The 2002 Colorado gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002, to elect the governor of Colorado. Bill Owens, the Republican incumbent, defeated Democratic nominee Rollie Heath to win a second term. Owen's win set the record for biggest win by a Republican in a Colorado gubernatorial election (Democrats won by larger margins in 1982, 1948, and 1928, with Billy Adams' 35 point blowout in that year being the greatest victory for a candidate of any party). As of , this is the last time a Republican was elected Governor of Colorado and the only time in the past half-century that a Republican won a majority in the state.

Republican primary Candidates Bill Owens, incumbent Governor of Colorado

Results

Democratic primary Candidates Rollie Heath, businessman

Results

General election Debates + 2002 Colorado gubernatorial election debates Date Host Moderator Link Republican DemocraticKey: Participant  Absent  Not invited  Invited Withdrawn Bill Owens Rollie Heath1 Sep. 7, 2002 Club 20KJCT-TV Jerry Groswald C-SPAN 2 Sep. 24, 2002 City Club of Denver C-SPAN 3 Oct. 17, 2002 KUSA (TV)The Denver Post Jim Benemann C-SPAN

Predictions SourceRankingAs ofThe Cook Political Report October 31, 2002Sabato's Crystal Ball November 4, 2002

Results

By county County Bill OwensRepublican Rollie HeathDemocratic Various candidatesOther parties Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % Adams 50,623 60.01% 31,551 37.40% 2,189 2.59%19,07222.61%84,363 Alamosa 2,611 56.17% 1,913 41.16% 124 2.67% 698 15.01% 4,648 Arapahoe 101,542 66.99% 46,260 30.52% 3,772 2.49% 55,282 36.47% 151,574 Archuleta 2,885 72.47% 994 24.97% 102 2.56% 1,891 47.50% 3,981 Baca 1,653 75.93% 501 23.01% 23 1.06% 1,152 52.92% 2,177 Bent 1,266 65.70% 630 32.69% 31 1.58% 636 33.01% 1,927 Boulder 46,964 44.12% 50,829 47.76% 8,643 8.12% -3,865 -3.64% 106,436 Broomfield 9,307 65.54% 4,414 31.08% 479 3.38% 4,893 34.46% 14,200 Chaffee 4,187 60.86% 2,394 34.80% 299 4.34% 1,793 26.06% 6,880 Cheyenne 890 83.57% 165 15.49% 10 0.94% 725 68.08% 1,065 Clear Creek 2,348 58.05% 1,466 36.24% 231 5.71% 882 21.81% 4,045 Conejos 1,841 57.05% 1,339 41.49% 47 1.46% 502 15.56% 3,227 Costilla 780 48.81% 762 47.68% 56 3.51% 18 1.13% 1,598 Crowley 904 69.27% 374 28.66% 27 2.07% 530 40.61% 1,305 Custer 1,499 75.94% 409 20.72% 66 3.34% 1,090 55.22% 1,974 Delta 7,925 70.52% 2,738 24.36% 575 5.12% 5,187 46.16% 11,238 Denver 67,959 44.40% 78,838 51.51% 2,788 4.09% -6,268 -7.11% 153,065 Dolores 519 60.51% 298 34.81% 39 4.68% 221 25.70% 856 Douglas 58,519 79.08% 14,182 19.17% 1,295 1.75% 44,337 59.91% 73,996 Eagle 7,030 60.20% 4,256 36.45% 391 3.35% 2,774 23.75% 11,677 El Paso 114,263 74.73% 32,680 21.37% 5,950 3.90% 81,583 53.36% 152,893 Elbert 6,415 79.97% 1,448 18.05% 159 1.98% 4,967 61.92% 8,022 Fremont 8,968 64.08% 4,599 32.86% 428 3.06% 4,369 31.22% 13,995 Garfield 8,856 63.79% 4,438 31.97% 589 4.24% 4,418 31.82% 13,883 Gilpin 1,277 55.74% 831 36.27% 183 7.99% 446 19.47% 2,291 Grand 3,502 69.48% 1,356 26.90% 182 3.62% 2,146 42.58% 5,040 Gunnison 2,634 48.52% 2,428 44.72% 367 6.76% 206 