# 2002 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election

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Government :
vte :
The 2002 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania. Incumbent Republican governor Mark Schweiker, who took office in 2001 when Tom Ridge resigned to become Homeland Security Advisor, was eligible to run for a full term, but did not do so. Democrat Ed Rendell, the former mayor of Philadelphia and Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, emerged from a competitive primary to win the general election against Republican Pennsylvania Attorney General Mike Fisher.
Rendell won the election, with commentators attributing his victory to "endless retail politicking" and a hard-working campaign. The political website PoliticsPA praised Rendell's campaign team of David L. Cohen, David W. Sweet, and Sandi Vito. Fisher's strategy backfired; Rendell performed well in much of Eastern Pennsylvania and he was able to win by huge margins in even many traditionally Republican suburbs.
Rendell was the first official from Philadelphia to win the governorship since 1914. This was the first time since 1826 that a Democrat won all four of Philadelphia's suburban counties and the first time since 1970 that a Democrat won Montgomery County in a gubernatorial election.

## Republican primary

Attorney General Mike Fisher ran unopposed for the Republican nomination. Although incumbent Governor Mark Schweiker was eligible to run for election to a full term (he had served only a partial term after Tom Ridge resigned to become Homeland Security Advisor), he chose not to seek his party's nomination. Despite polls showing that Schweiker polled well among the same groups that backed Ridge, the Republican establishment considered Schweiker to be a weak candidate and stood steadfast behind Fisher.

## Democratic primary
### Candidates

* Ed Rendell, former Mayor of Philadelphia and candidate in 1986
* Bob Casey Jr., incumbent Auditor General and son of former Governor Bob Casey Sr.

### Campaign

In the Democratic primary, former mayor of Philadelphia Ed Rendell defeated Pennsylvania Auditor General Bob Casey Jr., bucking the "myth that a Philadelphian could never win" a statewide election. Despite strong support from organized labor for Casey, lackluster campaigning combined with Rendell's ability to cast himself as a strong executive allowed him to pull out a primary win.

### Results

Pennsylvania gubernatorial primary election, 2002 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Ed Rendell | 702,442 | 56.55% |
| | Democratic | Bob Casey Jr. | 539,794 | 43.45% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,242,236 | 100.00% |

## General election
### Campaign

Fisher emphasized Rendell's Philadelphia roots continuously during his campaign and described the mayor as an urban liberal whose programs would require huge tax increases.

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Ed Rendell (D) | Mike Fisher (R) | Other / Undecided |
| SurveyUSA | October 26–28, 2002 | 668 (LV) | ± 3.9% | 56% | 37% | 7% |

### Predictions

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

### Results

Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2002 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Ed Rendell | 1,913,235 | 53.40 |
| | Republican | Mike Fisher | 1,589,408 | 44.40 |
| | Libertarian | Ken V. Krawchuk | 40,923 | 1.14 |
| | Green | Mike Morrill | 38,423 | 1.07 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 3,581,989 | 100.00 |
| | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican |

