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2002 Tennessee gubernatorial election
Turnout	50.40% 17.87 pp
	Bredesen: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%; Hilleary: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%
Governor before election; Don Sundquist; Republican	Elected Governor ; Phil Bredesen; Democratic

The 2002 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2002, to elect the next governor of Tennessee, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican governor Don Sundquist was term-limited and was prohibited by the Constitution of Tennessee from seeking a third consecutive term. To succeed him, former Democratic Nashville Mayor Phil Bredesen, who had run against Sundquist in 1994, narrowly defeated Republican United States Congressman Van Hilleary in the general election.

With this win, Bredesen flipped the state back into Democratic control, with the state legislature also being controlled by Democrats.

Republican primary

Candidates

Van Hilleary, Representative from Tennessee's 4th congressional district
Jim Henry, former Minority Leader of the Tennessee House of Representatives
Bob Tripp
Dave Kelley
Jessie D. McDonald

Results

Republican primary results^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Van Hilleary	343,543	64.31%
	Republican	Jim Henry	159,862	29.92%
	Republican	Bob Tripp	17,156	3.21%
	Republican	Dave Kelley	8,581	1.61%
	Republican	Jessie D. McDonald	4,682	0.88%
	Republican	Write-ins	389	0.07%
Total votes			534,213	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Phil Bredesen, former mayor of Nashville, 1994 Democratic nominee for governor
Randy Nichols, Knox County district attorney general
Charles E. Smith, former Tennessee commissioner of education
Charles V. Brown
L. Best
Floyd R. Conover

Results

Democratic primary results^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Phil Bredesen	426,418	79.05%
	Democratic	Randy Nichols	38,322	7.10%
	Democratic	Charles E. Smith	34,547	6.40%
	Democratic	Charles V. Brown	17,506	3.25%
	Democratic	L. Best	16,007	2.97%
	Democratic	Floyd R. Conover	6,218	1.15%
	Democratic	Write-ins	420	0.08%
Total votes			539,438	100.00%

General election

Candidates

Major

Phil Bredesen (D)
Van Hilleary (R)
Edwin C. Sanders (I)
Carl Two Feathers Whitaker (I)
John Jay Hooker (I)
David Gatchell (I)
Gabriel Givens (I)
Ray Ledford (I)
James E. Herren (I)
Charles V. Wilhoit Jr. (I)
Marivuana Stout Leinoff (I)
Francis E. Waldron (I)
Ronny Simmons (I)
Robert O. Watson (I)
Basil Marceaux (I)

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[4]	Tossup	October 31, 2002
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[5]	Lean D (flip)	November 4, 2002

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size^[a]	Margin of error	Phil Bredesen (D)	Van Hilleary (R)	Other / Undecided
SurveyUSA^[6]	October 26–28, 2002	726 (LV)	± 3.8%	48%	44%	8%

Results

2002 Tennessee gubernatorial election^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Phil Bredesen	837,284	50.65%	+21.17%
	Republican	Van Hilleary	786,803	47.59%	−21.03%
	Independent	Edwin C. Sanders	7,749	0.47%	N/A
	Independent	Carl Two Feathers Whitaker	5,308	0.32%	N/A
	Independent	John Jay Hooker	4,577	0.28%	N/A
	Independent	David Gatchell	2,991	0.18%	N/A
	Independent	Gabriel Givens	1,591	0.10%	N/A
	Independent	Ray Ledford	1,589	0.10%	N/A
	Independent	James E. Herren	1,210	0.07%	N/A
	Independent	Charles V. Wilhoit, Jr.	898	0.05%	N/A
	Independent	Marivuana Stout Leinoff	645	0.04%	N/A
	Independent	Francis E. Waldron	635	0.04%	N/A
	Independent	Ronny Simmons	630	0.04%	N/A
	Independent	Robert O. Watson	579	0.04%	N/A
	Independent	Basil Marceaux	302	0.02%	N/A
	Write-ins		376	0.02%	N/A
Total votes			1,653,167	100.00%
	Democratic gain from Republican

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Knox (Largest city: Knoxville)
Cocke (Largest city: Newport)
Anderson (Largest city: Oak Ridge)
Carroll (Largest city: McKenzie)
Cheatham (Largest city: Ashland City)
Coffee (Largest city: Tullahoma)
Dyer (Largest city: Dyersburg)
Maury (Largest city: Columbia)
Meigs (Largest city: Decatur)
Montgomery (Largest city: Clarksville)
Morgan (Largest city: Coalfield)
Obion (Largest city: Union City)
Polk (Largest city: Benton)
Putnam (Largest city: Cookeville)
Roane (Largest city: Oak Ridge)
Sequatchie (Largest city: Dunlap)
Bedford (Largest city: Shelbyville)
Campbell (Largest city: LaFollette)
Cannon (Largest city: Woodbury)
Crockett (Largest city: Bells)
Decatur (Largest city: Parsons)
DeKalb (Largest city: Smithville)
Dickson (Largest city: Dickson)
Franklin (Largest city: Winchester)
Gibson (Largest city: Humboldt)
Giles (Largest city: Pulaski)
Henry (Largest city: Paris)
Hickman (Largest city: Centerville)
Lewis (Largest city: Hohenwald)
Marion (Largest city: Jasper)
Marshall (Largest city: Lewisburg)
Robertson (Largest city: Springfield)
Warren (Largest city: McMinnville)
White (Largest city: Sparta)
Benton (largest municipality: Camden)
Clay (largest municipality: Celina)
Grundy (largest municipality: Altamont)
Lauderdale (largest municipality: Ripley)
Overton (largest municipality: Livingston)
Perry (largest municipality: Linden)
Smith (largest municipality: Carthage)
Stewart (largest municipality: Dover)
Trousdale (largest municipality: Hartsville)
Haywood (largest city: Brownsville)
Shelby (largest city: Memphis)
Davidson (largest city: Nashville)
Houston (largest city: Erin)
Jackson (largest town: Gainesboro)
Hardeman (largest city: Bolivar)
Rhea (Largest city: Dayton)

Notes

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

References

^ "Tennessee Voter Turnout in 2002". Tennessee Secretary of State. November 5, 2002. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
^ "August 1, 2002, Republican Primary: Governor" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
^ "August 1, 2002, Democratic Primary: Governor" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
^ "Governor Updated October 31, 2002 | The Cook Political Report". The Cook Political Report. October 31, 2002. Archived from the original on December 8, 2002. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
^ "Governors Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on December 12, 2002. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
^ SurveyUSA
^ "November 5, 2002, General Election: Governor" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2014.