The 2002 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2002, to elect the next governor of Tennessee. The incumbent, Don Sundquist, was term-limited and is 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.
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Turnout | 50.40% [1] 17.87 pp | ||||||||||||||||
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County results Bredesen: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Hilleary: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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With this win, Bredesen flipped the state back into Democratic control, with the state legislature also being controlled by Democrats.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Van Hilleary | 343,543 | 64.31 | |
Republican | Jim Henry | 159,862 | 29.92 | |
Republican | Bob Tripp | 17,156 | 3.21 | |
Republican | Dave Kelley | 8,581 | 1.61 | |
Republican | Jessie D. McDonald | 4,682 | 0.88 | |
Republican | Write-ins | 389 | 0.07 | |
Total votes | 534,213 | 100.00 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Phil Bredesen | 426,418 | 79.05 | |
Democratic | Randy Nichols | 38,322 | 7.10 | |
Democratic | Charles E. Smith | 34,547 | 6.40 | |
Democratic | Charles V. Brown | 17,506 | 3.25 | |
Democratic | L. Best | 16,007 | 2.97 | |
Democratic | Floyd R. Conover | 6,218 | 1.15 | |
Democratic | Write-ins | 420 | 0.08 | |
Total votes | 539,438 | 100.00 |
Source | Ranking | As of |
---|---|---|
The Cook Political Report[4] | Tossup | October 31, 2002 |
Sabato's Crystal Ball[5] | Lean D (flip) | November 4, 2002 |
Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Phil Bredesen (D) |
Van Hilleary (R) |
Other / Undecided |
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SurveyUSA | October 26–28, 2002 | 726 (LV) | ± 3.8% | 48% | 44% | 8% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Phil Bredesen | 837,284 | 50.65% | +21.17% | |
Republican | Van Hilleary | 786,803 | 47.59% | -21.03% | |
Independent | Edwin C. Sanders | 7,749 | 0.47% | N/A | |
Independent | Carl Two Feathers Whitaker | 5,308 | 0.32% | N/A | |
Independent | John Jay Hooker | 4,577 | 0.28% | N/A | |
Independent | David Gatchell | 2,991 | 0.18% | N/A | |
Independent | Gabriel Givens | 1,591 | 0.10% | N/A | |
Independent | Ray Ledford | 1,589 | 0.10% | N/A | |
Independent | James E. Herren | 1,210 | 0.07% | N/A | |
Independent | Charles V. Wilhoit, Jr. | 898 | 0.05% | N/A | |
Independent | Marivuana Stout Leinoff | 645 | 0.04% | N/A | |
Independent | Francis E. Waldron | 635 | 0.04% | N/A | |
Independent | Ronny Simmons | 630 | 0.04% | N/A | |
Independent | Robert O. Watson | 579 | 0.04% | N/A | |
Independent | Basil Marceaux | 302 | 0.02% | N/A | |
Write-ins | 376 | 0.02% | N/A | ||
Total votes | 1,653,167 | 100.00% | |||
Democratic gain from Republican |