2002 Oklahoma gubernatorial election

See also: 2002 United States gubernatorial elections

The 2002 Oklahoma gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002, and was a race for Governor of Oklahoma. Democrat Brad Henry won the election with 43 percent of the vote, beating Republican Steve Largent and conservative independent Gary Richardson.

2002 Oklahoma gubernatorial election

← 1998 November 5, 2002 2006 →

Nominee Brad Henry Steve Largent Gary Richardson Party Democratic Republican Independent Popular vote 448,143 441,277 146,200 Percentage 43.27% 42.61% 14.12%

County results Congressional district results Henry:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Largent:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Governor before election Frank Keating Republican Elected Governor Brad Henry Democratic

Henry's narrow win has been attributed to Richardson and Largent's split of the conservative vote^[1] and the inclusion of a cockfighting ban on the ballot, an issue which brought opponents of the referendum from Southeastern Oklahoma, a traditional Democratic stronghold that strongly supported Henry, out to vote.^[1][2][3]

As of 2024, this is the last time that a gubernatorial nominee and a lieutenant gubernatorial nominee of different political parties were simultaneously elected in Oklahoma to date.

Background

Though Democrats had dominated state politics for most of Oklahoma's history, the Oklahoma Republican Party had made historic gains, including five of the state's six Congressional seats at the time of the election. This made it especially hard for Henry to win with a growing Republican dominance in the state. This was most notable in the urban areas of Oklahoma City and Tulsa, both of which voted for Largent.^[4]

Democratic primary

Three state legislators sought the Democratic Party nomination, trailing Vince Orza who had previously sought the Governor's office as a Republican, only to be defeated by Bill Price in the primary runoff.^[5] State Senator Brad Henry advanced to the runoff with 28% against Orza's 44%, but opposition to the former Republican from New York coalesced behind Henry. Orza found himself once again losing the runoff after winning the initial primary.^[6][7][8]

Primary results

Democratic primary results^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Vince Orza	154,263	44.03
	Democratic	Brad Henry	99,883	28.51
	Democratic	Kelly Haney	59,044	16.85
	Democratic	Jim Dunegan	28,130	8.03
	Democratic	James E. Lamkin	9,069	2.59
Total votes			350,389	100.00

Runoff primary results

Democratic runoff primary results^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Brad Henry	135,336	52.42
	Democratic	Vince Orza	122,855	47.58
Total votes			258,191	100.00

Republican primary

Steve Largent easily won the GOP nomination against token opposition.^[10]

Primary results

Republican primary results^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Largent	179,631	87.25
	Republican	Jim Denny	16,713	8.12
	Republican	Andrew Marr, Jr	9,532	4.63
Total votes			205,876	100.00

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[11]	Likely R	October 31, 2002
Sabato's Crystal Ball[12]	Lean R	November 4, 2002

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Brad Henry (D)	Steve Largent (R)	Gary Richardson (I)	Other / Undecided
SurveyUSA[13]	November 1–3, 2002	710 (LV)	± 3.8%	42%	38%	17%	3%

Results

This election was extremely close, with Henry prevailing by just 6,866 votes or 0.6%. Under Oklahoma law, if the margin of victory is less than one percent but greater than half a percent, the losing candidate can request a recount that their campaign has to pay for. However, Largent ultimately decided against it, considering that because Henry led by 6,866 votes, the possibility of him prevailing were extremely difficult. On November 23, Largent officially conceded defeat. Two days later on November 25, Oklahoma Secretary of State Kay Dudley certified the results, declaring Henry the governor-elect.^{[citation needed]}

2002 Oklahoma gubernatorial election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Brad Henry	448,143	43.3	+2.4%
	Republican	Steve Largent	441,277	42.6	−15.9%
	Independent	Gary Richardson	146,200	14.1	N/A
Total votes			1,035,620	100.0
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing	+2.4%

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Caddo (Largest city: Anadarko)
• Carter (Largest city: Ardmore)
• Garvin (Largest city: Pauls Valley)
• Greer (Largest city: Mangum)
• Harmon (Largest city: Hollis)
• Kiowa (Largest city: Hobart)
• Love (Largest city: Marietta)
• Marshall (Largest city: Madill)
• Murray (Largest city: Sulphur)
• Nowata (Largest city: Nowata)
• Pontotoc (Largest city: Ada)
• Delaware (Largest city: Grove)
• Washita (Largest city: New Cordell)
• Blaine (Largest city: Watonga)
• Creek (Largest city: Sapulpa)
• Grady (Largest city: Chickasaw)
• Lincoln (Largest city: Chandler)
• Payne (Largest city: Stillwater)
• Pottawatomie (Largest city: Shawnee)
• Rogers (Largest city: Claremore)
• Woods (Largest city: Alva)
• Beckham (Largest city: Elk City)
• Love (Largest city: Marietta)
• Bryan (Largest city: Durant)
• Cotton (Largest city: Walters)
• Jefferson (Largest city: Waurika)

By congressional district

Henry won 2 of 5 congressional districts, including one that elected a Republican.^[14]

District	Henry	Largent	Richardson	Representative
1st	37.37%	47.43%	15.20%	John Sullivan
2nd	52.98%	33.22%	13.80%	Brad Carson
3rd	41.05%	43.19%	15.75%	Wes Watkins (107th Congress)
				Frank Lucas (108th Congress)
4th	44.28%	42.02%	13.70%	J. C. Watts (107th Congress)
				Tom Cole (108th Congress)
5th	40.95%	46.29%	12.77%	Ernest Istook

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear