The 2002 California gubernatorial election was an election that occurred on November 5, 2002. Gray Davis, a Democrat and the incumbent governor of California, defeated the Republican challenger Bill Simon by 5% and was re-elected to a second four-year term. Davis would be recalled less than a year into his next term.
Primary elections were held in March. As a result of California Democratic Party v. Jones, the nonpartisan blanket primary was replaced by partisan primaries. Davis faced no major competitor in the Democratic primary and won the nomination. Simon defeated former Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan in the Republican primary. Davis ran a series of negative advertisements against Riordan in the primary. Riordan was seen as a moderate and early state polls showed him defeating Gray Davis in the general election. This election is the last time that a gubernatorial candidate was elected governor of California by a single-digit margin.
In 2000, the United States Supreme Court in California Democratic Party v. Jones struck down California's blanket primary.
Polls showed that, as a moderate, Riordan would be a more formidable challenger in the general election than his conservative opponents. Polls even showed that Riordan would defeat Davis. However, the end of the blanket primary meant that only non-partisans and registered Republicans could vote in the primary, making it more difficult for Riordan to win, given that primary voters are typically much more ideological than those who vote in the general election.
During the early stages of the campaign, Riordan focused his campaign and advertisements against Davis. Davis took the unusual step of taking out campaign advertisements against Riordan, questioning his support for anti-abortion politicians and judges, during the primary season. Davis stated that Riordan had attacked his record and that his campaign was defending his record. Other advertisements cited Riordan's call for a moratorium on capital punishment and contrasted against Davis's strong support for it. These advertisements appear to have contributed to Riordan's ultimate defeat by the more staunchly conservative Simon.
The primary campaign also included negative attacks between Riordan and Bill Jones. Jones advertisements highlighted that Riordan had contributed money to Davis in the past and had called Bill Clinton, "the greatest leader in the free world." Riordan's advertisements highlighted that Jones had also contributed money to Davis. By late February, Riordan's strong polling lead in the Republican had begun to slip.
Davis was re-elected in the November 2002 general election following a long and bitter campaign against Simon, marked by accusations of ethical lapses on both sides and widespread voter apathy. Simon was also hurt by a financial fraud scandal that tarnished his reputation. Davis' campaign featured several negative advertisements that highlighted Simon's financial fraud scandal. Simon attacked Davis for supposedly fundraising in the lieutenant governor of California's office during his time as Lieutenant Governor; the attack backfired when it turned out the photograph had been instead taken in a private home in Santa Monica.
The 2002 gubernatorial race was the most expensive in California state history with over $100 million spent. Davis' campaign was better financed; Davis had over $26 million in campaign reserves more than Simon in August 2002. Davis won re-election with 47.3% of the vote to Simon's 42.4%. It had the lowest voter turnout percentage in modern gubernatorial history, allowing for a lower than normal number of signatures required for a recall election, which ultimately qualified in 2003. Davis won the election but the majority of the voters disliked Davis and did not approve of his job performance.
Davis won 33 of 53 congressional districts.
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