2002 California gubernatorial election

Last updated

2002 California gubernatorial election
Flag of California.svg
  1998 November 5, 2002 2003 (recall)  
Turnout36.05% Decrease2.svg5.38pp
  Gray Davis, portrait.jpg Bill Simon (3x4a).jpg Peter Camejo (3x4a).gif
Nominee Gray Davis Bill Simon Peter Camejo
Party Democratic Republican Green
Popular vote3,533,4903,169,801393,036
Percentage47.26%42.40%5.26%

2002 California gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
2002 California gubernatorial election results map by congressional district.svg
Davis:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Simon:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

Governor before election

Gray Davis
Democratic

Elected Governor

Gray Davis
Democratic

The 2002 California gubernatorial election was an election that occurred on November 5, 2002. Gray Davis, a Democrat and the incumbent governor of California, defeated the Republican challenger Bill Simon by 5% and was re-elected to a second four-year term. Davis would be recalled less than a year into his next term.

Contents

The 2002 gubernatorial primary occurred in March 2002. Davis faced no major competitor in the primary and won the nomination. Simon defeated former Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan in the Republican primary. Davis ran a series of negative advertisements against Riordan in the primary. Riordan was seen as a moderate and early state polls showed him defeating Gray Davis in the general election. This election is the last time that a gubernatorial candidate was elected governor of California by a single-digit margin.

Primary election

During the 2002 election campaign, Davis took the unusual step of taking out campaign advertisements during the Republican primaries against Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan. Davis stated that Riordan had attacked his record and that his campaign was defending his record. [1] Polls showed that, as a moderate, Riordan would be a more formidable challenger in the general election than a conservative candidate. Polls even showed that Riordan would defeat Davis. [2] Davis attacked Riordan with negative advertisements in the primary. The advertisements questioned Riordan's support of anti-abortion politicians and judges. [3] [4] The advertisements cited Riordan's position of wanting a moratorium on the death penalty as being to the left of Davis, who strongly supported it. [5] [6] [7]

In 2000, the United States Supreme Court in California Democratic Party v. Jones struck down California's blanket primary. [8] With the end of the blanket primary, only non-partisans and registered Republicans could vote for Riordan in the 2002 primary. The end of the blanket primary made it more difficult for the more moderate Riordan. It has long been known in politics that primary voters are much more ideological and strongly liberal or strongly conservative than those who vote in the general election. [9]

The Republican primary included negative attacks between Bill Jones and Riordan. Jones highlighted in his attack advertisements against Riordan that Riordan had contributed money to Davis in past campaigns and had called Bill Clinton "the greatest leader in the free world". Riordan's counter advertisements highlighted that Jones had also contributed money to Davis. By late February 2002, Riordan's strong lead in the Republican primary had begun to slip. In the previous months of the campaign, Riordan focused his advertisements and energies on campaigning against Gray Davis and defending himself from Davis' attack advertisements. [5] Davis' negative advertisements against Riordan appear to have contributed to Riordan's defeat in the Republican primary by the more staunchly conservative candidate Bill Simon. [10]

Results

Democratic

Democratic primary results [11]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Gray Davis (incumbent) 1,755,276 80.90%
Democratic Anselmo A. Chavez179,3018.26%
Democratic Charles "Chuck" Pineda Jr.139,1216.41%
Democratic Mosemarie Boyd95,8574.42%
Total votes2,169,555 100.00%

Republican

Republican primary results by county
.mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{}
Simon
30-40%
40-50%
50-60%
>90%
Riordan
30-40%
40-50%
Jones
40-50%
50-60%
60-70% 2002 California gubernatorial Republican primary results map by county.svg
Republican primary results by county
  Simon
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   >90%
  Riordan
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  Jones
  •   40–50%
  •   50-60%
  •   60–70%
Republican primary results by congressional district
Simon
40-50%
50-60%
60-70%
Riordan
40-50%
50-60%
Jones
40-50%
50-60%
60-70% 2002 California gubernatorial Republican primary results map by congressional district.svg
Republican primary results by congressional district
  Simon
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  Riordan
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  Jones
  •   40–50%
  •   50-60%
  •   60–70%
Republican primary results [11]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Bill Simon 1,129,973 49.44%
Republican Richard Riordan 715,76831.32%
Republican Bill Jones 387,23716.94%
Republican Nick Jesson19,2870.84%
Republican Edie Bukewihge14,4360.63%
Republican Danney Ball13,1560.58%
Republican Jim Dimov5,5950.24%
Total votes2,285,452 100.00%

