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A general election was held in the U.S. state of Wyoming on Tuesday, November 5, 2002. All of the state's executive officers—the Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, and Superintendent of Public Instruction—were up for election.

Elections in Wyoming
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Gubernatorial election

Republican Governor Jim Geringer was unable to seek re-election due to term limits. Following a competitive primary, former State House Speaker Eli Bebout emerged as the Republican nominee. He faced Democrat Dave Freudenthal, the former U.S. Attorney. Despite the state's strong Republican lean, Freudenthal was able to narrowly defeat Bebout, winning 50% of the vote to his 48%.

Secretary of State

2002 Wyoming Secretary of State election

← 1998 November 5, 2002 2006 →

Nominee Joseph Meyer Dennis Brossman Party Republican Libertarian Popular vote 139,721 29,751 Percentage 82.4% 17.6%

County results Precinct resultsMeyer:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Brossman:      50–60%

Secretary of State before election Joseph Meyer Republican Elected Secretary of State Joseph Meyer Republican

Republican Joe Meyer, the incumbent Secretary of State, ran for re-election to a second term. He won the Republican primary unopposed and was originally challenged by retired attorney Jim Fagan, the Democratic nominee. However, shortly after winning the Democratic nomination, Fagan dropped out of the race, citing his lack of endurance for the contest. After Fagan's withdrawal, Meyer's only opponent was Libertarian Dennis Brossman, whom he was able to handily defeat with 82% of the vote.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Jim Fagan, retired attorney

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

• Joe Meyer, incumbent Secretary of State

Results

General election

Results

Auditor

Incumbent State Auditor Max Maxfield, a Republican, ran for re-election to a second term. He faced State Senator Mark O. Harris, the Democratic nominee, in the general election. Harris launched a vigorous campaign against Maxfield, attacking the incumbent for a data breach in the Auditor's office and for delivering a no-bid contract to a Virginia-based security company. In a boost to his chances with the conservative electorate, Harris was endorsed by the NRA Political Victory Fund, which gave him an A+ rating and had previously awarded him the Defender of Freedom Award. Maxfield ultimately ended up winning re-election over Harris in a landslide, winning 67% of the vote to Harris's 33%.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Mark O. Harris, State Senator from Sweetwater County

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

• Max Maxfield, incumbent State Auditor

Results

General election

Results

Treasurer

Incumbent Republican State Treasurer Cynthia Lummis ran for re-election to a second term. No candidate filed to oppose her, and she won re-election entirely unopposed.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Cynthia Lummis, incumbent State Treasurer

Results

General election

Results

Superintendent of Public Instruction

2002 Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction election

← 1998 November 5, 2002 2006 →

Nominee Trent Blankenship Kathy Emmons Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 95,672 84,056 Percentage 53.23% 46.77%

Blankenship:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Emmons:     50–60%      60–70%

Superintendent of Public Instruction before election Judy Catchpole Republican Elected Superintendent of Public Instruction Trent Blankenship Republican

Incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction Judy Catchpole, a Republican, was unable to seek re-election due to term limits. Competitive primaries developed on both sides. In the Republican primary, Trent Blankenship, the Superintendent of the Carbon County School District 1, and Jim Twiford, the former President of the State Senate emerged as early frontrunners. High school teacher Neil Waring and retired university professor John Mingle were also candidates. The Wyoming Education Association endorsed Waring in the Republican primary. The WEA criticized Twiford's legislative record, specifically pointing to millions of dollars in cuts to the education budget under his leadership.

From there, the Republican primary heated up, with Blankenship and Twiford attacking each other's records. Blankenship accused Twiford of misrepresenting his credentials and for his record in the legislature. Twiford, meanwhile, argued that Blankenship's school district "is flat broke under his leadership," with the district hemorrhaging administrators. In the end, Blankenship narrowly edged out Twiford, receiving 37% of the vote while Twiford won 33%, Waring won 20%, and Mingle won 10%.

In the Democratic primary, Kathy Emmons, the Director of the Wyoming Children's Action Alliance, emerged as the early frontrunner, earning the endorsement of the WEA. The candidates largely agreed on the issues, with all of the Democrats opposing charter schools, and with Emmons and Shoults favoring increased audits of mining companies. Hoffman ended up decisively winning the primary, winning 52% of the vote to Wiederspahn's 31% and Shoults's 17%.

In the general election, Blankenship argued that Emmons had no roots in Wyoming and had no experience in the state's public school system. Emmons disputed Blankenship's characterization, pointing out that she had worked for the Wyoming Department of Health and had run pre-school programs for developmentally disabled students throughout the state. The ideological contrasts between the candidates were not significant, however, with both Blankenship and Emmons agreeing on the need to raise teacher pay and to maintain the usage of individualized education plans, though they disagreed on the philosophy of leasing school trust lands.

Blankenship ended up narrowly beating Emmons, winning 53% of the vote to her 47%. Despite losing, she was the second-strongest performing Democrat in the 2002 elections behind Freudenthal, and managed to win in ancestrally Democratic and higher-populated areas throughout the state.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Kathy Emmons, Director of the Wyoming Children's Action Alliance
• Richard Wiederspahn, Dildine Elementary School principal
• Christopher Shoults, high school language arts teacher

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

• Trent Blankenship, Superintendent of the Carbon County School District 1
• Jim Twilford, former State Senate President
• Neil Waring, Glenrock High School teacher
• John Mingle, retired university professor

Results

General election

Results

References

1. ^ "Statewide Candidates' Abstract -- Official General Election Results -- November 5, 2002" (PDF). Wyoming Secretary of State. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
2. Barron, Joan (September 30, 2002). "Choices limited in general election". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. A1.
3. ^ "Statewide Candidates' Abstract -- Official Primary Election Results -- August 20, 2002" (PDF). Wyoming Secretary of State. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
4. Barron, Joan (September 20, 2002). "Account of payroll problem questioned". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. A1, A14.
5. Barron, Joan (September 30, 2002). "Maxfield wants Harris' apology". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. A1, A14.
6. Barron, Joan (September 27, 2002). "NRA backs Harris for auditor". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. B1, B2.
7. ^ "Sniffin, Hickey, Freudenthal get teacher union endorsements". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. July 16, 2002. p. B1.
8. Luckett, Bill (August 14, 2002). "Blankenship, Twiford trade harsh remarks". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. B1.
9. Strother, Holly (July 17, 2002). "School chief hopefuls debate". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. A1, A14.
10. Strother, Holly (June 9, 2002). "Minerals audits split candidates". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. B1, B2.
11. Barron, Joan (September 13, 2002). "Candidates spar over experience". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. A1, A4.
12. "Emmons, Blankenship: Raise teacher pay". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. September 17, 2002. p. B2.
13. Strother, Holly (October 7, 2002). "Candidates say IEPs valuable". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. A1, A8.
14. Strother, Holly (October 17, 2002). "Wyoming school funding needs change". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. A1, A12.
15. ^ Strother, Holly (June 7, 2002). "Candidates united on vocational education". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. A3.
16. Barron, Joan (April 18, 2002). "Wiederspahn in superintendent race". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. p. B1.
17. ^ "Waring eyes superintendent post". Casper Star-Tribune. Casper, Wyo. May 4, 2002. p. B1.

• 2002 Wyoming elections
• 2002 elections in the United States by state