California gubernatorial election, 2002

Infobox Election
election_name = California gubernatorial election, 2002
country = California
type = presidential
ongoing = no
previous_election = California gubernatorial election, 1998
previous_year = 1998
next_election = California recall election, 2003
next_year = 2003
election_date = November 5 2002


nominee1 = Gray Davis
party1 = California Democratic Party
popular_vote1 = 3,533,490
percentage1 = 47.26


nominee2 = Bill Simon
party2 = California Republican Party
popular_vote2 = 3,169,801
percentage2 = 42.40
map_

---

map_size = 350px
map_caption = Election results by county
title = Governor
before_election = Gray Davis
before_party = California Democratic Party
after_election = Gray Davis
after_party = California Democratic Party

The 2002 California gubernatorial election was an election that occurred on November 5, 2002. Democrat Gray Davis defeated Republican Bill Simon by 5% and was re-elected to a second four-year term as Governor of California. Davis would be recalled less than a year into his next term.

The 2002 gubernatorial primary occurred in March 2002. Gray Davis faced no major competitor in the primary and won the nomination. Simon defeated former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan in the Republican primary. Gray Davis ran a series of negative ads against Riordan in the primary. Riordan was seen as a moderate and early state polls showed him defeating Gray Davis in the general election.

The Primary

During the 2002 election campaign, Davis took the unusual step of taking out campaign ads during the Republican primaries against Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan. Davis claimed that Riordan had attacked his record and that his campaign was defending his record. [ [http://archives.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/03/06/california.primary/index.html 'Fight' seen in California's governor's race] ] Polls showed that, as a moderate, Riordan would be a more formidable challenger in the general election than a conservative candidate. Polls even showed that Riordan would defeat Davis. [ [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/12/13/MN236557.DTL Riordan has edge on Davis in polls Governor's mixed reviews seen to benefit challenger] ] Davis attacked Riordan with negative ads in the primary. The ads questioned Riordan's pro-choice stance by questioning Riordan's support of pro-life politicians and judges. [ [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/01/26/MN96853.DTL Davis ad assails Riordan GOP rival's stand on abortion rights challenged] ] [ [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/01/29/MN174369.DTL Riordan silent on abortion flap Davis ad hits GOP governor hopeful for giving to thousands to anti-choice groups] ] The ads pointed out Riordan's position of wanting a moratorium on the death penalty as being to the left of Gray Davis, who strongly supported it. [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/02/22/MN225515.DTL Top GOP governor candidates trade attacks Surveys show Simon closing in on Riordan's once imposing primary lead] ] [ [http://www.nodeathpenalty.org/newab023/cooper.html Kevin Cooper Awaits DNA Test Results] ] [ [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/01/27/ED170108.DTL A man for all reasons] ]

In 2000, the United States Supreme Court in California Democratic Party v. Jones struck down California's blanket primary. [ Asseo, Laurie. "Court nixes 'blanket' primaries." Salon News. June 26, 2000. Associated Press writer. Accessed on August 13, 2007. http://www.salon.com/politics/2000/06/26/blanket/.] With the end of the blanket primary, only non-partisans and registered Republicans could vote for Richard Riordan in the 2002 primary. The end of the blanket primary made it more difficult for the more moderate Riordan. It has long been known in politics that primary voters are much more ideological and strongly liberal or strongly conservative than those who vote in the general election. [ Maisel, Sandy. "Closing the Door on Moderation, One Seat at a Time." The Jewish Daily Forward. Friday, August 18 2006. Accessed on August 13, 2007. http://www.forward.com/articles/1076/.]

Additionally, the Republican primary included negative attacks between Bill Jones and Riordan. Jones highlighted in his attack ads against Riordan that Riordan had contributed money Davis in past campaigns and had called Bill Clinton "the greatest leader in the free world." Riordan's counter ads highlighted that Jones had also contributed money to Davis. By late February 2002, Riordian's strong lead in the Republican primary had began to slip. In the previous months of the campaign, Riordan focused his ads and energies on campaigning against Gray Davis and defending himself from Davis' attack ads.

Davis's negative ads against Riordan appear to have contributed to Riordan's defeat in the Republican primary by the more staunchly conservative candidate Bill Simon.

