2001 Virginia gubernatorial election

The 2001 Virginia gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2001, to elect the next governor of Virginia. The election was held concurrently with other elections for Virginia's statewide offices, the House of Delegates, and other United States' offices. Incumbent Republican governor Jim Gilmore was ineligible to run for re-election, as the Constitution of Virginia prohibits its governors from serving consecutive terms. Former chair of the Virginia Democratic Party, Mark Warner defeated Republican Attorney General Mark Earley by 5.13%.

As of 2026, this is the most recent election where the Democratic candidate won the majority of counties and independent cities.

General election Campaign Warner made a conscious effort to appeal to voters in rural Virginia, personified by his official campaign song, written by the Bluegrass Brothers. The song was considered an essential part of Warner's outreach to rural Virginia, with the lyrics emphasizing Warner's understanding of the culture of that part of the state.

Polling Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error Mark Earley (R) Mark Warner (D) Other UndecidedMason-Dixon Polling & Strategy/Research Inc.November 1, 2001625 (LV)± 4.0%42%48%1%9%Roanoke CollegeOctober 21–30, 2001423 (LV)± 4.8%36%45%1%18%Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy/Research Inc.October 18, 2001625 (LV)± 4.0%42%45% 1%12%McLaughlin & Associates (R)September 27, 2001––38%47%––Mason-Dixon Polling & StrategySeptember 10–15, 2001625 (LV)± 4.0%40%46%1%13%The Washington PostAugust 21, 20011,312 (RV)± 3.0%37%51%–12%August 21, 2001695 (LV)± 4.0%––––

