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| Turnout | 55.3% 5.8[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
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 County results Congressional district resultsBush: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% McBride: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The2002 Florida gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2002, for the post ofGovernor of Florida.IncumbentRepublican governorJeb Bush defeatedDemocratic candidateBill McBride. Bush became the first Republican governor of Florida to win re-election to a second term.[2][3] This election was the last time until2022 that a Florida gubernatorial candidate won the general election by double digits or that a Republican won Miami-Dade County.
Jeb Bush announced that he would run for re-election in June 2001 after first beingelected in 1998.[4] 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.[5]
Reno led throughout much of the campaign for the Democratic nomination, boastingname recognition and employing agrassroots strategy. In early June, she led McBride in the polls by a margin of 53%-25%,[7] but trailed in a hypothetical head-to-head against Bush. Reno's primary campaign was dubbed the "Little redpickup truck tour", so-named because she toured the state in her 1999Ford Ranger.[7][8]
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.[5] Reno's connections to theClinton Administration, and her handling of both theWaco siege and theElián González affair were frequent topics in the primary.[5]
In the final few weeks, McBride narrowed the gap to a dead heat going into the September 10 primary.[9]
McBride won the nomination by less than 4,800 votes.[9]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Bill McBride | 602,352 | 44.4 | |
| Democratic | Janet Reno | 597,558 | 44.0 | |
| Democratic | Daryl Jones | 157,107 | 11.6 | |
| Total votes | 1,357,017 | 100 | ||
Reno disputed the results after the primary was marred by problems. Several areas had technical glitches and delayed openings of the poll especially inMiami-Dade andBroward counties, both of which Reno performed strongly in.[4] As a result of the problems, Governor Bush kept the polls open for two additional hours.[11]
McBride selectedTom Rossin, minority leader of theFlorida Senate, as his running mate.[12]
McBride's campaign focused on the importance of public education, supporting policies such as teacher pay rises and less emphasis onstandardized tests. McBride was helped towards the end of the campaign by visits from national Democratic figures such as formerPresidentBill Clinton, formerVice PresidentAl Gore andJesse Jackson.[2] Though McBride himself did not make the topic an issue of his campaign, nationwide Democrats saw the race as an opportunity to avengeAl Gore's controversial loss in Florida during the2000 presidential election and the subsequentrecount.[13] Likewise Republicans saw this race a preview of2004.
PresidentGeorge W. Bush made numerous visits to Florida to support his brother for re-election.[3] Bush had a strongfundraising advantage over McBride in what was seen as one of the pivotal races in the2002 midterm elections.[2] Republicanadverts targeted McBride as a failed lawyer and as atax and spender.[14]
The two main candidates faced each other in two debates on 27 September and 22 October in the most expensive Florida gubernatorial election yet.[15][16][17] Polls towards the end of the campaign showed Bush with a lead over McBride.[14][16]Department of Justice observers were stationed at some of the polls,[2] but unlike the problems during the2000 presidential election and the Democratic primary, voting went smoothly.[18]
At the same time as the election, aninitiative 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.[18]
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[19] | Tossup | October 31, 2002 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[20] | Lean R | November 4, 2002 |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | Jeb Bush (R) | Bill McBride (D) | Other / Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA[21] | November 2–4, 2002 | 792 (LV) | ± 3.6% | 45% | 39% | 5% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jeb Bush (incumbent) | 2,856,845 | 56.0 | +0.7 | |
| Democratic | Bill McBride | 2,201,427 | 43.2 | −1.5 | |
| No Party Affiliation | Bob Kunst | 42,039 | 0.8 | +0.8 | |
| Write-ins | 270 | 0.01 | +0.0 | ||
| Majority | 655,418 | 12.8 | +2.3 | ||
| Turnout | 5,100,581 | 54.8 | +6.6 | ||
| Republicanhold | Swing | ||||
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