2002 United States Senate elections
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox election The 2002 United States Senate elections featured a series of fiercely contested elections that resulted in a victory for the Republican Party, which gained two seats and thus a narrow majority from the Democratic Party in the United States Senate. The Senate seats up for election, known as class 2 Senate seats, were last up for regular election in 1996. The election cycle was held on November 5, 2002, almost 14 months after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Going into the election, Democrats had a 51–49 majority due to an Independent that caucused with them, however, this was reduced to a 50–49–1 plurality following the death of Democrat Paul Wellstone and the appointment of a member of the Independence Party of Minnesota in his place. The Democrats had originally hoped to do well, as the party holding the presidency historically loses seats in midterm elections, and additionally, the Republicans had 20 seats up for election compared to 14 Democratic seats up for election. In addition, the Republicans had five open seats, while the Democrats and the Independence Party of Minnesota had one each. However, the Republicans were able to hold their 5 open seats and pick the one that was held by the IPM up, while the Democrats held their only open seat. Republicans also defeated 2 Democratic incumbents, while Democrats defeated 1 Republican incumbent. Together with gains made in the House of Representatives, this election was 1 of 3 mid-term elections in which the party in control of the White House did not lose Congressional seats (the others were 1934 and 1998).
Trent Lott led the Senate Republicans through this election cycle and was due to become the new Senate Majority Leader upon the retaking of control of the Senate by the Republicans. However, his controversial praise for Strom Thurmond's 1948 segregationist Dixiecrat presidential campaign at Thurmond's 100th birthday celebration led to Lott's stepping-down from Senate leadership, and resulted in Tennessee Republican Bill Frist being selected as the new Senate Majority Leader instead.
This was the only election cycle ever where the party of the incumbent president gained new control of a house of Congress in a midterm election. This is also the last midterm election cycle where the party controlling the White House flipped a senate seat in a state they did not win in the preceding presidential election (in this case, Minnesota). Template:As of, this was the last Senate election cycle where Republicans won Senate elections in Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, and Virginia.
Results summary
| style="background:Template:Party color; width:48%" | 48 | style="background:Template:Party color; color:black; width:1%" | 1 | style="background:Template:Party color; width:51%" | 51 |
| Democratic | Independent | Republican |
Source: Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives<ref name="Clerk new format">Template:Cite web</ref>
Change in composition
Before the elections
After the death of Paul Wellstone on October 25, 2002, and the appointment of Minnesota on November 4.
After the elections
| Key: |
|
|---|
Gains, losses and holds
Retirements
Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend
One Independence and four Republicans retired instead of seeking re-election.
Nomination withdrawn
One Democrat was originally sought to run re-election but withdrew.
| State | Senator | Replaced by | Template:Abbr |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | Template:Party shading/Democratic | Template:Sortname | Template:Party shading/Democratic | Template:Sortname | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
Defeats
Two Democrats and two Republicans sought re-election but lost in the primary or general election.
| State | Senator | Replaced by | Template:Abbr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | Template:Party shading/Republican | Template:Sortname | Template:Party shading/Democratic | Template:Sortname | <ref name="Hutchinson">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Georgia | Template:Party shading/Democratic | Template:Sortname | Template:Party shading/Republican | Template:Sortname | <ref name="Chambliss">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Missouri (special) | Template:Party shading/Democratic | Template:Sortname | Template:Party shading/Republican | Template:Sortname | <ref name="Talent">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| New Hampshire | Template:Party shading/Republican | Template:Sortname | Template:Party shading/Republican | Template:Sortname | <ref name="Hulse">Template:Cite news</ref> |
Post-election changes
One Republican resigned on December 2, 2002, and was replaced by a Republican appointee.
| State | Senator | Replaced by |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska (Class 3) |
Template:Party shading/Republican | Template:Sortname | Template:Party shading/Republican | Template:Sortname |
Final pre-election predictions
Several sites and individuals published predictions of competitive seats. These predictions looked at factors such as the strength of the incumbent (if the incumbent was running for re-election) and the other candidates, and the state's partisan lean (reflected in part by the state's Cook Partisan Voting Index rating). The predictions assigned ratings to each seat, indicating the predicted advantage that a party had in winning that seat. Most election predictors used:
- "tossup": no advantage
- "tilt" (used by some predictors): advantage that is not quite as strong as "lean"
- "lean": slight advantage
- "likely": significant, but surmountable, advantage
- "safe" or "solid": near-certain chance of victory
Race summary
Special elections during the 107th Congress
In these special elections, the winner was seated in the fall of 2002; ordered by election date, then state.
| State | Incumbent | Result | Candidates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
| Missouri (Class 1) |
Jean Carnahan | Template:Party shading/Democratic | Democratic | 2001 Template:Small | Template:Party shading/Republican | Interim appointee lost election. New senator elected November 5, 2002. Republican gain. |
Template:PlainlistTemplate:Collapsible list |
Elections leading to the next Congress
In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 2003; ordered by state.