Green

Green primary results [11]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Green Peter Miguel Camejo 35,767 100.00%
Total votes35,767 100.00%

American Independent

American Independent primary results [11]
PartyCandidateVotes%
American Independent Reinhold Gulke 26,269 100.00%
Total votes26,269 100.00%

Libertarian

Libertarian primary [11]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Libertarian Gary David Copeland 19,079 98.80%
Libertarian Art Olivier (write-in)2321.20%
Total votes19,311 100.00%

Natural Law

Natural Law primary [11]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Natural Law Iris Adam 4,402 100.00%
Total votes4,402 100.00%

General election

Campaign

Davis was re-elected in the November 2002 general election following a long and bitter campaign against Simon, marked by accusations of ethical lapses on both sides and widespread voter apathy. [12] Simon was also hurt by a financial fraud scandal that tarnished his reputation. [13] Davis' campaign featured several negative advertisements that highlighted Simon's financial fraud scandal. [14] Simon attacked Davis for supposedly fundraising in the lieutenant governor of California's office during his time as Lieutenant Governor; the attack backfired when it turned out the photograph had been instead taken in a private home in Santa Monica. [15] [16]

The 2002 gubernatorial race was the most expensive in California state history with over $100 million spent. [17] Davis' campaign was better financed; Davis had over $26 million in campaign reserves more than Simon in August 2002. [14] Davis won re-election with 47.3% of the vote to Simon's 42.4%. It had the lowest voter turnout percentage in modern gubernatorial history, allowing for a lower than normal number of signatures required for a recall election, which ultimately qualified in 2003. [18] Davis won the election but the majority of the voters disliked Davis and did not approve of his job performance. [19] [20]

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [21] Lean DOctober 31, 2002
Sabato's Crystal Ball [22] Likely DNovember 4, 2002

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size [a]
Margin
of error
Gray
Davis (D)
Bill
Simon (R)
Peter
Camejo (G)
Gary
Copeland (L)
Other /
Undecided
SurveyUSA [23] November 1–3, 2002563 (LV)± 4.2%45%39%8%4%5%

Results

2002 California gubernatorial election [24]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Gray Davis (incumbent) 3,533,490 47.26% −10.71%
Republican Bill Simon 3,169,80142.40%+4.02%
Green Peter Miguel Camejo 393,0365.26%+4.01%
Libertarian Gary David Copeland161,2032.16%+1.28%
American Independent Reinhold Gulke128,0351.71%+1.26%
Natural Law Iris Adam88,4151.18%+0.81%
Write-in 2,3310.03%
Invalid or blank votes262,4703.39%
Majority363,6894.86%
Total votes7,476,311 [b] 100.00%
Democratic hold Swing -14.73%

