The 2002 St. Louis County Executive election took place on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Democratic County Executive Buzz Westfall ran for re-election to a fourth term. He won the Democratic primary by a wide margin and then faced attorney and Monsanto consultant Craig Borchelt in the general election. Westfall defeated Borchelt in a landslide, winning his fourth term with 58 percent of the vote. However, less than a year later, Westfall died, triggering a 2004 special election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Buzz Westfall (inc.) 47,844 69.35%
Democratic David J. Lee 21,143 30.65%
Total votes 68,987 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

  • Craig Borchelt, lawyer, Monsanto program manager[4]
  • Gregory B. Powers, insurance broker[4]
  • Robert J. Crump, restaurant manager, 1998 Republican candidate for County Executive[4]

Results

Republican primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Craig Borchelt 22,814 43.05%
Republican Gregory B. Powers 15,757 29.73%
Republican Robert J. Crump 14,425 27.22%
Total votes 52,996 100.00%

Libertarian primary

Candidates

  • Thomas Boehm, graduate student, former minister[5]

Results

Libertarian primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Libertarian Thomas Boehm 535 100.00%
Total votes 535 100.00%

General election

Results

2002 St. Louis County Executive election[6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Buzz Westfall (inc.) 223,355 57.88%
Republican Craig Borchelt 151,893 39.36%
Green Terri Zeman 5,764 1.49%
Libertarian Thomas Boehm 4,875 1.26%
Write-in 1 0.00%
Total votes 385,888 100.00%
Democratic hold

References

  1. ↑ "Westfall officially files for re-election". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. March 13, 2002. p. B2. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Electrician from Affton will run for county executive". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. March 23, 2002. p. 14. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 "PRIMARY ELECTION - ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MISSOURI" (PDF). St. Louis County Board of Elections. August 21, 2002. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 Sutin, Phil (April 18, 2002). "Westfall's campaign chest tops $1 million". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. p. N4. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Libertarian files for county executive office". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. March 26, 2002. p. B4. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  6. ↑ "GENERAL ELECTION - ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MISSOURI" (PDF). St. Louis County Board of Elections. November 19, 2002. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_St._Louis_County_Executive_election