The 2002 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002, to elect the governor of Texas. Incumbent Republican Governor Rick Perry, who had ascended to the governorship after the resignation of George W. Bush to become President of the United States, was elected to his first full term in office, winning 58% of the vote to DemocratTony Sanchez's 40%.
Perry carried 218 out of 254 counties, while Sanchez only carried 36. Exit polls showed Perry easily won among white voters with 72% while Sanchez won the African American vote with 85% and the Latino vote with 65%. His second inauguration for a first full four-year term began on January 21, 2003, on the Texas State Capitol South Grounds.
As of 2023[update], this was the last time the Republican candidate carried Dallas County, the last time the Democratic candidate carried Cass, Hudspeth, Pecos, Terrell, Nueces, and Kenedy counties, and the last time Republicans kept the vote margins within the single digits in Travis County.
Incumbent Rick Perry ascended to the governorship of Texas on December 21, 2000, following the resignation of then-Gov. George W. Bush, who had been elected President of the United States. Perry had been elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and previously elected Texas Commissioner of Agriculture in 1990 and 1994 including three terms in the Texas House of Representatives in 1984, 1986 and 1988. He successfully ran for a full four-year term in 2002.
Laredo multimillionaire businessman Tony Sanchez, had served as a regent of the University of Texas at Austin, having been appointed to the University of Texas Board of Regents by then-Governor Bush in 1997, and he also served on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission from 1985 to 1991-having been appointed by then-Governor Mark Wells White in 1985.
Sanchez was best known for getting involved in successful battles such as: challenging the architectural plan for a new art museum and to consider a Hispanic candidate for President of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Sanchez started making waves on running for governor back in late 2000, when he was helped by Kelly Fero, who served as a consultant on Jim Mattox's unsuccessful campaign for governor in 1990 and John Sharp's 1998 unsuccessful bid for lieutenant governor, and also had discussions with George Shipley, a longtime Democratic strategist and consultant. In the Democratic primary, Sanchez easily defeated Morales by a landslide margin of 60 percent to 32 percent in the primary elections on March 12, 2002. However, the bitter primary campaign between Sanchez and Morales resulted in negative campaign attacks including Morales criticizing Sanchez for connections between a failed Sanchez-owned savings and loan and Mexican drug lords. Sanchez pummeled Morales by picking up the questions on the tobacco settlement and suggested the former Texas Attorney General was only running for office to protect himself from federal indictments. Sanchez managed to get the endorsements from the Austin Chronicle, Corpus Christi Caller Times, and the Waco Tribune Herald during the general election campaign.
^Key: A – all adults RV – registered voters LV – likely voters V – unclear
Referencesedit
^. The Cook Political Report. October 31, 2002. Archived from the original on December 8, 2002. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
^. www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on December 12, 2002. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
. Archived from the original on November 19, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
External linksedit
Official campaign websites (Archived)
"Rick Perry for Governor". Archived from the original on October 31, 2002. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
"Tony Sanchez for Governor". Archived from the original on October 31, 2002. Retrieved April 24, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
February 15, 2024
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For related races see 2002 United States gubernatorial elections The 2002 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 5 2002 to elect the governor of Texas Incumbent Republican Governor Rick Perry who had ascended to the governorship after the resignation of George W Bush to become President of the United States was elected to his first full term in office winning 58 of the vote to Democrat Tony Sanchez s 40 2002 Texas gubernatorial election 1998 November 5 2002 2006 Nominee Rick Perry Tony SanchezParty Republican DemocraticPopular vote 2 632 591 1 819 798Percentage 57 8 40 0 County results Perry 50 60 60 70 70 80 80 90 Sanchez 40 50 50 60 60 70 70 80 80 90 Governor before electionRick PerryRepublican Elected Governor Rick PerryRepublicanPerry carried 218 out of 254 counties while Sanchez only carried 36 Exit polls showed Perry easily won among white voters with 72 while Sanchez won the African American vote with 85 and the Latino vote with 65 His second inauguration for a first full four year term began on January 21 2003 on the Texas State Capitol South Grounds As of 2023 update this was the last time the Republican candidate carried Dallas County the last time the Democratic candidate carried Cass Hudspeth Pecos Terrell Nueces and Kenedy counties and the last time Republicans kept the vote margins within the single digits in Travis County Contents 1 Primaries 1 1 Republican 1 2 Democratic 2 Campaign 2 1 Perry 2 2 Sanchez 2 3 Predictions 2 4 Polling 3 Results 3 1 Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksPrimaries editRepublican edit Republican primary results Party Candidate Votes Republican Rick Perry incumbent 620 463 100 00 Total votes 620 463 100 00 Democratic edit Democratic primary results Party Candidate Votes