The 2002 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican Governor of Wisconsin Scott McCallum, who had assumed office upon the resignation of Tommy Thompson, ran for his first full term in office. McCallum won his party's nomination by defeating two minor candidates, and Attorney General of Wisconsin Jim Doyle won the Democratic primary with a little more than a third of the vote in a highly competitive primary election. In the general election, the presence of Ed Thompson, former Governor Tommy Thompson's younger brother, the Mayor of Tomah, and the Libertarian Party nominee, held both McCallum and Doyle to under fifty percent of the vote, enabling Doyle to win with 45% of the vote, defeating McCallum. As of 2022, this is the last gubernatorial election in which the Democratic candidate carried Taylor, Langlade, Marquette, Manitowoc, and Racine counties, and the last in which Juneau County did not vote for the Republican candidate, instead voting for Thompson.
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Turnout | 45.43% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Doyle: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% McCallum: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Thompson 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Tie: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Republican primary
editMcCallum, as the incumbent governor, did not face significant opposition in the primary. He was nominated with 86% of the primary vote.
Candidates
editNominated
edit- Scott McCallum, incumbent Governor of Wisconsin
Eliminated in primary
edit- William Lorge, former State Representative
- George Pobuda, teacher in Tomahawk, Wisconsin
Results
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Scott McCallum (incumbent) | 198,525 | 86.23% | |
Republican | William Lorge | 18,852 | 8.19% | |
Republican | George Pobuda | 12,452 | 5.41% | |
Write-in | 403 | 0.18% | ||
Total votes | 230,232 | 100.00% |
Democratic primary
editThe primary election for the Democratic nomination was closely contested by three competitive candidates. The race was ultimately won by Jim Doyle with around 38% of the vote.
Governor
editNominee
edit- Jim Doyle, three-term Attorney General of Wisconsin, former District Attorney of Dane County, Wisconsin.
Eliminated in primary
edit- Tom Barrett, U.S. Representative from Wisconsin's 5th congressional district, former state senator and state representative
- Kathleen Falk, Dane County Executive, former Assistant Wisconsin Attorney General, general counsel for Wisconsin's Environmental Decade, Inc.
Polling
editPoll source | Date(s) administered |
Jim Doyle |
Tom Barrett |
Kathleen Falk |
---|---|---|---|---|
University of Wisconsin (Badger Poll) | Sept 2–5, 2002 | 39% | 31% | 30% |
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Aug 26–28, 2002 | 31.5% | 25.7% | 25.1% |
Results
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Jim Doyle | 212,066 | 38.30% | |
Democratic | Tom Barrett | 190,605 | 34.43% | |
Democratic | Kathleen Falk | 150,161 | 27.12% | |
Write-in | 802 | 0.14% | ||
Total votes | 553,634 | 100.00% |
Libertarian party
edit- Ed Thompson, former Mayor of Tomah, Wisconsin (2000–2002), brother of former Governor Tommy Thompson
Green party
edit- Jim Young, City assessor for Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
Reform party
edit- Alan D. Eisenberg, lawyer and real estate dealer
Independent candidates
edit- Ty A. Bollerud, of Janesville, Wisconsin
- Mike Mangan, of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
- Aneb Jah Rasta, consultant and doctor of metaphysics
General election
editPredictions
editSource | Ranking | As of |
---|---|---|
The Cook Political Report[2] | Tossup | October 31, 2002 |
Sabato's Crystal Ball[3] | Lean D (flip) | November 4, 2002 |
Polling
editPoll source | Date(s) administered |
Jim Doyle (D) |
Scott McCallum (R) |
Ed Thompson (L) |
Jim Young (G) |
Others |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
University of Wisconsin (Badger Poll) | Oct 27–29, 2002 | 41% | 34% | 10% | 2% | 0% |
University of Wisconsin (Badger Poll) | Oct 25–27, 2002 | 38% | 36% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Market Shares Corp | Oct 24–27, 2002 | 38% | 36% | 8% | 4% | 0% |
St. Norbert College | Oct 16–27, 2002 | 41% | 33% | 6% | 3% | 0% |
We the People/Wisconsin | Oct 20–21, 2002 | 46% | 38% | 8% | 3% | 0% |
Research 2000 | Oct 4–7, 2002 | 44% | 36% | 6% | 3% | 0% |
Wisconsin Policy Research Institute | Sept 26–29, 2002 | 40% | 31% | 7% | 4% | 0% |
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Sept 17–25, 2002 | 43% | 35% | 6% | 1% | 0% |
Results
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Jim Doyle | 800,515 | 45.09% | +6.39% | |
Republican | Scott McCallum (incumbent) | 734,779 | 41.39% | -18.28% | |
Libertarian | Ed Thompson | 185,455 | 10.45% | +9.82% | |
Green | Jim Young | 44,111 | 2.48% | +2.48% | |
Reform | Alan D. Eisenberg | 2,847 | 0.16% | — | |
Independent | Ty A. Bollerud | 2,637 | 0.15% | — | |
Independent | Mike Managan | 1,710 | 0.10% | — | |
Independent | Aneb Jah Rasta | 929 | 0.05% | — | |
Write-in | 2,366 | 0.13% | — | ||
Plurality | 65,736 | 3.71% | -17.27% | ||
Turnout | 1,775,349 | 45.43% | +1.10% | ||
Democratic gain from Republican |
Counties that flipped Republican to Democratic
edit- Barron (largest city: Rice Lake)
- Iron (largest city: Hurley)
- Jefferson (largest city: Watertown)
- Langlade (largest city: Antigo)
- Manitowoc (largest city: Manitowoc)
- Marathon (largest city: Wausau)
- Oneida (largest city: Rhinelander)
- Rusk (largest city: Ladysmith)
- Washburn (largest city: Spooner)
- Buffalo (largest city: Mondovi)
- Columbia (largest city: Portage)
- Dunn (largest city: Menomonie)
- Forest (largest city: Crandon)
- Grant (largest city: Platteville)
- Jackson (largest city: Black River Falls)
- Kenosha (largest city: Kenosha)
- Lafayette (largest city: Darlington)
- Lincoln (largest city: Merrill)
- Pepin (largest city: Durand)
- Price (largest city: Park Falls)
- Racine (largest city: Racine)
- Richland (largest city: Richland Center)
- Trempealeau (largest city: Arcadia)
- Adams (largest city: Adams)
- Polk (Largest city: Amery)
- Taylor (Largest city: Medford)
- Crawford (largest city: Prairie du Chien)
- Eau Claire (largest city: Eau Claire)
- Sauk (largest city: Baraboo)
- Vernon (largest city: Viroqua)
- Milwaukee (largest city: Milwaukee)
- La Crosse (largest city: La Crosse)
- Marquette (largest city: Montello)
- Portage (largest city: Stevens Points)
- Iowa (largest city: Dodgeville)
- Green (largest city: Monore)
- Rock (largest city: Janesville)
Counties that flipped from Republican to Libertarian
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Results of Fall Primary Election - 09/10/2002" (PDF). Wisconsin State Elections Board. p. 1. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Results of Fall General Election - 11/05/2002" (PDF). Wisconsin State Elections Board. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 12, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
External links
edit- "Archive of Jim Doyle Election Site". Archived from the original on October 31, 2002. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "Archive of Scott McCallum Election Site". Archived from the original on November 2, 2002. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "Archive of Ed Thompson Election Site". Archived from the original on November 3, 2002. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
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: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)