2002 New Hampshire gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2002 United States gubernatorial elections.

2002 New Hampshire gubernatorial election

←  2000 November 5, 2002 2004  →

Nominee Craig Benson Mark Fernald Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 259,663 169,277 Percentage 58.7% 38.2%

County results Municipality results Benson:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Fernald:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     >90%

Governor before election Jeanne Shaheen Democratic Elected Governor Craig Benson Republican

The 2002 New Hampshire gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002. Three-term incumbent Democratic governor Jeanne Shaheen opted to unsuccessfully run for the United States Senate rather than seek a fourth term as governor. Republican Craig Benson, a self-funded businessman, defeated Democrat Mark Fernald, a state senator, in the general election after both won contested primary elections.

This was the only time a Republican was elected governor between 1994 and 2016.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Mark Fernald, New Hampshire state senator
• Bev Hollingworth, New Hampshire state senator

Results

Democratic Primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mark Fernald	34,683	53.28
	Democratic	Bev Hollingworth	27,777	42.67
	Democratic	Write-ins	2,632	4.04
Total votes			65,092	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• Craig Benson, businessman
• Bruce Keough, former New Hampshire state senator
• Gordon J. Humphrey, former U.S. senator, 2000 Republican nominee for governor
• Robert Kingsbury, perennial candidate
• Joe Haas
• Bob Kroepel

Results

Republican primary results ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Craig Benson	56,099	36.65
	Republican	Bruce Keough	51,461	33.62
	Republican	Gordon Humphrey	42,698	27.90
	Republican	Robert Kingsbury	877	0.57
	Republican	Joe Haas	759	0.50
	Republican	Bob Kroepel	578	0.38
	Republican	Write-ins	575	0.38
Total votes			153,047	100.00

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [3]	Lean R (flip)	October 31, 2002
Sabato's Crystal Ball [4]	Likely R (flip)	November 4, 2002

Results

New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2002 ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Craig Benson	259,663	58.62%	+14.86%
	Democratic	Mark Fernald	169,277	38.21%	−10.52%
	Libertarian	John Babiarz	13,028	2.94%	+1.80%
	Write-ins		1,008	0.23%
Majority			90,386	20.40%	+15.43%
Turnout			442,976
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

Counties that swung from Democratic to Republican

• Coös (largest city: Berlin)
• Hillsborough (largest city: Manchester)
• Grafton (largest city: Lebanon)
• Merrimack (largest city: Concord)
• Strafford (largest city: Dover)
• Sullivan (largest city: Claremont)

See also

• U.S. Gubernatorial Elections, 2002

References

1. "Summary D Gov". Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
2. "Summary R Gov". Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
3. "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.
4. "Governors Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on December 12, 2002. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
5. "STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE ELECTIONS DIVISION STATE GENERAL ELECTION". Archived from the original on May 12, 2004. Retrieved May 18, 2025.

External links

• New Hampshire Secretary of State's office, election division