California gubernatorial election, 2002

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California gubernatorial election, 2002 had a general election that occurred on November 5, 2002. Democrat Gray Davis defeated Republican Bill Simon by 5% and was re-elected to a second 4 year term as Governor of California. Davis would be recalled less than a year into his next term.

The 2002 gubernatorial primary occurred in March 2002. Gray Davis faced no major competitor in the primary and won the nomination. Simmon defeated former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan in the Republican primary. Gray Davis ran a series of negative ads against Riordan in the primary. Riordan was seen as a moderate and early state polls showed him defeating Gray Davis in the general election.

Contents

[edit] 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.[8] 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.[9]

Additionally, the Republican primary included negative attacks between Bill 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." Riordan's counter ads highlighted that Jones had also contributed money to Davis. 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.[5]

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

[edit] 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.[10] Simon was also hurt by a financial fraud scandal that tarnished Simon's reputation.[11] Davis' campaign featured several negative ads that highlighted Simon's financial fraud scandal.[12] Simon tried to attack Davis for fundraising in the Lieutenant Governor's office during his time as Lt. Governor, but the plan backfired when Davis produced evidence that the picture was taken in his Los Angeles home.[13] The 2002 gubernatorial race was the most expensive in California state history with over $100 million spent.[14] Davis's campaign was better financed; Davis had over $26 million in campaign reserves more than Simon in August 2006.[12] Davis gained re-election with 47.4% of the vote to Simon's 42.4%. 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.[15] Davis won the election but the majority of the voters disliked Davis and did not approve of his job performance.[16][17]

[edit] General election results

Election results by county.
Election results by county.
2002 California gubernatorial election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Gray Davis (incumbent) 3,533,490 47.3 -10.7
Republican Bill Simon 3,169,801 42.4 +4.0
Green Peter Miguel Camejo 393,036 5.3 +4.1
Libertarian Gary David Copeland 161,203 2.2 +1.3
American Independent Reinhold Gulke 128,035 1.7 +0.6
Natural Law Iris Adam 88,415 1.1 +1.1
Majority 363,689 4.9 -14.7
Turnout 7,473,980
Democratic hold Swing -14.7

