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]
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Tim Pawlenty | 172,927 | 88.64 | |
Republican | Sue Jeffers | 22,172 | 11.36 | |
Total votes | 195,099 | 100.00 |
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]
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 |
Source | Ranking | As of |
---|---|---|
The Cook Political Report[3] | Tossup | October 31, 2002 |
Sabato's Crystal Ball[4] | Lean R (flip) | November 4, 2002 |
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 |