| Election Name: | 2002 South Carolina gubernatorial election |
| Country: | South Carolina |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1998 South Carolina gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 1998 |
| Next Election: | 2006 South Carolina gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 2006 |
| Election Date: | November 5, 2002 |
| Nominee1: | Mark Sanford |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 585,422 |
| Percentage1: | 52.85% |
| Nominee2: | Jim Hodges |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 521,140 |
| Percentage2: | 47.05% |
| Map Size: | 230px |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | Jim Hodges |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Mark Sanford |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
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 reelection.
Governor Jim Hodges faced no opposition from South Carolina Democrats and avoided a primary election.
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.
| Source | Ranking | As of | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[1] | October 31, 2002 | ||
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[2] | November 4, 2002 |
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.[3]
|-| | colspan=5 |Republican gain from Democratic|-