Democratic Party

• Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
  Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
  Kathleen Hartington Kennedy Townsend , is an American attorney who was the Lieutenant Governor of Maryland from 1995 to 2003. She ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Maryland in 2002. In 2010 she became the chair of the non-profit American Bridge, an organization that will raise funds for Democratic...
  
  , Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
  Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
  The Lieutenant Governor of Maryland is the second highest ranking official in the executive branch of the state government of Maryland in the United States. He or she is elected on the same ticket as the Governor of Maryland and must meet the same qualifications.The current Lieutenant Governor is...
  
  
• Robert Fustero, perennial candidate

Republican Party

• Bob Ehrlich, United States Representative from Maryland's 2nd congressional district
  Maryland's 2nd congressional district
  Maryland's 2nd congressional district elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives every two years. The district comprises parts of Harford, Baltimore, and Anne Arundel Counties, as well as small portions of the City of Baltimore...
  
  
• James J. Sheridan
• Ross Z. Pierpont, perennial candidate

Primary election

General election

The 2002 gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2002. Democratic Governor Parris Glendening

Parris Glendening

Parris Nelson Glendening , a member of the United States Democratic Party, was the 59th Governor of Maryland from January 18, 1995 to January 15, 2003...

 was term-limited. Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend

Kathleen Hartington Kennedy Townsend , is an American attorney who was the Lieutenant Governor of Maryland from 1995 to 2003. She ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Maryland in 2002. In 2010 she became the chair of the non-profit American Bridge, an organization that will raise funds for Democratic...

 won the Democratic nomination, and Congressman Robert Ehrlich

Robert Ehrlich

Robert Leroy "Bob" Ehrlich, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 60th Governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007. A Republican, he became governor after defeating Democratic opponent Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a member of the Kennedy family, 51% to 48% in the 2002 elections...

 won the Republican nomination.

Ehrlich choose Maryland Republican Party

Maryland Republican Party

The Maryland Republican Party is the branch of the United States Republican Party located in the state of Maryland, headquartered in Annapolis. It is historically the underdog party in state politics.-U.S. House of Representatives:...

 Chairman Michael Steele as his running mate, while Townsend choose Admiral Charles R. Larson

Charles R. Larson

Charles R. Larson is a retired four-star Admiral of the United States Navy.-Military career:A 1958 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Larson twice served as Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He also served as Commander in Chief, United States Pacific...

 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

Parris Glendening

Parris Nelson Glendening , a member of the United States Democratic Party, was the 59th Governor of Maryland from January 18, 1995 to January 15, 2003...

 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.

On election night, Bob Ehrlich beat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, enabling him to become the first Republican governor since Spiro Agnew

Spiro Agnew

Spiro Theodore Agnew was the 39th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Richard Nixon, and the 55th Governor of Maryland...

 in 1966.

Results