2002 Oklahoma gubernatorial election
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| Elections in Oklahoma |
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 Government |
The 2002 Oklahoma gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002, and was a race for Governor of Oklahoma. Democrat Brad Henry won the election with 43 percent of the vote, beating Republican Steve Largent and conservative independent Gary Richardson.
Henry's narrow win has been attributed to Richardson and Largent's split of the conservative vote[1] 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.[1][2][3]
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.[4]
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.[5] 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.[6][7][8]
Primary results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Vince Orza | 154,263 | 44.03 | |
| Democratic | Brad Henry | 99,883 | 28.51 | |
| Democratic | Kelly Haney | 59,044 | 16.85 | |
| Democratic | Jim Dunegan | 28,130 | 8.03 | |
| Democratic | James E. Lamkin | 9,069 | 2.59 | |
| Total votes | 350,389 | 100.00 | ||
Runoff primary results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Brad Henry | 135,336 | 52.42 | |
| Democratic | Vince Orza | 122,855 | 47.58 | |
| Total votes | 258,191 | 100.00 | ||
Republican primary
Steve Largent easily won the GOP nomination against token opposition.[10]
Primary results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Steve Largent | 179,631 | 87.25 | |
| Republican | Jim Denny | 16,713 | 8.12 | |
| Republican | Andrew Marr, Jr | 9,532 | 4.63 | |
| Total votes | 205,876 | 100.00 | ||
General election
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[11] | Likely R | October 31, 2002 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[12] | Lean R | November 4, 2002 |
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Brad Henry (D) |
Steve Largent (R) |
Gary Richardson (I) |
Other / Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA[13] | 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 possibility of him prevailing were extremely difficult. 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.[citation needed]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Brad Henry | 448,143 | 43.3 | +2.4% | |
| Republican | Steve Largent | 441,277 | 42.6 | −15.9% | |
| Independent | Gary Richardson | 146,200 | 14.1 | N/A | |
| Total votes | 1,035,620 | 100.0 | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | Swing | +2.4% | |||
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Caddo (Largest city: Anadarko)
- Carter (Largest city: Ardmore)
- Garvin (Largest city: Pauls Valley)
- Greer (Largest city: Mangum)
- Harmon (Largest city: Hollis)
- Kiowa (Largest city: Hobart)
- Love (Largest city: Marietta)
- Marshall (Largest city: Madill)
- Murray (Largest city: Sulphur)
- Nowata (Largest city: Nowata)
- Pontotoc (Largest city: Ada)
- Delaware (Largest city: Grove)
- Washita (Largest city: New Cordell)
- Blaine (Largest city: Watonga)
- Creek (Largest city: Sapulpa)
- Grady (Largest city: Chickasaw)
- Lincoln (Largest city: Chandler)
- Payne (Largest city: Stillwater)
- Pottawatomie (Largest city: Shawnee)
- Rogers (Largest city: Claremore)
- Woods (Largest city: Alva)
- Beckham (Largest city: Elk City)
- Love (Largest city: Marietta)
- Bryan (Largest city: Durant)
- Cotton (Largest city: Walters)
- Jefferson (Largest city: Waurika)
By congressional district
Henry won 2 of 5 congressional districts, including that elected a Republican.[14]
| District | Henry | Largent | Richardson | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 37.37% | 47.43% | 15.20% | John Sullivan |
| 2nd | 52.98% | 33.22% | 13.80% | Brad Carson |
| 3rd | 41.05% | 43.19% | 15.75% | Wes Watkins (107th Congress) |
| Frank Lucas (108th Congress) | ||||
| 4th | 44.28% | 42.02% | 13.70% | J. C. Watts (107th Congress) |
| Tom Cole (108th Congress) | ||||
| 5th | 40.95% | 46.29% | 12.77% | Ernest Istook |
Notes
- ^ Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear
References
- ^ a b Averill, David, "Eyeing another campaign: Richardson had impact on 2002 governor's race", Tulsa World, March 22, 2009.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Gaddie, Ronald Keith, "Oklahoma Republican Party Archived 2011-09-03 at the Wayback Machine", Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture Archived May 31, 2010, at the Wayback Machine (accessed May 31, 2010).
- ^ "An Editorial: Orza is the Worst". The Oklahoman. September 9, 1990.
- ^ a b c "Primary Election August 27, 2002 Summary Results" (PDF). Oklahoma State Election Board.
- ^ "1990 Results" (PDF). Oklahoma State Election Board. p. C-4.
- ^ "The primary runoff alternative that could have changed Oklahoma elections | by Chris Powell | Medium". July 20, 2019.
- ^ "Runoff Primary Election September 17, 2002 Summary Results" (PDF). Oklahoma State Election Board.
- ^ Greiner, John; Hinton, Mick (August 28, 2002). "Largent easily wins GOP nod Orza, Henry divide Democrats". The Oklahoman.
- ^ "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
- ^ "Twitter".