The 2002 Vermont gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Democratic Governor

Howard Dean Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American physician, author, consultant, and retired politician who served as the 79th governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2005 to 20 ...

did not run for re-election to a sixth full term as

Governor of Vermont The governor of Vermont is the head of government of the U.S. state of Vermont. The officeholder is elected in even-numbered years by direct voting for a term of two years. Vermont and bordering New Hampshire are the only states to hold guberna ...

. Republican

Jim Douglas James Holley Douglas (born June 21, 1951) is an American politician from the U.S. state, state of Vermont. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he served as the List of governors of Vermont, 80th governor of Vermont from 2003 to 2011. ...

defeated Democratic candidate

Doug Racine Douglas Alan Racine (born October 7, 1952) is an American politician and former Vermont Secretary of Human Services, a former Vermont State Senator and was the 79th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1997 to 2003. He is a Democrat. Racine was ...

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 The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly", but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The G ...

, 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

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 Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

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 Peter Elliott Shumlin (born March 24, 1956) is an American politician from Vermont. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 81st governor of Vermont from 2011 to 2017. He was first elected to the office in 2010, and was reelected to ...

. 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

Results

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Addison Addison may refer to: Places Canada * Addison, Ontario, a community United States * Addison, Alabama, a town * Addison, Illinois, a village * Addison, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Addison, Maine, a town * Addison, Michigan, a villag ...

(largest municipality: Middlebury) *

Bennington Bennington is a New England town, town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester (town), Vermont, Manchester. As of the 2020 United States Census, US Cens ...

(largest municipality:

) * Grand Isle (largest municipality: Alburgh) *

Lamoille Lamoille or La Moille may refer to: Places in the United States Illinois * La Moille, Illinois, a village * Lamoille Township, Bureau County, Illinois Iowa * LaMoille, Iowa, an unincorporated community Minnesota * Lamoille, Minnesota, an uninco ...

(largest municipality: Morristown) *

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

(Largest city: Randolph) *

(largest municipality:

)

References

{{US Third Party Election

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

Contingent elections in the United States

Democratic primary

Results

Republican primary

Results

Progressive primary

Results

General election

Predictions

Results

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

See also

References