[edit] By County

County DEM # DEM % GOP # GOP % GRN # GRN % LIB # LIB % AI # AI % NL # NL % Totals
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%
340,975
Alpine
229
40.9%
247
44.2%
40
7.2%
15
2.6%
17
3.0%
12
2.1%
560
Amador
4,437
34.2%
6,997
54.0%
740
5.8%
246
1.8%
338
2.6%
220
1.6%
12,978
Butte
19,437
31.6%
32,706
53.3%
5,963
9.7%
1,050
1.7%
1,497
2.4%
802
1.3%
52,640
Calaveras
5,052
33.3%
8,104
53.4%
875
5.8%
434
2.8%
489
3.2%
240
1.5%
14,573
Colusa
1,243
27.2%
2,996
65.5%
131
2.9%
48
1.0%
118
2.6%
39
0.8%
4,503
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%
255,932
Del Norte
2,922
43.3%
3,093
45.9%
207
3.0%
165
2.4%
239
3.6%
124
1.8%
6,357
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%
55,729
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%
151,087
Glenn
1,685
25.9%
4,268
65.5%
187
2.9%
96
1.4%
200
3.1%
81
1.2%
6,517
Humboldt
19,499
45.5%
16,118
37.6%
5,170
12.1%
961
2.2%
547
1.2%
612
1.4%
40,711
Imperial
11,644
53.3%
8,789
40.3%
546
2.5%
258
1.1%
360
1.7%
252
1.1%
21,849
Inyo
2,114
33.7%
3,567
56.8%
210
3.3%
142
2.2%
159
2.5%
96
1.5%
5,693
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%
135,384
Kings
7,776
36.7%
12,212
57.6%
298
1.4%
246
1.1%
491
2.3%
192
0.9%
21,208
Lake
7,424
46.8%
6,459
40.7%
965
6.0%
336
2.1%
451
2.8%
258
1.6%
15,697
Lassen
2,429
31.6%
4,512
58.7%
155
2.0%
166
2.1%
317
4.2%
115
1.4%
7,694
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%
1,689,828
Madera
8,217
31.4%
15,998
61.2%
517
2.0%
517
1.9%
651
2.5%
269
1.0%
24,027
Marin
49,512
56.3%
24,520
27.9%
10,710
12.1%
1,502
1.7%
917
1.0%
890
1.0%
77,255
Mariposa
2,126
32.8%
3,720
57.4%
215
3.4%
130
2.0%
193
2.9%
101
1.5%
6,250
Mendocino
10,832
43.5%
8,331
33.5%
4,119
16.6%
581
2.3%
680
2.7%
359
1.4%
24,902
Merced
18,071
44.6%
19,191
47.4%
792
1.9%
1,379
3.4%
749
1.8%
374
0.9%
40,556
Modoc
900
26.7%
2,161
64.0%
54
1.5%
67
2.0%
145
4.3%
54
1.5%
3,381
Mono
1,064
36.0%
1,552
52.6%
154
5.3%
64
2.1%
76
2.5%
46
1.5%
2,956
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%
85,485
Napa
17,516
47.8%
13,483
36.8%
3,570
9.8%
774
2.1%
824
2.2%
505
1.3%
36,672
Nevada
13,338
34.0%
20,573
52.4%
3,297
8.4%
743
1.8%
817
2.1%
546
1.3%
39,314
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%
620,737
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%
84,464
Plumas
2,598
33.1%
4,310
54.9%
380
4.9%
182
2.3%
264
3.3%
124
1.5%
7,858
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%
302,398
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%
306,712
San Benito
6,049
48.9%
5,163
41.8%
504
4.1%
275
2.2%
208
1.6%
174
1.4%
10,421
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%
282,922
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%
660,056
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%
216,028
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%
120,362
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%
81,655
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%
167,695
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%
112,594
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%
358,673
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%
76,367
Shasta
15,292
31.5%
28,625
59.0%
1,283
2.6%
942
1.9%
1,664
3.5%
753
1.5%
48,223
Sierra
420
29.3%
805
56.0%
72
5.1%
67
4.6%
50
3.4%
24
1.6%
1,438
Siskiyou
4,972
31.9%
9,112
58.4%
437
2.8%
386
2.4%
440
2.9%
252
1.6%
15,599
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%
88,521
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%
121,147
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%
92,676
Sutter
5,782
29.9%
12,024
62.1%
620
3.3%
242
1.2%
463
2.3%
239
1.2%
19,370
Tehama
5,000
32.5%
9,010
58.6%
361
2.4%
254
1.6%
537
3.5%
230
1.4%
15,392
Trinity
1,833
37.3%
2,421
49.2%
272
5.6%
140
2.8%
165
3.3%
93
1.8%
4,914
Tulare
21,294
34.1%
37,172
59.5%
1,090
1.7%
1,208
2.0%
1,180
1.9%
553
0.8%
60,652
Tuolumne
6,846
38.2%
9,251
51.6%
773
4.4%
328
1.8%
476
2.6%
267
1.4%
17,941
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%
193,316
Yolo
21,983
47.5%
17,484
37.8%
4,934
10.6%
543
1.1%
842
1.8%
566
1.2%
46,352
Yuba
3,447
29.8%
6,904
59.6%
428
3.6%
249
2.1%
373
3.2%
202
1.7%
10,937

[edit] References

  1. ^ 'Fight' seen in California's governor's race
  2. ^ Riordan has edge on Davis in polls Governor's mixed reviews seen to benefit challenger
  3. ^ Davis ad assails Riordan GOP rival's stand on abortion rights challenged
  4. ^ Riordan silent on abortion flap Davis ad hits GOP governor hopeful for giving to thousands to anti-choice groups
  5. ^ a b Top GOP governor candidates trade attacks Surveys show Simon closing in on Riordan's once imposing primary lead
  6. ^ Kevin Cooper Awaits DNA Test Results
  7. ^ A man for all reasons
  8. ^ 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/.
  9. ^ 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/.
  10. ^ Davis, Simon heartily disliked Voter disenchantment has soared to unprecedented level, poll says
  11. ^ Economist.com. "Gray Davis." http://www.economist.com/research/backgrounders/displaybackgrounder.cfm?bg=1922064
  12. ^ a b 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
  13. ^ Simon's attack on Davis backfires 'Evidence' photo isn't clear proof of illegal donation
  14. ^ Cal Votes 2002
  15. ^ Polling in the Governor's Race in California
  16. ^ Davis ekes out 7-point lead over Simon Field Poll shows voters against hopeful rather than for governor
  17. ^ NEWS ANALYSIS Big challenges ahead for not-exactly-popular incumbent

[edit] External links


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