All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.
Closest races
In eleven races the margin of victory was under 10%<ref name="clerkresults"/>
| District | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| South Dakota | data-sort-value=-1 Template:Party shading/Democratic | Democratic | 0.16% |
| Missouri (special) | data-sort-value=-1 Template:Party shading/Republican | Republican (flip) | 1.1% |
| Minnesota | data-sort-value=0.5 Template:Party shading/Republican | Republican (flip) | 2.2%Template:Efn |
| Louisiana | data-sort-value=0.5 Template:Party shading/Democratic | Democratic | 3.4% |
| New Hampshire | data-sort-value=0.5 Template:Party shading/Republican | Republican | 4.4% |
| Colorado | data-sort-value=0.5 Template:Party shading/Republican | Republican | 4.9% |
| Georgia | data-sort-value=0.5 Template:Party shading/Republican | Republican (flip) | 6.9% |
| Arkansas | data-sort-value=0.5 Template:Party shading/Democratic | Democratic (flip) | 7.0% |
| North Carolina | data-sort-value=0.5 Template:Party shading/Republican | Republican | 8.6% |
| Tennessee | data-sort-value=0.5 Template:Party shading/Republican | Republican | 9.9% |
| New Jersey | data-sort-value=0.5 Template:Party shading/Democratic | Democratic | 9.9% |
Alabama
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Since around 1980, Alabama voters had increasingly voted for Republican candidates at the federal level, especially in Presidential elections. By contrast, Democratic candidates had been elected to many state-level offices and comprised a longstanding majority in the Alabama Legislature.
Incumbent Republican Jeff Sessions was not challenged in the primary,<ref name="Tanner">Template:Cite news</ref> and comfortably won re-election to a second term over state Auditor Susan Parker .<ref name="clerkresults">Template:Cite web</ref>
Sessions was not challenged in the primary.<ref name="Tanner"/>
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McPhillips received a large amount of support in the southern part of the state, but Parker won the most votes. Sowell endorsed Parker for the run-off.
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Alaska
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Incumbent Ted Stevens ran for and won a seventh term. He faced perennial candidate Frank Vondersaar, the Democratic nominee, journalist Jim Sykes, the Green Party nominee, and several other independent candidates in his bid for re-election. Ultimately, Stevens crushed his opponents to win what would be his last term in the Senate, allowing him to win with the largest margin of victory for any Senate election in Alaska, as well as the highest percentage of the vote in any of his elections.
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Arkansas
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Republican Tim Hutchinson ran for a second term, but lost re-election to Arkansas Attorney General Mark Pryor.
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Colorado
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Republican Wayne Allard won re-election to a second term over former U.S. Attorney Tom Strickland.
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Delaware
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Democrat Joe Biden comfortably won re-election to a sixth term.
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Georgia
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Democrat Max Cleland ran for re-election to a second term, but lost to Republican U.S. Representative Saxby Chambliss.
Chambliss's campaign used the refrain of national defense and security, but drew criticism for television ads that paired images of Cleland and Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, and for questioning the commitment to homeland security of his opponent, a triple amputee and decorated Vietnam veteran.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona said of one ad: "It's worse than disgraceful. It's reprehensible."<ref>The Atlantic: The Daily Dish: Quote for the Day. November 12, 2008.</ref> McCain, along with Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, made significant complaints to the Republican National Committee until the ads were taken down.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Nevertheless, Chambliss defeated Cleland by nearly seven percentage points.
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Idaho
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Republican Larry Craig easily won re-election to a third term over former U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Alan Blinken.
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Illinois
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Democrat Dick Durbin won re-election to a second term. Durbin faced off against state Representative and future Illinois House minority leader Jim Durkin, whom he was able to beat, ensuring his return to the Senate.
