Gray Davis, a Democrat and the incumbent governor of California, defeated the Republican challenger Bill Simon by 5% and was re-elected to a second four-year term.

Riordan was seen as a moderate and early state polls showed him defeating Gray Davis in the general election.

[1] Polls showed that, as a moderate, Riordan would be a more formidable challenger in the general election than a conservative candidate.

[3][4] The advertisements cited Riordan's position of wanting a moratorium on the death penalty as being to the left of Davis, who strongly supported it.

[10] Davis was re-elected in the November 2002 general election following a long and bitter campaign against Simon, marked by accusations of ethical lapses on both sides and widespread voter apathy.

[13] Davis' campaign featured several negative advertisements that highlighted Simon's financial fraud scandal.

It had the lowest voter turnout percentage in modern gubernatorial history, allowing for a lower than normal number of signatures required for a recall election, which ultimately qualified in 2003.