2002 United States Senate elections

2002 United States Senate elections

November 5, 2002
34 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate 51 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Trent Lott Tom Daschle Party Republican Democratic Leader since June 12, 1996 January 3, 1995 Leader's seat Mississippi South Dakota Seats before 49 49 Seats after 51 48 Seat change 2 1 Popular vote 21,566,016 19,873,164 Percentage 49.9% 46.0% Seats up 20 13 Races won 22 12   Third party Fourth party   Party Independence Independent Seats before 1 1 Seats after 0 1 Seat change 1 Popular vote 45,139 343,625 Percentage 0.1% 0.8% Seats up 1 0 Races won 0 0
Results of the elections:      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican gain      Republican hold      No election
Majority Leader before election Tom Daschle Democratic Elected Majority Leader Bill Frist Republican

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 was held on November 5, 2002, almost fourteen months after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

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 five open seats and pick up the one that was held by the IPM, while the Democrats held their only open seat. Ultimately, Republicans would pick up three seats and lose one, resulting in a net gain of two seats. Together with gains made in the House of Representatives, this election was one of three mid-term elections since the Civil War in which the party in control of the White House did not lose Congressional seats (the others were 1934 and 1998). This is also the last midterm election 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).

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. As of 2022, this was the last Senate election cycle where Republicans won Senate elections in Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, and Virginia.

Gains and losses

Republicans defeated incumbent Democratic Senators Max Cleland of Georgia, and Jean Carnahan of Missouri, while incumbent Republican Tim Hutchinson of Arkansas lost to Democrat Mark Pryor. Democrat Paul Wellstone of Minnesota was running for re-election, but he died in a plane crash shortly before the election and his seat was won by a Republican.

Results summary

↓

48

1

51

Democratic

Independent

Republican

Parties							Total
		Democratic	Republican	Independent	Independence	Others
Last elections (2000)		50	50	0	0	0	100
Before these elections		49	49	1	1	0	100
Not up		36	29	1	0	—	66
Up		13	20	0	1	—	34
	Class 2 (1996→2002)	12	20	—	1	—	33
	Special: Class 1	1	0	—	—	—	1
Incumbent retired		0	4	—	1	—	5
	Held by same party	0	4	—	0	—	4
	Replaced by other party	1 Independence replaced by 1 Republican				—	1
	Result	0	5	0	0	0	5
Regular elections
Incumbent ran		12	16	—	0	—	28
	Won re-election	10	14	—	0	—	24
	Lost re-election	1 Republican replaced by 1 Democrat 1 Democrat replaced by 1 Republican		—	—	—	2
	Lost or withdrew renomination but held by same party	1	1	—	—	—	2
	Result	12	16	0	0	0	28
Special election
Appointee ran		1	0	—	0	—	1
	Won election	0	—	—	0	—	0
	Lost election	1 Democrat replaced by 1 Republican		—	—	—	1
	Result	0	1	0	0	0	1
Total elected		12	22	0	0	0	34
Net change		1	2		1		2
Nationwide vote		19,873,164	21,566,016	343,625	45,139/51,863	1,413,653 / 1,406,929	43,241,597
	Share	45.96%	49.87%	0.79%	0.10 / 0.12%	3.27 / 3.25%	100%
Result		48	51	1	0	0	100

Source: Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives

Change in composition

Before the elections

After the death of Paul Wellstone on October 25, 2002 and the appointment of Minnesota on November 4.

D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8	D9	D10
D20	D19	D18	D17	D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11
D21	D22	D23	D24	D25	D26	D27	D28	D29	D30
D40 Iowa Ran	D39 Ill. Ran	D38 Ga. Ran	D37 Del. Ran	D36	D35	D34	D33	D32	D31
D41 La. Ran	D42 Mass. Ran	D43 Mich. Ran	R44 Mo. (sp) Ran	D45 Mont. Ran	D46 N.J. Withdrew	D47 R.I. Ran	D48 S.D. Ran	D49 W.Va. Ran	I1
↑ Plurality with Independent in caucus
R41 N.M. Ran	R42 N.C. Retired	R43 Okla. Ran	R44 Ore. Ran	R45 S.C. Retired	R46 Tenn. Retired	R47 Texas Retired	R48 Va. Ran	R49 Wyo. Ran	IPM1 Minn. Retired
R40 N.H. Ran	R39 Neb. Ran	R38 Miss. Ran	R37 Me. Ran	R36 Ky. Ran	R35 Kan. Ran	R34 Idaho Ran	R33 Colo. Ran	R32 Ark. Ran	R31 Alaska Ran
R21	R22	R23	R24	R25	R26	R27	R28	R29	R30 Ala. Ran
R20	R19	R18	R17	R16	R15	R14	R13	R12	R11
R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10

After the elections

D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8	D9	D10
D20	D19	D18	D17	D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11
D21	D22	D23	D24	D25	D26	D27	D28	D29	D30
D40 La. Re-elected	D39 Iowa Re-elected	D38 Ill. Re-elected	D37 Del. Re-elected	D36	D35	D34	D33	D32	D31
D41 Mass. Re-elected	D42 Mich. Re-elected	D43 Mont. Re-elected	D44 N.J. Hold	D45 R.I. Re-elected	D46 S.D. Re-elected	D47 W.Va. Re-elected	D48 Ark. Gain	I1	R51 Mo. (sp) Gain
Majority →
R41 N.C. Hold	R42 Okla. Re-elected	R43 Ore. Re-elected	R44 S.C. Hold	R45 Tenn. Hold	R46 Texas Hold	R47 Va. Re-elected	R48 Wyo. Re-elected	R49 Ga. Gain	R50 Minn. Gain
R40 N.M. Re-elected	R39 N.H. Hold	R38 Neb. Re-elected	R37 Miss. Re-elected	R36 Me. Re-elected	R35 Ky. Re-elected	R34 Kan. Re-elected	R33 Idaho Re-elected	R32 Colo. Re-elected	R31 Alaska Re-elected
R21	R22	R23	R24	R25	R26	R27	R28	R29	R30 Ala. Re-elected
R20	R19	R18	R17	R16	R15	R14	R13	R12	R11
R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10

Key:	D# Democratic I# Independent IPM# Independence Party of Minnesota R# Republican

Gains and losses

Democratic gains

• Arkansas: Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R), who was personally unpopular due to him divorcing his wife and marrying a young staffer, was defeated by Democratic challenger Mark Pryor, Arkansas Attorney General and the son of David Pryor, former Senator and Governor.

