California gubernatorial election, 2002

**Elections in California**
Gubernatorial Elections: 1861 · 1958 · 1962 · 1966 · 1970 · 1974 1978 · 1982 · 1986 · 1990 · 1994 · 1998 2002 · 2003 (recall) · 2006 · 2010
Presidential Elections: 2000 · 2004 · 2008
United States Senate Elections: 2004 · 2006 · 2010
Congressional Elections: 1996 · 1998 · 2000 2002 · 2004 · 2006 · 2008 special
Legislative Elections: Senate 2006 Assembly 2006
Judicial Elections: Appeals Courts 2006
Special Elections: The 5 special elections of 1998/1999 2003 gubernatorial recall 2005 statewide special election

California gubernatorial election, 2002

November 5, 2002

Gray Davis was re-elected to a second 4 year term as Governor of California. However, he would be recalled less than a year into his next term.

The Primary

During the 2002 election campaign, Davis took the unusual step of taking out campaign ads during the Republican primaries against Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan. Davis claimed that Riordan had attacked his record and that his campaign was defending his record [1]. Polls showed that, as a moderate, Riordan would be a more formidable challenger in the general election than a conservative candidate. Polls even showed that Riordan would defeat Davis [2]. Davis attacked Riordan with negative ads in the primary. The ads questioned Riordan's pro-choice stance by questioning Riordan's support of pro-life politicians and judges [3] [4]. The ads pointed out Riordan's position of wanting a moratorium on the death penalty as being to the left of Gray Davis, who strongly supported it [5] [6] [7].

In 2000, the United States Supreme Court in California Democratic Party v. Jones struck down California's blanket primary ^[1]. With the end of the blanket primary, only non-partisans and registered Republicans could vote for Richard Riordan in the 2002 primary. The end of the blanket primary made it more difficult for the more moderate Riordan. It has long been known in politics that primary voters are much more ideological and strongly liberal or strongly conservative than those who vote in the general election ^[2].

Additionally, the Republican primary included negative attacks between Jones and Riordan. Jones highlighted in his attack ads against Riordan that Riordan had contributed money Davis in past campaigns and had called Bill Clinton "the greatest leader in the free world" [8]. Riordan's counter ads highlighted that Jones had also contributed money to Davis [9]. By late February 2002, Riordian's strong lead in the Republican Primary had began to slip. In the previous months of the campaign, Riordan focused his ads and energies on campaigning against Gray Davis and defending himself from Davis' attack ads [10].

Davis' negative ads against Riordan lead to Riordan's defeat in the Republican primary by the more staunchly conservative candidate Bill Simon.

General Election

Davis was re-elected in the November 2002 general election following a long and bitter campaign against Simon, marked by accusations of ethical lapses on both sides and widespread voter apathy [11]. Simon was also hurt by a financial fraud scandal that tarnished Simon's reputation ^[3]. Davis' campaign featured several negative ads that highlighted Simon's financial fraud scandal ^[4]. The 2002 gubernatorial race was the most expensive in California state history with over $100 million spent [12]. Davis' campaign was better financed; Davis had over $26 in campaign reserves more than Simon in August 2006 ^[5]. Davis gained re-election with 47.4% of the vote to Simon's 42.4%. However, the Simon-Davis race led in the lowest turnout percentage in modern gubernatorial history, allowing a lower than normal amount of signatures required for a recall [13]. Davis won the election but the majority of the voters disliked Davis and did not approve of his job performance [14] [15].

Results

Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Gray Davis(i)	Democratic	3,533,490	47.3
Bill Simon	Republican	3,169,801	42.4
Peter Miguel Camejo	Green	393,036	5.3
Gary David Copeland	Libertarian	161,203	2.2
Reinhold Gulke	American Independent	128,035	1.7
Iris Adam	Natural Law	88,415	1.1%
		6,638,092

