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 County results Owens: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Heath: 40–50% 50–60% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The2002 Colorado gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002, to elect thegovernor 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 in1982,1948, and1928, withBilly 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.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bill Owens (incumbent) | 189,705 | 100.00 | |
| Total votes | 189,705 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Rollie Heath | 98,897 | 100.00 | |
| Total votes | 98,897 | 100.00 | ||
| 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| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn | ||||||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 |
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[3] | Safe R | October 31, 2002 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[4] | Safe R | November 4, 2002 |
| 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 | ||||
| Republicanhold | |||||
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