2002 Maryland gubernatorial election

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2002 Maryland gubernatorial election
Flag of Maryland.svg
  1998 November 5, 2002 2006  
Turnout61.85% Increase2.svg 1.26% [1]
  Robertehrlichrep.jpg Kathleen Kennedy Townsend giving out awards, 2001, cropped (cropped).jpg
Nominee Bob Ehrlich Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
Party Republican Democratic
Running mate Michael Steele Charles R. Larson
Popular vote879,592813,422
Percentage51.55%47.68%

2002 Maryland gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
County results
Ehrlich:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Townsend:     60–70%     70–80%

Governor before election

Parris Glendening
Democratic

Elected Governor

Bob Ehrlich
Republican

The 2002 Maryland gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002. Democratic Governor Parris Glendening was term-limited and could not seek a third term. Republican Bob Ehrlich defeated Democrat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, making him the first Republican governor of Maryland since Spiro Agnew, who served from 1967 to 1969. As of 2024, this is the last time Charles County voted Republican in a statewide election.

Contents

This election marked the first time since the 1934 gubernatorial election that a Republican won Maryland without Baltimore City or Montgomery County. [2]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Kathleen Kennedy Townsend 434,948 80.01
Democratic Robert Fustero108,65919.99
Total votes543,607 100

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Bob Ehrlich 229,927 92.88
Republican James J. Sheridan9,1813.71
Republican Ross Z. Pierpont8,4583.42
Total votes247,566 100

General election

Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend won the Democratic nomination, and Congressman Bob Ehrlich won the Republican nomination, both over token opposition.

Ehrlich chose Maryland Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele as his running mate, while Townsend chose Admiral Charles R. Larson as her running mate. Larson switched to the Democratic Party just a few weeks before the election.

Kennedy's selection of Larson as her running mate proved to be an unpopular move, seeing as he was a white former Republican and had been selected without consultation with black Democratic leaders. [4] Ehrlich ran advertisements assailing incumbent Governor Parris Glendening for the increasingly dismal fiscal situation in Maryland, an issue that resonated with Maryland voters. Glendening's unpopularity did little to help his Lieutenant Governor's flailing campaign. [5]

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [6] TossupOctober 31, 2002
Sabato's Crystal Ball [7] Lean R (flip)November 4, 2002

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size [a]
Margin
of error
Bob
Ehrlich (R)
Kathleen
Kennedy
Townsend (D)
Other /
Undecided
SurveyUSA [8] October 31 – November 2, 2002797 (LV)± 3.6%51%46%2%

Results

Maryland gubernatorial election, 2002
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Bob Ehrlich 879,592 51.55% +6.74%
Democratic Kathleen Kennedy Townsend 813,42247.68%−7.47%
Libertarian Spear Lancaster11,5460.68%
Write-ins1,6190.09%
Majority66,1703.88%−6.45%
Turnout 1,706,179
Republican gain from Democratic Swing

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Notes

  1. Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear

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References

  1. "2002 Gubernatorial General Election - Voter Turnout". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections . Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  2. Maryland Manual. Hall of Records Commission. 1987.
  3. 1 2 "2002 Gubernatorial Election".
  4. Election 2002 CNN. Archived January 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  5. "For this pair, the talking is over". Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
  6. "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.
  7. "Governors Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on December 12, 2002. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  8. SurveyUSA