The 2002 Vermont gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Democratic Governor Howard Dean did not run for re-election to a sixth full term as governor of Vermont. Republican Jim Douglas defeated Democratic candidate Doug Racine and independent candidate Cornelius Hogan, among others, to succeed him. Since no candidate received a majority in the popular vote, Douglas was elected by the Vermont General Assembly, as required by the state constitution.
The race was very close, with Douglas prevailing by just under 6,000 votes or 2.56%. In Vermont for if no candidate for governor, lieutenant governor, or treasurer office receives 50%, then the Vermont General Assembly picks the winner. In practice, the general assembly almost always chooses the candidate who obtained a plurality. Racine conceded to Douglas, who was selected by the general assembly. Douglas's strong performance in Montpelier and Rutland carried him to victory. Racine did well in populous Burlington and greater Chittenden County, but it was not enough to overcome Douglas's advantage. Douglas was reelected three more times. Racine ran for governor again in 2010, but narrowly lost the Democratic primary to Peter Shumlin. Shumlin won the general election and chose Racine to be his Secretary of Human Services. Racine stepped down from that post in 2014.
Democratic primary
Results
Republican primary
Results
Progressive primary
Results
General election
Predictions SourceRankingAs ofThe Cook Political Report October 31, 2002Sabato's Crystal Ball November 4, 2002
Results
Results by county County Jim DouglasRepublican Doug RacineDemocratic Con HoganIndependent Various candidates Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % # % Addison 7,305 48.5% 6,354 42.2% 1,098 7.3% 313 2.1% 951 6.3% 15,070 Bennington 6,440 48.6% 5,125 38.7% 1,078 8.1% 595 4.5% 1,315 9.9% 13,238 Caledonia 5,501 55.5% 3,321 33.5% 853 8.6% 228 2.3% 2,180 22.0% 9,903 Chittenden 24,356 43.3% 26,249 46.4% 4,631 8.2% 1,196 2.1% -1,713 -3.1% 56,612 Essex 1,269 62.6% 540 26.7% 126 6.2% 91 4.5% 729 35.9% 2,026 Franklin 7,383 49.5% 5,677 38.1% 1,506 10.1% 346 2.3% 1,706 11.4% 14,912 Grand Isle 1,577 49.8% 1,180 37.3% 317 10.0% 92 2.9% 397 12.5% 3,166 Lamoille 3,854 42.6% 3,508 38.8% 1,433 15.8% 254 2.8% 346 3.8% 9,049 Orange 5,035 44.7% 4,634 41.2% 1,214 10.8% 371 3.3% 401 3.5% 11,254 Orleans 4,734 51.9% 2,900 31.8% 1,237 13.6% 258 2.8% 1,834 20.1% 9,129 Rutland 11,883 52.2% 8,538 37.5% 1,572 6.9% 751 3.3% 3,345 14.7% 22,744 Washington 9,015 36.7% 10,151 41.3% 4,855 19.8% 547 2.2% -1,136 -4.6% 24,568 Windham 6,054 35.9% 8,884 52.7% 885 5.3% 1,028 6.1% -2,830 -16.8% 16,851 Windsor 8,850 40.9% 10,504 48.5% 1,548 7.2% 737 3.4% -1,654 -7.6% 21,639Totals103,43644.9%97,56542.4%22,3539.7%6,8073.0%5,8712.5%230,161 Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Addison (largest municipality: Middlebury) Bennington (largest municipality: Bennington) Grand Isle (largest municipality: Alburgh) Lamoille (largest municipality: Morristown) Orange (largest city: Randolph) Rutland (largest municipality: Rutland)
See also 2002 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont
References