Primary results

Final results from the Secretary of State of California. [http://sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2002_primary/gov.pdf]

Democratic

Election box winning candidate no party no change
candidate = Gray Davis
votes = 1,755,276
percentage = 80.90Election box candidate no party no change
candidate = Anselmo A. Chavez
votes = 179,301
percentage = 8.26Election box candidate no party no change
candidate = Charles "Chuck" Pineda, Jr.
votes = 139,121
percentage = 6.41Election box candidate no party no change
candidate = Mosemarie Boyd
votes = 95,857
percentage = 4.42Election box total no party no change
votes = 2,169,555
percentage = 100.00

Republican

Election box winning candidate no party no change
candidate = Bill Simon
votes = 1,129,973
percentage = 49.44Election box candidate no party no change
candidate = Richard Riordan
votes = 715,768
percentage = 31.32Election box candidate no party no change
candidate = Bill Jones
votes = 387,237
percentage = 16.94Election box candidate no party no change
candidate = Nick Jesson
votes = 19,287
percentage = 0.84Election box candidate no party no change
candidate = Edie Bukewihge
votes = 14,436
percentage = 0.63Election box candidate no party no change
candidate = Danney Ball
votes = 13,156
percentage = 0.58Election box candidate no party no change
candidate = Jim Dimov
votes = 5,595
percentage = 0.24Election box total no party no change
votes = 2,285,452
percentage = 100.00

Libertarian

Election box winning candidate no party no change
candidate = Gary David Copeland
votes = 19,079
percentage = 98.80Election box candidate no party no change
candidate = Art Olivier (write-in)
votes = 232
percentage = 1.20Election box total no party no change
votes = 19,311
percentage = 100.00

Others

Election box winning candidate with party link no change
party = Green Party of California
candidate = Peter Miguel Camejo
votes = 35,767
percentage = 100.00Election box winning candidate with party link no change
party = American Independent Party
candidate = Reinhold Gulke
votes = 26,269
percentage = 100.00Election box winning candidate with party link no change
party = Natural Law Party (United States)
candidate = Iris Adam
votes = 4,402
percentage = 100.00

General election

Davis was re-elected in the November 2002 general election following a long and bitter campaign against Simon, marked by accusations of ethical lapses on both sides and widespread voter apathy. [ [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/09/05/MN55825.DTL Davis, Simon heartily disliked Voter disenchantment has soared to unprecedented level, poll says] ] Simon was also hurt by a financial fraud scandal that tarnished his reputation. [Economist.com. "Gray Davis." http://www.economist.com/research/backgrounders/displaybackgrounder.cfm?bg=1922064 ] Davis' campaign featured several negative ads that highlighted Simon's financial fraud scandal. Carla Marinucci, Lynda Gledhill, Chronicle Staff Writers. "Davis turns up heat as Simon pares down: New ads roast GOP rival as he trims staff." The San Francisco Chronicle. Friday, August 16, 2002. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/08/16/MN76308.DTL] Simon tried to attack Davis for fundraising in the Lieutenant Governor's office during his time as Lt. Governor, but the plan backfired when Davis produced evidence that the picture was taken in his Los Angeles home. [ [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/10/09/MN138421.DTL Simon's attack on Davis backfires 'Evidence' photo isn't clear proof of illegal donation] ] The 2002 gubernatorial race was the most expensive in California state history with over $100 million spent. [ [http://igs.berkeley.edu/publications/detailbooks/CalVotes-2002.html Cal Votes 2002] ] Davis's campaign was better financed; Davis had over $26 million in campaign reserves more than Simon in August 2006. Davis won re-election with 47.4% of the vote to Simon's 42.4%. The Simon-Davis race led in the lowest turnout percentage in modern gubernatorial history, allowing a lower than normal amount of signatures required for a recall. [ [http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/wp/WP_503MBWP.htm Polling in the Governor's Race in California] ] Davis won the election but the majority of the voters disliked Davis and did not approve of his job performance. [ [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/07/11/MN184694.DTL Davis ekes out 7-point lead over Simon Field Poll shows voters against hopeful rather than for governor] ] [ [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/11/06/MN93404.DTL NEWS ANALYSIS Big challenges ahead for not-exactly-popular incumbent] ]

General election results

Election box winning candidate with party link no change
party = California Democratic Party
candidate = Gray Davis (incumbent)
votes = 3,533,490
percentage = 47.26Election box candidate with party link no change
party = California Republican Party
candidate = Bill Simon
votes = 3,169,801
percentage = 42.40Election box candidate with party link no change
party = Green Party of California
candidate = Peter Miguel Camejo
votes = 393,036
percentage = 5.26Election box candidate with party link no change
party = Libertarian Party of California
candidate = Gary David Copeland
votes = 161,203
percentage = 2.16Election box candidate with party link no change
party = American Independent Party
candidate = Reinhold Gulke
votes = 128,035
percentage = 1.71Election box candidate with party link no change
party = Natural Law Party (United States)
candidate = Iris Adam
votes = 88,415
percentage = 1.18Election box candidate no party in partisan race no change
candidate = Write-ins
votes = 2,371
percentage = 0.03Election box invalid no change
votes = 262,470
percentage = 3.39Election box total no change
votes = 7,738,821
percentage = 100.00Election box turnout no change
percentage = 36.05Election box hold with party link without swing
winner = California Democratic Party

Results by county

References

External links

* [http://vote2002.sos.ca.gov/Returns/gov/59.htm Election Day results by county]
* [http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2002_general/contents.htm Official results 2002 General Election]
* [http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ge2002_cert_cand_list.htm Certified list of candidates]

ee also