#### Results by county

| County | Ed Rendell Democratic | Ed Rendell Democratic | Mike Fisher Republican | Mike Fisher Republican | Ken Krawchuk Libertarian | Ken Krawchuk Libertarian | Michael Morrill Green | Michael Morrill Green | Margin | Margin | Total votes cast |
| County | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | Total votes cast |
| Adams | 7,732 | 31.99% | 15,950 | 65.98% | 199 | 0.82% | 292 | 1.21% | -8,218 | -33.99% | 24,173 |
| Allegheny | 209,708 | 53.66% | 169,414 | 43.35% | 6,673 | 1.71% | 4,991 | 1.28% | 40,294 | 8.31% | 390,786 |
| Armstrong | 7,965 | 39.11% | 11,898 | 58.43% | 288 | 1.41% | 213 | 1.05% | -3,933 | -19.32% | 20,364 |
| Beaver | 27,322 | 52.05% | 23,744 | 45.23% | 791 | 1.51% | 636 | 1.21% | 3,578 | 6.82% | 52,493 |
| Bedford | 4,516 | 30.24% | 10,190 | 68.23% | 98 | 0.66% | 130 | 0.87% | -5,674 | -37.99% | 14,934 |
| Berks | 56,592 | 55.20% | 43,790 | 42.71% | 1,027 | 1.00% | 1,119 | 1.09% | 12,802 | 12.49% | 102,528 |
| Blair | 10,356 | 29.99% | 23,530 | 68.15% | 307 | 0.89% | 336 | 0.97% | -13,174 | -38.16% | 34,529 |
| Bradford | 4,947 | 30.83% | 10,815 | 67.40% | 130 | 0.81% | 155 | 0.97% | -5,868 | -36.57% | 16,047 |
| Bucks | 127,850 | 63.28% | 70,000 | 34.64% | 2,685 | 1.33% | 1,516 | 0.75% | 57,850 | 28.64% | 202,051 |
| Butler | 18,145 | 34.91% | 32,400 | 62.34% | 768 | 1.48% | 659 | 1.27% | -14,255 | -27.43% | 51,972 |
| Cambria | 20,305 | 43.39% | 25,556 | 54.61% | 480 | 1.03% | 455 | 0.97% | -5,251 | -11.22% | 46,796 |
| Cameron | 571 | 35.07% | 1,032 | 63.39% | 10 | 0.61% | 15 | 0.92% | -461 | -28.32% | 1,628 |
| Carbon | 8,598 | 54.79% | 6,600 | 42.05% | 288 | 1.84% | 208 | 1.33% | 1,998 | 12.74% | 15,692 |
| Centre | 14,557 | 41.71% | 19,027 | 54.52% | 397 | 1.14% | 918 | 2.63% | -4,470 | -12.81% | 34,899 |
| Chester | 81,996 | 57.41% | 58,669 | 41.08% | 1,159 | 0.81% | 990 | 0.69% | 23,327 | 16.33% | 142,814 |
| Clarion | 3,934 | 34.08% | 7,397 | 64.08% | 103 | 0.89% | 109 | 0.94% | -3,463 | -30.00% | 11,543 |
| Clearfield | 10,221 | 41.64% | 13,822 | 56.32% | 232 | 0.95% | 269 | 1.10% | -3,601 | -14.68% | 24,544 |
| Clinton | 4,341 | 47.79% | 4,434 | 48.81% | 115 | 1.27% | 194 | 2.14% | -93 | -1.02% | 9,084 |
| Columbia | 7,004 | 41.89% | 9,304 | 55.65% | 147 | 0.88% | 263 | 1.57% | -2,300 | -13.76% | 16,718 |
| Crawford | 9,155 | 35.74% | 15,551 | 60.71% | 498 | 1.94% | 411 | 1.60% | -6,396 | -24.97% | 25,615 |
| Cumberland | 24,237 | 36.31% | 40,966 | 61.37% | 761 | 1.14% | 788 | 1.18% | -16,729 | -25.06% | 66,752 |
| Dauphin | 33,537 | 42.05% | 44,231 | 55.45% | 1,016 | 1.27% | 980 | 1.23% | -10,694 | -13.40% | 79,764 |
| Delaware | 123,117 | 65.12% | 62,649 | 33.14% | 2,044 | 1.08% | 1,260 | 0.67% | 60,468 | 31.98% | 189,070 |
