2002 Alabama gubernatorial election

• Don Siegelman, incumbent Governor

• Charles Bishop, Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries{{cite web|url=http://www.alabamavotes.gov/downloads/election/2002/d-cert-061002-amend.pdf|publisher=Alabama Secretary of State|title=Alabama Democratic Party 2002 Primary Tabulation of Results|access-date=September 19, 2016}}
• Blake W. Harper III, businessman
• Gladys Riddle, member of the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles
• Mark "Rodeo Clown" Townsend

[[File:2002 Alabama gubernatorial Democratic primary election results map by county.svg|thumb|Democratic primary results by county

{{collapsible list

| title = {{legend|#7996E2|Siegelman}}|{{legend|#7996E2|50–60%}}|{{legend|#6674DE|60–70%}}|{{legend|#584CDE|70–80%}}|{{legend|#3933E5|80–90%}}

}}

|center]]

{{Election box begin no change

| title = Democratic primary results

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| candidate = Don Siegelman (incumbent)

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| votes = 331,571

| percentage = 76.17

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| candidate = Charles Bishop

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| votes = 80,193

| percentage = 18.42

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| candidate = Mark "Rodeo Clown" Townsend

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| votes = 9,890

| percentage = 2.27

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| candidate = Gladys Riddle

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| votes = 9,246

| percentage = 2.12

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| candidate = Blake W. Harper III

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| votes = 4,410

| percentage = 1.01

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 435,310

| percentage = 100.00

}}

{{Election box end}}

• Bob Riley, U.S. Representative for Alabama's 3rd Congressional district (1997–2003)

• Tim James, businessman and son of former Governor Fob James"Siegelman vs. Riley: Governor, Congressman Win Party Contests Handily", The Birmingham News, June 5, 2002, p. 1A.
• Steve Windom, Lieutenant Governor

[[File:2002 Alabama gubernatorial Republican primary election results map by county.svg|thumb|Republican primary results by county

{{collapsible list

| title = {{legend|#E27F7F|Riley}}|{{legend|#E27F7F|50–60%}}|{{legend|#D75D5D|60–70%}}|{{legend|#D72F30|70–80%}}|{{legend|#C21B18|80–90%}}|{{legend|#A80000|>90%}}

}}

{{collapsible list

| title = {{legend|#FF9A50|James}}|{{legend|#FFB580|40-50%}}}}

|center]]

{{Election box begin no change

| title = Republican primary results

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| candidate = Bob Riley

| party = Republican Party (United States)

| votes = 262,851

| percentage = 73.53

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| candidate = Steve Windom

| party = Republican Party (United States)

| votes = 63,775

| percentage = 17.84

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| candidate = Tim James

| party = Republican Party (United States)

| votes = 30,871

| percentage = 8.64

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 357,497

| percentage = 100.00

}}

{{Election box end}}

The closeness of the general election contest was reflected in its intensity and fervor. At one point in the campaign, a clash erupted between the two principal campaigns over disclosure of the identities of large contributors to the Riley campaign. President George W. Bush appeared in Alabama at a July event, and a private reception with a $50,000 admission was held to benefit the Riley campaign. Riley's campaign initially refused to identify the donors attending the event. Later, under pressure from the Siegelman campaign, Riley called on the national Republican Party, which had hosted the event, to release the names of donors."Riley Doesn't Report VIP Donor List", The Birmingham News, September 25, 2002, p. 1A. The Riley campaign was subjected to editorial criticism when the voluminous reports released made it difficult to trace the sources of donations from the event to Riley.Editorial: "Once Again, Voters Lose Money Game", The Birmingham News, September 29, 2002, p. 8A.

During the campaign, actor and National Rifle Association president Charlton Heston came to Alabama to campaign for Republican congressional candidates. While in the state, Heston released a written statement endorsing Siegelman, despite the fact that Riley had made a point of being seen in public with Heston. Spokesmen for both Riley and the Alabama Republican Party issued statements insinuating that Siegelman had taken advantage of Heston's recently diagnosed Alzheimer's disease to secure the endorsement. After a firestorm of criticism from the NRA and editorial pages, the Republican spokesmen apologized to Heston, but not to Siegelman.Editorial: "Siegelman, Too", The Montgomery Advertiser, September 26, 2002, p. A6.

Riley received the endorsements of The Birmingham News,Editorial: "Our Endorsements", The Birmingham News, November 3, 2002, p. B2. the Mobile Press-Register, the Business Council of Alabama, and the Auburn University Trustee Improvement PAC, an alumni group which opposed Siegelman's choices for trustees at the school (Siegleman re-appointed controversial trustee Bobby Lowder, notorious for constant interference in the university's affairs)."Auburn Group Endorses Riley", The Anniston Star, October 22, 2002, p. A1. In addition to the NRA, Siegelman was endorsed by The Montgomery Advertiser, The Anniston Star, The Tuscaloosa News, and various labor groups, including the Alabama State Employees Association."Siegelman Touts Emphasis on Education, New Industry", The Birmingham News, November 5, 2002, p. 1A (listing endorsements for both candidates). Siegelman was also endorsed by Alabama Education Association executive secretary Paul Hubbert, although the Association itself remained officially neutral."Siegelman Endorsed by Hubbert", The Birmingham News, October 19, 2002, p. 12A.