Results by county

CountyGray Davis
Democratic
Bill Simon
Republican
Peter Camejo
Green
Gary Copeland
Libertarian
Reinhold Gulke
AIP
Iris Adam
NLP
All Others
Write-in
MarginTotal votes cast [24]
# %# %# %# %# %# %# %# %
Alameda 216,05862.83%76,40722.22%37,91911.03%6,5581.91%3,6221.05%3,3190.97%180.01%139,65140.61%343,901
Alpine 22940.89%24744.11%407.14%152.68%173.04%122.14%00.00%-18-3.21%560
Amador 4,43734.19%6,99753.91%7405.70%2461.90%3382.60%2201.70%00.00%-2.560-19.73%12,978
Butte 19,43731.63%32,70653.22%5,9639.70%1,0501.71%1,4972.44%8021.30%20.00%-13,269-21.59%61,457
Calaveras 5,05233.25%8,10453.34%8755.76%4342.86%4893.22%2401.58%00.00%-3,052-20.09%15,194
Colusa 1,24327.17%2,99665.49%1312.86%481.05%1182.58%390.85%00.00%-1,753-38.32%4,575
Contra Costa 140,97553.22%94,48735.67%16,6766.30%5,8942.23%3,9051.47%2,9311.11%20.00%46,48817.55%264,870
Del Norte 2,92243.29%3,09345.82%2073.07%1652.44%2393.54%1241.84%00.00%-171-2.53%6,750
El Dorado 16,40229.43%32,89859.03%3,4186.13%1,0721.92%1,2032.16%7361.32%00.00%-16,496-29.60%55,729
Fresno 59,01937.96%85,91055.26%3,5082.26%3,5602.29%2,2141.42%1,2600.81%00.00%-26,891-17.30%155,471
Glenn 1,68525.86%4,26865.49%1872.87%961.47%2003.07%811.24%00.00%-2,583-39.63%6,517
Humboldt 19,49945.44%16,11837.56%5,17012.05%9612.24%5471.27%6121.43%00.00%3,3817.88%42,907
Imperial 11,64453.29%8,78940.23%5462.50%2581.18%3601.65%2521.15%00.00%2,85513.07%21,849
Inyo 2,11433.62%3,56756.73%2103.34%1422.26%1592.53%961.53%00.00%-1,453-23.11%6,288
Kern 46,25033.69%82,66060.21%1,9651.43%1,8391.34%3,0022.19%1,5681.14%40.00%-36,410-26.52%137,288
Kings 7,77636.65%12,21257.56%2981.40%2461.16%4912.31%1920.91%00.00%-4,436-20.91%21,215
Lake 7,42446.71%6,45940.64%9656.07%3362.11%4512.84%2581.62%00.00%9656.07%15,893
Lassen 2,42931.57%4,51258.64%1552.01%1662.16%3174.12%1151.49%00.00%-2,083-27.07%7,694
Los Angeles 953,16255.87%594,74834.86%72,8864.27%39,9342.34%25,1601.47%19,0671.12%1,1020.06%358,41421.01%1,706,059
Madera 8,21731.40%15,99861.13%5171.98%5171.98%6512.49%2691.03%00.00%-7,781-29.73%26,169
Marin 49,51256.23%24,52027.85%10,71012.16%1,5021.71%9171.04%8901.01%40.00%24,99228.38%88,055
Mariposa 2,12632.78%3,72057.36%2153.32%1302.00%1932.98%1011.56%00.00%-1,594-24.58%6,485
Mendocino 10,83243.50%8,33133.45%4,11916.54%5812.33%6802.73%3591.44%20.01%2,50110.04%24,904
Merced 18,07144.56%19,19147.32%7921.95%1,3793.40%7491.85%3740.92%20.00%-1,120-2.76%40,558
Modoc 90026.62%2,16163.92%541.60%671.98%1454.29%541.60%00.00%-1,261-37.30%3,381
Mono 1,06435.99%1,55252.50%1545.21%642.17%762.57%461.56%00.00%-488-16.51%2,956
Monterey 47,05254.10%31,53236.25%3,7944.36%2,1912.52%1,4021.61%1,0031.15%00.00%15,52017.84%86,974
Napa 17,51647.76%13,48336.77%3,5709.73%7742.11%8242.25%5051.38%00.00%4,03311.00%36,672
Nevada 13,33833.93%20,57352.33%3,2978.39%7431.89%8172.08%5461.39%10.00%-7,235-18.40%39,315