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Durbin won re-election to a second term easily, carrying a majority of the states 102 counties. Template:Election box begin Template:Election box winning candidate with party link Template:Election box candidate with party link Template:Election box candidate with party link Template:Election box majority Template:Election box turnout Template:Election box hold with party link Template:Election box end
Iowa
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Democrat Tom Harkin won re-election to a fourth term. Harkin was opposed in the general election by United States Congressman Greg Ganske, who fought off a surprisingly difficult challenger in the Republican primary. Though Harkin had narrowly defeated his opponent six years earlier, he was able to defeat Ganske by a fairly comfortable margin to win re-election.
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Kansas
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Pat Roberts won re-election to a second term overwhelmingly because no Democrat filed to run.
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Kentucky
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Republican Mitch McConnell easily won re-election to a fourth term.
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Louisiana
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Democrat Mary Landrieu narrowly won re-election to a second term.
During the run-off, Landrieu was out-spent three-to-one by Republican contender Suzanne Haik Terrell, the Louisiana Elections Commissioner. Terrell also had prominent Republicans including President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney visit Louisiana to campaign on her behalf. Republicans, confident of victory having gained seats in the elections to the House of Representatives and to the Senate, solidifying control of the former and taking control of the latter, publicly called the election "Operation Icing on the Cake".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Some DemocratsTemplate:Who responded by calling their efforts "Operation Wipe that Smirk off of Bush's Face"<ref>More thoughts on Louisiana victories Template:Webarchive Daily Kos, December 8, 2002</ref> and dubbed Landrieu's subsequent narrow run-off victory, "Operation Pie in the Face".<ref>Operation "Pie in the Face": Dems sweep LA Template:Webarchive Daily Kos, December 8, 2002</ref>
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Landrieu pulled off what manyTemplate:By whom considered to be an upset victory. The Republicans believed they would most likely win the race. Before the election many Republicans called the race operation icing on the cake. After Landrieu won the runoff Democrats dubbed her victory operation pie in the face. The race was close. In terms of rural parishes the vote was split fairly evenly. Landrieu did well in Caddo Parish home of Shreveport, and in East Baton Rouge Parish home of East Baton Rouge. Ultimately though it was Landrieu's huge win in Orleans Parish home of New Orleans that pushed her over the finish line. Haik Terrell conceded defeat to Landrieu at 12:38 p.m. EST, congratulating Landrieu on her victory. Landrieu would go on to be re-elected to a third term in 2008.Template:Citation needed Template:Election box begin Template:Election box winning candidate with party link Template:Election box candidate with party link Template:Election box majority Template:Election box turnout Template:Election box hold with party link Template:Election box end
Maine
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Republican Susan Collins comfortably won re-election to a second term.
Chellie Pingree, State Senator and Senate Majority Leader attacked Collins for supporting the Bush tax cuts.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Both candidates opposed the Iraq War in the fall of 2002.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, Collins then supported the congressional resolution to attack Iraq, while Pingree opposed it.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Collins, a popular moderate, was supported by some health care groups, environmentalists and gay rights advocates. She handily defeated State Senator Chellie Pingree of North Haven in one of the few U.S. Senate elections in which both major parties nominated women in U.S. history.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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Massachusetts
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Democrat John Kerry won re-election to a fourth term against Libertarian Michael Cloud. The lack of a Republican party candidate caused Cloud to receive the largest percentage of votes for a U.S. Senate candidate in the Libertarian Party's history, though this record has since been eclipsed by Joe Miller in Alaska in 2016, and again by Ricky Dale Harrington in Arkansas in 2020.
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Michigan
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Democrat Carl Levin comfortably won re-election to a fifth term over state Representative Andrew Raczkowski.
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Minnesota
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Democrat Paul Wellstone was running for re-election to a third term, but died in a plane crash eleven days before the election. The Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) chose former Vice President and 1984 Presidential candidate Walter Mondale to replace Wellstone on the ballot. Mondale lost to Republican Saint Paul Mayor Norm Coleman. The day before the election, Independence Governor Jesse Ventura had appointed Dean Barkley (IP) to serve the rest of Wellstone's term.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:As of, this was the last Senate election in Minnesota won by a Republican.
In the primaries, Paul Wellstone defeated Dick Franson 93% to 5% and Norm Coleman defeated Jack Shepard 95% to 5%.
At the time of his death, Wellstone was slightly ahead in the polls. After Walter Mondale was chosen as the DFL candidate, in a poll taken a few days before the election Mondale was leading 51% to 45%. Early on Election Day, Mondale was leading in votes. By nightfall, however, Norm Coleman pulled ahead, winning by 49.5 percent to 47.3 percent.