Results

Results by county and city County Warner Votes Earley Votes Redpath Votes Others VotesAccomack 50.3% 3,710 48.5% 3,575 1.2% 89 0.0% 0Albemarle 56.3% 14,891 42.2% 11,143 1.4% 373 0.1% 21Alexandria 68.2% 23,739 31.1% 10,810 0.6% 226 0.1% 27Alleghany 59.0% 3,018 39.9% 2,044 1.1% 56 0.0% 0Amelia 46.7% 1,665 52.7% 1,880 0.6% 20 0.0% 0Amherst 50.8% 4,198 48.8% 4,031 0.4% 37 0.0% 0Appomattox 51.3% 2,268 47.3% 2,090 1.4% 61 0.0% 1Arlington 68.3% 35,990 30.8% 16,214 0.9% 487 0.1% 28Augusta 37.1% 6,673 61.9% 11,133 0.9% 164 0.0% 4Bath 51.8% 804 46.4% 721 1.8% 28 0.0% 0Bedford County 41.1% 8,035 57.8% 11,298 1.1% 211 0.0% 3Bedford 56.9% 1,031 41.2% 747 1.9% 35 0.0% 0Bland 48.2% 835 51.2% 888 0.6% 11 0.0% 0Botetourt 43.7% 4,629 55.4% 5,872 0.9% 100 0.0% 1Bristol 48.6% 2,166 50.9% 2,268 0.5% 21 0.1% 3Brunswick 65.3% 2,840 34.3% 1,491 0.4% 16 0.1% 3Buchanan 65.7% 3,746 33.7% 1,921 0.7% 39 0.0% 0Buckingham 59.1% 2,364 40.1% 1,601 0.8% 32 0.0% 0Buena Vista 58.6% 853 39.3% 572 2.1% 30 0.0% 0Campbell 45.7% 7,187 53.1% 8,366 1.2% 187 0.0% 3Caroline 60.8% 3,590 38.5% 2,274 0.6% 34 0.1% 4Carroll 42.3% 3,309 57.2% 4,481 0.5% 40 0.0% 0Charles City 73.1% 1,747 26.4% 631 0.5% 13 0.0% 0Charlotte 51.4% 2,202 46.9% 2,012 1.7% 73 0.0% 0Charlottesville 72.9% 6,781 24.9% 2,316 2.1% 193 0.2% 16Chesapeake 45.8% 24,087 53.8% 28,328 0.4% 201 0.0% 17Chesterfield 41.9% 33,810 57.3% 46,160 0.7% 534 0.1% 94Clarke 49.3% 1,839 49.7% 1,851 0.9% 34 0.1% 3Colonial Heights 32.1% 1,758 66.9% 3,660 0.7% 41 0.3% 14Covington 62.7% 1,071 34.9% 597 2.4% 41 0.0% 0Craig 50.3% 918 48.6% 887 1.0% 19 0.1% 1Culpeper 42.0% 3,721 57.1% 5,054 0.8% 74 0.0% 0Cumberland 50.0% 1,315 47.7% 1,255 2.4% 62 0.0% 0Danville 53.5% 7,346 44.8% 6,150 1.7% 231 0.0% 3Dickenson 61.0% 2,907 38.6% 1,837 0.4% 19 0.0% 0Dinwiddie 52.3% 3,578 46.8% 3,202 0.8% 55 0.0% 1Emporia 59.4% 912 40.1% 616 0.5% 7 0.0% 0Essex 54.2% 1,436 45.4% 1,203 0.4% 10 0.1% 2Fairfax County 54.5% 146,537 44.9% 120,799 0.6% 1,586 0.0% 92Fairfax 51.7% 3,478 47.6% 3,203 0.6% 43 0.0% 0Falls Church 65.8% 2,623 33.3% 1,326 0.9% 35 0.0% 1Fauquier 42.2% 6,952 57.2% 9,420 0.6% 91 0.1% 9Floyd 46.6% 2,093 51.9% 2,331 1.5% 69 0.0% 0Fluvanna 47.0% 3,118 51.7% 3,425 1.3% 86 0.0% 1Franklin County 51.3% 7,182 47.9% 6,703 0.8% 111 0.0% 0Franklin 64.5% 1,434 35.1% 781 0.3% 6 0.0% 1Frederick 39.0% 6,433 60.3% 9,947 0.7% 113 0.0% 6Fredericksburg 61.0% 2,717 37.7% 1,679 1.2% 55 0.1% 5Galax 54.0% 866 45.7% 733 0.4% 6 0.0% 0Giles 56.5% 3,071 41.9% 2,276 1.6% 85 0.0% 0Gloucester 44.8% 4,116 54.5% 5,010 0.7% 68 0.0% 2Goochland 47.3% 3,091 51.9% 3,394 0.7% 46 0.1% 6Grayson 46.7% 2,507 52.6% 2,824 0.7% 40 0.0% 0Greene 41.7% 1,644 56.9% 2,244 1.4% 56 0.0% 0Greensville 68.6% 1,859 31.0% 841 0.3% 8 0.0% 1Halifax 54.8% 5,506 43.4% 4,366 1.8% 178 0.0% 1Hampton 63.7% 20,627 35.8% 11,592 0.5% 157 0.0% 16Hanover 38.2% 11,713 61.1% 18,757 0.7% 201 0.1% 20Harrisonburg 47.7% 3,083 51.5% 3,334 0.8% 49 0.0% 2Henrico 51.4% 42,089 47.9% 39,215 0.6% 514 0.1% 85Henry 61.4% 9,872 36.9% 5,942 1.7% 270 0.0% 1Highland 48.0% 533 51.2% 568 0.8% 9 0.0% 0Hopewell 49.4% 2,467 48.8% 2,435 1.8% 88 0.1% 4Isle of Wight 49.9% 4,727 49.7% 4,708 0.3% 32 0.0% 4James City 49.3% 8,505 50.2% 8,654 0.5% 86 0.0% 6King and Queen 57.3% 1,188 42.0% 872 0.7% 14 0.0% 0King George 