2002 Idaho gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2002 United States gubernatorial elections.

The 2002 Idaho gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002 to select the governor of the state of Idaho. Dirk Kempthorne, the Republican incumbent, defeated Democratic nominee Jerry Brady to win a second term, but the win was not nearly as overwhelming as Kempthorne's 1998 victory. This was the first Idaho gubernatorial election since 1978 in which the winner was of the same party as the incumbent president. This was the first time since 1962 that an incumbent Republican Governor of Idaho was re-elected.

2002 Idaho gubernatorial election

← 1998 November 5, 2002 2006 →

Nominee Dirk Kempthorne Jerry Brady Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 231,566 171,711 Percentage 56.3% 41.7%

County results Precinct results Kempthorne:     40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Brady:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Adams:      50–60% Tie:      40–50%     50%      No Votes

Governor before election Dirk Kempthorne Republican Elected Governor Dirk Kempthorne Republican

Republican primary

Candidates

• Walter L. Bayes
• Milt Erhart, perennial candidate
• Raynelle J. George
• Dirk Kempthorne, incumbent Governor of Idaho

Results

County results

Republican primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dirk Kempthorne (inc.)	95,882	65.88
	Republican	Milt Erhart	37,523	25.78
	Republican	Walter L. Bayes	6,873	4.72
	Republican	Raynelle J. George	5,271	3.62
Total votes			145,549	100.00

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Jerry Brady, newspaper publisher
• Rue T. Stears

Results

County results

Democratic Primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jerry Brady	33,285	87.40
	Democratic	Rue T. Stears	4,798	12.60
Total votes			38,083	100.00

Libertarian primary

Candidates

• Daniel L. J. Adams, perennial candidate
• Michael Monroe Gollaher (write-in)

Results

Libertarian Primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Daniel L. J. Adams	997	90.14
	Libertarian	Michael Monroe Gollaher (write-in)	109	9.86
Total votes			1,106	100.00

General election

Campaign

Although Brady performed considerably better than 1998 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Robert C. Huntley, and won a plurality of the vote in Ada County, the state's most populous county, Kempthorne won reelection with a comfortable majority.

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[2]	Safe R	October 31, 2002
Sabato's Crystal Ball[3]	Lean R	November 4, 2002

Results

Idaho gubernatorial election, 2002^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Dirk Kempthorne (inc.)	231,566	56.28	−11.42
	Democratic	Jerry Brady	171,711	41.73	+12.66
	Libertarian	Daniel L. J. Adams	8,187	1.99
	Write-ins		13	0.00
Majority			59,855	14.55	−24.08
Turnout			411,477
	Republican hold		Swing

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Ada (largest municipality: Boise)
• Bannock (largest municipality: Pocatello)
• Nez Perce (Largest city: Lewiston)
• Shoshone (Largest city: Kellogg)
• Latah (Largest city: Moscow)