By County

County	Davis (D)		Simon (R)		Camejo (G)		Copeland (L)		Gulke (AI)		Adam (NL)
Alameda	216,058	62.9%	76,407	22.3%	37,919	11.0%	6,558	1.9%	3,622	1.0%	3,319	0.9%
Alpine	229	40.9%	247	44.2%	40	7.2%	15	2.6%	17	3.0%	12	2.1%
Amador	4,437	34.2%	6,997	54.0%	740	5.8%	246	1.8%	338	2.6%	220	1.6%
Butte	19,437	31.6%	32,706	53.3%	5,963	9.7%	1,050	1.7%	1,497	2.4%	802	1.3%
Calaveras	5,052	33.3%	8,104	53.4%	875	5.8%	434	2.8%	489	3.2%	240	1.5%
Colusa	1,243	27.2%	2,996	65.5%	131	2.9%	48	1.0%	118	2.6%	39	0.8%
Contra Costa	140,975	53.3%	94,487	35.7%	16,676	6.3%	5,894	2.2%	3,905	1.4%	2,931	1.1%
Del Norte	2,922	43.3%	3,093	45.9%	207	3.0%	165	2.4%	239	3.6%	124	1.8%
El Dorado	16,402	29.5%	32,898	59.1%	3,418	6.1%	1,072	1.9%	1,203	2.1%	736	1.3%
Fresno	59,019	38.0%	85,910	55.3%	3,508	2.2%	3,560	2.3%	2,214	1.4%	1,260	0.8%
Glenn	1,685	25.9%	4,268	65.5%	187	2.9%	96	1.4%	200	3.1%	81	1.2%
Humboldt	19,499	45.5%	16,118	37.6%	5,170	12.1%	961	2.2%	547	1.2%	612	1.4%
Imperial	11,644	53.3%	8,789	40.3%	546	2.5%	258	1.1%	360	1.7%	252	1.1%
Inyo	2,114	33.7%	3,567	56.8%	210	3.3%	142	2.2%	159	2.5%	96	1.5%
Kern	46,250	33.7%	82,660	60.3%	1,965	1.4%	1,839	1.3%	3,002	2.2%	1,568	1.1%
Kings	7,776	36.7%	12,212	57.6%	298	1.4%	246	1.1%	491	2.3%	192	0.9%
Lake	7,424	46.8%	6,459	40.7%	965	6.0%	336	2.1%	451	2.8%	258	1.6%
Lassen	2,429	31.6%	4,512	58.7%	155	2.0%	166	2.1%	317	4.2%	115	1.4%
Los Angeles	953,162	55.9%	594,748	34.9%	72,886	4.3%	39,934	2.4%	25,160	1.4%	19,067	1.1%
Madera	8,217	31.4%	15,998	61.2%	517	2.0%	517	1.9%	651	2.5%	269	1.0%
Marin	49,512	56.3%	24,520	27.9%	10,710	12.1%	1,502	1.7%	917	1.0%	890	1.0%
Mariposa	2,126	32.8%	3,720	57.4%	215	3.4%	130	2.0%	193	2.9%	101	1.5%
Mendocino	10,832	43.5%	8,331	33.5%	4,119	16.6%	581	2.3%	680	2.7%	359	1.4%
Merced	18,071	44.6%	19,191	47.4%	792	1.9%	1,379	3.4%	749	1.8%	374	0.9%
Modoc	900	26.7%	2,161	64.0%	54	1.5%	67	2.0%	145	4.3%	54	1.5%
Mono	1,064	36.0%	1,552	52.6%	154	5.3%	64	2.1%	76	2.5%	46	1.5%
Monterey	47,052	54.1%	31,532	36.3%	3,794	4.4%	2,191	2.5%	1,402	1.6%	1,003	1.1%
Napa	17,516	47.8%	13,483	36.8%	3,570	9.8%	774	2.1%	824	2.2%	505	1.3%
Nevada	13,338	34.0%	20,573	52.4%	3,297	8.4%	743	1.8%	817	2.1%	546	1.3%
Orange	222,149	34.7%	368,152	57.5%	16,670	2.7%	14,668	2.2%	10,393	1.6%	8,374	1.3%
Placer	28,495	29.7%	58,623	61.1%	4,657	4.9%	1,500	1.5%	1,556	1.6%	1,222	1.2%
Plumas	2,598	33.1%	4,310	54.9%	380	4.9%	182	2.3%	264	3.3%	124	1.5%
Riverside	121,845	40.3%	159,440	52.7%	5,995	2.0%	6,601	2.2%	5,530	1.9%	2,987	0.9%
Sacramento	129,143	40.9%	147,456	46.7%	22,232	7.1%	6,634	2.0%	6,245	1.9%	4,668	1.4%
San Benito	6,049	48.9%	5,163	41.8%	504	4.1%	275	2.2%	208	1.6%	174	1.4%
San Bernardino	116,757	41.3%	142,513	50.4%	6,754	2.3%	6,485	2.2%	6,884	2.5%	3,751	1.3%
San Diego	268,278	40.6%	342,095	51.8%	18,184	2.8%	13,742	2.0%	11,246	1.7%	7,662	1.1%
San Francisco	143,102	66.3%	33,214	15.4%	33,495	15.5%	3,048	1.4%	1,639	0.7%	1,649	0.7%
San Joaquin	53,747	43.6%	58,239	47.2%	4,630	3.8%	2,540	2.0%	2,736	2.2%	1,546	1.2%
San Luis Obispo	29,732	36.4%	43,552	53.4%	4,189	5.2%	1,618	2.0%	1,531	1.8%	1,033	1.2%
San Mateo	99,803	58.0%	51,497	30.0%	13,537	7.9%	3,205	1.8%	2,144	1.2%	2,020	1.1%
Santa Barbara	50,741	44.4%	52,832	46.2%	5,785	5.1%	2,586	2.2%	1,401	1.2%	1,141	0.9%
Santa Clara	199,399	55.4%	116,862	32.5%	24,097	6.7%	9,430	2.6%	5,951	1.6%	4,652	1.2%
Santa Cruz	43,469	56.1%	20,598	26.6%	9,409	12.1%	1,777	2.2%	1,166	1.5%	1,164	1.5%
Shasta	15,292	31.5%	28,625	59.0%	1,283	2.6%	942	1.9%	1,664	3.5%	753	1.5%
Sierra	420	29.3%	805	56.0%	72	5.1%	67	4.6%	50	3.4%	24	1.6%
Siskiyou	4,972	31.9%	9,112	58.4%	437	2.8%	386	2.4%	440	2.9%	252	1.6%
Solano	46,385	52.4%	33,516	37.9%	4,038	4.6%	1,316	1.4%	2,174	2.5%	1,092	1.2%
Sonoma	73,079	50.4%	43,408	30.0%	19,599	13.6%	3,097	2.1%	3,529	2.4%	2,312	1.5%
Stanislaus	41,908	43.6%	46,091	48.0%	2,967	3.1%	1,385	1.4%	2,732	2.8%	1,111	1.1%
Sutter	5,782	29.9%	12,024	62.1%	620	3.3%	242	1.2%	463	2.3%	239	1.2%
Tehama	5,000	32.5%	9,010	58.6%	361	2.4%	254	1.6%	537	3.5%	230	1.4%
Trinity	1,833	37.3%	2,421	49.2%	272	5.6%	140	2.8%	165	3.3%	93	1.8%
Tulare	21,294	34.1%	37,172	59.5%	1,090	1.7%	1,208	2.0%	1,180	1.9%	553	0.8%
Tuolumne	6,846	38.2%	9,251	51.6%	773	4.4%	328	1.8%	476	2.6%	267	1.4%
Ventura	83,557	43.3%	91,193	47.2%	6,563	3.4%	5,787	3.0%	3,733	1.9%	2,483	1.2%
Yolo	21,983	47.5%	17,484	37.8%	4,934	10.6%	543	1.1%	842	1.8%	566	1.2%
Yuba	3,447	29.8%	6,904	59.6%	428	3.6%	249	2.1%	373	3.2%	202	1.7%