Republican gains

• Georgia: Sen. Max Cleland (D), a Vietnam War veteran and triple amputee, was defeated by Representative Saxby Chambliss in a tough campaign marked by attacks on Cleland's stance on a Department of Homeland Security. Despite Cleland being a combat veteran, Chambliss won the support of the organization Veterans of Foreign Wars.
• Missouri: Sen. Jean Carnahan (D) had been appointed to the Senate after her husband, Mel Carnahan, had narrowly won the 2000 election posthumously. His wife was unable to hold the seat, losing narrowly to former Congressman Jim Talent.
• Minnesota: Sen. Paul Wellstone (D), in the middle of a tough fight against former St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman, died in a plane crash less than two weeks before the election. Most observers expected that this would lead to a sympathy boost for his replacement, liberal stalwart and former Vice President Walter Mondale, but his campaign received negative press after Wellstone's funeral was marked by political speeches, and Coleman won in a close race.

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 (linked to summaries below)	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Missouri (Class 1)	Jean Carnahan	Democratic	2001 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost election. New senator elected November 5, 2002. Republican gain.	▌Y Jim Talent (Republican) 49.8% ▌Jean Carnahan (Democratic) 48.7% ▌Tamara A. Millay (Libertarian) 1% ▌Daniel Romano (Green) 0.6%

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.

State (linked to summaries below)	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Alabama	Jeff Sessions	Republican	1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Jeff Sessions (Republican) 58.6% ▌Susan Parker (Democratic) 39.8% ▌Jeff Allen (Libertarian) 1.5%
Alaska	Ted Stevens	Republican	1968 (Appointed) 1970 1972 1978 1984 1990 1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Ted Stevens (Republican) 78% ▌Frank J. Vondersaar (Democratic) 11% ▌Jim Sykes (Green) 8% ▌Jim Dore (Alaskan Independence) 3% ▌Leonard Karpinski (Libertarian) 1%
Arkansas	Tim Hutchinson	Republican	1996	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	▌Y Mark Pryor (Democratic) 53.9% ▌Tim Hutchinson (Republican) 46.1%
Colorado	Wayne Allard	Republican	1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Wayne Allard (Republican) 50.7% ▌Tom Strickland (Democratic) 45.8% ▌Douglas Campbell (Constitution) 1.5% ▌Rick Stanley (Libertarian) 1.5% ▌John Heckman (Concerns of People) 0.5%
Delaware	Joe Biden	Democratic	1972 1978 1984 1990 1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Joe Biden (Democratic) 58.2% ▌Raymond J. Clatworthy (Republican) 40.8% ▌Maurice Barros (Independence) 0.4% ▌Raymond T. Buranello (Libertarian) 0.4% ▌Robert E. Mattson (Natural Law) 0.2%
Georgia	Max Cleland	Democratic	1996	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	▌Y Saxby Chambliss (Republican) 52.7% ▌Max Cleland (Democratic) 45.9% ▌Claude Thomas (Libertarian) 1.4%
Idaho	Larry Craig	Republican	1990 1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Larry Craig (Republican) 65% ▌Alan Blinken (Democratic) 33% ▌Donovan Bramwell (Libertarian) 2%
Illinois	Dick Durbin	Democratic	1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Dick Durbin (Democratic) 60.3% ▌Jim Durkin (Republican) 38% ▌Steven Burgauer (Libertarian) 1.6%
Iowa	Tom Harkin	Democratic	1984 1990 1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Tom Harkin (Democratic) 54.2% ▌Greg Ganske (Republican) 43.8% ▌Tim Harthan (Green) 1.1% ▌Richard J. Moore (Libertarian) 0.9%
Kansas	Pat Roberts	Republican	1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Pat Roberts (Republican) 82.5% ▌Steven A. Rosile (Libertarian) 9.1% ▌George Cook (Reform) 8.4%
Kentucky	Mitch McConnell	Republican	1984 1990 1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Mitch McConnell (Republican) 64.7% ▌Lois Combs Weinberg (Democratic) 35.3%
Louisiana	Mary Landrieu	Democratic	1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Mary Landrieu (Democratic) 51.7% ▌Suzanne Haik Terrell (Republican) 48.3%
Maine	Susan Collins	Republican	1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Susan Collins (Republican) 58.4% ▌Chellie Pingree (Democratic) 41.6%
Massachusetts	John Kerry	Democratic	1984 1990 1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y John Kerry (Democratic) 72.3% ▌Michael E. Cloud (Libertarian) 16.6% ▌Blank/Scattering 9.6% ▌Randall Forsberg (Write-in) 1.1% ▌Other 0.3%
Michigan	Carl Levin	Democratic	1978 1984 1990 1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Carl Levin (Democratic) 60.6% ▌Rocky Raczkowski (Republican) 37.9% ▌Eric Borregard (Green) 0.8% ▌John S. Mangopoulos (Reform) 0.4% ▌Doug Dern (Natural Law) 0.3%
Minnesota	Dean Barkley	Independence	2002 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected. Republican gain.	▌Y Norm Coleman (Republican) 49.5% ▌Walter Mondale (DFL) 47.3% ▌Jim Moore (Independence) 2% ▌Paul Wellstone (DFL) 0.5% ▌Ray Tricomo (Green) 0.4% ▌Miro Drago Kovatchevich (Constitution) 0.1%
Mississippi	Thad Cochran	Republican	1978 1984 1990 1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Thad Cochran (Republican) 85.6% ▌Shawn O'Hara (Reform) 15.4%
Montana	Max Baucus	Democratic	1978 1984 1990 1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Max Baucus (Democratic) 62.7% ▌Mike Taylor (Republican) 31.7% ▌Stan Jones (Libertarian) 3.2% ▌Bob Kelleher (Green) 2.3%
Nebraska	Chuck Hagel	Republican	1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Chuck Hagel (Republican) 82.8% ▌Charlie A. Matulka (Democratic) 14.6% ▌John J. Graziano (Libertarian) 1.5% ▌Phil Chase (Independent) 1.1%
New Hampshire	Bob Smith	Republican	1990 1996	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Republican hold.	▌Y John E. Sununu (Republican) 50.8% ▌Jeanne Shaheen (Democratic) 46.4% ▌Ken Blevens (Libertarian) 2.2%
New Jersey	Robert Torricelli	Democratic	1996	Incumbent renominated but withdrew. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	▌Y Frank Lautenberg (Democratic) 53.9% ▌Doug Forrester (Republican) 44% ▌Ted Glick (Green) 1.2% ▌Elizabeth Macron (Libertarian) 0.6% ▌Norman E. Wahner (NJ Conservative) 0.3% ▌Gregory Pason (Socialist) 0.1%
New Mexico	Pete Domenici	Republican	1972 1978 1984 1990 1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Pete Domenici (Republican) 65% ▌Gloria Tristani (Democratic) 35%
North Carolina	Jesse Helms	Republican	1972 1978 1984 1990 1996	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican hold.	▌Y Elizabeth Dole (Republican) 53.6% ▌Erskine Bowles (Democratic) 45% ▌Sean Haugh (Libertarian) 1.5%
Oklahoma	Jim Inhofe	Republican	1994 (Special) 1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Jim Inhofe (Republican) 57.3% ▌David Walters (Democratic) 36.3% ▌James Germalic (Independent) 6.4%
Oregon	Gordon H. Smith	Republican	1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Gordon H. Smith (Republican) 56.2% ▌Bill Bradbury (Democratic) 39.6% ▌Dan Fitzgerald (Libertarian) 2.4% ▌Lon Mabon (Constitution) 1.7%
Rhode Island	Jack Reed	Democratic	1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Jack Reed (Democratic) 78.4% ▌Robert Tingle (Republican) 21.6%
South Carolina	Strom Thurmond	Republican	1954 1954 (Appointed) 1956 (Resigned) 1956 (Special) 1960 1966 1972 1978 1984 1990 1996	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican hold.	▌Y Lindsey Graham (Republican) 54.4% ▌Alex Sanders (Democratic) 44.2% ▌Ted Adams (Constitution) 0.8% ▌Victor Kocher (Libertarian) 0.6%
South Dakota	Tim Johnson	Democratic	1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Tim Johnson (Democratic) 49.6% ▌John Thune (Republican) 49.5% ▌Kurt Evans (Libertarian) 0.9%
Tennessee	Fred Thompson	Republican	1994 (Special) 1996	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican hold.	▌Y Lamar Alexander (Republican) 54% ▌Bob Clement (Democratic) 44%
Texas	Phil Gramm	Republican	1984 1990 1996	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican hold. Incumbent resigned November 30, 2002 to give successor preferential seniority. Winner appointed December 2, 2002.	▌Y John Cornyn (Republican) 55.3% ▌Ron Kirk (Democratic) 43.3% ▌Scott Jameson (Libertarian) 0.8% ▌Roy H. Williams (Green) 0.6%
Virginia	John Warner	Republican	1978 1984 1990 1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y John Warner (Republican) 82.6% ▌Nancy Spannaus (Independent) 9.7% ▌Jacob Hornberger (Independent) 7.1%
West Virginia	Jay Rockefeller	Democratic	1984 1990 1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Jay Rockefeller (Democratic) 63.1% ▌Jay Wolfe (Republican) 36.9%
Wyoming	Mike Enzi	Republican	1996	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Mike Enzi (Republican) 73% ▌Joyce Jansa Corcoran (Democratic) 27%