Orange 222,14934.66%368,15257.43%16,6702.60%14,6682.29%10,3931.62%8,3741.31%6020.09%-146,003-22.78%641,008
Placer 28,49529.66%58,62361.03%4,6574.85%1,5001.56%1,5561.62%1,2221.27%30.00%-30,128-31.37%96,056
Plumas 2,59833.06%4,31054.85%3804.84%1822.32%2643.36%1241.58%00.00%-1,712-21.79%7,858
Riverside 121,84540.25%159,44052.68%5,9951.98%6,6012.18%5,5301.83%2,9870.99%2850.09%-37,595-12.42%302,683
Sacramento 129,14340.82%147,45646.60%22,2327.03%6,6342.10%6,2451.97%4,6681.48%190.01%-18,313-5.79%316,397
San Benito 6,04948.89%5,16341.73%5044.07%2752.22%2081.68%1741.41%00.00%8867.16%12,373
San Bernardino 116,75741.23%142,51350.32%6,7542.38%6,4852.29%6,8842.43%3,7511.32%470.02%-25,756-9.09%283,191
San Diego 268,27840.57%342,09551.73%18,1842.75%13,7422.08%11,2461.70%7,6621.16%910.01%-73,817-11.16%661,298
San Francisco 143,10266.20%33,21415.37%33,49515.50%3,0481.41%1,6390.76%1,6490.76%90.00%109,607 [c] 50.70%216,196
San Joaquin 53,74743.54%58,23947.18%4,6303.75%2,5402.06%2,7362.22%1,5461.25%50.00%-4,492-3.64%123,443
San Luis Obispo 29,73236.40%43,55253.31%4,1895.13%1,6181.98%1,5311.87%1,0331.26%350.04%-13,820-16.92%81,690
San Mateo 99,80357.95%51,49729.90%13,5377.86%3,2051.86%2,1441.24%2,0201.17%40.00%48,30628.05%172,210
Santa Barbara 50,74144.32%52,83246.15%5,7855.05%2,5862.26%1,4011.22%1,1411.00%50.00%-2,091-1.83%114,491
Santa Clara 199,39955.33%116,86232.43%24,0976.69%9,4302.62%5,9511.65%4,6521.29%50.00%82,53722.90%360,396
Santa Cruz 43,46956.03%20,59826.55%9,40912.13%1,7772.29%1,1661.50%1,1641.50%10.00%22,87129.48%77,584
Shasta 15,29231.49%28,62558.95%1,2832.64%9421.94%1,6643.43%7531.55%00.00%-13,333-27.46%48,559
Sierra 42029.21%80555.98%725.01%674.66%503.48%241.67%00.00%-385-26.77%1,438
Siskiyou 4,97231.87%9,11258.40%4372.80%3862.47%4402.82%2521.62%40.03%-4,140-26.53%15,603
Solano 46,38552.40%33,51637.86%4,0384.56%1,3161.49%2,1742.46%1,0921.23%10.00%12,86914.54%88,522
Sonoma 73,07950.39%43,40829.93%19,59913.51%3,0972.14%3,5292.43%2,3121.59%40.00%29,67120.46%145,028
Stanislaus 41,90843.57%46,09147.91%2,9673.08%1,3851.44%2,7322.84%1,1111.15%00.00%-4,183-4.35%96,194
Sutter 5,78229.85%12,02462.08%6203.20%2421.25%4632.39%2391.23%00.00%-6,242-32.23%19,370
Tehama 5,00032.48%9,01058.54%3612.35%2541.65%5373.49%2301.49%00.00%-4,010-26.05%15,392
Trinity 1,83337.23%2,42149.17%2725.52%1402.84%1653.35%931.89%00.00%-588-11.94%4.924
Tulare 21,29434.07%37,17259.48%1,0901.74%1,2081.93%1,1801.89%5530.88%10.00%-15,878-25.41%62,498
Tuolumne 6,84638.16%9,25151.56%7734.31%3281.83%4762.65%2671.49%10.01%-2,405-13.40%17,942
Ventura 83,55743.21%91,19347.16%6,5633.39%5,7872.99%3,7331.93%2,4831.28%710.04%-7,636-3.95%193,387
Yolo 21,98347.43%17,48437.72%4,93410.64%5431.17%8421.82%5661.22%10.00%4,4999.71%46,353
Yuba 3,44729.71%6,90459.50%4283.69%2492.15%3733.21%2021.74%00.00%-3,457-29.79%11,603
Total3,533,49047.26%3,169,80142.40%393,0365.26%161,2032.16%128,0351.71%88,4151.18%2,3310.03%363,6894.86%7,476,311

