# 2002 Tennessee gubernatorial election

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vte :
The 2002 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2002, to elect the next governor of Tennessee, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican governor Don Sundquist was term-limited and was prohibited by the Constitution of Tennessee from seeking a third consecutive term. To succeed him, former Democratic Nashville Mayor Phil Bredesen, who had run against Sundquist in 1994, narrowly defeated Republican United States Congressman Van Hilleary in the general election.
With this win, Bredesen flipped the state back into Democratic control, with the state legislature also being controlled by Democrats.

## Republican primary
### Candidates

* Van Hilleary, Representative from Tennessee's 4th congressional district
* Jim Henry, former Minority Leader of the Tennessee House of Representatives
* Bob Tripp
* Dave Kelley
* Jessie D. McDonald

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Van Hilleary | 343,543 | 64.31% |
| | Republican | Jim Henry | 159,862 | 29.92% |
| | Republican | Bob Tripp | 17,156 | 3.21% |
| | Republican | Dave Kelley | 8,581 | 1.61% |
| | Republican | Jessie D. McDonald | 4,682 | 0.88% |
| | Republican | Write-ins | 389 | 0.07% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 534,213 | 100.00% |

## Democratic primary
### Candidates

* Phil Bredesen, former mayor of Nashville, 1994 Democratic nominee for governor
* Randy Nichols, Knox County district attorney general
* Charles E. Smith, former Tennessee commissioner of education
* Charles V. Brown
* L. Best
* Floyd R. Conover

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Phil Bredesen | 426,418 | 79.05% |
| | Democratic | Randy Nichols | 38,322 | 7.10% |
| | Democratic | Charles E. Smith | 34,547 | 6.40% |
| | Democratic | Charles V. Brown | 17,506 | 3.25% |
| | Democratic | L. Best | 16,007 | 2.97% |
| | Democratic | Floyd R. Conover | 6,218 | 1.15% |
| | Democratic | Write-ins | 420 | 0.08% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 539,438 | 100.00% |

## General election
### Candidates
#### Major

* Phil Bredesen (D)
* Van Hilleary (R)
* Edwin C. Sanders (I)
* Carl Two Feathers Whitaker (I)
* John Jay Hooker (I)
* David Gatchell (I)
* Gabriel Givens (I)
* Ray Ledford (I)
* James E. Herren (I)
* Charles V. Wilhoit Jr. (I)
* Marivuana Stout Leinoff (I)
* Francis E. Waldron (I)
* Ronny Simmons (I)
* Robert O. Watson (I)
* Basil Marceaux (I)

### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Tossup | October 31, 2002 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Lean D (flip) | November 4, 2002 |

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Phil Bredesen (D) | Van Hilleary (R) | Other / Undecided |
| SurveyUSA | October 26–28, 2002 | 726 (LV) | ± 3.8% | 48% | 44% | 8% |

### Results

* Republican Hold Democratic  Hold  Gain from Republican
2002 Tennessee gubernatorial election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Phil Bredesen | 837,284 | 50.65% | +21.17% |
| | Republican | Van Hilleary | 786,803 | 47.59% | −21.03% |
| | Independent | Edwin C. Sanders | 7,749 | 0.47% | N/A |
| | Independent | Carl Two Feathers Whitaker | 5,308 | 0.32% | N/A |
| | Independent | John Jay Hooker | 4,577 | 0.28% | N/A |
| | Independent | David Gatchell | 2,991 | 0.18% | N/A |
| | Independent | Gabriel Givens | 1,591 | 0.10% | N/A |
| | Independent | Ray Ledford | 1,589 | 0.10% | N/A |
| | Independent | James E. Herren | 1,210 | 0.07% | N/A |
| | Independent | Charles V. Wilhoit, Jr. | 898 | 0.05% | N/A |
| | Independent | Marivuana Stout Leinoff | 645 | 0.04% | N/A |
| | Independent | Francis E. Waldron | 635 | 0.04% | N/A |
| | Independent | Ronny Simmons | 630 | 0.04% | N/A |
| | Independent | Robert O. Watson | 579 | 0.04% | N/A |
| | Independent | Basil Marceaux | 302 | 0.02% | N/A |
| | Write-ins | | 376 | 0.02% | N/A |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,653,167 | 100.00% | |
| | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican |

#### Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Knox (Largest city: Knoxville)
* Cocke (Largest city: Newport)
* Anderson (Largest city: Oak Ridge)
* Carroll (Largest city: McKenzie)
* Cheatham (Largest city: Ashland City)
* Coffee (Largest city: Tullahoma)
* Dyer (Largest city: Dyersburg)
* Maury (Largest city: Columbia)
* Meigs (Largest city: Decatur)
* Montgomery (Largest city: Clarksville)
* Morgan (Largest city: Coalfield)
* Obion (Largest city: Union City)
* Polk (Largest city: Benton)
* Putnam (Largest city: Cookeville)
* Roane (Largest city: Oak Ridge)
* Sequatchie (Largest city: Dunlap)
* Bedford (Largest city: Shelbyville)
* Campbell (Largest city: LaFollette)
* Cannon (Largest city: Woodbury)
* Crockett (Largest city: Bells)
* Decatur (Largest city: Parsons)
* DeKalb (Largest city: Smithville)
* Dickson (Largest city: Dickson)
* Franklin (Largest city: Winchester)
* Gibson (Largest city: Humboldt)
* Giles (Largest city: Pulaski)
* Henry (Largest city: Paris)
* Hickman (Largest city: Centerville)
* Lewis (Largest city: Hohenwald)
* Marion (Largest city: Jasper)
* Marshall (Largest city: Lewisburg)
* Robertson (Largest city: Springfield)
* Warren (Largest city: McMinnville)
* White (Largest city: Sparta)
* Benton (largest municipality: Camden)
* Clay (largest municipality: Celina)
* Grundy (largest municipality: Altamont)
* Lauderdale (largest municipality: Ripley)
* Overton (largest municipality: Livingston)
* Perry (largest municipality: Linden)
* Smith (largest municipality: Carthage)
* Stewart (largest municipality: Dover)
* Trousdale (largest municipality: Hartsville)
* Haywood (largest city: Brownsville)
* Shelby (largest city: Memphis)
* Davidson (largest city: Nashville)
* Houston (largest city: Erin)
* Jackson (largest town: Gainesboro)
* Hardeman (largest city: Bolivar)
* Rhea (Largest city: Dayton)