Closest races

In eleven races the margin of victory was under 10%

District	Winner	Margin
South Dakota	Democratic	0.16%
Missouri (special)	Republican (flip)	1.1%
Minnesota	Republican (flip)	2.2%
Louisiana	Democratic	3.4%
New Hampshire	Republican	4.4%
Colorado	Republican	4.9%
Georgia	Republican (flip)	6.9%
Arkansas	Democratic (flip)	7.0%
North Carolina	Republican	8.6%
Tennessee	Republican	9.9%
New Jersey	Democratic	9.9%

Alabama

Alabama election

Nominee Jeff Sessions Susan Parker Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 792,561 538,878 Percentage 58.6% 39.8%

County results

U.S. senator before election Jeff Sessions Republican Elected U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions Republican

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Alabama

See also: List of United States senators from Alabama

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, and easily won re-election to a second term.

Sessions was not challenged in the primary.

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Susan Parker	190,978	47.99%
	Democratic	Julian L. McPhillips	170,222	42.78%
	Democratic	Wayne Sowell	36,719	9.23%
Total votes			397,919	100.00%

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.

Democratic primary runoff: June 25, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Susan Parker	176,708	65.15%
	Democratic	Julian L. McPhillips	94,540	34.85%
Total votes			271,248	100.00%

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jeff Sessions (Incumbent)	792,561	58.58%	+6.13%
	Democratic	Susan Parker	538,878	39.83%	−5.63%
	Libertarian	Jeff Allen	20,234	1.50%	+.06%
	No party	Write-In Votes	1,350	0.10%	+.06%
Majority			253,683	18.75%
Turnout			1,353,023
	Republican hold		Swing

Alaska

Alaska election

Nominee Ted Stevens Frank Vondersaar Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 179,438 24,133 Percentage 78.17% 10.51%   Nominee Jim Sykes Party Green Popular vote 16,608 Percentage 7.24%

U.S. senator before election Ted Stevens Republican Elected U.S. Senator Ted Stevens Republican

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Alaska

See also: List of United States senators from Alaska

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.

United States Senate election in Alaska, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Ted Stevens (Incumbent)	179,438	78.17%	+1.46%
	Democratic	Frank Vondersaar	24,133	10.51%	+0.17%
	Green	Jim Sykes	16,608	7.24%	−5.29%
	Independence	Jim Dore	6,724	2.93%
	Libertarian	Leonard Karpinski	2,354	1.03%
	Write-ins		291	0.13%
Majority			155,305	67.66%	+3.47%
Turnout			229,548
	Republican hold		Swing

Arkansas

Arkansas election

Nominee Mark Pryor Tim Hutchinson Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 433,306 370,653 Percentage 53.90% 46.10%

County Results

U.S. senator before election Tim Hutchinson Republican Elected U.S. Senator Mark Pryor Democratic

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Arkansas

See also: List of United States senators from Arkansas

Incumbent Republican Tim Hutchinson ran for a second term, but lost re-election to Arkansas Attorney General Mark Pryor.

Republican State Representative Jim Bob Duggar challenged incumbent Tim Hutchinson in the primary.

