2002 Colorado gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2002 United States gubernatorial elections.

2002 Colorado gubernatorial election
November 5, 2002
 
Nominee Bill Owens Rollie Heath
Party Republican Democratic
Running mate Jane E. Norton Bill Thiebaut
Popular vote 884,583 475,373
Percentage 62.62% 33.65%
County results
Owens:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Heath:      40–50%      50–60%
Governor before election

Bill Owens
Republican

Elected Governor

Bill Owens
Republican

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The 2002 Colorado gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002, to elect the governor of Colorado. Bill Owens, the Republican incumbent, defeated Democratic nominee Rollie Heath to win a second term. Owen's win set the record for biggest win by a Republican in a Colorado gubernatorial election (Democrats won by larger margins in 1982, 1948, and 1928, with Billy Adams' 35 point blowout in that year being the greatest victory for a candidate of any party).[1] As of 2025, this is the last time a Republican was elected Governor of Colorado and the only time in the past half-century that a Republican won a majority in the state.

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bill Owens (incumbent) 189,705 100.00
Total votes 189,705 100.00

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Rollie Heath 98,897 100.00
Total votes 98,897 100.00

General election

Debates

2002 Colorado gubernatorial election debates
No. Date Host Moderator Link Republican Democratic
Key:
 P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
Bill Owens Rollie Heath
1 Sep. 7, 2002 Club 20
KJCT-TV 		Jerry Groswald C-SPAN P P
2 Sep. 24, 2002 City Club of Denver C-SPAN P P
3 Oct. 17, 2002 KUSA (TV)
The Denver Post 		Jim Benemann C-SPAN P P

Predictions

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

Results

2002 Colorado gubernatorial election[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Bill Owens (inc.) 884,583 62.62% +13.58%
Democratic Rollie Heath 475,373 33.65% −14.77%
Green Ronald Forthofer 32,099 2.27% –
Libertarian Ralph Shnelvar 20,547 1.45% −0.23%
Majority 409,210 28.97% +28.34%
Turnout 1,412,602
Republican hold

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

References

  1. ^ "Our Campaigns - Container Detail Page". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Davidson, Donetta (2002). Official Publication of the Abstract of Votes Cast for the 2001 Coordinated, 2002 Primary, 2002 General (PDF). Denver, Colorado: Colorado Secretary of State.
  3. ^ "Governor Updated October 31, 2002 | The Cook Political Report". The Cook Political Report. October 31, 2002. Archived from the original on December 8, 2002. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  4. ^ "Governors Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on December 12, 2002. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
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