2002 Alabama gubernatorial election

none related races 2002 United States gubernatorial elections January 2025 September 2023 2002 Alabama gubernatorial election Alabama presidential no 1998 Alabama gubernatorial election 1998 2006 Alabama gubernatorial election 2006 November 5, 2002 File:Governor Bob Riley (cropped).jpg Bob Riley Republican Party (United States) 672,225 49.17% File:Don Siegelman at Netroots Nation 2008 (cropped).jpg Don Siegelman Democratic Party (United States) 669,105 48.95% 250px County results 250px Congressional district results Riley: #ffb2b2 40–50% #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70%Siegelman: #a5b0ff 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% #3933e5 80–90% Governor Don Siegelman Democratic Party (United States) Bob Riley Republican Party (United States) The 2002 Alabama gubernatorial election was held on November 5. With 669,105 votes or 48.95%, incumbent Democrat Don Siegelman lost re-election to Republican Bob Riley (who received 672,225 votes or 49.17%), a margin of 3,120 votes or 0.22%. The close and controversial election was marked by high turnout. This was the third consecutive Alabama gubernatorial election where the incumbent was defeated. Riley was sworn in on January 20, 2003, marking what is to date the last time the Alabama governor's office changed partisan control. Primary elections were held on June 4. Both nominees faced less opposition than expected.March 2024 Siegelman ran for governor of Alabama again in 2006, and lost the Democratic primary. Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Don Siegelman, incumbent governor Eliminated in primary Charles Bishop, commissioner of agriculture and industrieshttp://www.alabamavotes.gov/downloads/election/2002/d-cert-061002-amend.pdf Alabama Secretary of State Alabama Democratic Party 2002 Primary Tabulation of Results September 19, 2016 Blake W. Harper III, businessman Gladys Riddle, member of the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles Mark "Rodeo Clown" Townsend Results thumb|Democratic primary results by county #7996E2 Siegelman #7996E2 50–60% #6674DE 60–70% #584CDE 70–80% #3933E5 80–90% |center Democratic primary results Don Siegelman (incumbent) Democratic Party (United States) 331,571 76.17 Charles Bishop Democratic Party (United States) 80,193 18.42 Mark "Rodeo Clown" Townsend Democratic Party (United States) 9,890 2.27 Gladys Riddle Democratic Party (United States) 9,246 2.12 Blake W. Harper III Democratic Party (United States) 4,410 1.01 435,310 100.00 Republican primary Candidates Nominee Bob Riley, U.S. representative for Alabama's 3rd Congressional district (1997–2003) Eliminated in primary Tim James, businessman and son of former Governor Fob James"Siegelman vs. Riley: Governor, Congressman Win Party Contests Handily", The Birmingham News, June 5, 2002, p. 1A. Steve Windom, lieutenant governor Results thumb|Republican primary results by county #E27F7F Riley #E27F7F 50–60% #D75D5D 60–70% #D72F30 70–80% #C21B18 80–90% #A80000 >90% #FF9A50 James #FFB580 40–50% |center Republican primary results Bob Riley Republican Party (United States) 262,851 73.53 Steve Windom Republican Party (United States) 63,775 17.84 Tim James Republican Party (United States) 30,871 8.64 357,497 100.00 General election Campaign The closeness of the general election contest was reflected in its intensity and fervor. A clash erupted between the two principal campaigns over disclosure of the identities of large contributors to the Riley campaign. President George W. Bush appeared in Alabama at a July event, and a private reception with a $50,000 admission was held to benefit the Riley campaign. Riley's campaign initially refused to identify the donors attending the event. Later, under pressure from the Siegelman campaign, Riley called on the national Republican Party, which had hosted the event, to release the names of donors."Riley Doesn't Report VIP Donor List", The Birmingham News, September 25, 2002, p. 1A. The Riley campaign was subjected to editorial criticism when the voluminous reports released made it difficult to trace the sources of donations from the event to Riley.Editorial: "Once Again, Voters Lose Money Game", The Birmingham News, September 29, 2002, p. 8A. Actor and National Rifle Association president Charlton Heston came to Alabama to campaign for Republican congressional candidates. While in the state, Heston released a written statement endorsing Siegelman, despite the fact that Riley had made a point of being seen in public with Heston. Spokesmen for both Riley and the Alabama Republican Party issued statements insinuating that Siegelman had taken advantage of Heston's recently diagnosed Alzheimer's disease to secure the endorsement. After a firestorm of criticism from the NRA and editorial pages, the Republican spokesmen apologized to Heston, but not to Siegelman.Editorial: "Siegelman, Too", The Montgomery Advertiser, September 26, 2002, p. A6. Riley received the endorsements of The Birmingham News,Editorial: "Our Endorsements", The Birmingham News, November 3, 2002, p. B2. the Mobile Press-Register, the Business Council of Alabama, and the Auburn University Trustee Improvement PAC, an alumni group which opposed Siegelman's choices for trustees at the school (Siegleman