2002 Michigan gubernatorial election

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2002 Michigan gubernatorial election
Flag of Michigan.svg
←  1998 November 5, 2002 2006  →
Turnout3,177,565
  Jennifer Granholm 5.jpg Dick Posthumus (cropped).jpeg
Nominee Jennifer Granholm Dick Posthumus
Party Democratic Republican
Running mate John Cherry Loren Bennett
Popular vote1,631,2761,504,755
Percentage51.4%47.4%
2002 Michigan gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
County results
Granholm:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%
Posthumus:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Governor before election

John Engler
Republican

Elected Governor

Jennifer Granholm
Democratic

The 2002 Michigan gubernatorial election was one of the 36 United States gubernatorial elections held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican Governor John Engler, after serving three terms, was term-limited and was ineligible to run for a fourth term; his lieutenant governor Dick Posthumus, also a Republican, ran in his place. Jennifer Granholm, then Attorney General of Michigan, ran on the Democratic Party ticket. Douglas Campbell ran on the Green Party ticket, and Joseph M. Pilchak [1] ran on the Constitution Party [2] ticket.

Contents

Granholm won with 51% of the vote, followed by Posthumus' 47%, Campbell with 1%, and Pilchak with less than 1%. [3] [4] This made Granholm the first female Michigan governor and the first Democratic governor of Michigan in 12 years. [5]

Republican primary

Candidates

With incumbent Governor John Engler ineligible to seek re-election for a fourth term, [6] Posthumus, Michigan's lieutenant governor, was considered the overwhelming favorite for the Republican nomination. Following his primary win, Posthumus selected state Sen. Loren Bennett as his running mate. [7]

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{} Posthumus Posthumus--50-60% Posthumus--60-70% Posthumus--70-80% Posthumus--80-90% Posthumus--90-100% 2002 Michigan gubernatorial Republican primary county map.svg
Primary results by county:
  Posthumus
  •   Posthumus—50–60%
  •   Posthumus—60–70%
  •   Posthumus—70–80%
  •   Posthumus—80–90%
  •   Posthumus—90–100%
Republican primary results [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Dick Posthumus 474,804 81.39
Republican Joe Schwarz 108,58118.61
Total votes583,385 100.00

Jim Moody created a candidate committee and filed a Statement of Organization, but did not submit sufficient ballot-access petition signatures to be included on the 2002 primary ballot. [9]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Eliminated in primary

The Democratic Party was a competitive, three-way race with between state Attorney General Jennifer Granholm, former Gov. James Blanchard (who was upset by Engler in 1990) and former House Minority Whip David Bonior.

Granholm was accused in the 2002 Democratic primary of several allegations of cronyism while working as Wayne County Corporation Counsel. Her husband, Daniel Mulhern, had received several contracts for his leadership training company shortly after Granholm left her position as a Wayne County Corporation Counsel in 1998. He received nearly $300,000 worth of contracts, despite being the highest bidder for one of those contracts. Opponents criticized Granholm supporters for engaging in cronyism and giving contracts to her husband immediately after leaving county employment. Granholm and her supporters responded that no ethical violations occurred and that Mulhern had earned the contracts on his own merits. [10]

Granholm was the first woman ever nominated by a major party to be Michigan governor. [11] Following her primary victory, Granholm chose state Sen. John Cherry as her running mate. [7]

Results

Primary results by county: Granholm Granholm--30-40% Granholm--40-50% Granholm--50-60% Granholm--60-70% Granholm--70-80% Granholm--80-90% Bonior Bonior--40-50% Bonior--50-60% 2002 Michigan gubernatorial Democratic primary county map.svg
Primary results by county:
  Granholm
  •   Granholm—30–40%
  •   Granholm—40–50%
  •   Granholm—50–60%
  •   Granholm—60–70%
  •   Granholm—70–80%
  •   Granholm—80–90%
  Bonior
  •   Bonior—40–50%
  •   Bonior—50–60%
Democratic primary results [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Jennifer Granholm 499,129 47.69
Democratic David Bonior292,95827.99
Democratic James Blanchard254,58624.32
Total votes1,046,673 100.00

General election

Candidates

DouglasCampbell2002.jpg
Green Party candidate Douglas Campbell.

