The 2002 Idaho gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002 to select the governor of the state of Idaho. Dirk Kempthorne, the Republican incumbent, defeated Democratic nominee Jerry Brady to win a second term, but the win was not nearly as overwhelming as Kempthorne's 1998 victory. This was the first Idaho gubernatorial election since 1978 in which the winner was of the same party as the incumbent president. This was the first time since 1962 that an incumbent Republican Governor of Idaho was re-elected.
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Kempthorne: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Brady: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Adams: 50–60% Tie: 40–50% 50% No Votes | |||||||||||||||||
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Republican primary
editCandidates
edit- Walter L. Bayes
- Milt Erhart, perennial candidate
- Raynelle J. George
- Dirk Kempthorne, incumbent Governor of Idaho
Results
edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dirk Kempthorne (inc.) | 95,882 | 65.88 | |
| Republican | Milt Erhart | 37,523 | 25.78 | |
| Republican | Walter L. Bayes | 6,873 | 4.72 | |
| Republican | Raynelle J. George | 5,271 | 3.62 | |
| Total votes | 145,549 | 100.00 | ||
Democratic primary
editCandidates
edit- Jerry Brady, newspaper publisher
- Rue T. Stears
Results
edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jerry Brady | 33,285 | 87.40 | |
| Democratic | Rue T. Stears | 4,798 | 12.60 | |
| Total votes | 38,083 | 100.00 | ||
Libertarian primary
editCandidates
edit- Daniel L. J. Adams, perennial candidate
- Michael Monroe Gollaher (write-in)
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Libertarian | Daniel L. J. Adams | 997 | 90.14 | |
| Libertarian | Michael Monroe Gollaher (write-in) | 109 | 9.86 | |
| Total votes | 1,106 | 100.00 | ||
General election
editCampaign
editAlthough Brady performed considerably better than 1998 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Robert C. Huntley, and won a plurality of the vote in Ada County, the state's most populous county, Kempthorne won reelection with a comfortable majority.
Predictions
edit| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[2] | Safe R | October 31, 2002 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[3] | Lean R | November 4, 2002 |
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dirk Kempthorne (inc.) | 231,566 | 56.28 | −11.42 | |
| Democratic | Jerry Brady | 171,711 | 41.73 | +12.66 | |
| Libertarian | Daniel L. J. Adams | 8,187 | 1.99 | ||
| Write-ins | 13 | 0.00 | |||
| Majority | 59,855 | 14.55 | −24.08 | ||
| Turnout | 411,477 | ||||
| Republican hold | Swing | ||||
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "2002 Primary Results Governor". Archived from the original on November 3, 2010. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
- ^ "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.
- ^ http://www.sos.idaho.gov/elect/results/2002/general/cnty_gov.htm [dead link]
See also
edit| Preceded by 1998 |
Idaho gubernatorial elections | Succeeded by 2006 |