2002 Tennessee gubernatorial election

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2002 Tennessee gubernatorial election
Flag of Tennessee.svg
←  1998 November 5, 2002 2006  →
Turnout50.40% Increase2.svg [1] 17.87 pp
  Governor Bredesen (cropped).jpg Van Hilleary (cropped).jpg
Nominee Phil Bredesen Van Hilleary
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote837,284786,803
Percentage50.65%47.59%
2002 Tennessee gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
2002 Tennessee gubernatorial election results map by congressional district.svg
Bredesen:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Hilleary:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%
Governor before election

Don Sundquist
Republican

Elected Governor

Phil Bredesen
Democratic

The 2002 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2002, to elect the next governor of Tennessee, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican governor Don Sundquist was term-limited and was prohibited by the Constitution of Tennessee from seeking a third consecutive term. To succeed him, former Democratic Nashville Mayor Phil Bredesen, who had run against Sundquist in 1994, narrowly defeated Republican United States Congressman Van Hilleary in the general election.

Contents

With this win, Bredesen flipped the state back into Democratic control, with the state legislature also being controlled by Democrats.

Campaign

Phil Bredesen promised to manage state government better, improve Tennessee's schools and use his experience as a managed-care executive to fix TennCare, which had created a critical budget shortfall toward the end of Sundquist's term. His reputation as a moderate Democrat was well established (he was a member of the "good government" faction of the Nashville Democratic Party), so Hilleary's attempts to brand him as a liberal ultimately failed. Republicans also suffered from governor Don Sundquist's unpopular attempts to implement a state income tax. [2] Bredesen garnered more support in East Tennessee than was usual for a Democrat, especially one from Nashville.

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Van Hilleary 343,543 64.31%
Republican Jim Henry159,86229.92%
Republican Bob Tripp17,1563.21%
Republican Dave Kelley8,5811.61%
Republican Jessie D. McDonald4,6820.88%
Republican Write-ins3890.07%
Total votes534,213 100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Phil Bredesen 426,418 79.05%
Democratic Randy Nichols38,3227.10%
Democratic Charles E. Smith34,5476.40%
Democratic Charles V. Brown17,5063.25%
Democratic L. Best16,0072.97%
Democratic Floyd R. Conover6,2181.15%
Democratic Write-ins4200.08%
Total votes539,438 100.00%

General election

Candidates

Major

  • Phil Bredesen (D)
  • Van Hilleary (R)
  • Edwin C. Sanders (I)
  • Carl Two Feathers Whitaker (I)
  • John Jay Hooker (I)
  • David Gatchell (I)
  • Gabriel Givens (I)
  • Ray Ledford (I)
  • James E. Herren (I)
  • Charles V. Wilhoit Jr. (I)
  • Marivuana Stout Leinoff (I)
  • Francis E. Waldron (I)
  • Ronny Simmons (I)
  • Robert O. Watson (I)
  • Basil Marceaux (I)

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [5] TossupOctober 31, 2002
Sabato's Crystal Ball [6] Lean D (flip)November 4, 2002

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size [a] 		Margin
of error		Phil
Bredesen (D)		Van
Hilleary (R)		Other /
Undecided
SurveyUSA [7] October 26–28, 2002726 (LV)± 3.8%48%44%8%

Results

2002 Tennessee Gubernatorial County Flips.svg
2002 Tennessee gubernatorial election [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Phil Bredesen 837,284 50.65% +21.17%
Republican Van Hilleary 786,80347.59%−21.03%
Independent Edwin C. Sanders7,7490.47%N/A
Independent Carl Two Feathers Whitaker5,3080.32%N/A
Independent John Jay Hooker 4,5770.28%N/A
Independent David Gatchell2,9910.18%N/A
Independent Gabriel Givens1,5910.10%N/A
Independent Ray Ledford1,5890.10%N/A
Independent James E. Herren1,2100.07%N/A
Independent Charles V. Wilhoit, Jr.8980.05%N/A
Independent Marivuana Stout Leinoff6450.04%N/A
Independent Francis E. Waldron6350.04%N/A
Independent Ronny Simmons6300.04%N/A
Independent Robert O. Watson5790.04%N/A
Independent Basil Marceaux 3020.02%N/A
Write-ins3760.02%N/A
Total votes1,653,167 100.00%
Democratic gain from Republican

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

Notes

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

References

  1. ↑ "Tennessee Voter Turnout in 2002". Tennessee Secretary of State. November 5, 2002. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  2. ↑ Roger Abramson (January 6, 2011). "Phil Bredesen Made a Successful Governor for One Mind-blowing Reason: He Did Just What He Said". The Nashville Scene. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  3. ↑ "August 1, 2002, Republican Primary: Governor" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  4. ↑ "August 1, 2002, Democratic Primary: Governor" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  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. ↑ SurveyUSA
  8. ↑ "November 5, 2002, General Election: Governor" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2014.

Official campaign websites (archived)

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