Arizona gubernatorial election, 2002

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Arizona gubernatorial election, 2002
Flag of Arizona.svg
  1998 November 5, 2002 2006  

  Portrait Napolitano hires crop.JPG Congressional Portrait of Matt Salmon.jpg Richard Mahoney.jpg
Nominee Janet Napolitano Matt Salmon Richard D. Mahoney
Party Democratic Republican Independent
Popular vote566,284554,46584,947
Percentage46.2%45.2%6.9%

02AZGovCounties.PNG
Election results by county

Governor before election

Jane Dee Hull
Republican

Elected Governor

Janet Napolitano
Democratic

The 2002 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2002. Democratic Arizona Attorney General Janet Napolitano defeated Republican former Representative Matt Salmon for the office of Governor of Arizona.

Democratic Party (United States) political party in the United States

The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party. The Democrats' dominant worldview was once social conservatism and economic liberalism while populism was its leading characteristic in the rural South. In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt ran as a third-party candidate in the Progressive Party, beginning a switch of political platforms between the Democratic and Republican Party over the coming decades, and leading to Woodrow Wilson being elected as the first fiscally progressive Democrat. Since Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal coalition in the 1930s, the Democratic Party has also promoted a social liberal platform, supporting social justice.

Arizona Attorney General attorney general for the U.S. state of Arizona

The Arizona Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the state of Arizona, in the United States. This state officer is the head of the Arizona Department of Law, more commonly known as the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. The state attorney general is a constitutionally-established officer, elected by the people of the state to a four-year term.

Janet Napolitano American politician

Janet Ann Napolitano is an American politician, lawyer, and university administrator who served as the 21st governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009 and United States secretary of homeland security from 2009 to 2013, under President Barack Obama. She has been president of the University of California system since September 2013, shortly after she resigned as Secretary of Homeland Security.

Contents

Republican primary

Candidates

Betsey Bayless was the 16th Secretary of State of Arizona from September 5, 1997 until January 6, 2003. She was appointed to fill the unexpired term of fellow Republican Jane Dee Hull. She was elected to a full term November 3, 1998.

Secretary of State of Arizona an elected position in the U.S. state of Arizona

The Secretary of State of Arizona is an elected position in the U.S. state of Arizona. Since Arizona does not have a lieutenant governor, the Secretary stands first in the line of succession to the governorship. The Secretary also serves as acting governor whenever the governor is incapacitated or out of state. The Secretary is the keeper of the Seal of Arizona and administers oaths of office. The current secretary is Katie Hobbs.

Matt Salmon American politician

Matthew James Salmon is an American Republican politician, who retired from office after serving as representative for Arizona's 5th congressional district. The district is based in Mesa and includes most of the East Valley. He previously represented the district, then numbered as the 1st District, from 1995 to 2001. In 2002, he lost by less than 1% to Janet Napolitano in a highly competitive governor's race. He regained his old congressional seat in the 2012 election. Salmon and his wife Nancy have been married for 34 years. They have four children and seven grandchildren.

Results

Republican primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Matt Salmon174,05555.99
Republican Betsey Bayless92,47329.75
Republican Carol Springer44,33314.26
Republican Write-ins240.01
Total votes310,861100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Janet Napolitano128,70257.23
Democratic Alfredo Gutierrez50,37722.40
Democratic Mark Osterloh31,42213.97
Democratic Mike Newcomb14,3736.39
Total votes224,874100.00

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Results

Libertarian primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Libertarian Barry Hess1,41451.01
Libertarian Gary Fallon1,35848.99
Total votes2,772100.00

General election

Debates

Results

The election was extremely close: Napolitano won by just 11,819 votes out of 1,226,111 cast, the closest gubernatorial election in Arizona in many years. Under Arizonan law, the losing candidate may request a recount, for which that candidate must pay, if the margin of victory is less than one percent but greater than half of one percent. In 2002, the margin of victory in 2002 was 0.97%, barely allowing a recount.

It soon became apparent that Napolitano had won the election and would be the next Governor of Arizona. Salmon acknowledged that the chance of his prevailing in a recount was extremely small and decided not to ask for one (recounts seldom see a swing over 1,000 votes [ citation needed ]; he was losing by over 10,000). He officially called Napolitano on November 17 and congratulated her on her victory.

On November 20, Arizona Secretary of State Betsey Bayless certified the results of the election and declared Napolitano the governor-elect.

Arizona gubernatorial election, 2002 [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Democratic Janet Napolitano 566,284 46.19% +10.66%
Republican Matt Salmon 554,46545.22%-15.72%
Independent Richard D. Mahoney 84,9476.93%
Libertarian Barry Hess 20,3561.66%-1.01%
Write-ins590.00%
Majority11,8190.96%-24.45%
Turnout 1,226,11155.0+10.0
Democratic gain from Republican Swing

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Primary" (PDF). Azsos. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-10-26.
  2. "General" (PDF). Azsos. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-10-26.