Paul Wellstone still appeared on the ballot despite his death, despite a court order replacing Wellstone's name with Mondale's.
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Mississippi
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Republican Thad Cochran overwhelmingly won re-election to a fifth term. The Democratic Party did not field a candidate, resulting in Reform Party candidate Shawn O'Hara winning 15.42% of the vote.
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Missouri (special)
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also In the 2000 election, Mel Carnahan, who had died in a plane crash three weeks before, remained on the ballot for election to the Senate. Carnahan beat his Republican opponent, John Ashcroft, who did not legally contest being defeated by a dead candidate. Carnahan's successor as governor, Roger B. Wilson, fulfilled his pre-election promise to appoint Carnahan's widow in her husband's place and a special election was scheduled for 2002.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The election would decide who would serve the rest of Senator-elect Mel Carnahan's term, after he died. The winner would serve four more years until the next election in 2006. Governor Roger Wilson had appointed Carnahan's widow Jean to serve temporarily. She then ran for the remainder of the term. Republican former U.S. Representative Jim Talent defeated her narrowly. While the race would have flipped control of the Senate from the Democrats to the Republicans, the Senate was adjourned, so no change in leadership occurred until the 108th Congress began in January 2003.
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National security and Carnahan's vote against fellow Missourian John Ashcroft as attorney general were major issues in the campaign. Republicans argued Carnahan owed her vote to Ashcroft, who had lost his bid for re-election to the Senate to Carnahan's husband.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Talent, citing Carnahan's votes against homeland-security legislation and missile defense, accused her of being soft on national security, which she objected to, saying he was "doubt[ing] her patriotism."<ref>Expectations Game Plays for Both Mo. Senate Candidates. Fox News. October 22, 2002. Retrieved April 27, 2015.</ref>
Jack Abramoff contributed $2,000 to Talent's 2002 senatorial campaign,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Preston Gates & Ellis, a former Abramoff employer, had also contributed $1,000 to Talent's campaign.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Talent later returned both contributions.<ref>[1]Template:Dead link</ref> Talent's win returned Republican control of the Senate which had been under slight Democratic dominance resulting from Vermont junior senator Jim Jeffords's decision to renounce the Republican Party, turning independent and making the choice to caucus with the Democrats.
Talent's victory was certified November 21, 2002, one day before Congress adjourned, which prevented Republicans from claiming a senate majority. He automatically became a Senator the following day because, under federal law, he formally took office as soon as special election results were certified and the day after both chambers of Congress adjourned. Because Republicans would hold the majority in the following Congress, they saw no need to hold a special session in the 107th to take advantage of their brief majority.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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Montana
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Democrat Max Baucus easily won re-election to a fifth term.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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The election got national attention when Baucus's opponent, state senator Mike Taylor, accused Baucus of having implied that Taylor was gay in a campaign ad. The ad was paid for by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, though designed by the Baucus campaign. The ad, which alleged that Taylor had embezzled funds from the cosmetology school he once owned, showed footage from the early 1980s of Taylor massaging another man's face while wearing a tight suit with an open shirt. Due to financial shortages making it impossible for him to continue the race and having concerns about the effect the race was having on his family, Taylor dropped out of the race and Baucus won with 63 percent of the vote.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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Nebraska
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Republican Chuck Hagel overwhelmingly won re-election to a second term.
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New Hampshire
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Republican/Independent U.S. Senator Bob Smith was defeated in the Republican primary and denied renomination.<ref name="Hulse"/> Republican U.S. Representative John E. Sununu won the open seat. As of 2017, this is the last time a Republican has won the Class 2 Senate seat in New Hampshire.
Senator Bob Smith, the incumbent Republican Senator, briefly left the party in 1999 to run for president as an independent, claiming that the Republican platform was "not worth the paper it's written on".<ref name="usatoday2002">Template:Cite web</ref> He rejoined the GOP a few months later, saying he made a mistake.<ref name="usatoday2002"/> Nonetheless, the party never fully forgave him, and some of his fellow Republican Senators went so far as to endorse his primary opponent, Rep. John Sununu,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> who would go on to win by 8 points.
