The 2002 Florida gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2002 for the post of
Governor of Florida
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
.
Incumbent Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
governor
Jeb Bush
John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush ...
defeated
Democratic candidate
Bill McBride. Bush became the first Republican governor of Florida to win re-election to a second term.
This election was the last time until
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
a Florida gubernatorial candidate won the general election by double digits.
Republican nomination
Jeb Bush announced that he would run for re-election in June 2001 after first being
elected in 1998.
Bush was unopposed for the GOP nomination, and spent the summer amassing a war chest of over $5.6 million towards his re-election campaign.
Democratic primary
Candidates
*
Daryl Jones, State Senator from
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
*
Bill McBride,
Tampa attorney
*
Janet Reno
Janet Wood Reno (July 21, 1938 – November 7, 2016) was an American lawyer who served as the 78th United States attorney general. She held the position from 1993 to 2001, making her the second-longest serving attorney general, behind only Wi ...
, former
United States Attorney General
Withdrew
*
Lois Frankel, State Representative from
West Palm Beach
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...
Campaign
Reno led throughout much of the campaign for the Democratic nomination, boasting
name recognition and employing a
grassroots strategy. In early June, she led McBride in the polls by a margin of 53%-25%,
but trailed in a hypothetical head-to-head against Bush. Reno's primary campaign was dubbed the "Little red
pickup truck tour", so-named because she toured the state in her 1999
Ford Ranger
Ford Ranger is a nameplate that has been used on multiple model lines of pickup trucks sold by Ford worldwide. The nameplate has been used for distinct model lines of vehicles worldwide since 1982 from the compact and mid-size pickup category. ...
.
Over the summer, Reno's lead dwindled. McBride, backed by big money donors, was able to exploit Reno's paltry war chest, and sometime aloof campaign.
Reno's connections to the
Clinton Administration, and her handling of both the
Waco siege
The Waco siege, also known as the Waco massacre, was the law enforcement siege of the compound that belonged to the religious sect Branch Davidians. It was carried out by the U.S. federal government, Texas state law enforcement, and the U.S. ...
and the
Elián González affair were frequent topics in the primary.
In the final few weeks, McBride narrowed the gap to a dead heat going into the September 10 primary.
Results
McBride won the nomination by less than 4,800 votes.
Aftermath
Reno disputed the results after the primary was marred by problems. Several areas had technical glitches and delayed openings of the poll especially in
Miami-Dade
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...
and
Broward counties, both of which Reno performed strongly in.
As a result of the problems, Governor Bush kept the polls open for two additional hours.
McBride selected
Tom Rossin, minority leader of the
Florida Senate
The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted in ...
, as his running mate.
Campaign
McBride's campaign focused on the importance of public education, supporting policies such as teacher pay rises and less emphasis on
standardized tests. McBride was helped towards the end of the campaign by visits from national Democratic figures such as former
President Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
, former
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...
Al Gore and
Jesse Jackson.
[ Though McBride himself did not make the topic an issue of his campaign, nationwide Democrats saw the race as an opportunity to avenge Al Gore's controversial loss in Florida during the 2000 presidential election and the subsequent recount.] Likewise Republicans saw this race a preview of 2004.
President George W. Bush made numerous visits to Florida to support his brother for re-election.[ Bush had a strong fundraising advantage over McBride in what was seen as one of the pivotal races in the 2002 midterm elections.][ Republican ]adverts
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
targeted McBride as a failed lawyer and as a tax and spender.
The two main candidates faced each other in two debates on 27 September and 22 October in the most expensive Florida gubernatorial election yet. Polls towards the end of the campaign showed Bush with a lead over McBride.[ ]Department of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
observers were stationed at some of the polls,[ but unlike the problems during the 2000 presidential election and the Democratic primary, voting went smoothly.]
At the same time as the election, an initiative
In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a ...
was passed to limit class sizes. This had been opposed by Bush due to the cost of implementing it but had been supported by McBride.[
]
Predictions
Polling
Election results
Notes
References
See also
{{FlGovElections
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
2002
Gubernatorial
Jeb Bush