| Elk | 3,917 | 40.87% | 5,468 | 57.05% | 105 | 1.10% | 95 | 0.99% | -1,551 | -16.18% | 9,585 |
| Erie | 32,774 | 41.72% | 43,095 | 54.85% | 1,071 | 1.36% | 1,623 | 2.07% | -10,321 | -13.13% | 78,563 |
| Fayette | 19,082 | 56.56% | 13,878 | 41.14% | 497 | 1.47% | 279 | 0.83% | 5,204 | 15.42% | 33,736 |
| Forest | 613 | 33.76% | 1,170 | 64.43% | 14 | 0.77% | 19 | 1.05% | -557 | -30.67% | 1,816 |
| Franklin | 10,335 | 29.93% | 23,689 | 68.61% | 222 | 0.64% | 279 | 0.81% | -13,354 | -38.68% | 34,525 |
| Fulton | 1,138 | 29.47% | 2,681 | 69.42% | 33 | 0.85% | 10 | 0.26% | -1,543 | -39.95% | 3,862 |
| Greene | 5,013 | 53.02% | 4,209 | 44.52% | 89 | 0.94% | 144 | 1.52% | 804 | 8.50% | 9,455 |
| Huntingdon | 3,697 | 31.18% | 7,842 | 66.13% | 77 | 0.65% | 242 | 2.04% | -4,145 | -34.95% | 11,858 |
| Indiana | 9,897 | 41.26% | 13,462 | 56.12% | 203 | 0.85% | 424 | 1.77% | -3,565 | -14.86% | 23,986 |
| Jefferson | 3,879 | 30.02% | 8,745 | 67.67% | 150 | 1.16% | 149 | 1.15% | -4,866 | -37.65% | 12,923 |
| Juniata | 2,187 | 29.76% | 5,027 | 68.40% | 62 | 0.84% | 73 | 0.99% | -2,840 | -38.64% | 7,349 |
| Lackawanna | 40,206 | 58.22% | 26,099 | 37.79% | 1,888 | 2.73% | 868 | 1.26% | 14,107 | 20.43% | 69,061 |
| Lancaster | 40,791 | 32.23% | 83,607 | 66.07% | 871 | 0.69% | 1,280 | 1.01% | -42,816 | -33.84% | 126,549 |
| Lawrence | 14,628 | 52.01% | 13,010 | 46.25% | 244 | 0.87% | 245 | 0.87% | 1,618 | 5.76% | 28,127 |
| Lebanon | 12,712 | 35.17% | 22,659 | 62.69% | 452 | 1.25% | 323 | 0.89% | -9,947 | -27.52% | 36,146 |
| Lehigh | 48,150 | 56.72% | 34,738 | 40.92% | 1,074 | 1.27% | 934 | 1.10% | 13,412 | 15.80% | 84,896 |
| Luzerne | 45,641 | 52.61% | 38,760 | 44.68% | 891 | 1.03% | 1,454 | 1.68% | 6,881 | 7.93% | 86,746 |
| Lycoming | 9,937 | 31.47% | 20,751 | 65.72% | 357 | 1.13% | 532 | 1.68% | -10,814 | -34.25% | 31,577 |
| McKean | 3,215 | 32.76% | 6,373 | 64.94% | 131 | 1.33% | 94 | 0.96% | -3,158 | -32.18% | 9,813 |
| Mercer | 14,161 | 45.13% | 16,429 | 52.36% | 343 | 1.09% | 444 | 1.42% | -2,268 | -7.23% | 31,377 |
| Mifflin | 3,362 | 31.32% | 7,122 | 66.35% | 161 | 1.50% | 89 | 0.83% | -3,760 | -35.03% | 10,734 |
| Monroe | 14,570 | 47.34% | 15,258 | 49.57% | 447 | 1.45% | 503 | 1.63% | -688 | -2.23% | 30,778 |
| Montgomery | 175,157 | 67.16% | 81,835 | 31.38% | 2,121 | 0.81% | 1,690 | 0.65% | 93,322 | 35.78% | 260,803 |
| Montour | 1,847 | 38.00% | 2,873 | 59.10% | 57 | 1.17% | 84 | 1.73% | -1,026 | -21.10% | 4,861 |
| Northampton | 42,554 | 58.52% | 28,228 | 38.82% | 1,088 | 1.50% | 846 | 1.16% | 14,326 | 19.70% | 72,716 |
| Northumberland | 10,774 | 41.52% | 14,479 | 55.80% | 382 | 1.47% | 313 | 1.21% | -3,705 | -14.28% | 25,948 |
