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2002 New Hampshire gubernatorial election

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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 58.62% 38.21%
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

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

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Candidates

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Results

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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

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Candidates

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Results

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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

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Predictions

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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

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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

Results by county

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County Craig Benson
Republican		 Mark Fernald
Democratic		 All others Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # %
Belknap 14,691 67.8% 6,385 29.5% 599 2.8% 8,306 48.3% 21,675
Carroll 12,596 66.1% 5,930 31.1% 541 2.9% 6,666 35.0% 19,067
Cheshire 11,595 45.1% 13,320 51.8% 804 3.1% -1,725 -6.7% 25,719
Coös 6,890 62.3% 3,823 34.6% 350 3.1% 3,067 25.7% 11,063
Grafton 16,182 54.3% 12,607 42.3% 997 3.3% 3,575 12.0% 29,786
Hillsborough 78,305 61.3% 45,324 35.5% 4,214 3.3% 32,981 25.8% 127,843
Merrimack 27,773 52.3% 23,711 44.6% 1,625 3.0% 4,062 7.7% 53,109
Rockingham 62,542 61.3% 36,342 35.6% 3,080 3.0% 26,200 26.7% 101,964
Strafford 21,352 55.9% 15,461 40.4% 1,410 3.7% 5,891 15.5% 38,223
Sullivan 7,737 53.3% 6,374 43.9% 614 2.9% 1,363 9.4% 14,257
Totals259,66358.6%169,27738.2%14,0363.2%90,38620.4%442,976

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

See also

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References

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  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.
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