2002 Minnesota gubernatorial election

The 2002 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2002 for the post of Governor of Minnesota. Republican candidate Tim Pawlenty defeated Democratic candidate Roger Moe and Independence Party of Minnesota candidate Tim Penny. Due to the health of his spouse, incumbent Governor Jesse Ventura chose not to seek re-election. Pawlenty comfortably won the election, which was attributed in part to Moe's uninspired campaign, with Moe being dubbed a "cautious dullard" four years later by the City Pages.

2002 Minnesota gubernatorial election

November 5, 2002

Nominee Tim Pawlenty Roger Moe Tim Penny Party Republican Democratic (DFL) Independence Running mate Carol Molnau Julie Sabo Martha Robertson Popular vote 999,473 821,268 364,534 Percentage 44.4% 36.5% 16.2%

Pawlenty:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Moe:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Penny:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      20–30%      30–40%      40–50%      50%

Governor before election Jesse Ventura Independence Elected Governor Tim Pawlenty Republican

Republican primary

Candidate

• Tim Pawlenty, Minnesota House of Representatives and Majority Leader
• Leslie Davis, former Minneapolis mayoral candidate in 1994

Results

2002 Republican gubernatorial primary election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tim Pawlenty	172,927	88.64
	Republican	Sue Jeffers	22,172	11.36
Total votes			195,099	100.00

DFL primary

In May 2002, the DFL formally endorsed Moe over rival Judi Dutcher, the Minnesota State Auditor. Becky Lourey, a member of the Minnesota Senate, was also a contender before dropping out.

Candidate

• Roger Moe, Member of the Minnesota Senate and Majority Leader
• Oloveuse S. "Ole" Savior, artist and perennial candidate.

Results

2002 Democratic–Farmer–Labor gubernatorial primary election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Roger Moe	199,103	88.79
	Democratic (DFL)	Ole Savior	25,135	11.21
Total votes			224,238	100.00

General election

Polling

Polls indicated a dead heat between Penny, Moe, and Pawlenty less than a month before the election. A poll by the Star Tribune had Moe and Penny tied at 27%, and Pawlenty ahead with 29%.

Debates

2002 Minnesota gubernatorial election debates

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Republican	Democratic	Independence	Green
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Tim Pawlenty	Roger Moe	Tim Penny	Ken Pentel
1	Jul. 31, 2002	Twin Cities PBS	Eric Eskola Cathy Wurzer	C-SPAN	P	P	P	P
2	Nov. 1, 2002	Twin Cities PBS	Eric Eskola Cathy Wurzer	C-SPAN	P	P	P	P

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report	Tossup	October 31, 2002
Sabato's Crystal Ball	Lean R (flip)	November 4, 2002

Results

2002 gubernatorial election, Minnesota

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Tim Pawlenty	999,473	44.4%	+10.1%
	Democratic (DFL)	Roger Moe	821,268	36.5%	+6.4%
	Independence	Tim Penny	364,534	16.2%	−20.8%
	Green	Ken Pentel	50,589	2.3%	+2.0%
	Independent	Booker Hodges IV	9,698	0.4%	+0.4%
	Socialist Workers	Kari Sachs	3,026	0.1%	+0.09%
	Constitution	Lawrence Aeshliman	2,537	0.1%	+0.1%
		Lealand Vettleson	2	0.0%	+0.0%
		Write-ins	1,348	0.06%	+0.02%
Majority			178,205	7.9%
Turnout			2,252,473	70.7%	+10.6%
	Republican gain from Independence

Counties that flipped from Reform to Republican

• Benton (Largest city: Sauk Rapids)
• Blue Earth (Largest city: Mankato)
• Chisago (Largest city: North Branch)
• Cottonwood (Largest city: Windom)
• Dakota (Largest city: Hastings)
• Goodhue (Largest city: Red Wing)
• Grant (Largest city: Elbow Lake)
• Isanti (Largest city: Cambridge)
• Kanabec (Largest city: Mora)
• Kandiyohi (Largest city: Willmar)
• Le Sueur (Largest city: Le Sueur)
• McLeod (Largest city: Hutchinson)
• Meeker (Largest city: Litchfield)
• Mille Lacs (Largest city: Princeton)
• Nicollet (Largest city: North Mankato)
• Pope (Largest city: Glenwood)
• Renville (Largest city: Olivia)
• Sherburne (Largest city: Elk River)
• Sibley (Largest city: Gaylord)
• Stearns (Largest city: St. Cloud)
• Steele (Largest city: Owatonna)
• Wabasha (Largest city: Lake City)
• Washington (Largest city: Stillwater)
• Watonwan (Largest city: St. James)
• Wright (Largest city: Otsego)
• Aitkin (largest city: Aitkin)
• Pine (largest city: Pine City)
• Rice (largest city: Faribault)
• Anoka (Largest city: Blaine)
• Carver (Largest city: Chaska)

Counties that flipped from Reform to Democratic

• Yellow Medicine (Largest city: Granite Falls)
• Chippewa (Largest city: Montevideo)
• Hennepin (Largest city: Minneapolis)
• Ramsey (Largest city: St. Paul)
• Swift (largest city: Benson)

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Beltrami (Largest city: Bemidji)
• Koochiching (Largest city: International Falls)
• Clearwater (Largest city: Bagley)

Counties that flipped from Republican to Independence

• Olmsted (largest city: Rochester)
• Fillmore (largest city: Spring Valley)
• Freeborn (largest city: Albert Lea)

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Independence

• Mower (largest city: Austin)

See also

• List of Minnesota gubernatorial elections