Republican Primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tim Hutchinson	71,576	77.7%
	Republican	Jim Bob Duggar	20,546	22.3%
Total votes			92,116	100.0%

Arkansas U.S. Senate Election 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mark Pryor	435,347	53.9%
	Republican	Tim Hutchinson (Incumbent)	372,909	46.1%
	Democratic gain from Republican

Colorado

Colorado election

Nominee Wayne Allard Tom Strickland Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 717,893 648,130 Percentage 50.7% 45.8%

County results

U.S. senator before election Wayne Allard Republican Elected U.S. Senator Wayne Allard Republican

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Colorado

See also: List of United States senators from Colorado

Incumbent Republican Wayne Allard won re-election to a second term.

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Strickland	110,309	100.00%
Total votes			110,309	100.00%

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Wayne Allard (Incumbent)	190,250	100.00%
Total votes			190,250	100.00%

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Wayne Allard (Incumbent)	717,899	50.70%	−0.71%
	Democratic	Tom Strickland	648,130	45.77%	+0.03%
	Constitution	Douglas Campbell	21,547	1.52%
	Libertarian	Rick Stanley	20,776	1.47%
	Independent	John Heckman	7,140	0.50%
	Write-ins		596	0.04%
Majority			69,763	4.93%	−0.74%
Turnout			1,416,082
	Republican hold		Swing

Delaware

Delaware election

Nominee Joe Biden Raymond Clatworthy Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 135,253 94,793 Percentage 58.2% 40.8%

County results

U.S. senator before election Joe Biden Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Joe Biden Democratic

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Delaware

See also: List of United States senators from Delaware

Incumbent Democrat Joe Biden won re-election to a sixth term.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joe Biden (Incumbent)	135,253	58.22%	−1.82%
	Republican	Raymond J. Clatworthy	94,793	40.80%	+2.67%
	Independent Party	Maurice Barros	996	0.43%
	Libertarian	Raymond T. Buranello	922	0.40%	−0.82%
	Natural Law	Robert E. Mattson	350	0.15%	−0.47%
Majority			40,460	17.42%	−4.49%
Turnout			232,314
	Democratic hold		Swing

Georgia

Georgia election

Nominee Saxby Chambliss Max Cleland Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,071,153 931,857 Percentage 52.8% 45.9%

County results

U.S. senator before election Max Cleland Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss Republican

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Georgia

See also: List of United States senators from Georgia

Incumbent Democrat Max Cleland ran for re-election to a second term, but lost to Republican 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. Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona said of one ad: "It's worse than disgraceful. It's reprehensible." McCain, along with Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, made significant complaints to the Republican National Committee until the ads were taken down. Nevertheless, Chambliss defeated Cleland by nearly seven percentage points.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Saxby Chambliss	1,071,153	52.8%
	Democratic	Max Cleland (incumbent)	931,857	45.9%
	Libertarian	Claude Thomas	26,981	1.3%
Majority			139,296	6.9%
Turnout			2,029,991	100.0%
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

Idaho

Idaho election

November 4, 2002

Nominee Larry Craig Alan Blinken Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 266,215 132,975 Percentage 65.2% 32.6%

County results

U.S. senator before election Larry Craig Republican Elected U.S. Senator Larry Craig Republican

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Idaho

See also: List of United States senators from Idaho

Incumbent Republican Larry Craig won re-election to a third term.

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alan Blinken	26,346	70.90%
	Democratic	Dave Sneddon	10,812	29.10%
Total votes			37,158	100.00%

Libertarian primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Donovan Bramwell	1,179	100.00%
Total votes			1,179	100.00%

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Larry Craig (Incumbent)	130,126	100.00%
Total votes			130,126	100.00%

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Larry Craig (Incumbent)	266,215	65.16%	+8.14%
	Democratic	Alan Blinken	132,975	32.55%	−7.36%
	Libertarian	Donovan Bramwell	9,354	2.29%
Majority			133,240	32.61%	+15.50%
Turnout			408,544
	Republican hold		Swing

Illinois

Illinois election

Nominee Dick Durbin Jim Durkin Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,103,766 1,325,703 Percentage 60.33% 38.02%

County results

U.S. senator before election Dick Durbin Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Dick Durbin Democratic

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Illinois

See also: List of United States senators from Illinois

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.

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dick Durbin (Incumbent)	918,467	100.00%
Total votes			918,467	100.00%

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Durkin	378,010	45.81%
	Republican	Jim Oberweis	259,515	31.45%
	Republican	John H. Cox	187,706	22.74%
Total votes			825,231	100.00%

Durbin won re-election to a second term easily, carrying a majority of the states 102 counties.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Dick Durbin (Incumbent)	2,103,766	60.33%	+4.25%
	Republican	Jim Durkin	1,325,703	38.02%	−2.65%
	Libertarian	Steven Burgauer	57,382	1.65%	+0.68%
Majority			778,063	22.31%	+6.90%
Turnout			3,486,851
	Democratic hold		Swing

Iowa

Iowa election

Nominee Tom Harkin Greg Ganske Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 554,278 447,892 Percentage 54.18% 43.78%

County Results

Senator before election Tom Harkin Democratic Elected Senator Tom Harkin Democratic

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Iowa

See also: List of United States senators from Iowa

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.

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Harkin (Incumbent)	83,505	99.34%
	Democratic	Write-ins	555	0.66%
Total votes			84,060	100.00%

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Greg Ganske	116,229	58.97%
	Republican	Bill Salier	80,700	40.95%
	Republican	Write-ins	167	0.08%
Total votes			197,096	100.00%

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Tom Harkin (Incumbent)	554,278	54.18%	+2.37%
	Republican	Greg Ganske	447,892	43.78%	−2.94%
	Green	Timothy A. Harthan	11,340	1.11%
	Libertarian	Richard J. Moore	8,864	0.87%
	Write-ins		701	0.06%
Majority			106,386	10.40%	+5.30%
Turnout			1,023,075
	Democratic hold		Swing

Kansas

Kansas election

Nominee Pat Roberts Steven Rosile George Cook Party Republican Libertarian Reform Popular vote 641,075 70,725 65,050 Percentage 82.5% 9.1% 8.4%

County results

U.S. senator before election Pat Roberts Republican Elected U.S. Senator Pat Roberts Republican

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Kansas

See also: List of United States senators from Kansas

Incumbent Pat Roberts won re-election to a second term easily because no Democrat filed to run.