The Green Party of Michigan nominated Douglas Campbell. Campbell, a registered professional engineer and published Atheist from Ferndale, joined the Green party upon learning of its existence in 2000, [12] and was the Wayne-Oakland-Macomb county campaign coordinator for Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader, 2000. [13] During the 2002 campaign he claimed he was beaten, arrested and jailed (in Brighton, Michigan) for attempting to participate in a gubernatorial debate from which he was excluded, at the time being the only candidate who was not either a Republican or Democrat. [14]

Capac resident Joseph Pilchak was nominated by convention to be the U.S. Taxpayers Party candidate for Governor of Michigan. He was the U.S. Taxpayers Party candidate for U.S. Representative from Michigan 10th District in 2000. [1] The Michigan US Taxpayers' Party is affiliated with the United States Constitution Party, [15] but Michigan election law does not provide a mechanism for changing the name of a political party. [16]

Campaign

Posthumus, who had been previous Governor Engler's Lieutenant Governor, ran his general election campaign promising to maintain the Engler legacy. [17]

Granholm promised change, running as a tough crime fighter and consumer advocate. Granholm criticized the Engler administration for coming into office with a budget surplus and leaving with a deficit. [17]

Kilpatrick memo controversy

In the biggest event of the election, Posthumus released a memo from Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick asking for more appointments for blacks and jobs for Detroit contractors in a Granholm administration. Posthumus pointed to the memo as an example of Democratic Party corruption. Granholm, however, denied ever receiving the memo and said she wouldn't have agreed to it anyway. She said Posthumus was trying to be racially divisive. [17]

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [18] Lean D (flip)October 31, 2002
Sabato's Crystal Ball [19] Likely D (flip)November 4, 2002

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size [lower-alpha 1] 		Margin
of error		Jennifer
Granholm (D)		Dick
Posthumus (R)		Other /
Undecided
SurveyUSA November 1–3, 2002730 (LV)± 3.7%52%46%3%

Results

2002 Michigan gubernatorial election [20]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Jennifer Granholm 1,633,796 51.42% +13.64%
Republican Dick Posthumus 1,506,10447.40%−14.81%
Green Douglas Campbell 25,2360.79%
Constitution Joseph Pilchak12,4110.39%
Write-in 180.00%
Majority127,6924.02%−20.41%
Turnout 3,177,565
Democratic gain from Republican

Results by county

County GranholmVotesPosthumusVotesOthersVotes
Alcona 47.20%2,16552.04%2,3870.76%35
Alger 52.59%1,85546.02%1,6231.39%49
Allegan 36.66%12,77262.28%21,6951.06%369
Alpena 56.95%6,39142.07%4,7220.98%110
Antrim 39.67%3,75258.96%5,5761.36%129
Arenac 51.14%2,82147.34%2,6111.52%84
Baraga 50.93%1,26347.18%1,1701.89%47
Barry 40.15%8,13658.93%11,9830.92%187
Bay 53.29%21,19045.27%18,0011.44%571
Benzie 45.83%3,03652.53%3,4801.64%109
Berrien 41.85%17,09457.24%23,2780.91%373
Branch 45.04%5,00154.14%6,0120.82%91
Calhoun 52.59%21,29846.40%18,7891.01%409
Cass 45.10%5,74153.77%6,8451.13%143
Charlevoix 39.89%3,83658.31%5,6081.80%173
Cheboygan 43.29%4,10755.53%5,2681.18%112
Chippewa 49.81%5,42849.16%5,3571.03%113
Clare 50.05%4,71948.56%4,5781.39%131
Clinton 46.39%12,07052.61%13,7111.08%279
Crawford 45.65%2,23352.45%2,5661.90%93
Delta 50.37%6,86248.37%6,5901.26%172
Dickinson 46.47%3,88252.17%4,3581.35%113
Eaton 52.24%20,39546.74%18,2471.02%398
Emmet 37.16%4,33061.02%7,1111.82%212
Genesee 60.12%80,68738.61%51,8281.27%1,700
Gladwin 48.17%4,35050.59%4,5691.24%112
Gogebic 57.90%3,29240.59%2,3081.51%86
Grand Traverse 40.92%12,33057.69%17,3821.39%418
Gratiot 44.94%5,20354.00%6,2521.06%122
Hillsdale 38.45%4,77860.33%7,4981.22%152
Houghton 48.56%5,02649.46%5,1191.98%205
Huron 39.41%4,78359.48%7,2181.11%134
Ingham 60.95%55,57137.74%34,4141.31%1,192
Ionia 43.25%7,91955.88%10,2320.87%160
Iosco 50.32%5,03148.17%4,8171.51%151
Iron 53.51%2,42944.44%2,0172.05%93
Isabella 49.50%7,53448.80%7,4281.70%259
Jackson 46.92%22,03651.83%24,3441.25%585
Kalamazoo 52.29%39,09046.54%34,7951.17%873
Kalkaska 42.02%2,23456.62%3,0101.36%72
Kent 38.53%74,82360.63%117,7550.84%1,634
Keweenaw 45.99%48252.00%5452.01%21
Lake 52.24%1,90445.84%1,6711.92%70
Lapeer 39.40%11,38458.98%17,0401.62%467
Leelanau 42.95%4,24155.71%5,5011.34%133
Lenawee 47.13%13,31451.86%14,6501.01%287
Livingston 37.09%22,00661.86%36,6991.05%625
Luce 52.26%1,01645.73%8892.01%39
Mackinac 47.28%2,20651.97%2,4250.75%35
Macomb 47.16%121,06551.64%132,5831.20%3,082
Manistee 49.31%4,38949.45%4,4011.24%110
Marquette 57.69%12,77940.21%8,9062.10%465
Mason 45.58%4,80253.09%5,5941.33%140
Mecosta 44.28%5,02054.66%6,1971.06%121
Menominee 47.41%3,33550.83%3,5761.76%124
Midland 41.31%12,34257.43%17,1561.26%376
Missaukee 32.92%1,72466.61%3,4620.97%51
Monroe 47.75%19,84551.17%21,2661.08%447
Montcalm 44.18%7,76355.14%9,6890.68%119
Montmorency 42.94%1,72255.64%2,2311.42%57
Muskegon 56.49%29,88442.72%22,6000.79%420
Newaygo 40.84%6,26858.06%8,9101.10%169
Oakland 50.52%220,08248.30%210,4141.18%5,115
Oceana 45.18%3,88653.91%4,6370.91%78
Ogemaw 49.54%3,72749.04%3,6891.42%107
Ontonagon 48.38%1,30149.61%1,3342.01%54
Osceola 39.97%2,97359.13%4,3990.90%67
Oscoda 41.85%1,24256.23%1,6691.92%57
Otsego 39.49%3,34658.80%4,9821.71%145
Ottawa 28.11%24,65471.22%62,4640.67%583
Presque Isle 48.15%2,71750.72%2,8621.13%64
Roscommon 47.85%4,90950.91%5,2231.24%128
Saginaw 52.65%38,05146.27%33,4401.08%786
St. Clair 45.44%23,81352.76%27,6471.80%943
St. Joseph 40.87%6,34158.10%9,0141.03%159
Sanilac 37.39%5,26560.94%8,5811.67%235
Schoolcraft 52.86%1,70145.62%1,4681.52%49
Shiawassee 47.05%11,84351.53%12,9711.42%359
Tuscola 42.13%8,09756.32%10,8241.55%298
Van Buren 49.15%10,51849.93%10,6850.92%197
Washtenaw 61.41%65,99536.90%39,6591.69%1,820
Wayne 67.81%384,12131.05%175,8991.14%6,478
Wexford 42.28%4,23056.37%5,6401.35%135