The campaign set new spending records for an Alabama gubernatorial race. Even before the final weeks of the campaign, the candidates had raised over $17,000,000. Riley, who raised and spent over twice the sum Siegelman raised, was primarily backed by business groups and insurance companies. Siegelman received substantial contributions from labor groups and affiliates of the Alabama Education Association. Both candidates were the beneficiaries of national party funding, and contributions from political action committees made donations to both candidates difficult to trace."Siegelman, Riley Raise Record $17 Million", The Birmingham News, September 24, 2002, p. 1A.

Polls taken in the final days of the campaign reflected the eventual close outcome."Poll Shows Governor's Race Even", The Montgomery Advertiser, October 24, 2002, p. B3.

Initial returns showed Riley narrowly losing to Siegelman. Siegelman gave a victory speech on election night, and the Associated Press initially declared him the winner."Two Men Act like Winners", The Birmingham News, November 7, 2002, p. 1A.

However, officials in Baldwin County conducted a recount and retabulation of that county's votes after midnight, and after Democratic Party observers had gone home for the night."Baldwin in Eye of Ballot Storm", The Birmingham News, November 7, 2002, p. 1A. Approximately 6,000 votes initially credited to Siegelman were either removed from the total or reassigned to Riley in the recount, turning the statewide result in Riley's favor."Riley Claims Win", The Montgomery Advertiser, November 7, 2002, p. A1. Local Republican officials claimed the earlier returns were the result of a "computer glitch.""Post-Election Alabama Is Seeing Double", The Washington Post, November 8, 2002, p. A10.

Democratic requests to repeat the recount with Democratic observers present were rejected by Alabama courts and then-Attorney General Bill Pryor. Siegelman and his supporters complained that these judges (and Pryor) were either elected as Republicans or appointed by Republican presidents."Attorney General Stops Recount Move", The Birmingham News, November 9, 2002, p. 1A. After over a week of fights in courtrooms and in the media, Siegelman, on November 18, 2002, made a televised address, saying that, "I've decided that a prolonged election controversy would hurt Alabama, would hurt the very people that we worked so hard to help", and abandoned his efforts to secure a recount of the Baldwin County vote, allowing Riley to take office."Siegelman Concedes: Recount Efforts Abandoned", The Birmingham News, November 19, 2002, p. 1A.{{Election box begin | title=2002 Alabama gubernatorial election}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link|

|party = Republican Party (United States)

|candidate = Bob Riley

|votes = 672,225

|percentage = 49.17

|change = +7.09

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link||party=Democratic Party (United States)|candidate=Don Siegelman (incumbent)|votes=669,105|percentage=48.95|change=-8.97}}

{{Election box candidate with party link||party=Libertarian Party (US)|candidate=John Sophocleus|votes=23,272|percentage=1.70|change=+1.70}}

{{Election box write-in with party link|

|votes = 2,451

|percentage = 0.18

|change = N/A

}}

{{Election box total|

|votes = 1,367,053

|percentage = 100.00

|change = N/A

}}

{{Election box gain with party link no swing|

|winner = Republican Party (United States)

|loser = Democratic Party (United States)

}}

{{Election box end}}

• Clarke (Largest city: Jackson)
• Crenshaw (Largest city: Luverne)
• Mobile (Largest city: Mobile)
• Limestone (Largest city: Athens)
• Butler (Largest city: Greenville)
• Clay (Largest city: Lineville)
• Cleburne (Largest city: Heflin)
• Coffee (Largest city: Enterprise)
• Cullman (Largest city: Cullman)
• Dale (Largest city: Brewton)
• Escambia (Largest city: Atmore)
• Chambers (Largest city: Valley)
• DeKalb (Largest city: Fort Payne)
• Henry (Largest city: Headland)
• Madison (Largest city: Huntsville)
• Lee (Largest city: Auburn)
• Marshall (Largest city: Albertville)
• Monroe (Largest city: Monroeville)
• Morgan (Largest city: Decatur)
• Pike (Largest city: Troy)
• Randolph (Largest city: Roanoke)
• Tallapoosa (Largest city: Alexander City)