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Pat Roberts (Incumbent)	233,642	83.70%
	Republican	Tom Oyler	45,491	16.30%
Total votes			279,133	100.00%

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Pat Roberts (Incumbent)	641,075	82.52%	+20.50%
	Libertarian	Steven Rosile	70,725	9.10%	+7.86%
	Reform	George Cook	65,050	8.37%	+6.08%
Majority			570,350	73.42%	+45.83%
Turnout			776,850
	Republican hold		Swing

Kentucky

Kentucky election

Nominee Mitch McConnell Lois Combs Weinberg Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 731,679 399,634 Percentage 64.7% 35.3%

County results

U.S. senator before election Mitch McConnell Republican Elected U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell Republican

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Kentucky

See also: List of United States senators from Kentucky

Incumbent Republican Mitch McConnell won re-election to a fourth term.

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lois Combs Weinberg	231,013	50.10%
	Democratic	Tom Barlow	230,055	49.90%
Total votes			461,068	100.00%

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mitch McConnell (Incumbent)	731,679	64.68%	+9.22%
	Democratic	Lois Combs Weinberg	399,634	35.32%	−7.52%
Majority			332,045	29.35%	+16.74%
Turnout			1,131,313
	Republican hold		Swing

Louisiana

Louisiana election

November 5 and December 7, 2002

Nominee Mary Landrieu Suzanne Haik Terrell Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 638,654 596,642 Percentage 51.7% 48.3%

Parish Results

U.S. senator before election Mary Landrieu Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu Democratic

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Louisiana

See also: List of United States senators from Louisiana

Incumbent Democrat Mary Landrieu 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". Some Democrats responded by calling their efforts "Operation Wipe that Smirk off of Bush's Face" and dubbed Landrieu's subsequent run-off victory, "Operation Pie in the Face".

Jungle Primary election, November 5, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Mary Landrieu (Incumbent)	573,347	46.00%
	Republican	Suzanne Haik Terrell	339,506	27.24%
	Republican	John Cooksey	171,752	13.78%
	Republican	Tony Perkins	119,776	9.61%
	Democratic	Raymond Brown	23,553	1.89%
	Independent	Patrick E. "Live Wire" Landry	10,442	0.84%
	Independent	James Lemann	3,866	0.31%
	Libertarian	Gary D. Robbins	2,423	0.19%
	Republican	Ernest Edward Skillman, Jr.	1,668	0.13%
Turnout			1,246,333	100.00%

Landrieu pulled off what many 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.

Runoff election, December 7, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Mary Landrieu (Incumbent)	638,654	51.70%	+1.53%
	Republican	Suzanne Haik Terrell	596,642	48.30%	−1.53%
Majority			42,012	3.40%	+3.06%
Turnout			1,235,296	100.00%
	Democratic hold		Swing

Maine

Maine election

Nominee Susan Collins Chellie Pingree Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 295,041 209,858 Percentage 58.4% 41.6%

County results

U.S. senator before election Susan Collins Republican Elected U.S. Senator Susan Collins Republican

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Maine

See also: List of United States senators from Maine

Incumbent Republican Susan Collins won re-election to a second term.

Chellie Pingree, State Senator and Senate Majority Leader attacked Collins for supporting the Bush tax cuts. Both candidates opposed the Iraq War in the fall of 2002. However, Collins then supported the congressional resolution to attack Iraq, while Pingree opposed it.

Collins, a popular moderate, was supported by 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.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Susan Collins (Incumbent)	295,041	58.44%	+9.25%
	Democratic	Chellie Pingree	209,858	41.56%	−2.31%
Majority			85,183	16.87%	+11.57%
Turnout			504,899
	Republican hold		Swing

Massachusetts

Massachusetts election

Nominee John Kerry Michael Cloud Party Democratic Libertarian Popular vote 1,605,976 369,807 Percentage 72.3% 16.7%

Municipal results

U.S. senator before election John Kerry Democratic Elected U.S. Senator John Kerry Democratic

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

See also: List of United States senators from Massachusetts

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.

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John F. Kerry (Incumbent)	1,605,976	72.33%
	Libertarian	Michael Cloud	369,807	16.66%
	Independent	Randall Forsberg (write-in)	24,898	1.12%
		All others	6,077	0.27%
		Blank / Scattering	213,543	9.62%
Total votes			2,220,301	100%

Michigan

Michigan election

Nominee Carl Levin Andrew Raczkowski Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,896,614 1,185,545 Percentage 60.6% 37.9%

County Results

U.S. senator before election Carl Levin Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Carl Levin Democratic

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Michigan

See also: List of United States senators from Michigan

Incumbent Democrat Carl Levin won re-election to a fifth term.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Carl Levin (Incumbent)	1,896,614	60.61%	+2.25%
	Republican	Andrew Raczkowski	1,185,545	37.89%	−1.98%
	Green	Eric Borregard	23,931	0.76%	+0.76%
	Reform	John Mangopoulos	12,831	0.41%	+0.41%
	Natural Law	Doug Dern	10,366	0.33%	+0.03%
Majority			711,069	22.72%	+4.23%
Turnout			3,129,287
	Democratic hold		Swing

Minnesota

Minnesota election

Nominee Norm Coleman Walter Mondale Party Republican Democratic (DFL) Popular vote 1,116,697 1,067,246 Percentage 49.5% 47.3%

County results

U.S. senator before election Dean Barkley Independence Elected U.S. Senator Norm Coleman Republican

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Minnesota

See also: List of United States senators from Minnesota

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 Mayor of Saint Paul Norm Coleman. The day before the election, Independence Governor Jesse Ventura had appointed Dean Barkley (IP) to serve the rest of Wellstone's term. As of 2022, 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.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Norm Coleman	1,116,697	49.53%	+8.25%
	Democratic (DFL)	Walter Mondale	1,067,246	47.34%	−2.98%
	Independence	Jim Moore	45,139	2.00%	−4.98%
	Democratic (DFL)	Paul Wellstone (Incumbent, deceased)	11,381	0.50%	n/a
	Green	Ray Tricomo	10,119	0.48%	n/a
	Constitution	Miro Drago Kovatchevich	2,254	0.10%	n/a
	Write-ins		1,803	0.80%	n/a
Majority			49,451	2.19%	Republican gain from Independence
Turnout			2,254,639	80.26%
	Republican gain from Independence		Swing

Mississippi

Mississippi election

Nominee Thad Cochran Shawn O'Hara Party Republican Reform Popular vote 533,269 97,226 Percentage 84.6% 15.4%

County Results

U.S. senator before election Thad Cochran Republican Elected U.S. Senator Thad Cochran Republican

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Mississippi

See also: List of United States senators from Mississippi

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.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Thad Cochran (incumbent)	533,269	84.58%
	Reform	Shawn O'Hara	97,226	15.42%
Majority			436,043	69.16%
Turnout			630,495
	Republican hold		Swing

Missouri (special)

Missouri special election

Nominee Jim Talent Jean Carnahan Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 935,032 913,778 Percentage 49.8% 48.7%

County results

U.S. senator before election Jean Carnahan Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Jim Talent Republican

Main article: 2002 United States Senate special election in Missouri

See also: List of United States senators from Missouri

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.

