The 2002 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002, to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Mark Sanford, the Republican nominee, defeated incumbent Democratic governor Jim Hodges to become the 115th governor of South Carolina. Hodges became only the third incumbent governor and the first Democratic governor in South Carolina history to lose re-election. With Sanford's election, Republicans won a trifecta in the state for the first time since 1877.
Democratic primary
Governor Jim Hodges faced no opposition from South Carolina Democrats and avoided a primary election.
Republican primary
The South Carolina Republican Party held their primary on June 11, 2002, and the runoff on June 25, 2002. The contest became a race between Lieutenant Governor Bob Peeler from the Upstate and Mark Sanford, a former representative of the 1st congressional district in the Lowcountry. Sanford received the support of the candidates eliminated from the runoff election and easily defeated Peeler.
General election
Results
The general election was held on November 5, 2002, and Mark Sanford was elected as the next governor of South Carolina. Turnout was higher than in the previous gubernatorial election because of the competitive nature of the race between the two parties. Activist and author Kevin Alexander Gray was a gubernatorial candidate representing the South Carolina United Citizens’ Party & Green Party. He did not have the required signatures to be on the ballot, and consequently ran as a write-in candidate.
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Georgetown (largest city: Murrells Inlet)
- Barnwell (largest city: Barnwell)
- Berkeley (largest city: Goose Creek)
- Horry (largest town: Myrtle Beach)
- Dorchester (largest city: North Charleston)
- Edgefield (largest city: Edgefield)
- Florence (largest city: Florence)
- Greenwood (largest city: Greenwood)
- Kershaw (largest city: Cmaden)
- Laurens (largest city: Laurens)
- Newberry (largest city: Newberry)
- Saluda (largest city: Saluda)