2002 Maryland gubernatorial election

2002 Maryland gubernatorial election
November 5, 2002
Turnout61.85% Increase 1.26%[1]
 
Nominee Bob Ehrlich Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
Party Republican Democratic
Running mate Michael Steele Charles R. Larson
Popular vote 879,592 813,422
Percentage 51.55% 47.68%
County results
Ehrlich:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Townsend:      60–70%      70–80%
Governor before election

Parris Glendening
Democratic

Elected Governor

Bob Ehrlich
Republican

The 2002 Maryland gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002. Democratic Governor Parris Glendening was term-limited and could not seek a third term. Republican Bob Ehrlich defeated Democrat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, making him the first Republican governor of Maryland since Spiro Agnew, who served from 1967 to 1969. As of 2026, this is the last time Charles County voted Republican in a statewide election.

This election marked the first time since the 1934 gubernatorial election that a Republican won Maryland without Baltimore City or Montgomery County.[2]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kathleen Kennedy Townsend 434,948 80.01
Democratic Robert Fustero 108,659 19.99
Total votes 543,607 100

Fustero's receiving one-fifth of the vote brought surprise, given his non-political background and relatively small campaign spending of less than $1,500 to Kennedy Townsend's $2.3 million.[3][5] Townsend's campaign spokesman said such results were typical for a challenger in a Maryland Democratic primary.[6] Fustero said it showed that a significant number of Democrats were not happy with Townsend,[5] and predicted (correctly) that Townsend would lose to Ehrlich in the general election.[3] Fustero previously ran for Montgomery County Council and congress,[3] and ran for Montgomery County executive in 2006, placing third in the Democratic primary.[7] He died in 2013 at age 62.[8]

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bob Ehrlich 229,927 92.88
Republican James J. Sheridan 9,181 3.71
Republican Ross Z. Pierpont 8,458 3.42
Total votes 247,566 100

General election

Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend won the Democratic nomination, and Congressman Bob Ehrlich won the Republican nomination, both over token opposition.

Ehrlich chose Maryland Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele as his running mate, while Townsend chose Admiral Charles R. Larson as her running mate. Larson switched to the Democratic Party just a few weeks before the election.

Kennedy's selection of Larson as her running mate proved to be an unpopular move, seeing as he was a white former Republican and had been selected without consultation with black Democratic leaders.[9] Ehrlich ran advertisements assailing incumbent Governor Parris Glendening for the increasingly dismal fiscal situation in Maryland, an issue that resonated with Maryland voters. Glendening's unpopularity did little to help his Lieutenant Governor's flailing campaign.[10]

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[11] Tossup October 31, 2002
Sabato's Crystal Ball[12] Lean R (flip) November 4, 2002

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Bob
Ehrlich (R) 		Kathleen
Kennedy
Townsend (D) 		Other /
Undecided
SurveyUSA[13] October 31 – November 2, 2002 797 (LV) ± 3.6% 51% 46% 2%

Results

Maryland gubernatorial election, 2002
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Bob Ehrlich 879,592 51.55% +6.74%
Democratic Kathleen Kennedy Townsend 813,422 47.68% −7.47%
Libertarian Spear Lancaster 11,546 0.68%
Write-ins 1,619 0.09%
Majority 66,170 3.88% −6.45%
Turnout 1,706,179
Republican gain from Democratic Swing

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Notes

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

References

  1. ^ "2002 Gubernatorial General Election - Voter Turnout". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  2. ^ Maryland Manual. Hall of Records Commission. 1987.
  3. ^ a b c d Ollove, Michael (September 12, 2002). "KKT got a run for her money". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  4. ^ a b "2002 Gubernatorial Election".
  5. ^ a b "Long-shot Democrat takes 20% of votes". The Baltimore Sun. September 11, 2002. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  6. ^ "A Nobody". The Washington Post. September 11, 2002. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
  7. ^ "Montgomery County, Maryland: Election Returns, Primary Election". Maryland State Archives. September 12, 2006. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
  8. ^ Fisher, Marc (October 22, 2013). "Robert R. Fustero, Maryland activist and gadfly, dies at 62". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
  9. ^ Election 2002 CNN. Archived January 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "For this pair, the talking is over". Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ "Governors Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on December 12, 2002. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  13. ^ SurveyUSA


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