2002 Tennessee gubernatorial election
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| Turnout | 50.40%  [1] 17.87 pp | ||||||||||||||||
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  Bredesen: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Hilleary: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Tennessee |
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 Government |
The 2002 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2002, to elect the next governor of Tennessee, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican governor Don Sundquist was term-limited and was prohibited by the Constitution of Tennessee from seeking a third consecutive term. To succeed him, former Democratic Nashville Mayor Phil Bredesen, who had run against Sundquist in 1994, narrowly defeated Republican United States Congressman Van Hilleary in the general election.
With this win, Bredesen flipped the state back into Democratic control, with the state legislature also being controlled by Democrats.
Republican primary
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- Van Hilleary, Representative from Tennessee's 4th congressional district
- Jim Henry, former Minority Leader of the Tennessee House of Representatives
- Bob Tripp
- Dave Kelley
- Jessie D. McDonald
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Van Hilleary | 343,543 | 64.31% | |
| Republican | Jim Henry | 159,862 | 29.92% | |
| Republican | Bob Tripp | 17,156 | 3.21% | |
| Republican | Dave Kelley | 8,581 | 1.61% | |
| Republican | Jessie D. McDonald | 4,682 | 0.88% | |
| Republican | Write-ins | 389 | 0.07% | |
| Total votes | 534,213 | 100.00% | ||
Democratic primary
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- Phil Bredesen, former mayor of Nashville, 1994 Democratic nominee for governor
- Randy Nichols, Knox County district attorney general
- Charles E. Smith, former Tennessee commissioner of education
- Charles V. Brown
- L. Best
- Floyd R. Conover
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Phil Bredesen | 426,418 | 79.05% | |
| Democratic | Randy Nichols | 38,322 | 7.10% | |
| Democratic | Charles E. Smith | 34,547 | 6.40% | |
| Democratic | Charles V. Brown | 17,506 | 3.25% | |
| Democratic | L. Best | 16,007 | 2.97% | |
| Democratic | Floyd R. Conover | 6,218 | 1.15% | |
| Democratic | Write-ins | 420 | 0.08% | |
| Total votes | 539,438 | 100.00% | ||
General election
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Major
[edit]- Phil Bredesen (D)
- Van Hilleary (R)
- Edwin C. Sanders (I)
- Carl Two Feathers Whitaker (I)
- John Jay Hooker (I)
- David Gatchell (I)
- Gabriel Givens (I)
- Ray Ledford (I)
- James E. Herren (I)
- Charles V. Wilhoit Jr. (I)
- Marivuana Stout Leinoff (I)
- Francis E. Waldron (I)
- Ronny Simmons (I)
- Robert O. Watson (I)
- Basil Marceaux (I)
Predictions
[edit]| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[4] | Tossup | October 31, 2002 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[5] | Lean D (flip) | November 4, 2002 |
Polling
[edit]| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Phil Bredesen (D) |
Van Hilleary (R) |
Other / Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA[6] | October 26–28, 2002 | 726 (LV) | ± 3.8% | 48% | 44% | 8% |
Results
[edit]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Phil Bredesen | 837,284 | 50.65% | +21.17% | |
| Republican | Van Hilleary | 786,803 | 47.59% | −21.03% | |
| Independent | Edwin C. Sanders | 7,749 | 0.47% | N/A | |
| Independent | Carl Two Feathers Whitaker | 5,308 | 0.32% | N/A | |
| Independent | John Jay Hooker | 4,577 | 0.28% | N/A | |
| Independent | David Gatchell | 2,991 | 0.18% | N/A | |
| Independent | Gabriel Givens | 1,591 | 0.10% | N/A | |
| Independent | Ray Ledford | 1,589 | 0.10% | N/A | |
| Independent | James E. Herren | 1,210 | 0.07% | N/A | |
| Independent | Charles V. Wilhoit, Jr. | 898 | 0.05% | N/A | |
| Independent | Marivuana Stout Leinoff | 645 | 0.04% | N/A | |
| Independent | Francis E. Waldron | 635 | 0.04% | N/A | |
| Independent | Ronny Simmons | 630 | 0.04% | N/A | |
| Independent | Robert O. Watson | 579 | 0.04% | N/A | |
| Independent | Basil Marceaux | 302 | 0.02% | N/A | |
| Write-ins | 376 | 0.02% | N/A | ||
| Total votes | 1,653,167 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | |||||
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
[edit]- Knox (Largest city: Knoxville)
- Cocke (Largest city: Newport)
- Anderson (Largest city: Oak Ridge)
- Carroll (Largest city: McKenzie)
- Cheatham (Largest city: Ashland City)
- Coffee (Largest city: Tullahoma)
- Dyer (Largest city: Dyersburg)
- Maury (Largest city: Columbia)
- Meigs (Largest city: Decatur)
- Montgomery (Largest city: Clarksville)
- Morgan (Largest city: Coalfield)
- Obion (Largest city: Union City)
- Polk (Largest city: Benton)
- Putnam (Largest city: Cookeville)
- Roane (Largest city: Oak Ridge)
- Sequatchie (Largest city: Dunlap)
- Bedford (Largest city: Shelbyville)
- Campbell (Largest city: LaFollette)
- Cannon (Largest city: Woodbury)
- Crockett (Largest city: Bells)
- Decatur (Largest city: Parsons)
- DeKalb (Largest city: Smithville)
- Dickson (Largest city: Dickson)
- Franklin (Largest city: Winchester)
- Gibson (Largest city: Humboldt)
- Giles (Largest city: Pulaski)
- Henry (Largest city: Paris)
- Hickman (Largest city: Centerville)
- Lewis (Largest city: Hohenwald)
- Marion (Largest city: Jasper)
- Marshall (Largest city: Lewisburg)
- Robertson (Largest city: Springfield)
- Warren (Largest city: McMinnville)
- White (Largest city: Sparta)
- Benton (largest municipality: Camden)
- Clay (largest municipality: Celina)
- Grundy (largest municipality: Altamont)
- Lauderdale (largest municipality: Ripley)
- Overton (largest municipality: Livingston)
- Perry (largest municipality: Linden)
- Smith (largest municipality: Carthage)
- Stewart (largest municipality: Dover)
- Trousdale (largest municipality: Hartsville)
- Haywood (largest city: Brownsville)
- Shelby (largest city: Memphis)
- Davidson (largest city: Nashville)
- Houston (largest city: Erin)
- Jackson (largest town: Gainesboro)
- Hardeman (largest city: Bolivar)
- Rhea (Largest city: Dayton)
See also
[edit]- 2002 United States gubernatorial elections
- 2002 United States Senate election in Tennessee
- 2002 Tennessee elections
Notes
[edit]- ^ Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear
References
[edit]- ^ "Tennessee Voter Turnout in 2002". Tennessee Secretary of State. November 5, 2002. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- ^ "August 1, 2002, Republican Primary: Governor" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
- ^ "August 1, 2002, Democratic Primary: Governor" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
- ^ "Governor Updated October 31, 2002 | The Cook Political Report". The Cook Political Report. October 31, 2002. Archived from the original on December 8, 2002. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ "Governors Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on December 12, 2002. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ SurveyUSA
- ^ "November 5, 2002, General Election: Governor" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
External links
[edit]Official campaign websites (Archived)