re-appointed controversial trustee Bobby Lowder, notorious for constant interference in the university's affairs)."Auburn Group Endorses Riley", The Anniston Star, October 22, 2002, p. A1. In addition to the NRA, Siegelman was endorsed by The Montgomery Advertiser, The Anniston Star, The Tuscaloosa News, and various labor groups, including the Alabama State Employees Association."Siegelman Touts Emphasis on Education, New Industry", The Birmingham News, November 5, 2002, p. 1A (listing endorsements for both candidates). Siegelman was also endorsed by Alabama Education Association executive secretary Paul Hubbert, although the Association itself remained officially neutral."Siegelman Endorsed by Hubbert", The Birmingham News, October 19, 2002, p. 12A. The campaign set new spending records for an Alabama gubernatorial race. Even before the final weeks of the campaign, the candidates had raised over $17,000,000. Riley, who raised and spent over twice the sum Siegelman raised, was primarily backed by business groups and insurance companies. Siegelman received substantial contributions from labor groups and affiliates of the Alabama Education Association. Both candidates were the beneficiaries of national party funding, and contributions from political action committees made donations to both candidates difficult to trace."Siegelman, Riley Raise Record $17 Million", The Birmingham News, September 24, 2002, p. 1A. Polls taken in the final days of the campaign reflected the eventual close outcome."Poll Shows Governor's Race Even", The Montgomery Advertiser, October 24, 2002, p. B3. Debates + 2002 Alabama gubernatorial debates No. Number Date Host Moderator Link Democratic RepublicanKey:black #90ff90  P  Participant  black #FFFFDD  A  Absent  black #ff9090  N  Not invited  black #CCFFCC  I  Invited #f0e68c W Withdrawn Don Siegelman Bob Riley2 Aug. 5, 2002 Alabama Public RadioThe Birmingham NewsThe Huntsville TimesMobile RegisterMontgomery Advertiser Tim Lennox C-SPAN P P2 Oct. 20, 2002 Alabama Public TelevisionAlabama Public RadioThe Birmingham NewsThe Huntsville TimesMontgomery Advertiser Tim Lennox C-SPAN P P Predictions SourceRankingAs ofThe Cook Political Reporthttp://www.cookpolitical.com:80/display.cfm?section=political&edit_id=225 https://web.archive.org/web/20021208065752/http://www.cookpolitical.com/display.cfm?section=political&edit_id=225 December 8, 2002 Governor Updated October 31, 2002 The Cook Political Report The Cook Political Report en October 31, 2002 September 18, 2018 dead mdy-all TossupOctober 31, 2002Sabato's Crystal Ballhttp://www.centerforpolitics.org:80/crystalball/governor_all.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20021212142349/http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/governor_all.htm December 12, 2002 Governors Races www.centerforpolitics.org en-US November 4, 2002 September 18, 2018 dead mdy-all Lean R FlipNovember 4, 2002 Results Initial returns showed Riley narrowly losing to Siegelman. Siegelman gave a victory speech on election night, and the Associated Press initially declared him the winner."Two Men Act like Winners", The Birmingham News, November 7, 2002, p. 1A. However, officials in Baldwin County conducted a recount and retabulation of that county's votes after midnight, and after Democratic Party observers had gone home for the night."Baldwin in Eye of Ballot Storm", The Birmingham News, November 7, 2002, p. 1A. Approximately 6,000 votes initially credited to Siegelman were either removed from the total or reassigned to Riley in the recount, turning the statewide result in Riley's favor."Riley Claims Win", The Montgomery Advertiser, November 7, 2002, p. A1. Local Republican officials claimed the earlier returns were the result of a "computer glitch.""Post-Election Alabama Is Seeing Double", The Washington Post, November 8, 2002, p. A10. Democratic requests to repeat the recount with Democratic observers present were rejected by Alabama courts and then-Attorney General Bill Pryor. Siegelman and his supporters complained that these judges (and Pryor) were either elected as Republicans or appointed by Republican presidents."Attorney General Stops Recount Move", The Birmingham News, November 9, 2002, p. 1A. After over a week of fights in courtrooms and in the media, Siegelman, on November 18, 2002, made a televised address, saying, "I've decided that a prolonged election controversy would hurt Alabama, would hurt the very people that we worked so hard to help", and abandoned his efforts to secure a recount of the Baldwin County vote, allowing Riley to take office."Siegelman Concedes: Recount Efforts Abandoned", The Birmingham News, November 19, 2002, p. 1A. 2002 Alabama gubernatorial election Republican Party (United States) Bob Riley 672,225 49.17 +7.09 Democratic Party (United States) Don Siegelman (incumbent) 669,105 48.95 -8.97 Libertarian Party (US) John Sophocleus 23,272 1.70 +1.70 2,451 0.18 N/A 1,367,053 100.00 N/A Republican Party (United States) Democratic Party (United States) Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Clarke (largest city: Jackson) Crenshaw (largest city: Luverne) Mobile (largest city: Mobile) Limestone (largest city: Athens) Butler (largest city: Greenville) Clay (largest city: Lineville) Cleburne (largest city: