The 2002 Oklahoma gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002, to elect the governor of Oklahoma. Democrat Brad Henry won the election with 43 percent of the vote, defeating Republican Steve Largent and conservative independent Gary Richardson.
Henry's narrow win has been attributed to Richardson and Largent's split of the conservative voteAverill, David, "Eyeing another campaign: Richardson had impact on 2002 governor's race", Tulsa World, March 22, 2009. and the inclusion of a cockfighting ban on the ballot, an issue which brought opponents of the referendum from Southeastern Oklahoma, a traditional Democratic stronghold that strongly supported Henry, out to vote."Henry upsets Steve Largent in governor's race", AP at USA Today, November 5, 2002.John M. Broder, "The 2002 Elections: Governors; Bright Spots, Amid Dim Ones, for Democrats", The New York Times, November 7, 2009.
As of 2024, this is the last time that a gubernatorial nominee and a lieutenant gubernatorial nominee of different political parties were simultaneously elected in Oklahoma to date.
Background Though Democrats had dominated state politics for most of Oklahoma's history, the Oklahoma Republican Party had made historic gains, including five of the state's six Congressional seats at the time of the election. This made it especially hard for Henry to win with a growing Republican dominance in the state. This was most notable in the urban areas of Oklahoma City and Tulsa, both of which voted for Largent.Gaddie, Ronald Keith, "Oklahoma Republican Party ", Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture (accessed May 31, 2010).
Democratic primary Three state legislators sought the Democratic Party nomination, trailing Vince Orza, who had previously sought the governor's office as a Republican, only to be defeated by Bill Price in the primary runoff. State Senator Brad Henry advanced to the runoff with 28% against Orza's 44%, but opposition to the former Republican from New York coalesced behind Henry. Orza found himself once again losing the runoff after winning the initial primary.
Primary results
Runoff primary results
Republican primary Steve Largent easily won the GOP nomination against token opposition.
Primary results
General election
Predictions SourceRankingAs ofThe Cook Political Report October 31, 2002Sabato's Crystal Ball November 4, 2002
Polling Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Margin BradHenry (D) SteveLargent (R) GaryRichardson (I) Other /UndecidedSurveyUSASurveyUSA November 1–3, 2002 710 (LV) ± 3.8% 42% 38% 17% 3%
Results This election was extremely close, with Henry prevailing by just 6,866 votes or 0.6%. Under Oklahoma law, if the margin of victory is less than one percent but greater than half a percent, the losing candidate can request a recount that their campaign has to pay for. However, Largent ultimately decided against it, considering that because Henry led by 6,866 votes, the chances of him prevailing were extremely unlikely. On November 23, Largent officially conceded defeat. Two days later on November 25, Oklahoma Secretary of State Kay Dudley certified the results, declaring Henry the governor-elect.
Results by county County Brad HenryDemocratic Steve LargentRepublican Gary RichardsonIndependent Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # %Adair2,80346.32%2,37439.23%87414.44%4297.09%6,051Alfalfa78238.28%96447.19%29714.54%-182-8.91%2,043Atoka2,42963.57%1,21131.69%1814.74%1,21831.88%3,821Beaver56128.38%1,29765.60%1196.02%-736-37.23%1,977Beckham2,51147.69%2,10539.98%64912.33%4067.71%5,265Blaine1,55445.81%1,28537.88%55316.30%2697.93%3,392Bryan6,15861.81%3,42234.35%3833.84%2,73627.46%9,963Caddo3,94850.93%2,34130.20%1,46318.87%1,60720.73%7,752Canadian9,65833.81%14,42250.49%4,48515.70%-4,764-16.68%28,565Carter7,09952.75%5,45840.56%9006.69%1,64112.19%13,457Cherokee6,54951.16%3,73129.15%2,52019.69%2,81822.02%12,800Choctaw2,47263.91%1,18330.58%2135.51%1,28933.32%3,868Cimarron29823.26%90970.96%745.78%-611-47.70%1,281Cleveland28,11243.05%29,16044.66%8,02212.29%-1,048-1.61%65,294Coal1,36066.47%55427.08%1326.45%80639.39%2,046Comanche8,36338.40%9,07741.68%4,34019.93%-714-3.28%21,780Cotton79943.21%71738.78%33318.01%824.43%1,849Craig2,25349.92%1,40931.22%85118.86%84418.70%4,513Creek8,38541.90%7,49737.46%4,13220.65%8884.44%20,014Custer3,42642.60%3,43842.75%1,17914.66%-12-0.15%8,043Delaware4,84544.75%