2002 Idaho gubernatorial election

← 1998 November 5, 2002 2006 →

Nominee Dirk Kempthorne Jerry Brady Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 231,566 171,711 Percentage 56.3% 41.7%

County results Kempthorne:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Brady:      40–50%      50–60%

Governor before election Dirk Kempthorne Republican Elected Governor Dirk Kempthorne Republican

The 2002 Idaho gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002 to select the governor of the state of Idaho. Dirk Kempthorne, the Republican incumbent, defeated Democratic nominee Jerry Brady to win a second term, but the win was not nearly as overwhelming as Kempthorne's 1998 victory. This was the first Idaho gubernatorial election since 1978 in which the winner was of the same party as the incumbent president. This was the first time since 1962 that an incumbent Republican Governor of Idaho was re-elected.

Republican primary[edit]

Candidates[edit]

• Walter L. Bayes
• Milt Erhart, perennial candidate
• Raynelle J. George
• Dirk Kempthorne, incumbent Governor of Idaho

Results[edit]

Republican primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dirk Kempthorne (inc.)	95,882	65.88
	Republican	Milt Erhart	37,523	25.78
	Republican	Walter L. Bayes	6,873	4.72
	Republican	Raynelle J. George	5,271	3.62
Total votes			145,549	100.00

Democratic primary[edit]

Candidates[edit]

• Jerry Brady, newspaper publisher
• Rue T. Stears

Results[edit]

Democratic Primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jerry Brady	33,285	87.40
	Democratic	Rue T. Stears	4,798	12.60
Total votes			38,083	100.00

Elections in Idaho
Federal government Presidential elections 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Presidential primaries Democratic 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 Republican 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 U.S. Senate elections 1890 1895 1897 1901 1902 1903 1907 1909 1913 1913 sp 1914 1918 1918 sp 1920 1924 1926 1928 sp 1930 1932 1936 1938 1940 sp 1942 1944 1946 sp 1948 1950 1950 sp 1954 1956 1960 1962 sp 1962 1966 1968 1972 1974 1978 1980 1984 1986 1990 1992 1996 1998 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 2016 2020 2022 2026 2028 U.S. House of Representatives elections 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
State government General elections 2014 2018 2020 2022 Gubernatorial elections 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 Lieutenant gubernatorial elections 2022 Secretary of State elections 2022 Attorney General elections 2022 Senate elections 2006 2020 2022 House of Representatives elections 2006 2020 2022
Ballot measures Ballot Measures 1994 Proposition 1 2006 Amendment 2 Proposition 2 2018 Proposition 1 Proposition 2
Boise Mayoral elections 2015 2019 2023

Libertarian primary[edit]

Candidates[edit]

• Daniel L. J. Adams, perennial candidate
• Michael Monroe Gollaher (write-in)

Results[edit]

Libertarian Primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Daniel L. J. Adams	997	90.14
	Libertarian	Michael Monroe Gollaher (write-in)	109	9.86
Total votes			1,106	100.00

General election[edit]

Campaign[edit]

Although Brady performed considerably better than 1998 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Robert C. Huntley and won in Ada County, Kempthorne won reelection with a comfortable majority.

Predictions[edit]

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[2]	Safe R	October 31, 2002
Sabato's Crystal Ball[3]	Lean R	November 4, 2002

Results[edit]

Idaho gubernatorial election, 2002^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Dirk Kempthorne (inc.)	231,566	56.28	-11.42
	Democratic	Jerry Brady	171,711	41.73	+12.66
	Libertarian	Daniel L. J. Adams	8,187	1.99
	Write-ins		13	0.00
Majority			59,855	14.55	-24.08
Turnout			411,477
	Republican hold		Swing

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic[edit]

• Ada (largest municipality: Boise)
• Bannock (largest municipality: Pocatello)
• Nez Perce (Largest city: Lewiston)
• Shoshone (Largest city: Kellogg)
• Latah (Largest city: Moscow)

References[edit]

See also[edit]

• Governor of Idaho
• List of governors of Idaho
• Idaho gubernatorial elections

Preceded by 1998

Idaho gubernatorial elections

Succeeded by 2006