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During the campaign, there was a major scandal that involved the use of a telemarketing firm hired by that state's Republican Party (NHGOP) for election tampering. The GOP Marketplace, based in Northern Virginia, jammed another phone bank being used by the state Democratic Party and the firefighters' union for efforts to turn out voters on behalf of New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen on Election Day. The tampering involved using a call center to jam the phone lines of a Get Out the Vote (GOTV) operation. In the end, 900 calls were made for 45 minutes of disruption to the Democratic-leaning call centers. In addition to criminal prosecutions, disclosures in the case came from a civil suit filed by the state's Democratic Party against the state's Republican Party (now settled). Four of those involved were convicted of, or pleaded guilty to, federal crimes and sentenced to prison for their involvement Template:As of. One conviction was reversed by an appeals court, a decision prosecutors appealed. James Tobin, the defendant freed on appeal, was later indicted on charges of lying to the FBI during the original investigation.
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New Jersey
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also The race was to originally feature Democrat Robert Torricelli, who was running for a second term in the seat he had won when former Senator Bill Bradley elected not to run for a fourth term in 1996 and who had been the state's senior Senator following Frank Lautenberg's retirement at the end of the 106th United States Congress, against former West Windsor Township mayor Douglas Forrester, who had won the Republican nomination.
Torricelli, however, had been the target of an ethics probe and eventually dropped out of the race on September 30 due to ethical concerns and poor poll numbers against Forrester, a relatively unknown opponent.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The New Jersey Democratic Party convinced the retired Lautenberg to join the race after Torricelli dropped out. In the case of The New Jersey Democratic Party v. Samson, 175 N.J. 178 (2002), Forrester sued to stop Democratic Party efforts to have Lautenberg replace Torricelli. The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled unanimously on October 2 that the party could switch Lautenberg's name in for Sen. Torricelli's on the ballot.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Forrester received the endorsement of President George W. Bush.<ref>Remarks by the President at Doug Forrester for Senate Event, White House press release dated September 23, 2002</ref>
In the general election, Lautenberg defeated Forrester and became the state's junior Senator for the second time when he was sworn in on January 3, 2003 (Bradley, elected in 1978, was the senior Senator during Lautenberg's first fourteen years in office and Jon Corzine, who was elected to Lautenberg's old Senate seat, became the senior Senator in 2003 as Lautenberg's previous eighteen years in the Senate were not counted towards seniority.
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New Mexico
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Republican Pete Domenici easily won re-election to a sixth term. As of 2022, this is the last Senate election in New Mexico won by a Republican.
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North Carolina
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Republican Jesse Helms decided to retire due to health issues. Republican Elizabeth Dole, former President of the American Red Cross, won the open seat over Democrat Erskine Bowles, former White House Chief of Staff.
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Oklahoma
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Republican Jim Inhofe won re-election to a second term over Democratic former Governor David Walters.
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Oregon
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Republican Gordon Smith ran for re-election to a second term. Smith, who had only served one term in the U.S. Senate, had a popularity rating slightly lower than 50% before the summer of 2002 began.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Secretary of State Bill Bradbury emerged as the Democratic nominee, and though a competitive gubernatorial election occurred at the same time, Bradbury's campaign was never able to gain traction and Smith comfortably won re-election. As of 2022, this is the last Senate election in Oregon won by a Republican.
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Rhode Island
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Democrat Jack Reed won re-election to a second term. Reed was an extremely popular senator, with a May Brown University poll showing the incumbent with a 73% approval rating, higher than any other elected lawmaker in the state.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Reed's best performance was in Providence County, where he won with over 80% of the vote over Republican Robert Tingle, casino pit boss and nominee for RI-02 in 2000<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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South Carolina
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Long-time Incumbent Strom Thurmond decided to retire at the age of 100, becoming the first Centenarian to ever serve in Congress, and at that time was the longest serving Senator in U.S. history (a record later surpassed by West Virginia's Robert Byrd). Republican Lindsey Graham won the open seat.
Alex Sanders, the former president of the College of Charleston, entered the race and faced no opposition from South Carolina Democrats, thereby avoiding a primary election.
Representative Lindsey Graham had no challenge for the Republican nomination and thus avoided a primary election. This was due in large part because the South Carolina Republicans were preoccupied with the gubernatorial race,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and also because potential rivals were deterred by the huge financial war chest Graham had amassed early in the campaign.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The election campaign between Graham and Sanders was bitterly fought. Graham campaigned that he had a consistent conservative voting record that he claimed closely matched that of outgoing Senator Strom Thurmond. Sanders campaigned on his membership in the NAACP, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and the National Rifle Association of America (NRA). He said that he was against the death penalty for religious reasons, supported abortion rights, and supported greater government involvement in education. Graham attacked Sanders for these positions consistently throughout the campaign, and Sanders hit back at Graham for wanting to privatize Social Security. Graham won the election by slightly over 10 percent.
