2002 South Carolina gubernatorial election
November 5, 2002
 
Nominee Mark Sanford Jim Hodges
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 585,422 521,140
Percentage 52.9% 47.0%
County results
Sanford:      50–60%      60–70%
Hodges:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Governor before election

Jim Hodges
Democratic

 Elected Governor

Mark Sanford
Republican

The 2002 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Mark Sanford, the Republican nominee, defeated incumbent Democratic Governor Jim Hodges to become the 115th governor of South Carolina. Hodges became only the third incumbent governor and the first Democratic governor in South Carolina history to lose reelection.

Democratic primary

Governor Jim Hodges faced no opposition from South Carolina Democrats and avoided a primary election.

Republican primary

The South Carolina Republican Party held their primary on June 11, 2002 and the runoff on June 25, 2002. The contest became a race between Lieutenant Governor Bob Peeler from the Upstate and Mark Sanford, a former representative of the 1st congressional district in the Lowcountry. Sanford received the support of the candidates eliminated from the runoff election and easily defeated Peeler.

Republican primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Sanford 122,143 38.62
Republican Bob Peeler 119,026 37.64
Republican Charlie Condon 49,469 15.64
Republican Ken Wingate 12,366 3.91
Republican Jim Miles 8,566 2.71
Republican Reb Sutherland 2,770 0.88
Republican Bill Branton 1,915 0.61
Total votes 316,255 100
Republican primary runoff results [2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Sanford 183,820 60.13
Republican Bob Peeler 121,881 39.87
Total votes 305,701 100

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

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered		 Sample
size[lower-alpha 1]		 Margin
of error		 Jim
Hodges (D)		 Mark
Sanford (R)		 Other /
Undecided
SurveyUSA November 1–3, 2002 764 (LV) ± 3.6% 52% 46% 2%

Results

The general election was held on November 5, 2002, and Mark Sanford was elected as the next governor of South Carolina. Turnout was higher than in the previous gubernatorial election because of the competitive nature of the race between the two parties. Activist and author Kevin Alexander Gray was a gubernatorial candidate representing the South Carolina United Citizens’ Party & Green Party. He did not have the required signatures to be on the ballot, and consequently ran as a write-in candidate.[5]

South Carolina Gubernatorial Election, 2002
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Mark Sanford 585,422 52.9 +7.6
Democratic Jim Hodges (incumbent) 521,140 47.0 -6.3
Write-in 1,163 0.1 -0.1
Majority 64,282 5.9 -2.1
Turnout 1,107,725 54.1 +1.1
Republican gain from Democratic

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

2002 South Carolina gubernatorial election map, by percentile by county.
  65+% won by Sanford
  60%-64% won by Sanford
  55%-59% won by Sanford
  50%-54% won by Sanford
  50%-54% won by Hodges
  55%-59% won by Hodges
  60%-64% won by Hodges
  65+% won by Hodges

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear

References

  1. ↑ "Election Returns from Primaries and General Elections (Statewide): | SCVotes.org". Archived from the original on November 3, 2010. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Election Returns from Primaries and General Elections (Statewide): | SCVotes.org". Archived from the original on November 3, 2010. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
  3. ↑ "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.
  4. ↑ "Governors Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on December 12, 2002. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  5. ↑ O'Cain, Susan (July 16, 2002). "Gray to run as write in candidate". WLTX-TV. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
Preceded by
1998		 South Carolina gubernatorial elections Succeeded by
2006


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