The 2002 Maryland gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002. Democratic Governor Parris Glendening was term-limited and could not seek a third term. Republican Bob Ehrlich defeated Democrat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, making him the first Republican governor of Maryland since Spiro Agnew, who served from 1967 to 1969. As of 2023, this is the last time Charles County voted Republican in a statewide election.

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2002 Maryland gubernatorial election

← 1998 November 5, 2002 2006 →
Turnout	61.85% 1.26%[1]
Nominee Bob Ehrlich Kathleen Kennedy Townsend Party Republican Democratic Running mate Michael Steele Charles R. Larson Popular vote 879,592 813,422 Percentage 51.6% 47.7%
County results Ehrlich:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Townsend:      60–70%      70–80%
Governor before election Parris Glendening Democratic Elected Governor Bob Ehrlich Republican

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This election marked the first time since the 1934 gubernatorial election that a Republican won Maryland without Baltimore City or Montgomery County.^[2]

Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend won the Democratic nomination, and Congressman Bob Ehrlich won the Republican nomination, both over token opposition.

Ehrlich chose Maryland Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele as his running mate, while Townsend chose Admiral Charles R. Larson 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.^[4] Ehrlich ran advertisements assailing incumbent Governor Parris Glendening 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.^[5]