49.2% 2,110 50.1% 2,151 0.7% 29 0.0% 1King William 49.4% 1,942 49.9% 1,960 0.6% 25 0.1% 2Lancaster 45.7% 2,025 53.5% 2,373 0.7% 29 0.1% 5Lee 53.3% 2,923 46.2% 2,536 0.5% 25 0.0% 0Lexington 64.6% 1,053 33.9% 552 1.5% 24 0.0% 0Loudoun 45.8% 20,907 53.4% 24,372 0.7% 310 0.0% 20Louisa 53.7% 4,244 45.2% 3,568 1.1% 89 0.0% 1Lunenburg 54.7% 1,996 44.7% 1,634 0.6% 21 0.0% 1Lynchburg 53.0% 9,314 46.3% 8,132 0.6% 112 0.1% 10Madison 44.9% 1,794 53.1% 2,121 1.9% 76 0.0% 1Manassas 45.7% 2,992 53.8% 3,520 0.5% 31 0.0% 0Manassas Park 46.3% 691 52.9% 790 0.7% 11 0.1% 2Martinsville 67.0% 2,769 32.6% 1,346 0.4% 16 0.0% 1Mathews 46.4% 1,516 52.4% 1,712 1.1% 37 0.0% 0Mecklenburg 46.7% 3,519 51.7% 3,898 1.6% 124 0.0% 0Middlesex 47.6% 1,757 50.4% 1,861 2.0% 74 0.0% 0Montgomery 55.7% 11,154 43.1% 8,639 1.1% 228 0.1% 13Nelson 59.4% 2,681 39.1% 1,763 1.5% 68 0.0% 1New Kent 45.6% 2,161 53.5% 2,532 0.8% 37 0.1% 7Newport News 57.0% 21,318 42.5% 15,920 0.4% 168 0.0% 16Norfolk 65.2% 28,244 34.0% 14,741 0.7% 294 0.0% 14Northampton 64.2% 2,316 34.2% 1,236 1.6% 58 0.0% 0Northumberland 49.7% 2,166 49.6% 2,159 0.6% 26 0.1% 4Norton 67.6% 773 32.0% 366 0.4% 5 0.0% 0Nottoway 57.4% 2,513 41.6% 1,824 1.0% 43 0.0% 1Orange 47.5% 3,617 51.3% 3,902 1.2% 94 0.0% 0Page 42.4% 2,443 57.2% 3,292 0.4% 21 0.0% 1Patrick 48.3% 2,651 50.6% 2,775 1.0% 56 0.0% 1Petersburg 82.0% 7,018 17.6% 1,509 0.4% 32 0.0% 0Pittsylvania 42.5% 7,462 56.0% 9,831 1.5% 270 0.0% 5Poquoson 35.7% 1,489 63.7% 2,656 0.6% 25 0.0% 1Portsmouth 65.7% 17,336 33.8% 8,922 0.4% 103 0.0% 13Powhatan 36.8% 2,558 62.4% 4,338 0.8% 58 0.0% 3Prince Edward 58.6% 2,874 40.1% 1,967 1.3% 64 0.0% 0Prince George 45.1% 3,414 54.2% 4,104 0.6% 43 0.1% 9Prince William 46.8% 27,297 52.4% 30,543 0.9% 497 0.0% 5Pulaski 53.0% 5,109 45.8% 4,411 1.2% 115 0.0% 4Radford 58.9% 1,876 40.2% 1,280 0.8% 26 0.0% 1Rappahannock 48.0% 1,284 51.2% 1,369 0.7% 20 0.1% 2Richmond County 49.1% 1,101 50.1% 1,124 0.8% 17 0.0% 0Richmond 73.3% 35,558 25.6% 12,432 1.1% 514 0.1% 33Roanoke County 47.0% 14,993 52.4% 16,713 0.6% 204 0.0% 7Roanoke 62.1% 15,348 37.0% 9,147 0.8% 204 0.0% 0Rockbridge 50.3% 2,972 48.9% 2,885 0.7% 44 0.0% 2Rockingham 36.0% 6,642 63.5% 11,723 0.5% 97 0.1% 10Russell 60.4% 4,507 38.9% 2,907 0.7% 53 0.0% 0Salem 49.7% 4,067 49.4% 4,042 0.8% 66 0.0% 0Scott 42.8% 2,877 56.1% 3,772 1.2% 78 0.0% 0Shenandoah 40.2% 4,531 59.1% 6,653 0.6% 72 0.1% 7Smyth 51.4% 4,691 47.7% 4,354 0.9% 85 0.0% 0Southampton 60.2% 2,790 39.4% 1,827 0.3% 15 0.0% 0Spotsylvania 45.8% 9,742 53.8% 11,447 0.4% 89 0.0% 5Stafford 43.2% 9,248 56.1% 12,019 0.6% 132 0.1% 23Staunton 48.8% 3,141 50.6% 3,256 0.6% 38 0.0% 2Suffolk 53.1% 9,124 46.5% 7,996 0.3% 59 0.0% 2Surry 65.5% 1,550 33.9% 801 0.6% 14 0.0% 0Sussex 61.6% 1,924 36.3% 1,134 2.1% 66 0.0% 0Tazewell 54.3% 5,250 44.9% 4,335 0.8% 76 0.0% 0Virginia Beach 46.3% 43,495 53.0% 49,800 0.6% 560 0.0% 35Warren 44.6% 3,546 54.2% 4,311 1.2% 97 0.1% 5Washington 45.3% 6,703 53.8% 7,972 0.9% 130 0.0% 3Waynesboro 42.9% 2,109 56.5% 2,777 0.4% 21 0.1% 4Westmoreland 57.6% 2,471 41.0% 1,759 1.5% 63 0.0% 0Williamsburg 57.5% 1,475 41.6% 1,067 0.9% 24 0.0% 0Winchester 51.4% 3,155 47.7% 2,928 0.8% 50 0.0% 0Wise 58.5% 5,509 40.5% 3,816 1.0% 92 0.0% 4Wythe 48.6% 3,822 50.7% 3,991 0.6% 47 0.1% 9York 45.0% 7,530 54.3% 9,083 0.6% 100 0.0% 5