4,25339.29%1,72815.96%5925.47%10,826Dewey82044.40%74440.28%28315.32%764.11%1,847Ellis63338.55%73945.01%27016.44%-106-6.46%1,642Garfield6,42136.55%8,38147.70%2,76715.75%-1,960-11.16%17,569Garvin4,52551.05%3,06434.57%1,27514.38%1,46116.48%8,864Grady6,29143.74%5,58338.82%2,50917.44%7084.92%14,383Grant87540.87%94143.95%32515.18%-66-3.08%2,141Greer95749.36%65133.57%33117.07%30615.78%1,939Harmon44650.17%31034.87%13314.96%13615.30%889Harper59441.77%64245.15%18613.08%-48-3.38%1,422Haskell2,51660.05%1,16527.80%50912.15%1,35132.24%4,190Hughes2,35557.36%1,17328.57%57814.08%1,18228.79%4,106Jackson2,36337.48%3,15650.06%78512.45%-793-12.58%6,304Jefferson1,05753.71%75638.41%1557.88%30115.29%1,968Johnston2,28066.84%99029.02%1414.13%1,29037.82%3,411Kay6,07138.88%7,26446.52%2,27914.60%-1,193-7.64%15,614Kingfisher1,76736.05%2,42649.50%70814.45%-659-13.45%4,901Kiowa1,74255.92%1,00032.10%37311.97%74223.82%3,115Latimer1,98460.58%91427.91%37711.51%1,07032.67%3,275Le Flore6,94158.29%4,46837.52%4994.19%2,47320.77%11,908Lincoln4,93543.72%4,25137.66%2,10318.63%6846.06%11,289Logan4,24537.71%5,04844.84%1,96417.45%-803-7.13%11,257Love1,75364.17%88432.36%953.48%86931.81%2,732Major90732.45%1,49053.31%39814.24%-583-20.86%2,795Marshall2,69463.12%1,40232.85%1724.03%1,29230.27%4,268Mayes6,46051.82%4,02532.29%1,98115.89%2,43519.53%12,466McClain4,10242.06%4,11542.19%1,53615.75%-13-0.13%9,753McCurtain5,18759.97%3,03535.09%4274.94%2,15224.88%8,649McIntosh3,63153.42%1,80926.61%1,35719.96%1,82226.81%6,797Murray2,66259.82%1,32529.78%46310.40%1,33730.04%4,450Muskogee9,86748.67%6,13230.25%4,27521.09%3,73518.42%20,274Noble1,75741.56%1,76741.79%70416.65%-10-0.24%4,228Nowata1,71846.84%1,24133.83%70919.33%47713.00%3,668Okfuskee1,93255.04%97627.81%60217.15%95627.24%3,510Oklahoma73,23638.73%91,27048.27%24,57012.99%-18,034-9.54%189,076Okmulgee5,82352.28%3,34130.00%1,97417.72%2,48222.28%11,138Osage6,84349.28%4,69633.82%2,34716.90%2,14715.46%13,886Ottawa4,50852.04%3,01834.84%1,13613.11%1,49017.20%8,662Pawnee2,25145.30%1,81436.51%90418.19%4378.79%4,969Payne8,71443.56%8,69743.47%2,59512.97%170.08%20,006Pittsburg8,03554.93%4,68632.03%1,90813.04%3,34922.89%14,629Pontotoc5,44752.08%3,90437.33%1,10710.59%1,54314.75%10,458Pottawatomie11,26255.12%6,97534.14%2,19410.74%4,28720.98%20,431Pushmataha2,33661.86%1,11929.63%3218.50%1,21732.23%3,776Roger Mills61442.91%63244.16%18512.93%-18-1.26%1,431Rogers10,50842.10%10,26441.13%4,18416.76%2430.97%24,957Seminole4,26057.19%2,30730.97%88211.84%1,95326.22%7,449Sequoyah5,15854.79%3,39136.02%8659.19%1,76718.77%9,414Stephens5,48438.47%6,29044.12%2,48217.41%-806-5.65%14,256Texas1,42428.98%3,20865.28%2825.74%-1,784-36.30%4,914Tillman1,26347.93%1,03439.24%33812.83%2298.69%2,635Tulsa65,38337.42%84,18748.18%25,15814.40%-18,804-10.76%174,728Wagoner7,32039.37%7,59540.85%3,67619.77%-275-1.48%18,591Washington5,80133.75%8,70050.62%2,68715.63%-2,899-16.87%17,188Washita1,81047.58%1,44037.85%55414.56%3709.73%3,804Woods1,47146.51%1,33942.33%35311.16%1324.17%3,163Woodward2,33940.09%2,69546.19%80113.73%-356-6.10%5,835Totals448,14343.27%441,27742.61%146,20014.12%6,8660.66%1,035,620
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Beckham (largest city: Elk City) Blaine (largest city: Watonga) Bryan (largest city: Durant) Caddo (largest city: Anadarko) Carter (largest city: Ardmore) Cotton (largest city: Walters) Creek (largest city: Sapulpa) Delaware (largest city: Grove) Dewey (largest city: Seiling) Garvin (largest city: Pauls Valley) Grady (largest city: Chickasaw) Greer (largest city: Mangum) Harmon (largest city: Hollis) Jefferson (largest city: Waurika) Kiowa (largest city: Hobart) Lincoln (largest city: Chandler) Love (largest city: Marietta) Marshall (largest city: Madill) Murray (largest city: Sulphur) Nowata (largest city: Nowata) Payne (largest city: Stillwater) Pontotoc (largest city: Ada) Pottawatomie (largest city: Shawnee) Rogers (largest city: Claremore) Washita (largest city: New Cordell) Woods (largest city: Alva)
By congressional district Henry won two of five congressional districts, including one that elected a Republican. District Henry Largent Richardson Representative1st 37.37% 47.43% 15.20%John Sullivan 2nd52.98%33.22%13.80%Brad Carson3rd41.05%43.19%15.75%Wes Watkins (107th Congress) Frank Lucas (108th Congress) 4th44.28%42.02%13.70%J. C. Watts (107th Congress) Tom Cole (108th Congress) 5th40.95%46.29% 12.77%Ernest Istook
Notes
References