| Perry | 3,426 | 26.28% | 9,286 | 71.22% | 165 | 1.27% | 161 | 1.23% | -5,860 | -44.94% | 13,038 |
| Philadelphia | 339,697 | 84.08% | 59,223 | 14.66% | 1,976 | 0.49% | 3,129 | 0.77% | 280,474 | 69.42% | 404,025 |
| Pike | 4,049 | 37.46% | 6,482 | 59.97% | 124 | 1.15% | 154 | 1.42% | -2,433 | -22.51% | 10,809 |
| Potter | 1,357 | 27.67% | 3,471 | 70.76% | 38 | 0.77% | 39 | 0.80% | -2,114 | -43.09% | 4,905 |
| Schuylkill | 25,233 | 51.47% | 22,692 | 46.29% | 515 | 1.05% | 585 | 1.19% | 2,541 | 5.18% | 49,025 |
| Snyder | 2,599 | 27.59% | 6,623 | 70.32% | 67 | 0.71% | 130 | 1.38% | -4,024 | -42.73% | 9,419 |
| Somerset | 8,088 | 32.64% | 16,244 | 65.56% | 189 | 0.76% | 257 | 1.04% | -8,156 | -32.92% | 24,778 |
| Sullivan | 856 | 36.27% | 1,441 | 61.06% | 31 | 1.31% | 32 | 1.36% | -585 | -24.79% | 2,360 |
| Susquehanna | 4,244 | 33.35% | 8,175 | 64.25% | 104 | 0.82% | 201 | 1.58% | -3,931 | -30.90% | 12,724 |
| Tioga | 3,275 | 29.41% | 7,696 | 69.12% | 62 | 0.56% | 101 | 0.91% | -4,421 | -39.71% | 11,134 |
| Union | 3,153 | 33.27% | 6,058 | 63.93% | 74 | 0.78% | 191 | 2.02% | -2,905 | -30.66% | 9,476 |
| Venango | 5,551 | 36.54% | 9,188 | 60.48% | 238 | 1.57% | 214 | 1.41% | -3,637 | -23.94% | 15,191 |
| Warren | 4,823 | 40.45% | 6,823 | 57.22% | 125 | 1.05% | 153 | 1.28% | -2,000 | -16.77% | 11,924 |
| Washington | 30,368 | 50.67% | 28,368 | 47.33% | 642 | 1.07% | 560 | 0.93% | 2,000 | 3.34% | 59,938 |
| Wayne | 4,395 | 33.87% | 8,118 | 62.56% | 119 | 0.92% | 344 | 2.65% | -3,723 | -28.69% | 12,976 |
| Westmoreland | 48,992 | 44.77% | 58,018 | 53.01% | 1,447 | 1.32% | 980 | 0.90% | -9,026 | -8.24% | 109,437 |
| Wyoming | 2,938 | 35.31% | 5,152 | 61.92% | 70 | 0.84% | 161 | 1.93% | -2,214 | -26.61% | 8,321 |
| York | 33,248 | 33.27% | 63,894 | 63.94% | 1,691 | 1.69% | 1,088 | 1.09% | -30,646 | -30.67% | 99,921 |
| Totals | 1,913,235 | 53.41% | 1,589,408 | 44.37% | 40,923 | 1.14% | 38,423 | 1.07% | 323,827 | 9.04% | 3,581,989 |

#### Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Allegheny (Largest city: Pittsburgh)
* Beaver (largest city: Beaver)
* Fayette (largest city: Uniontown)
* Carbon (largest municipality: Lehighton)
* Schuylkill (Largest city: Pottsville)
* Bucks (largest municipality: Bensalem)
* Berks (largest city: Reading)
* Chester (largest municipality: West Chester)
* Greene (largest municipality: Waynesburg)
* Delaware (largest city: Upper Darby)
* Lackawanna (largest city: Scranton)
* Montgomery (largest city: Lower Merion)
* Lawrence (largest municipality: New Castle)
* Luzerne (largest municipality: Wilkes-Barre)
* Lehigh (largest municipality: Allentown)
* Northampton (largest municipality: Bethlehem)
* Washington (largest municipality: Peters Township)