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Results by congressional district

Davis won 33 districts, while Simon won the other 20. [25]

DistrictDavisSimonCamejoRepresentative
1st 46.9%36.3%11.2% Mike Thompson
2nd 31.1%57.6%5.3% Wally Herger
3rd 34.0%54.5%5.8% Doug Ose
4th 30.6%58.5%5.6% John Doolittle
5th 50.4%35.3%8.7% Bob Matsui
6th 53.1%28.6%13.2% Lynn Woolsey
7th 59.7%29.1%5.9% George Miller
8th 66.7%13.9%16.4% Nancy Pelosi
9th 67.5%12.8%16.2% Barbara Lee
10th 49.9%39.1%6.2% Ellen Tauscher
11th 40.9%50.5%3.8% Richard Pombo
12th 60.3%27.3%8.6% Tom Lantos
13th 62.8%26.7%6.3% Pete Stark
14th 54.9%31.3%8.8% Anna Eshoo
15th 55.0%33.4%6.3% Mike Honda
16th 56.3%31.3%6.0% Zoe Lofgren
17th 55.4%32.3%7.2% Sam Farr
18th 50.5%40.2%3.1% Gary Condit (107th Congress)
Dennis Cardoza (108th Congress)
19th 35.7%56.6%2.7% George Radanovich
20th 53.1%40.6%2.1% Cal Dooley
21st 32.4%60.9%1.8% Bill Thomas (107th Congress)
Devin Nunes (108th Congress)
22nd 28.8%64.3%1.9% Lois Capps (107th Congress)
Bill Thomas (108th Congress)
23rd 48.0%40.7%5.8% Elton Gallegly (107th Congress)
Lois Capps (108th Congress)
24th 39.4%52.1%3.0% Brad Sherman (107th Congress)
Elton Gallegly (108th Congress)
25th 34.3%57.5%2.4% Buck McKeon
26th 37.6%54.3%3.0% Howard Berman (107th Congress)
David Dreier (108th Congress)
27th 50.1%40.0%4.1% Adam Schiff (107th Congress)
Brad Sherman (108th Congress)
28th 62.2%27.9%5.0% David Dreier (107th Congress)
Howard Berman (108th Congress)
29th 52.2%38.7%4.7% Henry Waxman (107th Congress)
Adam Schiff (108th Congress)
30th 57.1%33.0%5.3% Xavier Becerra (107th Congress)
Henry Waxman (108th Congress)
31st 68.6%19.5%7.5% Hilda Solis (107th Congress)
Xavier Becerra (108th Congress)
32nd 59.5%31.9%3.6% Diane Watson (107th Congress)
Hilda Solis (108th Congress)
33rd 74.7%15.2%5.2% Lucille Roybal-Allard (107th Congress)
Diane Watson (108th Congress)
34th 63.4%27.3%4.7% Grace Napolitano (107th Congress)
Lucille Roybal-Allard (108th Congress)
35th 73.6%18.6%3.0% Maxine Waters
36th 49.5%39.8%4.9% Jane Harman
37th 67.7%23.6%3.7% Juanita Millender-McDonald
38th 62.3%28.7%4.3% Steve Horn (107th Congress)
Grace Napolitano (108th Congress)
39th 54.1%38.0%3.3% Ed Royce (107th Congress)
Linda Sánchez (108th Congress)
40th 34.6%57.7%2.4% Jerry Lewis (107th Congress)
Ed Royce (108th Congress)
41st 35.5%55.5%2.2% Gary Miller (107th Congress)
Jerry Lewis (108th Congress)
42nd 31.9%61.1%2.2% Joe Baca (107th Congress)
Gary Miller (108th Congress)
43rd 57.4%34.6%2.8% Ken Calvert (107th Congress)
Joe Baca (108th Congress)
44th 37.0%55.4%2.5% Mary Bono (107th Congress)
Ken Calvert (108th Congress)
45th 42.3%51.5%1.7% Dana Rohrabacher (107th Congress)
Mary Bono (108th Congress)
46th 36.4%55.8%2.9% Loretta Sanchez (107th Congress)
Dana Rohrabacher (108th Congress)
47th 50.8%40.3%3.1% Christopher Cox (107th Congress)
Loretta Sanchez (108th Congress)
48th 32.8%59.4%2.8% Darrell Issa (107th Congress)
Christopher Cox (108th Congress)
49th 32.9%59.8%2.0% Susan Davis (107th Congress)
Darrell Issa (108th Congress)
50th 37.3%55.6%2.6% Bob Filner (107th Congress)
Duke Cunningham (108th Congress)
51st 53.5%39.7%2.3% Duke Cunningham (107th Congress)
Bob Filner (108th Congress)
52nd 34.8%58.0%1.9% Duncan L. Hunter
53rd 50.6%39.6%4.8% Susan Davis (108th Congress)

Notes

  1. Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  2. Total votes cast for candidates; does not include blank votes. The percentages in the Statement of Vote are based on this total, while the percentage for blank votes is calculated using the combined total of valid votes and blank votes.
  3. Margin over Camejo

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gray Davis</span> Governor of California from 1999 to 2003

Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 37th governor of California from 1999 until he was recalled and removed from office in 2003. He is the second state governor in U.S. history to have been recalled, after Lynn Frazier of North Dakota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Simon (politician)</span> American businessman and politician

William Edward Simon Jr. is an American banker, businessman, and politician. In 2002, Simon campaigned unsuccessfully for Governor of California as a Republican against Democratic incumbent Gray Davis. Billed as a "conservative Republican," the virtually unknown Simon's campaign was significantly boosted by support from better-known Republican officeholders from outside California, including former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and President George W. Bush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 California gubernatorial recall election</span>

