2002 Colorado gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2002 United States gubernatorial elections.

The 2002 Colorado gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002, to elect the governor of Colorado. Bill Owens, the Republican incumbent, defeated Democratic nominee Rollie Heath to win a second term. Owen's win set the record for biggest win by a Republican in a Colorado gubernatorial election (Democrats won by larger margins in 1982, 1948, and 1928, with Billy Adams' 35 point blowout in that year being the greatest victory for a candidate of any party).^[1] As of 2025, this is the last time a Republican was elected Governor of Colorado and the only time in the past half-century that a Republican won a majority in the state.

2002 Colorado gubernatorial election

← 1998 November 5, 2002 2006 →

Nominee Bill Owens Rollie Heath Party Republican Democratic Running mate Jane E. Norton Bill Thiebaut Popular vote 884,583 475,373 Percentage 62.62% 33.65%

County results Owens:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Heath:      40–50%      50–60%

Governor before election Bill Owens Republican Elected Governor Bill Owens Republican

Republican primary

Candidates

• Bill Owens, incumbent Governor of Colorado

Results

Republican primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Owens (incumbent)	189,705	100.00
Total votes			189,705	100.00

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Rollie Heath, businessman

Results

Democratic primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rollie Heath	98,897	100.00
Total votes			98,897	100.00

General election

Debates

2002 Colorado gubernatorial election debates

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Republican	Democratic
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Bill Owens	Rollie Heath
1	Sep. 7, 2002	Club 20 KJCT-TV	Jerry Groswald	C-SPAN	P	P
2	Sep. 24, 2002	City Club of Denver		C-SPAN	P	P
3	Oct. 17, 2002	KUSA (TV) The Denver Post	Jim Benemann	C-SPAN	P	P

Predictions

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

Results

2002 Colorado gubernatorial election^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Bill Owens (inc.)	884,583	62.62%	+13.58%
	Democratic	Rollie Heath	475,373	33.65%	−14.77%
	Green	Ronald Forthofer	32,099	2.27%	–
	Libertarian	Ralph Shnelvar	20,547	1.45%	−0.23%
Majority			409,210	28.97%	+28.34%
Turnout			1,412,602
	Republican hold

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Routt (Largest city: Steamboat Springs)
• Garfield (largest municipality: Glenwood Springs)
• Eagle (largest municipality: Edwards)
• Summit (largest municipality: Breckenridge)
• Clear Creek (largest city: Idaho Springs)
• Gilpin (largest city: Central City)
• Adams (largest city: Thornton)
• Arapahoe (largest city: Aurora)
• Gunnison (Largest city: Gunnison)
• Lake (Largest city: Leadville)
• Pitkin (Largest city: Aspen)
• La Plata (largest municipality: Durango)
• San Juan (largest municipality: Silverton)
• Saguache (largest city: Center)
• Mineral (Largest city: Creede)
• Conejos (largest municipality: Manassa)
• Costilla (largest municipality: San Luis)
• Las Animas (largest city: Trinidad)
• Huerfano (largest city: Walsenburg)