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Notes

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

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References

  1. 1 2 The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/pikiel-pinchot.html
  2. ↑ The Constitution Party is still on the Michigan ballot as the United States Taxpayers' Party in Michigan. Although the party changed its name in 1999, the Michigan Bureau of Elections does not provide any mechanism for a political party changing its name.
  3. ↑ CNN.com Election 2002 – Governor. CNN.
  4. ↑ 2002 Official Michigan General Election Results – Governor 4 Year Term (1) Position Archived 2014-01-13 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ Christian, Nichole M.; Cushman Jr, John H.; Day, Sherri; Dillon, Sam; Lewis, Neil A.; Pear, Robert; Pristin, Terry; Shenon, Philip; Steinberg, Jacques; Wayne, Leslie (November 7, 2002). "THE 2002 ELECTIONS: MIDWEST; MICHIGAN". The New York Times . Retrieved February 15, 2009.
  6. ↑ "It's (finally) official: Posthumus enters race for governor". The Michigan Daily. Associated Press. September 5, 2001. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Mich. Candidate Chooses Running Mate". The Edwardsville Intelligencer. Associated Press. August 23, 2002. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  8. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 22, 2009. Retrieved October 17, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ↑ http://miboecfr.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/cfr/com_det.cgi?com_id=510903 [ permanent dead link ], Michigan Bureau of Elections, Committee Statement of Organization #510903
  10. ↑ Selweski, Chad (January 13, 2002). "Granholm supporters helped her husband secure Wayne County contracts". Macomb Daily. Archived from the original on June 29, 2006. Retrieved November 13, 2006.
  11. ↑ Longest-serving member of House wins fight of career. USA Today . Accessed 15 February 2009.
  12. ↑ Greens, US. "Green Party Speakers Bureau". gp.org (website).
  13. ↑ "Bio: Douglas Campbell". October 9, 2006. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  14. ↑ Campbell, Douglas (May 21, 2002). "Thinking Politically (Letter from the Brighton Jail)". Synthesis/Regeneration 29 Fall 2002).
  15. ↑ The Constitution Party was founded as the U.S. Taxpayers' Party in 1992. The national party's name was changed to the Constitution Party in 1999.
  16. ↑ U.S. Taxpayers and Constitution Party of Michigan. "Gubernatorial Debate – Part II Bhagwan (Bob) Dashairya Enters Michigan Governor's Race " Archived 2007-02-17 at the Wayback Machine . ustaxpayersandconstitutionpartymi.com (website).
  17. 1 2 3 Granholm becomes Michigan's first female governor. USA Today . (Associated Press). Accessed 15 February 2009.
  18. ↑ "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.
  19. ↑ "Governors Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on December 12, 2002. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  20. ↑ "2002 Michigan Official General Election Results - 11/05/2002".
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