Vermont gubernatorial election, 2002

Vermont gubernatorial election, 2002

November 5, 2002

Candidate Jim Douglas Doug Racine Cornelius Hogan Party Republican Democratic Independent Popular vote 103,436 97,565 22,353 Percentage 44.9% 42.4% 9.7%

Governor before election Howard Dean Democratic Elected Governor Jim Douglas Republican

The Vermont gubernatorial election of 2002 took place on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Democrat Howard Dean did not run for re-election to a sixth full term as Governor of Vermont. Republican Jim Douglas defeated Democratic candidate Doug Racine and independent candidate Cornelius Hogan, among others, to succeed him. Since no candidate received a majority in the popular vote, Douglas was elected by the Vermont General Assembly per the state constitution.^[1]

Democratic primary

Results

Democratic primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Doug Racine	25,522	99.1
	Democratic	Other	232	0.9
Total votes			25,754	100

Republican primary

Results

Republican primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Jim Douglas	23,366	96.7
	Republican	Other	789	3.3
Total votes			24,155	100

Vermont Progressive primary

Results

VT Progressive primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	VT Progressive	Michael J. Badamo	931	54.2
	VT Progressive	Peter Diamondstone	412	24.0
	VT Progressive	Other	376	21.8
Total votes			1,719	100

General election

Results

The race was very close, with Douglas prevailing by just under 6,000 votes or 2.56%. In Vermont for statewide/executive races if no candidate receives 50% then the Vermont General Assembly picks the winner. However, Racine declined to contest it further and conceded to Douglas. Ultimately it was Douglas's strong performance in Montpelier and Rutland that carried him to victory. Racine did do well in the heavily populated Burlington, but it just wasn't quite enough. Racine called Douglas at 12:38 P.M. EST and conceded defeat. Douglas would go on to be reelected three more times. Racine would give the Governors's Mansion one last try in 2010, but narrowly lost the Democratic Primary to Peter Shumlin. After the close contest, Shumlin chose Racine to be his Secretary of Human Servies. Racine stepped down from that post in 2014.

Vermont gubernatorial election, 2002^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Jim Douglas	103,436	44.94
	Democratic	Doug Racine	97,565	42.39
	Independent	Cornelius Hogan	22,353	9.71
	Make Marijuana Legal	Cris Ericson	1,737	0.75
	VT Progressive	Michael Badamo	1,380	0.60
	Libertarian	Joel Williams	938	0.41
	Vermont Grassroots	Patricia Hejny	771	0.33
	Restore Justice-Freedom	Marilynn Christian	638	0.28
	Liberty Union	Peter Diamondstone	625	0.27
	Independent	Brian Pearl	569	0.25
	N/A	Write-ins	149	0.06
Total votes			230,161	100

References

1. "General Election Results - Governor - 1789-2012" (PDF). Office of the Vermont Secretary of State. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
2. "Primary Election Results" (PDF). Office of the Vermont Secretary of State. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
3. "2002 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Vermont". U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved 30 December 2014.