2002 Minnesota gubernatorial election

Election for the governorship of the U.S. state of Minnesota

← 1998

November 5, 2002

2006 →


Nominee	Tim Pawlenty	Roger Moe	Tim Penny
Party	Republican	Democratic (DFL)	Independence
Running mate	Carol Molnau	Julie Sabo	Martha Robertson
Popular vote	999,473	821,268	364,534
Percentage	44.4%	36.5%	16.2%

County results

Precinct results

Pawlenty:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Moe:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Penny:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tie:      20–30%      30–40%      40–50%      50%

Governor before election

Jesse Ventura
Independence

Elected Governor

Tim Pawlenty
Republican

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The 2002 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2002 for the post of Governor of Minnesota. Republican candidate Tim Pawlenty defeated Democratic candidate Roger Moe and Independence Party of Minnesota candidate Tim Penny. Due to personal reasons regarding the health of his spouse, incumbent Governor Jesse Ventura chose not to seek re-election. Pawlenty comfortably won the election, which was attributed in part to Moe's uninspired campaign, with Moe being dubbed a "cautious dullard" four years later by the City Pages.^[1]

Republican primary

Candidate

Tim Pawlenty, Minnesota House of Representatives and Majority Leader
Leslie Davis, former Minneapolis mayoral candidate in 1994

Results

2002 Republican gubernatorial primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tim Pawlenty	172,927	88.64
	Republican	Sue Jeffers	22,172	11.36
Total votes			195,099	100.00

DFL primary

In May 2002, the DFL formally endorsed Moe over rival Judi Dutcher, the Minnesota State Auditor. Becky Lourey, a member of the Minnesota Senate, was also a contender before dropping out.^[2]

Candidate

Roger Moe, Member of the Minnesota Senate and Majority Leader
Oloveuse S. "Ole" Savior, artist and perennial candidate.

Results

2002 Democratic–Farmer–Labor gubernatorial primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Roger Moe	199,103	88.79
	Democratic (DFL)	Ole Savior	25,135	11.21
Total votes			224,238	100.00

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[3]	Tossup	October 31, 2002
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[4]	Lean R (flip)	November 4, 2002

Results

Swing by county

Legend

Democratic — +>15%
Democratic — +12.5-15%
Democratic — +10-12.5%
Democratic — +7.5-10%
Democratic — +5-7.5%
Democratic — +2.5-5%
Democratic — +0-2.5%
Republican — +0-2.5%
Republican — +2.5-5%
Republican — +5-7.5%
Republican — +7.5-10%
Republican — +10-12.5%
Republican — +12.5-15%
Republican — +>15%

Trend by county

Legend

Democratic — +>15%
Democratic — +12.5-15%
Democratic — +10-12.5%
Democratic — +7.5-10%
Democratic — +5-7.5%
Democratic — +2.5-5%
Democratic — +0-2.5%
Republican — +0-2.5%
Republican — +2.5-5%
Republican — +5-7.5%
Republican — +7.5-10%
Republican — +10-12.5%
Republican — +12.5-15%
Republican — +>15%

2002 gubernatorial election, Minnesota^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Tim Pawlenty	999,473	44.4%	+10.1%
	Democratic (DFL)	Roger Moe	821,268	36.5%	+6.4%
	Independence	Tim Penny	364,534	16.2%	-20.8%
	Green	Ken Pentel	50,589	2.3%	+2.0%
	Independent	Booker Hodges IV	9,698	0.4%	+0.4%
	Socialist Workers	Kari Sachs	3,026	0.1%	+0.09%
	Constitution	Lawrence Aeshliman	2,537	0.1%	+0.1%
		Lealand Vettleson^[6]	2	0.0%	+0.0%
		Write-ins	1,348	0.06%	+0.02%
Majority			178,205	7.9%
Turnout			2,252,473	70.7%	+10.6%
	Republican gain from Independence

Counties that flipped from Independence to Republican

Benton (Largest city: Sauk Rapids)
Blue Earth (Largest city: Mankato)
Chisago (Largest city: North Branch)
Cottonwood (Largest city: Windom)
Dakota (Largest city: Hastings)
Goodhue (Largest city: Red Wing)
Grant (Largest city: Elbow Lake)
Isanti (Largest city: Cambridge)
Kanabec (Largest city: Mora)
Kandiyohi (Largest city: Willmar)
Le Sueur (Largest city: Le Sueur)
McLeod (Largest city: Hutchinson)
Meeker (Largest city: Litchfield)
Mille Lacs (Largest city: Princeton)
Nicollet (Largest city: North Mankato)
Pope (Largest city: Glenwood)
Renville (Largest city: Olivia)
Sherburne (Largest city: Elk River)
Sibley (Largest city: Gaylord)
Stearns (Largest city: St. Cloud)
Steele (Largest city: Owatonna)
Wabasha (Largest city: Lake City)
Washington (Largest city: Stillwater)
Watonwan (Largest city: St. James)
Wright (Largest city: Otsego)
Aitkin (largest city: Aitkin)
Pine (largest city: Pine City)
Rice (largest city: Faribault)
Anoka (Largest city: Blaine)
Carver (Largest city: Chaska)

Counties that flipped from Independence to Democratic

Yellow Medicine (Largest city: Granite Falls)
Chippewa (Largest city: Montevideo)
Hennepin (Largest city: Minneapolis)
Ramsey (Largest city: St. Paul)
Swift (largest city: Benson)

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Beltrami (Largest city: Bemidji)
Koochiching (Largest city: International Falls)
Clearwater (Largest city: Bagley)

Counties that flipped from Republican to Independence

Olmsted (largest city: Rochester)
Fillmore (largest city: Spring Valley)
Freeborn (largest city: Albert Lea)

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Independence

Mower (largest city: Austin)

References

^ Robson, Britt (August 30, 2006). "Running Man". City Pages. Archived from the original on January 8, 2007. Retrieved November 10, 2006.
^ Howard, K. C. "DFL endorses Moe for governor's race". The Minnesota Daily. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
^ "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.
^ "2002 Gubernatorial General Election Results – Minnesota". Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved May 27, 2008.
^ "Election Reporting". Archived from the original on August 7, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2015.

Gubernatorial elections	1857 1859 1861 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1875 1877 1879 1881 1883 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
Lieutenant gubernatorial elections	1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1966 1970
Secretary of State elections	2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
State Auditor elections	1934 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
Attorney General elections	1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022

Legislative elections

Senate elections	1890 1894 1898 1902 1906 1910 1976 1980 1982 1986 1990 1992 1996 2000 2002 2006 2010 2012 2016 2020 2022
House of Representatives elections	1910 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022

Ballot questions

2012
- Amendment 1
- Amendment 2

Special elections: Senate; House of Representatives

Federal elections

Presidential elections

Senate elections

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Class 2	1858 1865 1871 (sp) 1871 1877 1881 (sp) 1883 1888 1895 1901 1907 1913 1918 1923 (sp) 1924 1930 1936 (sp) 1936 1942 (sp) 1942 1948 1954 1960 1966 1972 1978 1984 1990 1996 2002 2008 2014 2018 (sp) 2020

House of Representatives elections

Municipal elections

Minneapolis

General elections	2005 2009 2013 2017 2021
Mayoral elections	2005 2009 2013 2017 2021
City Council elections	2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 2023

Saint Paul

Mayoral elections	2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021

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v t e Notable third-party performances in United States elections
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Portal:Politics Third party (U.S. politics) List of third-party and independent performances in United States elections Third-party and independent members of the United States Congress