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 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.

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jean Carnahan (Incumbent)	368,149	83.22
	Democratic	Darrel D. Day	74,237	16.78
Total votes			442,386	100.00

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Talent	395,994	89.58
	Republican	Joseph A. May	18,525	4.19
	Republican	Doris Bass Landfather	14,074	3.18
	Republican	Scott Craig Babbitt	7,705	1.74
	Republican	Martin Lindstedt	5,773	1.31
Total votes			442,071	100.00

Libertarian primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Tamara A. Millay	1,942	59.35
	Libertarian	Edward Joseph Manley	1,330	40.65
Total votes			3,272	100.00

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. 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."

Jack Abramoff contributed $2,000 to Talent's 2002 senatorial campaign, and Preston Gates & Ellis, a former Abramoff employer, had also contributed $1,000 to Talent's campaign. Talent later returned both contributions. 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.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jim Talent	935,032	49.80%	+1.41%
	Democratic	Jean Carnahan (Incumbent)	913,778	48.67%	−1.80%
	Libertarian	Tamara A. Millay	18,345	0.98%	+0.55%
	Green	Daniel Romano	10,465	0.56%	+0.11%
Majority			21,254	1.13%	−0.94%
Turnout			1,877,620
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

Montana

Montana election

November 4, 2002

Nominee Max Baucus Mike Taylor Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 204,853 103,611 Percentage 62.7% 31.7%

County results

U.S. senator before election Max Baucus Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Max Baucus Democratic

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Montana

See also: List of United States senators from Montana

Incumbent Democrat Max Baucus won re-election to a fifth term.

Democratic Party primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Max Baucus (Incumbent)	66,713	100.00%
Total votes			66,713	100.00%

Republican Party primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Taylor	48,169	60.16%
	Republican	Brad Johnson	14,252	17.80%
	Republican	John McDonald	10,116	12.63%
	Republican	Melvin Hanson	7,536	9.41%
Total votes			80,073	100.00%

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.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Max Baucus (incumbent)	204,853	62.74%	+13.18%
	Republican	Mike Taylor	103,611	31.73%	−12.96%
	Libertarian	Stan Jones	10,420	3.19%
	Green	Bob Kelleher	7,653	2.34%
Majority			101,242	31.00%	+26.14%
Turnout			326,537
	Democratic hold		Swing

Nebraska

Nebraska election

November 7, 2002

Nominee Chuck Hagel Charlie Matulka Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 397,438 70,290 Percentage 82.8% 14.6%

County results

U.S. senator before election Chuck Hagel Republican Elected U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel Republican

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Nebraska

See also: List of United States senators from Nebraska

Incumbent Republican Chuck Hagel won re-election to a second term.

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charlie A. Matulka	33,922	59.31%
	Democratic	Al Hamburg	23,272	40.69%
Total votes			57,194	100.00%

Libertarian Party primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	John J. Graziano	228	100.00%
Total votes			228	100.00%

Republican Party primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Chuck Hagel (Incumbent)	144,160	100.00%
Total votes			144,160	100.00%

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Chuck Hagel (Incumbent)	397,438	82.76%	+25.36%
	Democratic	Charlie A. Matulka	70,290	14.64%	−27.96%
	Libertarian	John J. Graziano	7,423	1.55%
	Independent	Phil Chase	5,066	1.05%
Majority			327,148	68.13%	+53.31%
Turnout			480,217
	Republican hold		Swing

New Hampshire

New Hampshire election

Nominee John E. Sununu Jeanne Shaheen Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 227,229 207,478 Percentage 50.8% 46.4%

County results

U.S. senator before election Bob Smith Republican Elected U.S. Senator John E. Sununu Republican

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in New Hampshire

See also: List of United States senators from New Hampshire and 2002 New Hampshire Senate election phone jamming scandal

Incumbent Republican/Independent U.S. Senator Bob Smith was defeated in the Republican primary and denied renomination. Republican 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". He rejoined the GOP a few months later, saying he made a mistake. 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, who would go on to win by 8 points.

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Sununu	81,920	53.35%
	Republican	Bob Smith (Incumbent)	68,608	44.68%
Total votes			150,528	100.00%

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 as of 2018. 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.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John Sununu	227,229	50.8%
	Democratic	Jeanne Shaheen	207,478	46.4%
	Libertarian	Ken Blevens	9,835	2.2%
	Republican hold		Swing

New Jersey

New Jersey election

Nominee Frank Lautenberg Doug Forrester Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,138,193 928,439 Percentage 53.88% 43.95%

County Results

U.S. senator before election Robert Torricelli Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg Democratic

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in New Jersey

See also: List of United States senators from New Jersey

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. 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. Forrester received the endorsement of President George W. Bush.

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.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Frank Lautenberg	1,138,193	53.88%
	Republican	Doug Forrester	928,439	43.95%
	Green	Ted Glick	24,308	1.15%
	Libertarian	Elizabeth Macron	12,558	0.59%
	Conservative	Norman E. Wahner	6,404	0.30%
	Socialist	Greg Pason	2,702	0.13%
Majority			209,754	9.93%
Turnout
	Democratic hold		Swing

New Mexico

New Mexico election

Nominee Pete Domenici Gloria Tristani Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 314,193 168,886 Percentage 65.0% 35.0%

County results

U.S. senator before election Pete Domenici Republican Elected U.S. Senator Pete Domenici Republican

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in New Mexico

See also: List of United States senators from New Mexico

Incumbent Republican Pete Domenici won re-election to a sixth term. As of 2022, this is the last Senate election in New Mexico won by a Republican.

