2002 Michigan gubernatorial election

2002 Michigan gubernatorial election

← 1998 November 5, 2002 2006 →
Turnout3,177,565
 
Nominee Jennifer Granholm Dick Posthumus
Party Democratic Republican
Running mate John Cherry Loren Bennett
Popular vote 1,631,276 1,504,755
Percentage 51.4% 47.4%

Granholm:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70-80%      80-90%
Posthumus:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Governor before election

John Engler
Republican

Elected Governor

Jennifer Granholm
Democratic

The 2002 Michigan gubernatorial election was one of the 36 United States gubernatorial elections held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican governor John Engler, after serving three terms, was term-limited and was ineligible to run for a fourth term; his lieutenant governor Dick Posthumus, also a Republican, ran in his place. Jennifer Granholm, then Attorney General of Michigan, ran on the Democratic Party ticket. Douglas Campbell ran on the Green Party ticket, and Joseph M. Pilchak[1] ran on the Constitution Party[2] ticket.

Granholm won with 51% of the vote, followed by Posthumus' 47%, Campbell with 1%, and Pilchak with less than 1%.[3][4] This made Granholm the first female Michigan governor and the first Democratic governor of Michigan in 12 years.[5]

  1. ^ The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/pikiel-pinchot.html
  2. ^ The Constitution Party is still on the Michigan ballot as the United States Taxpayers' Party in Michigan. Although the party changed its name in 1999, the Michigan Bureau of Elections does not provide any mechanism for a political party changing its name.
  3. ^ CNN.com Election 2002 – Governor. CNN.
  4. ^ 2002 Official Michigan General Election Results – Governor 4 Year Term (1) Position Archived 2014-01-13 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Christian, Nichole M.; Cushman Jr, John H.; Day, Sherri; Dillon, Sam; Lewis, Neil A.; Pear, Robert; Pristin, Terry; Shenon, Philip; Steinberg, Jacques; Wayne, Leslie (November 7, 2002). "THE 2002 ELECTIONS: MIDWEST; MICHIGAN". The New York Times. Retrieved February 15, 2009.