Democratic Tony Sanchez 609 383 60 73 Democratic Dan Morales 330 873 32 98 Democratic Bill Lyon 43 011 4 29 Democratic John Worldpeace 20 121 2 00 Total votes 1 003 388 100 00 Campaign editPerry edit Incumbent Rick Perry ascended to the governorship of Texas on December 21 2000 following the resignation of then Gov George W Bush who had been elected President of the United States Perry had been elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and previously elected Texas Commissioner of Agriculture in 1990 and 1994 including three terms in the Texas House of Representatives in 1984 1986 and 1988 He successfully ran for a full four year term in 2002 Perry had an ongoing political feud with Democratic Speaker Pete Laney during the 2001 legislative session and vetoed several pieces of legislation brought forward by several Democratic state lawmakers However rumors about fellow Republican U S Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison launching a primary challenge against Perry had been swirling for weeks but Hutchison chose not to run for governor choosing instead to serve as Vice Chair of the Senate Republican Conference to avoid a nasty primary battle that would have divided the Texas Republican Party in time for the general election of 2002 Perry s campaign received the endorsement of former State Attorney General Dan Morales who lost the Democratic primary nomination and he also received endorsements from the Dallas Morning News Abilene Reporter News Midland Reporter Telegram Lubbock Avalanche Journal and the Galveston County Daily News Public opinion polls from Zogby International Survey USA and Scripps Howard showed Perry leading by double digits and the Perry campaign was outspent by Sanchez by a margin of 12 to 1 with Perry spending 27 million to Sanchez s 76 million Sanchez edit Laredo multimillionaire businessman Tony Sanchez had served as a regent of the University of Texas at Austin having been appointed to the University of Texas Board of Regents by then Governor Bush in 1997 and he also served on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission from 1985 to 1991 having been appointed by then Governor Mark Wells White in 1985 Sanchez was best known for getting involved in successful battles such as challenging the architectural plan for a new art museum and to consider a Hispanic candidate for President of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Sanchez started making waves on running for governor back in late 2000 when he was helped by Kelly Fero who served as a consultant on Jim Mattox s unsuccessful campaign for governor in 1990 and John Sharp s 1998 unsuccessful bid for lieutenant governor and also had discussions with George Shipley a longtime Democratic strategist and consultant In the Democratic primary Sanchez easily defeated Morales by a landslide margin of 60 percent to 32 percent in the primary elections on March 12 2002 However the bitter primary campaign between Sanchez and Morales resulted in negative campaign attacks including Morales criticizing Sanchez for connections between a failed Sanchez owned savings and loan and Mexican drug lords Sanchez pummeled Morales by picking up the questions on the tobacco settlement and suggested the former Texas Attorney General was only running for office to protect himself from federal indictments Sanchez managed to get the endorsements from the Austin Chronicle Corpus Christi Caller Times and the Waco Tribune Herald during the general election campaign Predictions edit Source Ranking As ofThe Cook Political Report 1 Lean R October 31 2002Sabato s Crystal Ball 2 Likely R November 4 2002Polling edit Poll source Date s administered Samplesize a Marginof error RickPerry R TonySanchez D Other UndecidedSurveyUSA October 29 31 2002 683 LV 3 9 53 43 4 Results editGeneral election results Party Candidate Votes Republican Rick Perry incumbent 2 632 591 57 81 Democratic Tony Sanchez 1 819 798 39 96 Libertarian Jeff Daiell 66 720 1 47 Green Rahul Mahajan 32 187 0 71 Independent Elaine Eure Henderson write in 1 715 0 04 Independent Earl W O Neil write in 976 0 02 Total votes 4 553 987 100 00 Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic edit Cass Largest city Atlanta Hudspeth Largest city Fort Hancock Pecos Largest city Fort Stockton Terrell Largest city Sanderson Cameron Largest city Brownsville Kenedy largest municipality Sarita Culberson largest municipality Van Horn Kleberg largest municipality Kingsville Marion Largest city Jefferson Morris Largest city Daingerfield Newton Largest city Newton Bee Largest city Beeville Fisher Largest city Rotan Jefferson largest city Beaumont Frio largest municipality Pearsall El Paso largest municipality El Paso Val Verde largest municipality Del Rio Nueces Largest city Corpus Christi Travis Largest city Austin Robertson Largest city Hearne Willacy Largest city Raymondville Hidalgo Largest city McAllen Notes edit Key A all adultsRV registered votersLV likely votersV unclearReferences edit Governor Updated October 31 2002 The Cook Political Report The Cook Political Report October 31 2002 Archived from the original on December 8 2002 Retrieved September 18 2018 Governors Races www centerforpolitics org November 4 2002 Archived from the original on December 12 2002 Retrieved September 18 2018 Texas Almanac Archived from the original on November 19 2015 Retrieved August 4 2015 External links editOfficial campaign websites Archived Rick Perry for Governor Archived from the original on October 31 2002 Retrieved April 24 2017 Tony Sanchez for Governor Archived from the original on October 31 2002 Retrieved April 24 2017 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2002 Texas gubernatorial election amp oldid 1186782418, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
