2002 Georgia gubernatorial election

Last updated

2002 Georgia gubernatorial election
Flag of the State of Georgia (2001-2003).svg
←  1998 November 5, 2002 2006  →
  Sonny Perdue at rally.jpg Roy Barnes concession speech (cropped).jpg
Nominee Sonny Perdue Roy Barnes
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote1,041,677937,062
Percentage51.42%46.25%
2002 Georgia gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
2002 GA GOV.svg
Perdue:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90%
Barnes:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90%
Tie:     40–50%     50%     No data
Governor before election

Roy Barnes
Democratic

Elected Governor

Sonny Perdue
Republican

The 2002 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Democratic governor Roy Barnes sought re-election to a second term as governor. State Senator Sonny Perdue emerged as the Republican nominee from a crowded and hotly contested primary, and he faced off against Barnes, who had faced no opponents in his primary election, in the general election. Though Barnes had been nicknamed "King Roy" due to his unique ability to get his legislative priorities passed, he faced a backlash among Georgia voters due to his proposal to change the state flag from its Confederate design.

Contents

Ultimately, Perdue was able to defeat governor Barnes and became the first Republican to serve as governor of the state since Reconstruction. This was only the second election that a Republican won in the state's history, the other being in 1868. The result was widely considered a major upset. [1] Democrat Max Cleland simultaneously lost the his re-election bid to Republican Saxby Chambliss, marking just the sixth time in the last 50 years in which U.S. Senate and gubernatorial incumbents from the same political party were simultaneously defeated in the same state. [2] [a]

As of 2022, this is the last governor election in which Decatur, Grady, Meriwether, and Wilkes counties voted for the Democratic candidate.[ citation needed ] This is the last time that a gubernatorial nominee and a lieutenant gubernatorial nominee from different political parties were elected governor and lieutenant governor in Georgia. Barnes later unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Georgia again in 2010 when Perdue was term-limited.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Roy Barnes (incumbent) 434,892 100.00
Total votes434,892 100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

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{} Perdue Perdue--30-40% Perdue--40-50% Perdue--50-60% Perdue--60-70% Perdue--70-80% Perdue--80-90% Perdue-->90% Schrenko Schrenko--30-40% Schrenko--40-50% Schrenko--50-60% Schrenko--60-70% Schrenko-->80% Bryne Byrne--40-50% Byrne-->100% Tie Tie between Perdue and Byrne--33% 2002 Georgia gubernatorial election Republican primary.svg
Primary results by county:
  Perdue
  •   Perdue—30–40%
  •   Perdue—40–50%
  •   Perdue—50–60%
  •   Perdue—60–70%
  •   Perdue—70–80%
  •   Perdue—80–90%
  •   Perdue—>90%
  Schrenko
  •   Schrenko—30–40%
  •   Schrenko—40–50%
  •   Schrenko—50–60%
  •   Schrenko—60–70%
  •   Schrenko—>80%
  Bryne
  •   Byrne—40–50%
  •   Byrne—>100%
  Tie
  •   Tie between Perdue and Byrne—33%
Republican primary results [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Sonny Perdue 259,966 50.83
Republican Linda Schrenko142,91127.94
Republican Bill Byrne108,58621.23
Total votes511,463 100.00

General election

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [5] Likely DOctober 31, 2002
Sabato's Crystal Ball [6] Likely DNovember 4, 2002

Results

2002 Georgia gubernatorial election [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Sonny Perdue 1,041,677 51.42% +7.34%
Democratic Roy Barnes (incumbent)937,06246.25%−6.24%
Libertarian Garrett Michael Hayes47,1222.33%−1.11%
Total votes2,025,861 100.00% N/A
Republican gain from Democratic

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gettleman, Jeffrey (November 6, 2002). "THE 2002 ELECTIONS: GEORGIA; Senator Cleland Loses in an Upset to Republican Emphasizing Defense". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ Ostermeier, Eric (November 19, 2014). "Mark Begich and Sean Parnell Join Small Group in Defeat". Smart Politics.
  3. ↑ "Our Campaigns - GA Governor - D Primary Race - Aug 20, 2002". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  4. ↑ "8/20/02 - Republican Gubernatorial Primary". September 7, 2002. Archived from the original on September 7, 2002. Retrieved January 7, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ↑ "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.
  6. ↑ "Governors Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on December 12, 2002. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  7. ↑ "11/5/02 - Governor". February 6, 2008. Archived from the original on February 6, 2008. Retrieved January 7, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

Notes

  1. ↑ The others were 1972 in Delaware, 1974 in Ohio, 1974 in Colorado, 1978 in Minnesota, and 1980 in Washington.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.