2002 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

The 2002 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican Governor of Wisconsin Scott McCallum, who had assumed office upon the resignation of Tommy Thompson, ran for his first full term in office. McCallum won his party's nomination by defeating two minor candidates, and Attorney General of Wisconsin Jim Doyle won the Democratic primary with a little more than a third of the vote in a highly competitive primary election. In the general election, the presence of Ed Thompson, former Governor Tommy Thompson's younger brother, the Mayor of Tomah, and the Libertarian Party nominee, held both McCallum and Doyle to under fifty percent of the vote, enabling Doyle to win with 45% of the vote, defeating McCallum.

2002 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

November 5, 2002
Turnout	45.43%
Nominee Jim Doyle Scott McCallum Ed Thompson Party Democratic Republican Libertarian Popular vote 800,515 734,779 185,455 Percentage 45.1% 41.4% 10.4%
County results Doyle:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% McCallum:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Thompson:      30–40%      40–50%
Governor before election Scott McCallum Republican Elected Governor Jim Doyle Democratic

Democratic primary

The primary election for the Democratic nomination was closely contested by three competitive candidates. The race was ultimately won by Jim Doyle with around 38% of the vote.

Nominated

• Jim Doyle, three-term Attorney General of Wisconsin, former District Attorney of Dane County, Wisconsin.

Eliminated in primary

• Tom Barrett, five-term U.S. Representative from Wisconsin's 5th congressional district, former state senator and state representative
• Kathleen Falk, Dane County Executive, former Assistant Wisconsin Attorney General, general counsel for Wisconsin's Environmental Decade, Inc.

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Jim Doyle	Tom Barrett	Kathleen Falk
University of Wisconsin (Badger Poll)	Sept 2–5, 2002	39.00%	31.00%	30.00%
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel	Aug 26–28, 2002	31.50%	25.70%	25.10%

Results

Democratic Primary results by county:

  Doyle—50–60%

  Doyle—40–50%

  Doyle—<40%

  Falk—50–60%

  Barrett—<40%

  Barrett—40–50%

  Barrett—50–60%

Democratic primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Doyle	212,066	38.30%
	Democratic	Tom Barrett	190,605	34.43%
	Democratic	Kathleen Falk	150,161	27.12%
	Write-in		802	0.14%
Total votes			553,634	100.00%

Republican primary

McCallum, as the incumbent governor, did not face significant opposition in the primary. He was nominated with 86% of the primary vote.

Nominated

• Scott McCallum, incumbent Governor of Wisconsin

Eliminated in primary

• William Lorge, former State Representative
• George Pobuda, teacher in Tomahawk, Wisconsin

Results

Republican primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Scott McCallum (incumbent)	198,525	86.23%
	Republican	William Lorge	18,852	8.19%
	Republican	George Pobuda	12,452	5.41%
	Write-in		403	0.18%
Total votes			230,232	100.00%

Libertarian party

• Ed Thompson, former Mayor of Tomah, Wisconsin, brother of former Governor Tommy Thompson

Green party

• Jim Young, City assessor for Sun Prairie, Wisconsin

Reform party

• Alan D. Eisenberg, lawyer and real estate dealer

Independent candidates

• Ty A. Bollerud, of Janesville, Wisconsin
• Mike Mangan, of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
• Aneb Jah Rasta, consultant and doctor of metaphysics

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Jim Doyle (D)	Scott McCallum (R)	Ed Thompson (L)	Jim Young (G)	Others
University of Wisconsin (Badger Poll)	Oct 27–29, 2002	41%	34%	10%	2%	0%
University of Wisconsin (Badger Poll)	Oct 25–27, 2002	38%	36%	0%	0%	0%
Market Shares Corp	Oct 24–27, 2002	38%	36%	8%	4%	0%
St. Norbert College	Oct 16–27, 2002	41%	33%	6%	3%	0%
We the People/Wisconsin	Oct 20–21, 2002	46%	38%	8%	3%	0%
Research 2000	Oct 4–7, 2002	44%	36%	6%	3%	0%
Wisconsin Policy Research Institute	Sept 26–29, 2002	40%	31%	7%	4%	0%
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel	Sept 17–25, 2002	43%	35%	6%	1%	0%

Results

2002 Wisconsin gubernatorial election[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Jim Doyle	800,515	45.09%	+6.39%
	Republican	Scott McCallum (incumbent)	734,779	41.39%	-18.28%
	Libertarian	Ed Thompson	185,455	10.45%	+9.82%
	Green	Jim Young	44,111	2.48%	+2.48%
	Reform	Alan D. Eisenberg	2,847	0.16%	N/A
	Independent	Ty A. Bollerud	2,637	0.15%	N/A
	Independent	Mike Managan	1,710	0.10%	N/A
	Independent	Aneb Jah Rasta	929	0.05%	N/A
	Write-in		2,366	0.13%	N/A
Plurality			65,736	3.71%	-17.27%
Turnout			1,775,349	45.43%	+1.10%
	Democratic gain from Republican

See also

• 2002 United States gubernatorial elections

References

1. "Results of Fall Primary Election - 09/10/2002" (PDF). Wisconsin State Elections Board. p. 1. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
2. "Results of Fall General Election - 11/05/2002" (PDF). Wisconsin State Elections Board. p. 1. Retrieved January 12, 2020.

External links

• "Archive of Jim Doyle Election Site". Archived from the original on October 31, 2002. Retrieved January 28, 2010.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
• "Archive of Scott McCallum Election Site". Archived from the original on November 2, 2002. Retrieved January 28, 2010.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
• "Archive of Ed Thompson Election Site". Archived from the original on November 3, 2002. Retrieved January 28, 2010.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)