Despite winning 4 out of 7 congressional districts, Riley lost his old district by around 7% after it was redistricted to become more Democratic.{{Cite tweet |user=MoreThanPol |number=1378019595194302464 |title=#ElectionTwitter Alabama's 2002 gubernatorial election saw incumbent Don Siegelman (D) losing to then-congressman Bob Riley (R) by the tightest of margins. Initial returns showed Siegelman leading narrowly, but a "computer glitch" from Baldwin County changed everything. |date=April 3, 2021 |access-date=April 30, 2021}}

Riley's victory was controversial and caused many commentators to recall the Florida election recount of 2000.{{Cite web |title=Editorial Cartoon: Mobile Press-Register, November 7, 2002 |url=http://www.al.com/opinion/mobileregister/cartoons/110702_crowe.jpg |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930013232/http://www.al.com/opinion/mobileregister/cartoons/110702_crowe.jpg |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |access-date=May 25, 2006 |df=mdy-all}}{{Cite web |title=Editorial Cartoon: The Birmingham News, November 7, 2002 |url=http://www.al.com/opinion/birminghamnews/cartoons/110702_stantis.jpg |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930031529/http://www.al.com/opinion/birminghamnews/cartoons/110702_stantis.jpg |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |access-date=May 25, 2006 |df=mdy-all}}

In response to the allegation of a "computer glitch", Siegelman later stated: "[N]ow one would expect that if there was some kind of computer glitch or some kind of computer programming error, that it might have affected more than one race, but it further raised suspicions about vote stealing when the votes came back and they were certified, and the only person who lost votes was Don Siegelman, the Democrat, and the only person who gained votes was Bob Riley, the Republican."{{Cite web |title="Siegelman speaks!" at democracyfornewhampshire.com |url=http://www.democracyfornewhampshire.com/node/view/5209 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121102104/http://www.democracyfornewhampshire.com/node/view/5209 |archive-date=2008-11-21 |access-date=2008-05-27}}

A number of analyses of the competing claims were undertaken at the time, with conflicting results. In one such study, Auburn University political scientist James H. Gundlach concluded that a detailed analysis of the returns, compared with 1998 results and returns from undisputed counties, "strongly suggests a systematic manipulation of the voting results."James H. Gundlach, A Statistical Analysis of Possible Electronic Ballot Stuffing: The Case of the Baldwin County, Alabama Governor's Race in 2002 (Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Alabama Political Science Association, Troy, Alabama, April 11, 2003) Click here to view. The Gundlach study also suggested a mechanism by which this could have been effected, and proposed a conclusion that Siegelman won. An earlier analysis reported by the Associated Press, using a less sophisticated comparison of gubernatorial and legislative returns, was claimed to indicate that the revised returns were more accurate, and that Riley probably won.[https://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/2002-11-07-siegelman_x.htm USA Today, November 7, 2002] The Gundlach paper offers a refutation of the conclusions of the Associated Press study.

Largely as a result of this controversy,"Vote Dispute Prompts Reform Calls", The Montgomery Advertiser, November 21, 2002, p. A1. the Alabama Legislature later amended the election code to provide for automatic, supervised recounts in close races.{{Cite web |url=http://alisdb.legislature.state.al.us/acas/CodeOfAlabama/1975/17-16-20.htm |title=Alabama Code § 17-16-20 |access-date=2008-05-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724105935/http://alisdb.legislature.state.al.us/acas/CodeOfAlabama/1975/17-16-20.htm |archive-date=2011-07-24 |url-status=dead }}

{{reflist|30em}}

Note on references: Many of the sources cited above (as added in May 2008) are not available from free online sources. The Birmingham News, the Mobile Press-Register, The Montgomery Advertiser, and The Anniston Star have online archives on a fee basis. The Birmingham and Mobile newspaper archives may be accessed via [http://www.al.com/ www.al.com], while archives of The Anniston Star can be accessed at [http://nl.newsbank.com/sites/ansb/ www.annistonstar.com]. Archived articles of The Montgomery Advertiser may be purchased at [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?s_site=montgomeryadvertiser&p_product=MGAB&p_theme=gannett&p_action=keyword www.montgomeryadvertiser.com] Archived articles from all of these newspapers are also available to subscribers, or on a per-document fee basis, on [http://web2.westlaw.com/signon/default.wl?fn=_top&rs=WLW8.05&vr=2.0&bhcp=1 Westlaw] and [http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20010925043709/http%3A//www.lexis.com/ Lexis-Nexis].

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080430180204/http://www.sos.state.al.us/Elections/2002/ElectionInfo2002.aspx 2002 Election information] at sos.state.al.us
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080912023203/http://www.sos.state.al.us/Downloads/dl3.aspx?trgturl=election%2F2002%2FAL-2002-General-Certification.pdf&trgtfile=AL-2002-General-Certification.pdf Certified election results] at sos.state.al.us

{{Alabama gubernatorial elections}}

{{2002 United States elections}}

Alabama

2002

Gubernatorial