The 2002 Maryland gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002. Democratic Governor Parris Glendening was term-limited and could not seek a third term. Republican Bob Ehrlich defeated Democrat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, making him the first Republican governor of Maryland since Spiro Agnew, who served from 1967 to 1969. As of 2026, this is the last time Charles County voted Republican in a statewide election.
This election marked the first time since the 1934 gubernatorial election that a Republican won Maryland without Baltimore City or Montgomery County.
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Robert Fustero, retired grocery store stock clerk and perennial candidate
- Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, lieutenant governor
Results
Fustero's receiving one-fifth of the vote brought surprise, given his non-political background and relatively small campaign spending of less than $1,500 to Kennedy Townsend's $2.3 million. Townsend's campaign spokesman said such results were typical for a challenger in a Maryland Democratic primary. Fustero said it showed that a significant number of Democrats were not happy with Townsend, and predicted (correctly) that Townsend would lose to Ehrlich in the general election. Fustero previously ran for Montgomery County Council and congress, and ran for Montgomery County executive in 2006, placing third in the Democratic primary. He died in 2013 at age 62.
Republican primary
Candidates
- Bob Ehrlich, U.S. Representative
- Ross Z. Pierpont, perennial candidate
- James J. Sheridan
General election
Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend won the Democratic nomination, and Congressman Bob Ehrlich won the Republican nomination, both over token opposition.
Ehrlich chose Maryland Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele as his running mate, while Townsend chose Admiral Charles R. Larson as her running mate. Larson switched to the Democratic Party just a few weeks before the election.
Kennedy's selection of Larson as her running mate proved to be an unpopular move, seeing as he was a white former Republican and had been selected without consultation with black Democratic leaders. Ehrlich ran advertisements assailing incumbent Governor Parris Glendening for the increasingly dismal fiscal situation in Maryland, an issue that resonated with Maryland voters. Glendening's unpopularity did little to help his Lieutenant Governor's flailing campaign.
Results
Results by county
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Alleghany (largest municipality: Cumberland)
- Howard (largest municipality: Columbia)