Editing Bill Simon (politician) (section)

==2002 California gubernatorial election==
[[File:George Radanovich, Dave Cogdill, Cindy Simon, Bill Simon, and Chuck Poochigian.jpg|thumb|right|Simon with his wife, [[George Radanovich]], [[Dave Cogdill]], and [[Chuck Poochigian]] in September 2002]]

=== Primary ===
Simon won the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nomination in the primary election of March 2002, in what [[CNN]] called "a stunning upset".<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/03/06/california.governor/index.html|title = Simon wins upset in California governor's race|date = March 6, 2002|accessdate = April 9, 2025}}</ref> Some credit Simon's primary win to incumbent Governor [[Gray Davis]]' preemptive campaign against Simon's major primary opponent, former Los Angeles mayor [[Richard Riordan]], a moderate Republican, whom Davis considered a more formidable opponent.  At the beginning of the campaign Riordan had higher name recognition and popularity than any other gubernatorial candidate.  In fact Riordan began attacking Davis early on in the primaries, as if he already had the GOP nomination, which is what prompted the counter-attack, according to Garry South, Davis' campaign manager.

Simon's come-from-behind win reflected both the GOP's dissatisfaction with Riordan's inability to appeal to the GOP base (he had publicly insulted [[George Deukmejian]], California's most popular Republican governor since [[Ronald Reagan]], and it was revealed that he had supported Democratic Senator [[Dianne Feinstein]] with campaign contributions) and support for Simon's straight-conservative image.<ref>[http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-steinberg030502.shtml Primary Day What Riordan did wrong]</ref> Both Riordan and Simon are [[Roman Catholic]]s and [[Sovereign Military Order of Malta|Knights of Malta]], with Riordan pro-choice on abortion and Simon pro-life.{{citation needed|date=August 2020|reason=A source says his father of the same name was in the order; not sure about him}}

Simon polled 1,129,973 primary votes (49.4 percent) to Riordan's 715,768 (31.3 percent). Another 387,237 ballots (16.9 percent) were cast for [[Bill Jones (California politician)|Bill Jones]], then the California secretary of state.

=== General ===
Davis's campaign advertisements made heavy use of scandals relating to alleged mismanagement of Simon's business and charities, though one of the major court rulings unfavorable to Simon was since overturned.

Simon's campaign centered largely on allegations of corruption in the incumbent's administration, and Davis's handling of the [[California electricity crisis|2001 energy crisis]].

Immediately after the gubernatorial debate against Gray Davis, Simon accused Davis of receiving campaign funds in the Lt. Governor's office, a felony.  Simon distributed a photo of Davis being handed a check and insisted that the picture was taken in the Lt. Governor's office in the State capitol.  Within an hour of its release the location in the picture was determined to have no resemblance to the Lt. Governor's office, and within a few days the location was identified as Bruce Karatz's home in Southern California.<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/10/09/MN138421.DTL Simon's attack on Davis backfires / 'Evidence' photo isn't clear proof of illegal donation]</ref>

Despite Davis's high disapproval ratings, he managed to defeat Simon by a margin of 47.3% of the vote to Simon's 42.4%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2002_general/gov.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=31 March 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090501210718/http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2002_general/gov.pdf |archivedate=May 1, 2009 }} Office of the California Secretary of State. "Statement of Vote, 2002 General Election, Governor by County," (retrieved on March 30, 2009).</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Lynda Gledhill, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/07/11/MN184694.DTL |title=Davis ekes out 7-point lead over Simon Field Poll shows voters against hopeful rather than for governor |publisher=Sfgate.com |date=2002-07-11 |access-date=2010-08-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525150201/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2002%2F07%2F11%2FMN184694.DTL |archive-date=2011-05-25 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author1=Robert Salladay |author2=Chronicle Political Writer |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/11/06/MN93404.DTL |title=Big challenges ahead for not-exactly-popular incumbent |publisher=Sfgate.com |date=2002-11-06 |access-date=2010-08-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525150238/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2002%2F11%2F06%2FMN93404.DTL |archive-date=2011-05-25 |url-status=live }}</ref>