Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2002

Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2002

←  1998 November 5, 2002 2006  →

Nominee Ed Rendell Mike Fisher Party Democratic Republican Running mate Catherine Baker Knoll Jane Earll Popular vote 1,913,235 1,589,408 Percentage 53.4% 44.4%

County Results Rendell:     50–60%     60–70%     80–90% Fisher:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

Governor before election Mark Schweiker Republican Elected Governor Ed Rendell Democratic

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v t e

The Pennsylvania gubernatorial election of 2002 was held on November 5, 2002, and included the races for the governor and lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania.

Gubernatorial Primaries

Attorney General Mike Fisher ran unopposed for the Republican nomination. Although incumbent Governor Mark Schweiker was eligible to run for reelection (he had served only a partial term after Tom Ridge resigned to become Homeland Security Advisor), he chose not to seek his party's nomination. Despite polls showing that Schweiker polled well among the same groups that backed Ridge, the Republican establishment considered Schweiker to be a weak candidate and stood steadfast behind Fisher. ^[1]

In the Democratic primary, former Mayor of Philadelphia Ed Rendell defeated Pennsylvania Auditor General Bob Casey, Jr., bucking the "myth that a Philadelphian could never win" a statewide election. Despite strong support from organized labor for Casey, lackluster campaigning combined with Rendell's ability to cast himself as a strong executive allowed him to pull out a primary win. ^[2]

Pennsylvania gubernatorial primary election, 2002 ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ed Rendell	702,442	56.5
	Democratic	Bob Casey, Jr.	539,794	43.5

Democratic primary results by county

Campaign

Rendell defeated Fisher with "endless retail politicking" and a hard-working campaign. ^[4] The political website PoliticsPA praised Rendell's campaign team of David L. Cohen, David W. Sweet, and Sandi Vito. ^[4]

Rendell was the first official from Philadelphia to win a spot in the governor's mansion since 1914. Although Fisher emphasized Rendell's Philadelphia roots continuously during his campaign, and described the mayor as an urban liberal whose programs would require huge tax increases, his strategy backfired; in much of Eastern Pennsylvania, voters instead related to Rendell, and he was thus able to win by huge margins in even many traditionally GOP suburbs. ^[1]

Results

Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2002 ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ed Rendell Running mate: Catherine Baker Knoll	1,913,235	53.4
	Republican	Mike Fisher Running mate: Jane Earll	1,589,408	44.4
	Libertarian	Ken Krawchuk Running mate: Henry Haller III	40,923	1.14
	Green	Mike Morrill Running mate: Vicki Smedley	38,423	1.07

References

1. Kennedy, John J. (2006). Pennsylvania Elections: Statewide Contests From 1950-2004. University Press of America. ISBN   9780761832799. 
2. "The Best and Worst of Primary '02". PoliticsPA . The Publius Group. 2002. ^{[ dead link ]}
3. "Governor, 2002 General Primary". Commonwealth of PA – Elections Information. Pennsylvania Department of State. 2004. Retrieved 2008-05-16. 
4. "The Best and Worst Campaigns'02". PoliticsPA . The Publius Group. 2002. ^{[ dead link ]}
5. "Governor, 2002 General Election". Commonwealth of PA – Elections Information. Pennsylvania Department of State. 2004. Retrieved 2008-05-16.