The 2002 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania. Incumbent Republican Governor Mark Schweiker, who took office in 2001 when Tom Ridge resigned to become Homeland Security advisor, was eligible to run for a full term, but did not do so. Democrat Ed Rendell, the former mayor of Philadelphia and Chair of the Democratic National Committee, emerged from a primary against Bob Casey Jr. to win the general election against Republican Pennsylvania Attorney General Mike Fisher.
Rendell was the first official from Philadelphia to win the governorship since 1914. This was the first time since 1826 that a Democrat won all four of Philadelphia's suburban counties, and the first time since 1970 that a Democrat won Montgomery County in a gubernatorial election.
Republican primary
Attorney General Mike Fisher ran unopposed for the Republican nomination. Although incumbent Governor Mark Schweiker was eligible to run for election to a full term (he had served only a partial term after Tom Ridge resigned to become Homeland Security advisor), he chose not to seek his party's nomination. Despite polls showing that Schweiker polled well among the same groups that backed Ridge, the Republican establishment considered Schweiker to be a weak candidate and stood steadfast behind Fisher.
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Bob Casey Jr., incumbent auditor general and son of former Governor Bob Casey Sr.
- Ed Rendell, former mayor of Philadelphia and candidate in 1986
Campaign
In the Democratic primary, former mayor of Philadelphia Ed Rendell defeated Pennsylvania Auditor General Bob Casey Jr., bucking the "myth that a Philadelphian could never win" a statewide election. Despite strong support from organized labor for Casey, Rendell's ability to cast himself as a strong executive as well as Casey's pro-life stances allowed Rendell to pull out a primary win.
General election
Campaign
Fisher emphasized Rendell's Philadelphia roots continuously during his campaign and described the mayor as an urban liberal whose programs would require huge tax increases.
Results
Results by county
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Allegheny (largest city: Pittsburgh)
- Beaver (largest city: Beaver)
- Fayette (largest city: Uniontown)
- Carbon (largest municipality: Lehighton)
- Schuylkill (largest city: Pottsville)
- Bucks (largest municipality: Bensalem)
- Berks (largest city: Reading)
- Chester (largest municipality: West Chester)
- Greene (largest municipality: Waynesburg)
- Delaware (largest city: Upper Darby)
- Lackawanna (largest city: Scranton)
- Montgomery (largest city: Lower Merion)
- Lawrence (largest municipality: New Castle)
- Luzerne (largest municipality: Wilkes-Barre)
- Lehigh (largest municipality: Allentown)
- Northampton (largest municipality: Bethlehem)
- Washington (largest municipality: Peters Township)