The 2002 United States Senate election in Georgia took place on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator

Max Cleland Joseph Maxwell Cleland (August 24, 1942 – November 9, 2021) was an American politician from Georgia. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a disabled U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War, a recipient of the Silver Star and the Bronze Star ...

ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Saxby Chambliss Clarence Saxby Chambliss (born November 10, 1943) is an American lawyer and retired politician who was a United States Senator from Georgia from 2003 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a U.S. Representative from ...

by nearly a 7 point margin. This was the last midterm senate election in which an incumbent of the out-of-presidency party lost reelection until

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

. Chambliss became the first Republican ever to hold

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

's class 2 Senate seat.

Democratic Primary

, the incumbent U.S. Senator, won renomination unopposed.

Republican Primary

Three candidates ran in the primary: *

, U.S. Representative * Bob Irvin, State Representative * Robert Brown, a rancher from Yatesville Chambliss won easily, carrying nearly every county.

Campaign

Chambliss's campaign used the refrain of

national defense National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military attac ...

and security, but drew criticism for television ads that paired images of Cleland and Osama bin Laden and

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...

, and for questioning the commitment to

homeland security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" t ...

of his opponent, a triple amputee and decorated

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

veteran. Republican Senator and fellow Vietnam veteran John McCain of

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

said of one ad, "It's worse than disgraceful, it's reprehensible." McCain, along with Republican Senator and fellow Vietnam veteran

Chuck Hagel Charles Timothy Hagel ( born October 4, 1946)Rick Wilson received criticism from numerous journalists for his role in the ad, including from

Glenn Greenwald Glenn Edward Greenwald (born March 6, 1967) is an American journalist, author and lawyer. In 2014, he cofounded ''The Intercept'', of which he was an editor until he resigned in October 2020. Greenwald subsequently started publishing on Substac ...

, Charlie Pierce, and the

Center for Public Integrity The Center for Public Integrity (CPI) is an American nonprofit investigative journalism organization whose stated mission is "to reveal abuses of power, corruption and dereliction of duty by powerful public and private institutions in order to ...

Debates

Complete video of debate
October 27, 2002

General election

Predictions

Results

References

{{United States elections, 2002

2002 2002 Georgia (U.S. state) elections