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County results Johnson: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Thune: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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Elections in South Dakota |
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The 2002 United States Senate election in South Dakota was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Tim Johnson narrowly won re-election to a second term over Republican John Thune by a margin of 524 votes, or 0.15%. This made the election the closest race of the 2002 Senate election cycle.
Thune later won South Dakota's other U.S. Senate seat in 2004, 2010, 2016, and 2022.
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 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, contending that both are seeking nuclear weapons and that this country needs a missile defense system, something Johnson voted against 29 times and that Thune supports. The incumbent attacked Thune for politicizing national security. [2] President George W. Bush campaigned for Thune in late October. [3] More than $20 million was spent in the election. Both candidates had raised over $5 million each. [4]
Source | Ranking | As of |
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Sabato's Crystal Ball [5] | Lean D | November 4, 2002 |
Johnson narrowly prevailed over Thune by a mere 524 votes. Despite the extremely close results, 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, and to Thune also underperforming in typically Republican areas. Johnson was sworn in for a second term on January 3, 2003. Thune was elected to South Dakota's other Senate seat in 2004, defeating incumbent minority leader Tom Daschle. He served alongside Johnson until the latter retired in 2015.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Tim Johnson (incumbent) | 167,481 | 49.62% | -1.70% | |
Republican | John Thune | 166,957 | 49.47% | +0.79% | |
Libertarian | Kurt Evans | 3,070 | 0.91% | ||
Total votes | 334,438 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
Democratic hold | |||||
Timothy Peter Johnson is a retired American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from South Dakota from 1997 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the United States representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district from 1987 to 1997 and in the state legislature from 1979 to 1987. Johnson chose not to seek reelection as a Senator in 2014; South Dakota’s congressional delegation has been all-Republican since he left office. Johnson is also the last Democrat to have held statewide office in South Dakota or win a statewide election in the state.
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 fourteen months after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
John Randolph Thune is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from South Dakota, a seat he has held since 2005. Thune is in his fourth Senate term and is the Senate minority whip, a post he has held since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Thune served three terms as the U.S. representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district from 1997 to 2003.
The 2010 United States Senate elections were held on November 2, 2010, from among the United States Senate's 100 seats. A special election was held on January 19, 2010, for a mid-term vacancy in Massachusetts. Thirty-four of the November elections were for six-year terms to the Senate's Class 3, while other three were special elections to finish incomplete terms. Those 37 November elections featured 19 incumbent Democrats and 18 incumbent Republicans.
The 2008 United States Senate election in South Dakota was held on November 4, 2008. Primary elections were held on June 3, 2008. Incumbent Senator Tim Johnson won re-election to a third term. As of 2023, this election alongside the simultaneous House race is the last time a Democrat won a statewide election in South Dakota. This is the last time that a Senate candidate and a presidential candidate of different political parties were voted for in South Dakota.
The structure of the government of South Dakota is based on that of the federal government, with three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. The structure of the state government is laid out in the Constitution of South Dakota, the highest law in the state. The constitution may be amended either by a majority vote of both houses of the legislature, or by voter initiative.
The 2004 United States Senate election in South Dakota was held on November 2, 2004. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator and Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle ran for re-election to a fourth term, but was narrowly defeated by Republican John Thune.
The 2002 United States Senate election in Minnesota took place on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Senator Paul Wellstone was running for a third term but died in a plane crash eleven days before the election. The Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) quickly chose former Vice President and 1984 presidential nominee Walter Mondale to replace Wellstone on the ballot. Mondale had previously held the seat from 1964 to 1976, resigning to assume the vice presidency. He narrowly lost to Republican Norm Coleman, the former mayor of Saint Paul. The day before the election, Governor Jesse Ventura appointed the 1996 Independence Party candidate, Dean Barkley, to serve the remainder of Wellstone's term.
The 1998 United States Senate election in Nevada was held on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Democratic Senator Harry Reid won re-election to a third term by a margin of less than 0.1% and 401 votes, making this the closest race of the 1998 Senate election cycle.
The 2002 United States Senate election in South Carolina was held on November 5, 2002. Longtime Republican incumbent Strom Thurmond decided to retire at the age of 100, becoming the first centenarian to ever serve in Congress; he later died in June 2003. Thurmond's record as the longest-serving Senator in U.S. history was later surpassed by West Virginia's Robert Byrd.
The 2002 United States Senate election in Arkansas was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Tim Hutchinson ran for a second term, but was defeated by Democratic candidate Mark Pryor, whose father David had held the seat from 1979 to 1997. This was the only Senate seat in the 2002 midterm elections to switch from Republican to Democratic, and Hutchinson was the only incumbent Republican senator to lose reelection during that cycle.
The 2010 United States Senate election in Arkansas took place on November 2, 2010 alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states, as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2010 United States Senate election in South Dakota was held on November 2, 2010 along other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator John Thune won re-election to a second term unopposed.
The 2002 United States House of Representatives election in South Dakota took place on Tuesday, November 5, 2002. Voters selected a representative for their single At-Large district, who ran on a statewide ballot.
The 2012 United States Senate election in Virginia took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Jim Webb retired instead of running for reelection to a second term, and former Democratic governor of Virginia Tim Kaine won the open seat over Republican former senator and governor George Allen. Kaine was unopposed for the Democratic nomination, and the Republicans nominated Allen through a primary on June 12, 2012. Allen had previously held this seat for one term before narrowly losing reelection to Webb in 2006.
The 2004 South Dakota's at-large congressional district special election was held on July 12, 2004 to select the successor to Republican Representative Bill Janklow who resigned on July 11, 2004, following a conviction of vehicular manslaughter after an accident that had occurred months earlier, creating an open seat and necessitating a special election. Each party held a nominating convention to choose their nominee for the special election. Republicans selected state Senator Larry Diedrich over Barbara Everist, also a member of the South Dakota State Senate, as their nominee while Democrats chose attorney Stephanie Herseth, who had unsuccessfully challenged Janklow in 2002.
The 2014 United States Senate election in South Dakota took place on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of South Dakota, concurrently with the election of the Governor of South Dakota, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2016 United States Senate election in South Dakota was held November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of South Dakota, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. The primaries were held June 7.
The 2020 United States Senate election in South Dakota was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of South Dakota, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Senator Mike Rounds was reelected to a second term in office, overperforming Donald Trump in the concurrent presidential election by 4.93 points.
The 2022 United States Senate election in South Dakota was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of South Dakota. Incumbent three-term Republican U.S. Senator John Thune, who is the Senate Minority Whip, was first elected in 2004, defeating Democratic incumbent Tom Daschle, the then-Senate Minority Leader. He ran for reelection to a fourth term. The Democratic nominee was 26-year Navy, Air Force JAG Corps Veteran, and former college professor Brian Bengs. Thune was ultimately reelected.