pilchak was nominated by convention to be the U.S. Taxpayers Party candidate for Governor of Michigan. He was the U.S. Taxpayers Party candidate for U.S. Representative from Michigan 10th District in 2000.[1] The Michigan US Taxpayers' Party is affiliated with the United States Constitution Party,[15] but Michigan election law does not provide a mechanism for changing the name of a political party.[16]
General Election campaign
Posthumus, who had been previous Governor Engler's Lieutenant Governor, ran his general election campaign promising to maintain the Engler legacy of lower taxes, more jobs and better schools.[17]
Granholm promised change, running as a tough crime-fighter and consumer advocate. Granholm criticized the Engler administration for coming into office with a budget surplus and leaving with a deficit.[17]
Kilpatrick memo controversy
In the biggest event of the election, Posthumus released a memo from Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick asking for more appointments for blacks and jobs for Detroit contractors in a Granholm administration. Posthumus pointed to the memo as an example of Democratic Party corruption. Granholm, however, denied ever receiving the memo and said she wouldn't have agreed to it anyway. She said Posthumus was trying to be racially divisive.[17]
Election results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jennifer Granholm | 1,633,796 | 51.42% | +13.64% | |
| Republican | Dick Posthumus | 1,506,104 | 47.40% | −14.81% | |
| Green | Douglas Campbell | 25,236 | 0.79% | ||
| Constitution | Joseph Pilchak | 12,411 | 0.39% | ||
| Write-ins | 18 | 0.00% | |||
| Majority | 127,692 | 4.02% | −20.41% | ||
| Turnout | 3,177,565 | ||||
Results by County
| County | Granholm | Votes | Posthumus | Votes | Others | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcona | 47.20% | 2,165 | 52.04% | 2,387 | 0.76% | 35 |
| Alger | 52.59% | 1,855 | 46.02% | 1,623 | 1.36% | 49 |
| Allegan | 36.66% | 12,772 | 62.28% | 21,695 | 0.11% | 369 |
| Alpena | 56.95% | 6,391 | 42.52% | 4,722 | 0.98% | 110 |
| Antrim | 39.67% | 3,752 | 58.96% | 5,576 | 1.36% | 129 |
| Arenac | 51.14% | 2,821 | 47.34% | 2,611 | 1.52% | 84 |
| Baraga | 50.93% | 1,263 | 47.18% | 1,170 | 1.90% | 47 |
| Barry | 40.15% | 8,136 | 58.93% | 11,983 | 0.92% | 187 |
| Bay | 53.29% | 21,190 | 45.27% | 18,001 | 1.43% | 568 |
| Benzie | 45.83 | 3,036 | 52.53% | 3,480 | 1.65% | 109 |
| Berrien | 41.85% | 17,094 | 57.24% | 23,278 | 0.91% | 373 |
| Branch | 45.04% | 5,001 | 54.14% | 6,012 | 0.82% | 9 |
| Calhoun | 52.59% | 21,298 | 46.40% | 18,789 | 1.01% | 409 |
| Cass | 45.10% | 5,741 | 53.77% | 6,845 | 1.12% | 143 |
| Charlevoix | 39.89% | 3,836 | 58.31% | 5,608 | 1.80% | 173 |
| Cheboygan | 43.29% | 4,107 | 55.53% | 5,268 | 1.18% | 112 |
| Chippewa | 49.81% | 5,428 | 49.16% | 5,357 | 1.04% | 113 |
| Clare | 50.05% | 4,719 | 48.56% | 4,578 | 1.39% | 131 |
| Clinton | 46.39% | 12,070 | 52.61% | 13,711 | 1.07% | 279 |
| Crawford | 45.65% | 2,233 | 52.45% | 2,566 | 1.90% | 93 |
| Delta | 50.37% | 6,862 | 48.37% | 6,590 | 1.26% | 172 |
| Dickinson | 46.47% | 3,882 | 52.17% | 4,358 | 1.35% | 113 |
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References
- ^ a b The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/pikiel-pinchot.html
- ^ The Constitution Party is still on the Michigan ballot as the United States Taxpayers' Party in Michigan. Although the party changed its name in 1999, the Michigan Bureau of Elections does not provide any mechanism for a political party changing its name.
- ^ CNN.com Election 2002 – Governor. CNN.
- ^ 2002 Official Michigan General Election Results – Governor 4 Year Term (1) Position Archived 2014-01-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Christian, Nichole M.; Cushman Jr, John H.; Day, Sherri; Dillon, Sam; Lewis, Neil A.; Pear, Robert; Pristin, Terry; Shenon, Philip; Steinberg, Jacques; Wayne, Leslie (7 November 2002). "THE 2002 ELECTIONS: MIDWEST; MICHIGAN". NYT. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
- ^ Associated Press (September 5, 2001). "Its (finally) official: Posthumus enters race for governor". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
- ^ a b Associated Press (August 23, 2002). "Mich. Candidate Chooses Running Mate". The Edwardsville Intelligencer. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
- ^ a b http://miboecfr.nictusa.com/election/results/02PRI/02000000.html
- ^ [1], Michigan Bureau of Elections, Committee Statement of Organization #510903
- ^ Selweski, Chad (January 13, 2002). "Granholm supporters helped her husband secure Wayne County contracts". Macomb Daily. Archived from the original on June 29, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-13.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Longest-serving member of House wins fight of career. USA Today. Accessed 15 February 2009.
- ^ Greens, US. "Green Party Speakers Bureau". gp.org (website).
- ^ "Bio: Douglas Campbell". 2006-10-09. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Campbell, Douglas (2002-05-21). "Thinking Politically (Letter from the Brighton Jail)". Synthesis/Regeneration 29 (Fall 2002).
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ The Constitution Party was founded as the U.S. Taxpayers' Party in 1992. The national party's name was changed to the Constitution Party in 1999.
- ^ U.S. Taxpayers and Constitution Party of Michigan. "Gubernatorial Debate – Part II Bhagwan (Bob) Dashairya Enters Michigan Governor's Race " Archived 2007-02-17 at the Wayback Machine. ustaxpayersandconstitutionpartymi.com (website).
- ^ a b c Granholm becomes Michigan's first female governor. USA Today. (Associated Press). Accessed 15 February 2009.
- ^ http://miboecfr.nicusa.com/election/results/02GEN/