The 2003 California gubernatorial recall election was a special election permitted under California state law. It resulted in voters replacing incumbent Democratic Governor Gray Davis with Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican. The recall effort spanned the latter half of 2003. Seven of the nine previous governors, including Davis, had faced unsuccessful recall attempts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Illinois gubernatorial election</span>

The 2006 Illinois gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich won re-election to a second four-year term scheduled to have ended on January 10, 2011. However, Blagojevich did not complete his term, as he was impeached and removed from office in 2009. This was the first election since 1964 that a Democrat was re-elected governor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 United States gubernatorial elections</span>

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 7, 2006, in 36 states and two territories. The elections coincided with the midterm elections of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 California gubernatorial election</span>

The 2006 California gubernatorial election occurred on November 7, 2006. The primary elections took place on June 6, 2006. The incumbent Republican Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, won re-election for his first and only full term. His main opponent was California State Treasurer Phil Angelides, the California Democratic Party nominee. Peter Camejo was the California Green Party nominee, Janice Jordan was the Peace and Freedom Party nominee, Art Olivier was the California Libertarian Party nominee, and Edward C. Noonan was the California American Independent Party nominee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Texas gubernatorial election</span>

The 2006 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006, to elect the governor of Texas. The election was a rare five-way race, with incumbent Republican governor Rick Perry running for re-election against Democrat Chris Bell and Independents Carole Keeton Strayhorn and Kinky Friedman, as well as Libertarian nominee James Werner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John H. Cox</span> American attorney, businessman, broadcaster, and political activist

John Herman Cox is an American businessman, housing developer, and political activist. A Republican, he was the party's nominee for Governor of California in 2018, as well as one of the party's replacement candidates in the state's 2021 recall election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1998 California gubernatorial election</span>

The 1998 California gubernatorial election was an election that occurred on November 3, 1998, resulting in the election of Lieutenant Governor Gray Davis as the state's first Democratic governor in 16 years. Davis won the general election by an almost 20% margin over his closest opponent, Republican Attorney General Dan Lungren. Davis succeeded Pete Wilson who was term limited. The 1998 California gubernatorial election featured the state's only gubernatorial blanket primary, a practice which was later struck down in United States Supreme Court in California Democratic Party v. Jones in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1966 California gubernatorial election</span>

The 1966 California gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1966. Incumbent Democratic Governor Pat Brown was defeated in his bid for re-election by Republican nominee and future President Ronald Reagan. This remains the last time an incumbent governor of California lost re-election, though one subsequent governor was recalled from office in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2002 United States gubernatorial elections</span>

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 5, 2002, in 36 states and two territories. The Republicans won eight seats previously held by the Democrats, as well as the seat previously held by Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura, who was elected on the Reform Party ticket but had since renounced his party affiliation. The Democrats won 10 seats previously held by the Republicans, as well as the seat previously held by Maine governor Angus King, an independent. The elections were held concurrently with the other United States elections of 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 Mississippi gubernatorial election</span>

The 2003 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2003, to elect the governor of the U.S. state of Mississippi. Former Republican National Committee chairman Haley Barbour defeated incumbent Democrat Ronnie Musgrove by a margin of 6.78%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States Senate election in California</span>

The 2012 United States Senate election in California took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 California gubernatorial election</span>

The 2014 California gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the governor of California, concurrently with elections for the rest of California's executive branch, as well as elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garry South</span> American political strategist

Garry South is a Democratic political strategist based in California and principal of Garry South Consulting. He is best known for managing Democrat Gray Davis’ successful gubernatorial campaigns in both 1998 and 2002. In 1998, the California Democratic Party had not been successful in electing a governor for 20 years and only three Democrats had won previously in the entire 20th century. In 2011, the journal Capitol Weekly designated South among the top 50 most influential political players in California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Travis Allen</span> American politician

Travis Ethan Allen is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the California State Assembly. Allen was first elected in November 2012 to represent California's 72nd State Assembly district, which includes the cities of Fountain Valley, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, and Westminster, most of Garden Grove, portions of Huntington Beach and of Santa Ana, and the unincorporated communities of Midway and Rossmoor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1993 New Jersey gubernatorial election</span>

