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2002 Tennessee gubernatorial election
The 2002 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2002, to elect the next governor of Tennessee, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican governor Don Sundquist was term-limited and prohibited by the Constitution of Tennessee from seeking a third consecutive term. Former Democratic Nashville mayor Phil Bredesen was elected with 50.7% of the vote, narrowly defeating Republican nominee and U.S. Representative Van Hilleary.
With Bredesen's victory, the Tennessee Democratic Party regained a state government trifecta, with Democrats also controlling both chambers of the Tennessee General Assembly.
Phil Bredesen promised to manage state government better, improve Tennessee's schools and use his experience as a managed-care executive to fix TennCare, which had created a critical budget shortfall toward the end of Sundquist's term. His reputation as a moderate Democrat was well established (he was a member of the "good government" faction of the Nashville Democratic Party), so Hilleary's attempts to brand him as a liberal ultimately failed. Republicans also suffered from governor Don Sundquist's unpopular attempts to implement a state income tax. Bredesen garnered more support in East Tennessee than was usual for a Democrat, especially one from Nashville.
- Jim Henry, former minority leader of the Tennessee House of Representatives
- Van Hilleary, representative from Tennessee's 4th congressional district
- Dave Kelley
- Jessie D. McDonald
- Bob Tripp
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | 343,543 | 64.31% | |
| Republican | 159,862 | 29.92% | |
| Republican | 17,156 | 3.21% | |
| Republican | 8,581 | 1.61% | |
| Republican | 4,682 | 0.88% | |
| Republican | 389 | 0.07% | |
| 534,213 | 100.00% |
- L. Best
- Phil Bredesen, former mayor of Nashville, 1994 Democratic nominee for governor
- Charles V. Brown
- Floyd R. Conover
- Randy Nichols, Knox County district attorney general
- Charles E. Smith, former Tennessee commissioner of education
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 426,418 | 79.05% | |
| Democratic | 38,322 | 7.10% | |
| Democratic | 34,547 | 6.40% | |
| Democratic | 17,506 | 3.25% | |
| Democratic | 16,007 | 2.97% | |
| Democratic | 6,218 | 1.15% | |
| Democratic | 420 | 0.08% | |
| 539,438 | 100.00% |
- Phil Bredesen (D)
- Van Hilleary (R)
- Edwin C. Sanders (I)
- Carl Two Feathers Whitaker (I)
- John Jay Hooker (I)
- David Gatchell (I)
- Gabriel Givens (I)
- Ray Ledford (I)
- James E. Herren (I)
- Charles V. Wilhoit Jr. (I)
- Marivuana Stout Leinoff (I)
- Francis E. Waldron (I)
- Ronny Simmons (I)
- Robert O. Watson (I)
- Basil Marceaux (I)
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report | Tossup | October 31, 2002 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Lean D (flip) | November 4, 2002 |
| Poll source | Date(s)administered | Samplesize | Marginof error | PhilBredesen (D) | VanHilleary (R) | Other /Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA | October 26–28, 2002 | 726 (LV) | ± 3.8% | 48% | 44% | 8% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | .mw-parser-output .tooltip-dotted{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}±% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 837,284 | 50.65% | +21.17% | |
| Republican | 786,803 | 47.59% | −21.03% | |
| Independent | 7,749 | 0.47% | N/A | |
| Independent | 5,308 | 0.32% | N/A | |
| Independent | 4,577 | 0.28% | N/A | |
| Independent | 2,991 | 0.18% | N/A | |
| Independent | 1,591 | 0.10% | N/A | |
| Independent | 1,589 | 0.10% | N/A | |
| Independent | 1,210 | 0.07% | N/A | |
| Independent | 898 | 0.05% | N/A | |
| Independent | 645 | 0.04% | N/A | |
| Independent | 635 | 0.04% | N/A | |
| Independent | 630 | 0.04% | N/A | |
| Independent | 579 | 0.04% | N/A | |
| Independent | 302 | 0.02% | N/A | |
| Write-ins | 376 | 0.02% | N/A | |
| 1,653,167 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican |
- 2002 United States gubernatorial elections
- 2002 United States Senate election in Tennessee
- 2002 Tennessee elections
Official campaign websites (archived)
- Phil Bredesen for Governor
- Van Hilleary for Governor
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