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gloria Tristani	109,084	77.71%
	Democratic	Francesa Lobato	31,228	22.24%
	Democratic	Don E. Durham (write-in)	73	0.05%
Total votes			140,385	100.00%

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Pete Domenici (Incumbent)	91,898	99.93%
	Republican	Orlin G. Cole (write-in)	62	0.07%
Total votes			91,960	100.00%

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Pete Domenici (Incumbent)	314,193	65.04%	+0.32%
	Democratic	Gloria Tristani	168,863	34.96%	+5.17%
Majority			145,324	30.09%	−4.86%
Turnout			483,056
	Republican hold		Swing

North Carolina

North Carolina election

Nominee Elizabeth Dole Erskine Bowles Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,248,664 1,047,983 Percentage 53.56% 44.96%

County Results

Senator before election Jesse Helms Republican Elected Senator Elizabeth Dole Republican

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in North Carolina

See also: List of United States senators from North Carolina

Incumbent Republican Jesse Helms decided to retire due to health issues. Republican Elizabeth Dole won the open seat over Democrat Erskine Bowles, former White House Chief of Staff.

Democratic Primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Erskine Bowles	277,329	43.4%
	Democratic	Dan Blue	184,216	28.8%
	Democratic	Elaine Marshall	97,392	15.2%
	Democratic	Cynthia D. Brown	27,799	4.4%
	Democratic	Others	52,289	8.2%

Republican Primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Elizabeth Dole	342,631	80.4%
	Republican	James Snyder Jr.	60,477	14.2%
	Republican	Jim Parker	8,752	2.1%
	Republican	Ada Fisher	6,045	1.4%
	Republican	Others	8,201	1.9%

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Elizabeth Dole	1,248,664	53.56%	+0.92%
	Democratic	Erskine Bowles	1,047,983	44.96%	−0.96%
	Libertarian	Sean Haugh	33,807	1.45%	+0.46%
	Write-in	Paul DeLaney	727	0.03%	+0.02%
Majority			200,681	8.60%	+1.88%
Turnout			2,331,181
	Republican hold		Swing

Oklahoma

Oklahoma election

Nominee Jim Inhofe David Walters Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 583,579 369,789 Percentage 57.30% 36.31%   Nominee James Germalic Party Independent Popular vote 65,056 Percentage 6.39%

County Results

U.S. senator before election James Inhofe Republican Elected U.S. Senator James Inhofe Republican

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Oklahoma

See also: List of United States senators from Oklahoma

Incumbent Republican Jim Inhofe won re-election to a second term over Democrat David Walters, a former Governor of the state.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	James Inhofe (incumbent)	583,579	57.30%
	Democratic	David Walters	369,789	36.31%
	Independent (US)	James Germalic	65,056	6.39%
Majority			213,790	20.99%
Turnout			1,018,424
	Republican hold		Swing

Oregon

Oregon election

Nominee Gordon Smith Bill Bradbury Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 712,287 501,898 Percentage 56.2% 39.6%

County Results

Senator before election Gordon Smith Republican Elected Senator Gordon Smith Republican

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Oregon

See also: List of United States senators from Oregon

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. Oregon 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 overwhelmingly won re-election. As of 2022, this is the last Senate election in Oregon won by a Republican.

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bill Bradbury	279,792	85.89%
	Democratic	Craig Hanson	27,472	8.43%
	Democratic	Greg Haven	13,995	4.30%
	Democratic	Write-ins	4,480	1.38%
Total votes			325,739	100.00%

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gordon Smith (Incumbent)	306,504	98.89%
	Republican	Write-ins	3,439	1.11%
Total votes			309,943	100.00%

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Gordon Smith (Incumbent)	712,287	56.21%	+6.41%
	Democratic	Bill Bradbury	501,898	39.61%	−6.30%
	Libertarian	Dan Fitzgerald	29,979	2.37%	+1.43%
	Constitution	Lon Mabon	21,703	1.71%
	Write-ins		1,354	0.11%
Majority			210,389	16.60%	+12.71%
Turnout			1,267,221
	Republican hold		Swing

Rhode Island

Rhode Island election

November 4, 2002

Nominee Jack Reed Robert Tingle Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 253,922 69,881 Percentage 78.4% 21.6%

Municipal results

U.S. senator before election Jack Reed Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Jack Reed Democratic

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Rhode Island

See also: List of United States senators from Rhode Island

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. 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

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jack Reed (Incumbent)	85,315	100.00%
Total votes			85,315	100.00%

Republican Party primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Robert Tingle	16,041	100.00%
Total votes			16,041	100.00%

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Jack Reed (Incumbent)	253,922	78.43%	+15.12%
	Republican	Robert Tingle	69,881	21.57%	−13.38%
Majority			183,966	56.85%	+28.50%
Turnout			323,582
	Democratic hold		Swing

South Carolina

South Carolina election

Nominee Lindsey Graham Alex Sanders Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 600,010 487,359 Percentage 54.4% 44.2%

County results

U.S. senator before election Strom Thurmond Republican Elected U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham Republican

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in South Carolina

See also: List of United States senators from South Carolina

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 and also because potential rivals were deterred by the huge financial war chest Graham had amassed early in the campaign.

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 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.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Lindsey Graham	600,010	54.4%	+1.0%
	Democratic	Alex Sanders	487,359	44.2%	+0.2%
	Constitution	Ted Adams	8,228	0.7%	+0.7%
	Libertarian	Victor Kocher	6,684	0.6%	−0.5%
	No party	Write-Ins	667	0.1%	+0.1%
Majority			112,651	10.2%	+0.8%
Turnout			1,102,948	53.9%	−10.1%
	Republican hold		Swing

South Dakota

South Dakota election

Nominee Tim Johnson John Thune Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 167,481 166,957 Percentage 49.6% 49.5%

County results

U.S. senator before election Tim Johnson Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Tim Johnson Democratic

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in South Dakota

See also: List of United States senators from South Dakota

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.

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tim Johnson (Incumbent)	65,438	94.84%
	Democratic	Herman Eilers	3,558	5.16%
Total votes			68,996	100.00%

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. President George W. Bush campaigned for Thune in late October. More than $20 million was spent in the election. Both candidates had raised over $5 million each.