3.80% 5,429 Hinsdale 334 62.31% 161 30.04% 41 7.65% 173 32.27% 536 Huerfano 1,602 57.01% 1,131 40.25% 77 2.74% 471 16.76% 2,810 Jackson 654 77.49% 165 19.55% 25 2.96% 489 57.94% 844 Jefferson 122,536 64.70% 60,656 32.08% 5,907 3.22% 61,880 32.62% 189,099 Kiowa 721 78.71% 188 20.52% 7 0.77% 533 58.19% 916 Kit Carson 2,520 81.82% 520 16.88% 40 1.30% 2,000 64.93% 3,080 La Plata 9,022 56.55% 5,952 37.31% 980 6.14% 3,070 19.24% 15,954 Lake 1,340 55.74% 943 39.23% 121 5.03% 397 16.51% 2,404 Larimer 60,727 64.83% 27,931 29.82% 5,015 5.35% 32,796 35.01% 93,673 Las Animas 2,690 52.12% 2,363 45.79% 108 2.09% 327 6.33% 5,161 Lincoln 1,489 75.39% 461 23.34% 25 1.27% 1,028 52.05% 1,975 Logan 4,977 73.96% 1,638 24.34% 114 1.70% 3,339 49.62% 6,729 Mesa 27,234 66.73% 12,255 30.03% 1,322 3.24% 14,979 36.70% 40,811 Mineral 276 61.88% 154 34.53% 16 3.59% 122 27.35% 446 Moffat 3,318 73.36% 1,091 24.12% 114 2.52% 2,227 49.24% 4,523 Montezuma 5,311 66.40% 2,363 29.54% 325 4.06% 2,948 36.86% 7,999 Montrose 8,644 70.16% 3,217 26.11% 459 3.73% 5,427 44.05% 12,320 Morgan 5,657 73.75% 1,884 24.56% 129 1.69% 3,773 49.19% 7,670 Otero 4,112 66.52% 1,989 32.17% 81 1.31% 2,123 34.35% 6,182 Ouray 1,177 62.11% 621 32.77% 97 5.12% 556 29.34% 1,895 Park 4,057 68.62% 1,505 25.46% 350 5.92% 2,552 43.16% 5,912 Phillips 1,516 79.00% 376 19.59% 27 1.50% 1,140 59.41% 1,919 Pitkin 3,096 51.14% 2,613 43.16% 345 5.70% 483 7.98% 6,054 Prowers 2,898 72.20% 1,071 26.68% 45 1.12% 1,827 45.52% 4,014 Pueblo 24,059 48.96% 24,401 49.65% 682 1.39% -342 -0.69% 49,142 Rio Blanco 1,922 78.32% 482 19.64% 50 2.04% 1,440 58.68% 2,454 Rio Grande 3,107 68.41% 1,349 29.70% 86 1.89% 1,758 38.71% 4,542 Routt 4,525 60.28% 2,596 34.58% 386 5.14% 1,929 25.70% 7,507 Saguache 1,038 51.31% 872 43.10% 113 5.59% 166 8.21% 2,023 San Juan 206 50.49% 154 37.75% 48 11.76% 52 12.74% 408 San Miguel 1,085 43.52% 1,129 45.29% 279 11.19% -44 -1.77% 2,493 Sedgwick 895 75.46% 279 23.52% 12 1.02% 616 51.94% 1,186 Summit 4,395 53.83% 3,241 39.70% 528 6.47% 1,154 14.13% 8,164 Teller 5,885 73.60% 1,772 22.16% 339 4.24% 4,113 51.44% 7,996 Washington 1,800 82.99% 338 15.58% 31 1.43% 1,462 67.41% 2,169 Weld 39,682 70.97% 14,670 26.24% 1,564 2.79% 25,012 44.73% 55,916 Yuma 3,090 79.41% 749 19.25% 52 1.34% 2,341 59.89% 3,891Total 884,58362.62%475,37333.65%52,6463.73%411,21028.97%1,412,602 Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Routt (Largest city: Steamboat Springs) Garfield (largest municipality: Glenwood Springs) Eagle (largest municipality: Edwards) Summit (largest municipality: Breckenridge) Clear Creek (largest city: Idaho Springs) Gilpin (largest city: Central City) Adams (largest city: Thornton) Gunnison (Largest city: Gunnison) Lake (Largest city: Leadville) Pitkin (Largest city: Aspen) La Plata (largest municipality: Durango) San Juan (largest municipality: Silverton) Saguache (largest city: Center) Mineral (Largest city: Creede) Conejos (largest municipality: Manassa) Costilla (largest municipality: San Luis) Las Animas (largest city: Trinidad) Huerfano (largest city: Walsenburg)

References