2002 Nevada gubernatorial election

2002 Nevada gubernatorial election
	County results; Guinn: 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%
Governor before election; Kenny Guinn; Republican	Elected Governor ; Kenny Guinn; Republican

The 2002 Nevada gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican governor Kenny Guinn defeated Democratic nominee and Nevada Senator Joe Neal in a landslide to win a second term.

As of 2023^[update], this was the most recent Nevada gubernatorial election in which both major party candidates are now deceased. This election was the first time since 1954 that an incumbent Republican Governor of Nevada was re-elected.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Joe Neal, Nevada Senator and candidate in 1998
Barbara Scott, public accountant
Dan Meyer
Christopher J. Petrella, veteran

Results

Democratic primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joe Neal	31,805	35.75%
		None of These Candidates	21,875	24.59%
	Democratic	Barbara Scott	18,974	21.33%
	Democratic	Dan Meyer	11,403	12.82%
	Democratic	Christopher J. Petrella	4,917	5.53%
Total votes			88,974	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Kenny Guinn, incumbent governor of Nevada
Shirley Cook, retired court reporter
Bruce Westcott, businessman
Bill Hiett, rancher
Stan Lusak, retired janitor and postal employee
James K. Prevot
Carlo Poliak, perennial candidate

Results

Republican Primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kenny Guinn (inc.)	97,367	82.88%
	Republican	Shirley Cook	7,717	6.57%
		None of These Candidates	7,195	6.12%
	Republican	Bruce Westcott	2,507	2.13%
	Republican	Bill Hiett	1,167	0.99%
	Republican	Stan Lusak	566	0.48%
	Republican	James K. Prevot	560	0.48%
	Republican	Carlo Poliak	395	0.34%
Total votes			117,474	100.00%

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[2]	Safe R	October 31, 2002
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[3]	Safe R	November 4, 2002

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size^[a]	Margin of error	Kenny Guinn (R)	Joe Neal (D)	Other / Undecided
SurveyUSA^[4]	October 27–29, 2002	523 (LV)	± 4.4%	63%	28%	9%

Results

Nevada gubernatorial election, 2002^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Kenny Guinn (inc.)	344,001	68.24%	+16.61%
	Democratic	Joe Neal	110,935	22.01%	−20.03%
		None of These Candidates	23,674	4.70%	+1.78%
	Libertarian	Dick Geyer	8,104	1.61%	−0.08%
	Independent American	David G. Holmgren	7,047	1.40%	−0.33%
	Independent	Jerry L. Norton	5,543	1.10%	+1.10%
	Green	Charles Laws	4,775	0.95%	+0.95%
Majority			233,066	+46.24%
Total votes			504,079	100.00%
	Republican hold		Swing	+36.64%

County results

County	Kenny Guinn Republican		Joe Neal Democratic		None of These Candidates		Dick Geyer Libertarian		David G. Holmgren Independent American		Jerry L. Norton Independent		Charles Laws Green		Margin		Total votes cast^[5]
County	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	Total votes cast^[5]
Carson City	12,051	69.77%	3,448	19.96%	998	5.78%	268	1.55%	201	1.16%	142	0.82%	164	0.95%	8,603	49.81%	17,272
Churchill	5,867	79.54%	952	12.91%	186	2.52%	87	1.18%	190	2.58%	70	0.95%	24	0.33%	4,915	66.64%	7,376
Clark	200,157	65.20%	74,378	24.23%	17,240	5.62%	5,096	1.66%	3,741	1.22%	3,843	1.25%	2,548	0.83%	125,779	40.97%	307,003
Douglas	12,977	77.44%	2,520	15.04%	482	2.88%	243	1.45%	217	1.29%	136	0.81%	183	1.09%	10,457	62.40%	16,758
Elko	8,568	77.62%	1,386	12.56%	328	2.97%	269	2.44%	287	2.60%	127	1.15%	73	0.66%	7,182	65.07%	11,038
Esmeralda	286	65.15%	87	19.82%	23	5.24%	12	2.73%	24	5.47%	4	0.91%	3	0.68%	199	45.33%	439
Eureka	525	76.42%	85	12.37%	34	4.95%	12	1.75%	17	2.47%	9	1.31%	5	0.73%	440	64.05%	687
Humboldt	3,446	80.01%	522	12.12%	148	3.44%	57	1.32%	69	1.60%	45	1.04%	20	0.46%	2,924	67.89%	4,307
Lander	1,503	80.68%	231	12.40%	50	2.68%	24	1.29%	31	1.66%	18	0.97%	6	0.32%	1,272	68.28%	1,863
Lincoln	1,266	73.09%	279	16.11%	60	3.46%	33	1.91%	58	3.35%	26	1.50%	10	0.58%	987	56.99%	1,732
Lyon	8,169	75.00%	1,796	16.49%	360	3.31%	151	1.39%	200	1.84%	114	1.05%	102	0.94%	6,373	58.51%	10,892
Mineral	1,290	63.48%	508	25.00%	64	3.15%	23	1.13%	112	5.51%	19	0.94%	16	0.79%	782	38.48%	2,032
Nye	7,349	68.18%	2,226	20.65%	428	3.97%	225	2.09%	350	3.25%	134	1.24%	67	0.62%	5,123	47.53%	10,779
Pershing	1,254	75.18%	236	14.15%	69	4.14%	24	1.44%	51	3.06%	24	1.44%	10	0.60%	1,018	61.03%	1,668
Storey	1,198	72.69%	300	18.20%	56	3.40%	43	2.61%	17	1.03%	11	0.67%	23	1.40%	898	54.49%	1,648
Washoe	76,059	72.05%	21,244	20.13%	3,025	2.87%	1,504	1.42%	1,443	1.37%	783	0.74%	1,502	1.42%	54,815	51.93%	105,560
White Pine	2,036	67.31%	737	24.36%	123	4.07%	33	1.09%	39	1.29%	38	1.26%	19	0.63%	1,299	42.94%	3,025
Totals	344,001	68.24%	110,935	22.01%	23,674	4.70%	8,104	1.61%	7,047	1.40%	5,543	1.10%	4,775	0.98%	233,066	46.24%	504,079

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Mineral (largest municipality: Hawthorne)

Notes

^ Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear

References

^ ^a ^b "Elections Results: Official 2002 Primary Election Results". Retrieved April 2, 2013.
^ "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.
^ "Governors Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on December 12, 2002. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
^ SurveyUSA
^ ^a ^b "Elections Results: Official 2002 General Election Results". Retrieved April 2, 2013.

[key-4] Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear

[nvsos-1] "Elections Results: Official 2002 Primary Election Results". Retrieved April 2, 2013.

[2] "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.

[3] "Governors Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on December 12, 2002. Retrieved September 18, 2018.

[5] SurveyUSA

[results-6] "Elections Results: Official 2002 General Election Results". Retrieved April 2, 2013.

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