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.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Tim Johnson (Incumbent)	167,481	49.62%	−1.70%
	Republican	John Thune	166,949	49.47%	+0.79%
	Libertarian	Kurt Evans	3,070	0.91%
Plurality			532	0.15%	-2.49%
Turnout			334,438
	Democratic hold		Swing

Tennessee

Tennessee election

Nominee Lamar Alexander Bob Clement Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 891,420 728,295 Percentage 54.27% 44.34%

County Results

Senator before election Fred Thompson Republican Elected Senator Lamar Alexander Republican

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Tennessee

See also: List of United States senators from Tennessee

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.

Republican Primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Lamar Alexander	295,052	53.79%
	Republican	Ed Bryant	233,678	42.60%
	Republican	Mary Taylor-Shelby	5,589	1.02%
	Republican	June Griffin	4,930	0.90%
	Republican	Michael Brent Todd	4,002	0.73%
	Republican	James E. DuBose	3,572	0.65%
	Republican	Christopher G. Fenner	1,552	0.28%
	Republican	Write-ins	107	0.03%
Total votes			548,482	100.00%

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bob Clement	418,172	82.18%
	Democratic	Gary G. Davis	50,563	9.94%
	Democratic	Cher A. Hopkey	14,481	2.85%
	Democratic	Michael L. Hampstead	12,940	2.54%
	Democratic	Alvin M. Strauss	12,241	2.41%
	Democratic	Write-ins	478	0.08%
Total votes			508,875	100.00%

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 NRA.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Lamar Alexander	891,498	54.28%	−7.09%
	Democratic	Bob Clement	728,232	44.34%	+7.52%
	Independent	John Jay Hooker	6,401	0.39%
	Independent	Wesley M. Baker	6,106	0.37%
	Independent	Connie Gammon	5,349	0.33%
	Independent	Karl Stanley Davidson	2,217	0.13%
	Independent	Basil Marceaux	1,170	0.07%
	Write-ins		356	0.02%
Majority			163,266	9.94%	−14.61%
Turnout			1,642,432
	Republican hold		Swing

Texas

Texas election

Nominee John Cornyn Ron Kirk Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,496,243 1,955,758 Percentage 55.3% 43.3%

County results

U.S. senator before election Phil Gramm Republican Elected U.S. Senator John Cornyn Republican

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Texas

See also: List of United States senators from Texas

Incumbent Republican Phil Gramm decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. Republican John Cornyn won the open seat over the Democratic Mayor of Dallas, 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. 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 close, with an October Dallas Morning News poll showing Cornyn leading 47% to 37%. However, Cornyn won election by 12 percent. A record $18 million was spent in the election.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John Cornyn	2,496,243	55.3%
	Democratic	Ron Kirk	1,955,758	43.3%
	Libertarian	Scott Jameson	35,538	0.8%
	Green	Roy Williams	25,051	0.6%
	Write-In	James W. Wright	1,422	0.0%
Majority			540,485	11.97%
Turnout			4,514,012
	Republican hold		Swing

Virginia

Virginia election

November 4, 2002
Turnout	29.0% (voting eligible)
Nominee John Warner Nancy Spannaus Party Republican Independent Popular vote 1,229,894 145,102 Percentage 82.6% 9.7%   Nominee Jacob Hornberger Party Independent Popular vote 106,055 Percentage 7.1%
U.S. Senate election results map. Red denotes counties/districts won by Warner.
U.S. senator before election John Warner Republican Elected U.S. Senator John Warner Republican

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Virginia

See also: List of United States senators from Virginia

Incumbent Republican John Warner 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.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John Warner (Incumbent)	1,229,894	82.58%	+30.10%
	Independent	Nancy B. Spannaus	145,102	9.74%
	Independent	Jacob Hornberger	106,055	7.12%
	Write-ins		8,371	0.56%	+0.43%
Majority			1,084,792	72.83%	+67.75%
Turnout			1,489,422
	Republican hold		Swing

West Virginia

West Virginia election

Nominee Jay Rockefeller Jay Wolfe Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 275,281 160,902 Percentage 63.11% 36.89%

County Results

U.S. senator before election Jay Rockefeller Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller Democratic

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in West Virginia

See also: List of United States senators from West Virginia

Incumbent Democrat Jay Rockefeller 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%. 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, but it wasn't enough to make the election competitive. Rockefeller won by a margin of over 25 percent.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Jay Rockefeller (Incumbent)	275,281	63.11%	−13.54%
	Republican	Jay Wolfe	160,902	36.89%	+13.54%
Majority			114,379	26.22%	−27.08%
Turnout			436,183
	Democratic hold		Swing

Wyoming

Wyoming election

Nominee Mike Enzi Joyce Corcoran Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 133,710 49,570 Percentage 73.0% 27.0%

County results

U.S. senator before election Mike Enzi Republican Elected U.S. Senator Mike Enzi Republican

Main article: 2002 United States Senate election in Wyoming

See also: List of United States senators from Wyoming

Incumbent Republican Mike Enzi won re-election to a second term.

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joyce Corcoran	30,548	100.00%
Total votes			30,548	100.00%

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Enzi (Incumbent)	78,612	85.87%
	Republican	Crosby Allen	12,931	14.13%
Total votes			91,543	100.00%

Enzi stated that his top priorities were education, jobs, national security and retirement security. He had $485,000 cash on hand in June 2002, when Joyce Corcoran (D), Mayor of Lander first filed.

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mike Enzi (Incumbent)	133,710	72.95%	+18.90%
	Democratic	Joyce Corcoran	49,570	27.05%	−15.17%
Majority			84,140	45.91%	+34.06%
Turnout			183,280
	Republican hold		Swing

See also

• 2002 United States elections
  • 2002 United States gubernatorial elections
  • 2002 United States House of Representatives elections
• 107th United States Congress
• 108th United States Congress

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
• Bullock, Charles S.; Mark J. Rozell (2006). The New Politics of the Old South: An Introduction to Southern Politics. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 39–41.
• Hammond, James (November 6, 2002). "Graham claims Thurmond legacy for U.S. Senate". GreenvilleOnline.com. Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
• Johnson, Sasha (May 3, 2002). "S.C. Democrats eye Thurmond, fall elections". CNN. Archived from the original on March 19, 2005. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
• Kiker, Douglas (August 9, 2002). "Trying To Fill Ol' Strom's Shoes". CBS News. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
• Manjoo, Farhad (November 1, 2002). "Guns, lies and the Internet in South Carolina". Salon.com. Archived from the original on March 12, 2005. Retrieved January 31, 2008.

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