Heflin) Coffee (largest city: Enterprise) Cullman (largest city: Cullman) Dale (largest city: Brewton) Escambia (largest city: Atmore) Chambers (largest city: Valley) DeKalb (largest city: Fort Payne) Henry (largest city: Headland) Madison (largest city: Huntsville) Lee (largest city: Auburn) Marshall (largest city: Albertville) Monroe (largest city: Monroeville) Morgan (largest city: Decatur) Pike (largest city: Troy) Randolph (largest city: Roanoke) Tallapoosa (largest city: Alexander City) Results by congressional district Despite winning four out of seven congressional districts, Riley lost his old district by around 7% after it was redistricted to become more Democratic.MoreThanPol 1378019595194302464 #ElectionTwitter Alabama's 2002 gubernatorial election saw incumbent Don Siegelman (D) losing to then-congressman Bob Riley (R) by the tightest of margins. Initial returns showed Siegelman leading narrowly, but a "computer glitch" from Baldwin County changed everything. April 3, 2021 April 30, 2021 DistrictBob Riley RepublicanDon Siegelman DemocraticRepresentativeAlabama 1 1st56.17%41.91%Sonny Callahan (107th Congress)Jo Bonner (108th Congress)Alabama 2 2nd 54.11% 44.19%Terry EverettAlabama 3 3rd45.82%52.55%Bob Riley (107th Congress)Mike Rogers (108th Congress)Alabama 4 4th 49.76% 48.00%Robert AderholtAlabama 5 5th 47.35% 50.06%Robert E. CramerAlabama 6 6th 62.49% 35.53%Spencer BachusAlabama 7 7th26.24%72.71%Earl Hilliard (107th Congress)Artur Davis (108th Congress) Aftermath Riley's victory was controversial and caused many commentators to recall the Florida election recount of 2000.Editorial Cartoon: Mobile Press-Register, November 7, 2002 http://www.al.com/opinion/mobileregister/cartoons/110702_crowe.jpg dead https://web.archive.org/web/20070930013232/http://www.al.com/opinion/mobileregister/cartoons/110702_crowe.jpg September 30, 2007 May 25, 2006 mdy-allEditorial Cartoon: The Birmingham News, November 7, 2002 http://www.al.com/opinion/birminghamnews/cartoons/110702_stantis.jpg dead https://web.archive.org/web/20070930031529/http://www.al.com/opinion/birminghamnews/cartoons/110702_stantis.jpg September 30, 2007 May 25, 2006 mdy-all In response to the allegation of a "computer glitch", Siegelman later stated: "[N]ow one would expect that if there was some kind of computer glitch or some kind of computer programming error, that it might have affected more than one race, but it further raised suspicions about vote stealing when the votes came back and they were certified, and the only person who lost votes was Don Siegelman, the Democrat, and the only person who gained votes was Bob Riley, the Republican.""Siegelman speaks!" at democracyfornewhampshire.com http://www.democracyfornewhampshire.com/node/view/5209 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20081121102104/http://www.democracyfornewhampshire.com/node/view/5209 2008-11-21 2008-05-27 A number of analyses of the competing claims were undertaken at the time, with conflicting results. In one such study, Auburn University political scientist James H. Gundlach concluded that a detailed analysis of the returns, compared with 1998 results and returns from undisputed counties, "strongly suggests a systematic manipulation of the voting results."James H. Gundlach, A Statistical Analysis of Possible Electronic Ballot Stuffing: The Case of the Baldwin County, Alabama Governor's Race in 2002 (Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Alabama Political Science Association, Troy, Alabama, April 11, 2003) Click here to view. The Gundlach study also suggested a mechanism by which this could have been effected, and proposed a conclusion that Siegelman won. An earlier analysis reported by the Associated Press, using a less sophisticated comparison of gubernatorial and legislative returns, was claimed to indicate that the revised returns were more accurate, and that Riley probably won.USA Today, November 7, 2002 The Gundlach paper offers a refutation of the conclusions of the Associated Press study. Largely as a result of this controversy,"Vote Dispute Prompts Reform Calls", The Montgomery Advertiser, November 21, 2002, p. A1. the Alabama Legislature later amended the election code to provide for automatic, supervised recounts in close races.http://alisdb.legislature.state.al.us/acas/CodeOfAlabama/1975/17-16-20.htm Alabama Code § 17-16-20 2008-05-27 https://web.archive.org/web/20110724105935/http://alisdb.legislature.state.al.us/acas/CodeOfAlabama/1975/17-16-20.htm 2011-07-24 dead References 30em Note on references: Many of the sources cited above (as added in May 2008) are not available from free online sources. The Birmingham News, the Mobile Press-Register, The Montgomery Advertiser, and The Anniston Star have online archives on a fee basis. The Birmingham and Mobile newspaper archives may be accessed via www.al.com, while archives of The Anniston Star can be accessed at www.annistonstar.com. Archived articles of The Montgomery Advertiser may be purchased at www.montgomeryadvertiser.com Archived articles from all of these newspapers are also available to subscribers, or on a per-document fee basis, on Westlaw and Lexis-Nexis. External links 2002 Election information at sos.state.al.us Certified election results at sos.state.al.us Alabama 2002 Gubernatorial