The 1993 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1993. Incumbent Democratic governor James Florio was narrowly defeated by Republican former Somerset County freeholder and 1990 U.S. Senate nominee Christine Todd Whitman. Primary elections were held on June 8, 1993. In the Democratic primary, Governor Florio's only challenger, anti-tax activist John Budzash, was disqualified from the ballot due to invalid petition signatures. In the Republican primary, Whitman defeated W. Cary Edwards and James Wallwork.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 United States gubernatorial elections</span>

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 2, 2021, in two states, New Jersey and Virginia, and a recall election was held in California on September 14. These elections form part of the 2021 United States elections. The last gubernatorial elections for New Jersey and Virginia were in 2017, and the last regular gubernatorial election for California was in 2018. Going into the elections, all three seats were held by Democrats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 California gubernatorial election</span>

The 2022 California gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of California, with the statewide top-two primary election taking place on June 7, 2022. Incumbent Democratic Party Governor Gavin Newsom was re-elected to a second term after surviving a recall election in 2021, during his first term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 California gubernatorial recall election</span>

The 2021 California gubernatorial recall election was a special recall election that began in August 2021 and concluded on September 14, 2021, when California voters chose not to recall incumbent Democratic governor Gavin Newsom, elected for the term January 2019 to January 2023.

References

  1. "'Fight' seen in California's governor's race". Archives.cnn.com. Archived from the original on January 23, 2009. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  2. Lynda Gledhill (December 13, 2001). "Riordan has edge on Davis in polls, Governor's mixed reviews seen to benefit challenger". Sfgate.com. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  3. Carla Marinucci (January 26, 2002). "Davis ad assails Riordan GOP rival's stand on abortion rights challenged". Sfgate.com. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  4. Wildermuth, John (January 29, 2002). "Riordan silent on abortion flap Davis ad hits GOP governor hopeful for giving to thousands to anti-choice groups". Sfgate.com. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Top GOP governor candidates trade attacks Surveys show Simon closing in on Riordan's once imposing primary lead". Sfgate.com. February 22, 2002. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  6. "Kevin Cooper Awaits DNA Test Results". Archived from the original on November 27, 2007. Retrieved August 15, 2007.
  7. Saunders, Debra J. (January 27, 2002). "A man for all reasons". Sfgate.com. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  8. Asseo, Laurie. "Court nixes 'blanket' primaries." Salon News. June 26, 2000. Associated Press writer. Accessed on August 13, 2007. http://www.salon.com/politics/2000/06/26/blanket/.
  9. Maisel, Sandy (August 18, 2006). "Closing the Door on Moderation, One Seat at a Time". The Jewish Daily Forward. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
  10. Richard L. Berke (March 6, 2002). "Novice Wins G.O.P. Primary for Governor of California". New York Times. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 California Secretary of State. Statement of Vote March 5, 2002 Primary Election (PDF). Sacramento, California. pp. 1–9. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  12. Carla Marinucci (September 5, 2002). "Davis, Simon heartily disliked Voter disenchantment has soared to unprecedented level, poll says". Sfgate.com. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  13. Economist.com. "Gray Davis." http://www.economist.com/research/backgrounders/displaybackgrounder.cfm?bg=1922064
  14. 1 2 Carla Marinucci, Lynda Gledhill, Chronicle Staff Writers. "Davis turns up heat as Simon pares down: New ads roast GOP rival as he trims staff." The San Francisco Chronicle. Friday, August 16, 2002. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/08/16/MN76308.DTL
  15. Carla Marinucci (October 9, 2002). "Simon's attack on Davis backfires 'Evidence' photo isn't clear proof of illegal donation". Sfgate.com. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  16. "Simon Offers Snafu 'Regret'". Los Angeles Times. October 11, 2002. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  17. Cal Votes 2002 Archived 2010-06-14 at the Wayback Machine
  18. "Polling in the Governor's Race in California". Ppic.org. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  19. Lynda Gledhill (July 11, 2002). "Davis ekes out 7-point lead over Simon Field Poll shows voters against hopeful rather than for governor". Sfgate.com. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  20. Robert Salladay (November 6, 2002). "NEWS ANALYSIS Big challenges ahead for not-exactly-popular incumbent". Sfgate.com. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  21. "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.
  22. "Governors Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on December 12, 2002. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  23. SurveyUSA
  24. 1 2 California Secretary of State. Statement of Vote November 5, 2002 General Election (PDF). Sacramento, California. pp. 1–6. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  25. "Counties by Congressional District" (PDF). Secretary of State of California . Retrieved August 8, 2024.