Counties and independent cities that flipped from Republican to Democratic Accomack (largest city: Chincoteague) Albemarle (largest municipality: Scottsville) Appomattox (largest city: Appomattox) Bedford (independent city) Buena Vista (independent city) Danville (independent city) Galax (independent city) Giles (largest city: Pearisburg) King and Queen (largest CDP: King and Queen Courthouse) Fairfax (independent city) Fairfax (largest municipality: Herndon) Henrico (largest borough: Richmond) Prince Edward (largest city: Farmville) Westmoreland (largest city: Colonial Beach) Winchester (independent city) Lynchburg (independent city) Southampton (largest municipality: Courtland) Amherst (largest city: Amherst) Bath (largest city: Hot Springs) Buckingham (largest city: Dillwyn) Charlotte (largest city: Keysville) Craig (largest city: New Castle) Cumberland (largest city: Farmville) Dinwiddie (largest town: McKenney) Essex (largest city: Tappahannock) Emporia (independent city) Franklin (largest city: Rocky Mount) Halifax (largest city: South Boston) Hopewell (independent city) Isle of Wight (largest city: Smithfield) Salem (independent city) Louisa (largest city: Louisa) Lee (largest city: Pennington Gap) Northumberland (largest city: Heathsville) Pulaski (largest city: Pulaski) Rockbridge (largest city: Lexington) Smyth (largest city: Marion) Tazewell (largest city: Richlands) Wise (largest city: Big Stone Gap) Nottoway (largest city: Blackstone) Montgomery (largest city: Blacksburg) Newport News (independent city) Suffolk (independent city) Northampton (largest city: Exmore) Henry (largest city: Blacksburg) Alleghany (largest city: Clifton Forge)

2001 Virginia gubernatorial election

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