2002 Minnesota gubernatorial election

2002 Minnesota gubernatorial election
	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

Last updated June 22, 2025

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. 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 .^[1]

Republican primary

Candidate

Tim Pawlenty, Majority Leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives
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.^[2]

Candidate

Roger Moe, Majority Leader of the Minnesota Senate
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%.^[3]

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Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn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 ^[4]	Tossup	October 31, 2002
Sabato's Crystal Ball ^[5]	Lean R (flip)	November 4, 2002

Results

2002 gubernatorial election, Minnesota^[6]
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^[7]	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 Democratic to Independence

Mower (largest city: Austin)

References

↑ Robson, Britt (August 30, 2006). "Running Man". City Pages. Archived from the original on January 8, 2007. Retrieved November 10, 2006.
↑ Howard, K. C. "DFL endorses Moe for governor's race". The Minnesota Daily. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
↑ Gilyard, Burl (November 8, 2002). "Decimation of Independence". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339 . Retrieved November 10, 2024.
↑ "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.
↑ "Governors Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on December 12, 2002. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
↑ "2002 Gubernatorial General Election Results – Minnesota". Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved May 27, 2008.
↑ "Election Reporting". Archived from the original on August 7, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2015.

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2002 Minnesota gubernatorial election

Contents

Republican primary

Candidate

Results

DFL primary

Candidate

Results

General election

Polling

Debates

Predictions

Results

Counties that flipped from Reform to Republican

Counties that flipped from Reform to Democratic

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Counties that flipped from Republican to Independence

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Independence

References

See also