References

^ Asseo, Laurie. "Court nixes 'blanket' primaries." Salon News. June 26, 2000. Associated Press writer. Accessed on August 13, 2007. http://www.salon.com/politics/2000/06/26/blanket/.
^ Maisel, Sandy. "Closing the Door on Moderation, One Seat at a Time." The Jewish Daily Forward. Friday, August 18 2006. Accessed on August 13, 2007. http://www.forward.com/articles/1076/.
^ Economist.com. "Gray Davis." http://www.economist.com/research/backgrounders/displaybackgrounder.cfm?bg=1922064
^ Carla Marinucci, Lynda Gledhill, Chronicle Staff Writers. "Davis turns up heat as Simon pares down: New ads roast GOP rival as he trims staff." The San Francisco Chronicle. Friday, August 16, 2002. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/08/16/MN76308.DTL&hw=Gray+Davis+May+2002+polls&sn=022&sc=614.
^ Carla Marinucci, Lynda Gledhill, Chronicle Staff Writers. "Davis turns up heat as Simon pares down: New ads roast GOP rival as he trims staff." The San Francisco Chronicle. Friday, August 16, 2002. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/08/16/MN76308.DTL&hw=Gray+Davis+May+2002+polls&sn=022&sc=614.

External links

Additional Sources

Gubernatorial elections in California

1849 | 1850 | 1854 | 1856 | 1860 | 1861 | 1862 | 1866 | 1868 | 1872 | 1874 | 1878 | 1880 | 1884 | 1886 | 1850 | 1854 | 1858 | 1862 | 1866 | 1870 | 1874 | 1878 | 1882 | 1886 | 1890 | 1894 | 1898 | 1902 | 1906 | 1910 | 1914 | 1918 | 1922 | 1926 | 1930 | 1934 | 1938 | 1942 | 1946 | 1950 | 1954 | 1958 | 1962 | 1966 | 1970 | 1974 | 1978 | 1982 | 1986 | 1990 | 1994 | 1998 | 2002 | 2003 | 2006 | 2010 | Special
See also: House | Senate | President

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Donate to Wikimedia

	Where can you find a gardening 'Tip of the Day'?
	What types of political advertisements are used in the Philippines?
	Is there any possibility that the biochemical astaxanthin found in shrimp will be a textile dye?
	If an elected local government official is out of the country during his term can he delegate his duties to others?
	What are household filters?