The 2002 Wyoming gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Jim Geringer James Edward Geringer (born April 24, 1944) is an American politician who was the List of Governors of Wyoming, 30th governor of Wyoming, serving from 1995 to 2003. Early life and education Geringer was born and raised on a farm in Wheatland, Wyo ...

was term-limited and unable to seek a third term in office, thereby creating an open seat. Former

U.S. Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

Dave Freudenthal David Duane Freudenthal (born October 12, 1950) is an American attorney, economist, and politician who served as the 31st governor of Wyoming from 2003 to 2011. Freudenthal previously was the United States Attorney for the District of Wyoming ...

and former Wyoming House Speaker

Eli Bebout Eli Daniel Bebout (born October 14, 1946) is an American athlete and politician who served in the Wyoming House of Representatives from a multi-member district in Fremont County and the 55th district from 1987 to 2001, and later served in the ...

both emerged from competitive Democratic and Republican primaries, respectively, and faced off against each other in the general election. Despite Wyoming's strong inclination to elect Republicans, a contentious race ensued, with Freudenthal ultimately defeating Bebout by fewer than 4,000 votes. As of , this is the last gubernatorial election in Wyoming to be decided by less than 20 percentage points.

Democratic primary

Candidates

*Ken Casner *

, former

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the District of Wyoming *Paul Hickey, attorney, former chairman of the Wyoming Pipeline Authority and son of former

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

John J. Hickey John Joseph Hickey (August 22, 1911 – September 22, 1970), known as Joe or J. J. Hickey, was an American judge and politician who served the 24th governor of Wyoming from 1959 to 1961 and as a United States senator from 1961 to 1962. A member ...

*Toby Simpson, construction worker

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

, former

Speaker of the Wyoming House of Representatives The Speaker of the Wyoming House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the Wyoming House of Representatives. The Speaker has historically been a member of the majority party who is the ''de facto'' leader of their party. The current Ho ...

*Ray Hunkins, attorney and rancher *John H. Self *Bill Sniffin, journalist and former Wyoming Travel Commissioner * Stephen Watt,

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

Results

General election

Predictions

Results

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Hot Springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

(Largest city:

Thermopolis Thermopolis is the county seat and most populous town in Hot Springs County, Wyoming, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town population was 2,725. Thermopolis, Greek for "hot city", is home to numerous natural hot springs, in which ...

) * Natrona (Largest city: Casper) * Albany (Largest city: Laramie) * Platte (Largest city: Wheatland) * Teton (Largest city:

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

) * Laramie (Largest city:

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

)

References

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 ...

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

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 ...

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