# 2002 New Hampshire gubernatorial election

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vte :
The 2002 New Hampshire gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002. Three-term incumbent Democratic governor Jeanne Shaheen opted to unsuccessfully run for the United States Senate rather than seek a fourth term as governor. Republican Craig Benson, a self-funded businessman, defeated Democrat Mark Fernald, a state senator, in the general election after both won contested primary elections.
This was the only time a Republican was elected governor between 1994 and 2016.

## Democratic primary
### Candidates

* Mark Fernald, New Hampshire state senator
* Bev Hollingworth, New Hampshire state senator

### Results

Democratic Primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Mark Fernald | 34,683 | 53.28 |
| | Democratic | Bev Hollingworth | 27,777 | 42.67 |
| | Democratic | Write-ins | 2,632 | 4.04 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 65,092 | 100.00 |

## Republican primary
### Candidates

* Craig Benson, businessman
* Bruce Keough, former New Hampshire state senator
* Gordon J. Humphrey, former U.S. senator, 2000 Republican nominee for governor
* Robert Kingsbury, perennial candidate
* Joe Haas
* Bob Kroepel

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Craig Benson | 56,099 | 36.65 |
| | Republican | Bruce Keough | 51,461 | 33.62 |
| | Republican | Gordon Humphrey | 42,698 | 27.90 |
| | Republican | Robert Kingsbury | 877 | 0.57 |
| | Republican | Joe Haas | 759 | 0.50 |
| | Republican | Bob Kroepel | 578 | 0.38 |
| | Republican | Write-ins | 575 | 0.38 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 153,047 | 100.00 |

## General election
### Predictions

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

### Results

New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2002 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Craig Benson | 259,663 | 58.62% | +14.86% |
| | Democratic | Mark Fernald | 169,277 | 38.21% | −10.52% |
| | Libertarian | John Babiarz | 13,028 | 2.94% | +1.80% |
| | Write-ins | | 1,008 | 0.23% | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 90,386 | 20.40% | +15.43% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 442,976 | | |
| | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Swing | | |

#### Counties that swung from Democratic to Republican

* Coös (largest city: Berlin)
* Hillsborough (largest city: Manchester)
* Grafton (largest city: Lebanon)
* Merrimack (largest city: Concord)
* Strafford (largest city: Dover)
* Sullivan (largest city: Claremont)