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South Dakota
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Democrat Tim Johnson won re-election to a second term by a margin of 524 votes, defeated Republican incumbent U.S. Representative John Thune.
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Thune, who was considered a rising star in his party, ran against Tim Johnson, who narrowly won his first senate election in 1996. Thune launched a television advertising campaign mentioning al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein, controversially contending that both were seeking nuclear weapons and that the country needed a missile defense system, something Johnson voted against 29 times and that Thune supported. Johnson attacked Thune for politicizing national security.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> President George W. Bush campaigned for Thune in late October.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> More than $20 million was spent in the election. Both candidates had raised over $5 million each.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Johnson narrowly prevailed over Thune by a mere 524 votes. Despite the extreme closeness of the election, Thune did not contest the results and conceded defeat on the late afternoon of November 9. Johnson's narrow victory may be attributed to his strong support in Oglala Lakota County. Thune also underperformed in typically Republican areas. Johnson was sworn in for a second term on January 3, 2003. Thune would later be elected to the other Senate seat in 2004, defeating Minority Leader Tom Daschle. He would then serve with Johnson in 2005.
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Tennessee
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Republican Fred Thompson decided to retire. Republican Lamar Alexander, former U.S. Secretary of Education and former Governor of Tennessee, won the open seat over Democrat Bob Clement, U.S. Representative.
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Alexander raised $2 million through June 2002. Clement attacked the Governor for his corporate connections and business dealings. By October, Clement had nearly raised $900,000, while Alexander raised almost $3 million. Bush, who had a 60% approval rating in the state, helped campaign and raise money for Alexander. Alexander was also endorsed by the National Rifle Association of America (NRA). Template:Election box begin Template:Election box winning candidate with party link Template:Election box candidate with party link Template:Election box candidate with party link Template:Election box candidate with party link Template:Election box candidate with party link Template:Election box candidate with party link Template:Election box candidate with party link Template:Election box candidate Template:Election box majority Template:Election box turnout Template:Election box hold with party link Template:Election box endTemplate:Clear
Texas
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Republican Phil Gramm decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. Republican state Attorney General John Cornyn won the open seat over the Democratic Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk.
Despite the fact that Texas is a red state, Kirk ran on a socially progressive platform: supporting abortion rights and opposing Bush judicial nominee Priscilla Owen, although Kirk was a former George W. Bush supporter.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He also supported increases in defense spending, such as Bush's proposed $48 billion increase in military spending, except for the money Bush wanted to use for missile defense. Kirk had the support of former Governor Ann Richards and former U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen.
Cornyn was criticized for taking campaign money from Enron and other controversial companies.
The race was perceived as competitive, with an October Dallas Morning News poll showing Cornyn leading 47% to 37%. However, Cornyn won election by 12 percent.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A record $18 million was spent in the election.
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Virginia
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Republican John Warner overwhelmingly won re-election to a fifth term, making him one of only three Virginia U.S. Senators to serve five or more terms. No Democrat ran against Warner, and he won every single county and city in the state with at least 60% of the vote. As of 2022, this is the last Senate election in Virginia won by a Republican.
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West Virginia
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Democrat Jay Rockefeller easily won re-election to a fourth term over Republican state Senator Jay Wolfe.
Rockefeller was the heavy favorite, with one poll showed him leading 72% to 17%.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Rockefeller had $2.9 million cash on hand to Wolfe at $100,536 (In mid-October). Wolfe was endorsed by President George W. Bush and the National Rifle Association of America (NRA), but it wasn't enough to make the election competitive. Rockefeller won by a margin of over 25 percent.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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Wyoming
Template:Infobox election Template:Main Template:See also Incumbent Republican Mike Enzi easily won re-election to a second term over Lander Mayor Joyce Corcoran.
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Enzi stated that his top priorities were education, jobs, national security and retirement security.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He had $485,000 cash on hand in June 2002, when Joyce Corcoran (D), Mayor of Lander first filed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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See also
Notes
References
- Robert M. Sanders; "How Environmentally-Friendly Candidates Fared in the Congressional Elections of 2002: A Time of Green Anxiety?" International Social Science Review, Vol. 79, 2004
- Elections Division from the Louisiana Secretary of State
- 2002 Massachusetts state-wide election results
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External links
- Clerk of the House of Representatives – Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002
- United States Election 2002 Web Archive from the U.S. Library of Congress
Template:2002 United States elections Template:United States Senate elections