Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2002

← 1998 November 5, 2002 2006 →

Nominee Ed Rendell Mike Fisher Party Democratic Republican Running mate Catherine Baker Knoll Jane Earll Popular vote 1,913,235 1,589,408 Percentage 53.4% 44.4%

County Results Rendell:      50–60%      60–70%      80–90% Fisher:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Governor before election Mark Schweiker Republican Elected Governor Ed Rendell Democratic

Elections in Pennsylvania
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Elections by year State elections 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016
Philadelphia Mayors 1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 Other municipal elections 1953 1957 1961 1965 1969 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017
Pittsburgh Mayors 1925 1929 1933 1937 1941 1945 1949 1953 1957 1959 1961 1965 1969 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2007 2009 2013 2017
Lancaster Mayors 2009 2017
Allentown Mayors 2017
Harrisburg Mayors 2017
v t e

The Pennsylvania gubernatorial election of 2002 was held on November 5, 2002, and included the races for the governor and lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania.

Gubernatorial Primaries[edit]

Republican Primaries[edit]

Attorney General Mike Fisher ran unopposed for the Republican nomination. Although incumbent Governor Mark Schweiker was eligible to run for reelection (he had served only a partial term after Tom Ridge resigned to become Homeland Security Advisor), he chose not to seek his party's nomination. Despite polls showing that Schweiker polled well among the same groups that backed Ridge, the Republican establishment considered Schweiker to be a weak candidate and stood steadfast behind Fisher.^[1]

Democratic Primaries[edit]

In the Democratic primary, former Mayor of Philadelphia Ed Rendell defeated Pennsylvania Auditor General Bob Casey, Jr., bucking the "myth that a Philadelphian could never win" a statewide election. Despite strong support from organized labor for Casey, lackluster campaigning combined with Rendell's ability to cast himself as a strong executive allowed him to pull out a primary win.^[2]

Democratic primary results by county

Campaign[edit]

Rendell defeated Fisher with "endless retail politicking" and a hard-working campaign.^[4] The political website PoliticsPA praised Rendell's campaign team of David L. Cohen, David W. Sweet, and Sandi Vito.^[4]

Results[edit]

References[edit]

See also[edit]