2002 United States Senate Elections

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

Results summary

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.

After the elections

Gains and losses

Retirements

Four Republicans and one Independence retired instead of seeking re-election.

Nomination withdrawn

One Democrat was originally to seek re-election but withdrew.

Defeats

One Democrat and two Republicans sought re-election but lost in the primary or general election. Additionally, one other Democrat sought election to finish the unexpired term.

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.

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%

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.

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.

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.

Arkansas

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

Colorado

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

Delaware

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

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 won re-election to a third term.

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.

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

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.

Kansas

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

Kentucky

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

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".

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.

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.

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.

Michigan

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

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. , 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.

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.

Missouri (special)

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.

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 ngher 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.

Montana

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

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.

Nebraska

Incumbent Republican Chuck Hagel

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