2002 New Hampshire gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2002 United States gubernatorial elections.

2002 New Hampshire gubernatorial election

* * *

| <- 2000 | November 5, 2002 | 2004 ->

|
|

|  |  |

|
|

Nominee  | Craig Benson | Mark Fernald |
Party  | Republican | Democratic
Popular vote  | 259,663 | 169,277
Percentage  | 58.7% | 38.2%

* * *

County results

Municipality results

Benson: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%
Fernald: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% >90%

* * *

| Governor before election

Jeanne Shaheen
Democratic

| Elected Governor

Craig Benson
Republican

|

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* v
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* e

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

[edit]

### Candidates

[edit]

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

### Results

[edit]

Democratic Primary results[1] 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 | 65,092  | 100.00

## Republican primary

[edit]

### Candidates

[edit]

* 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

[edit]

Republican primary results[2] 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 | 153,047  | 100.00

## General election

[edit]

### Predictions

[edit]

Source  | Ranking  | As of

|
|

The Cook Political Report[3] | Lean R (flip) | October 31, 2002
Sabato's Crystal Ball[4] | Likely R (flip) | November 4, 2002

### Results

[edit]

New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2002[5] 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 | 90,386  | 20.40%  | +15.43%
Turnout | 442,976  |  |
| Republican gain from Democratic | Swing |  |

#### Counties that swung from Democratic to Republican

[edit]

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

## See also

[edit]

* U.S. Gubernatorial Elections, 2002

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Summary D Gov". Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
2. ^ "Summary R Gov". Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
3. ^ "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.
4. ^ "Governors Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on December 12, 2002. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
5. ^ "STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE ELECTIONS DIVISION STATE GENERAL ELECTION". Archived from the original on May 12, 2004. Retrieved May 18, 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* New Hampshire Secretary of State's office, election division

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