2002 Tennessee Senate election

For related races, see 2002 United States state legislative elections.

2002 Tennessee Senate election

← 2000 5 November 2002 2004  →
17 of the 33 seats in the Tennessee State Senate 17 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader John Shelton Wilder Ron Ramsey Party Democratic Republican Leader's seat 26th district 4th district Seats before 18 15 Seats won 18 15 Seat change Popular vote 332,487 412,490 Percentage 44.04% 54.27%
Speaker before election John Shelton Wilder Democratic Elected Speaker John Shelton Wilder Democratic

The 2002 Tennessee State Senate election was held on Tuesday 5 November 2002 to determing which party would control the Tennessee Senate for the following two years in the 103rd Tennessee General Assembly. The seventeen odd-numbered districts of the 33 seat Tennessee Senate were up for election. Prior to the election 18 seats were held by Democrats and 15 were held by Republicans. Primary elections were held on 1 August 2002. The general election saw both parties holding on to the same amount of seats as the previous election, meaning that Democrats retained control of the Tennessee Senate. ^{[1] [2]}

Retirements

Two incumbent Republicans did not run for re-election in 2002. Those incumbents were:

1. District 13: Gene Elsea retired.
2. District 23: Marsha Blackburn retired to successfully run for the U.S. House of Representatives for Tennessee's 7th congressional district.

Incumbents defeated

In the primary election

Republicans

1. District 1: Tommy Haun (R) lost renomination to Steve Southerland. ^[3]

Democrats

1. District 17: Robert Rochelle (D) lost renomination to Sherry Fisher. ^[4]

In the general election

Republicans

1. District 27: Bobby Carter (R) lost re-election to Don McLeary.

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Cook Political Report [5]	Lean D	4 October 2002

Results summary

Party		Candidates	Votes		Seats
			No.	%	Before	Up	Won	After	+/–
	Democratic	14	332,487	44.04%	18	7	7	18
	Republican	14	412,490	54.27%	15	10	10	15
	Independent	4	10,004	1.33%	0	0	0	0
Total			754,981	100.00%	33			33
Source:

Popular vote

Republican			54.27%
Democratic			44.04%
Other			1.33%

Senate seats

Democratic			54.55%
Republican			45.45%

Closest races

Three races were decided by a margin of under 10%:

District	Winner	Margin
District 17	Republican (gain)	5.60%
District 13	Republican	8.42%
District 27	Democratic (gain)	8.76%

Results by district

District	Democratic		Republican		Others		Total		Result
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
District 1	–	–	25,111	100.00%	–	–	25,111	100.00%	Republican hold
District 3	8,129	19.30%	30,758	73.03%	3,232	7.67%	42,119	100.00%	Republican hold
District 5	18,636	34.52%	35,345	65.48%	–	–	53,981	100.00%	Republican hold
District 7	17,210	38.09%	26,812	59.34%	1,159	2.57%	45,181	100.00%	Republican hold
District 9	17,282	39.75%	26,195	60.25%	–	–	43,477	100.00%	Republican hold
District 11	–	–	41,443	100.00%	–	–	41,443	100.00%	Republican hold
District 13	22,769	45.79%	26,960	54.21%	–	–	49,729	100.00%	Republican hold
District 15	30,942	58.11%	21,691	40.74%	614	1.15%	53,247	100.00%	Democratic hold
District 17	25,592	47.20%	28,624	52.80%	–	–	54,216	100.00%	Republican gain
District 19	27,872	100.00%	–	–	–	–	27,872	100.00%	Democratic hold
District 21	32,708	63.42%	18,865	36.58%	–	–	51,573	100.00%	Democratic hold
District 23	–	–	55,870	100.00%	–	–	55,870	100.00%	Republican hold
District 25	28,677	62.94%	16,887	37.06%	–	–	45,564	100.00%	Democratic hold
District 27	27,706	54.62%	23,018	45.38%	–	–	50,724	100.00%	Democratic gain
District 29	27,480	100.00%	–	–	–	–	27,480	100.00%	Democratic hold
District 31	11,186	21.89%	34,911	68.32%	4,999	9.79%	51,096	100.00%	Republican hold
District 33	36,298	100.00%	–	–	–	–	36,298	100.00%	Democratic hold

Candidates and results

District 1 • District 3 • District 5 • District 7 • District 9 • District 11 • District 13 • District 15 • District 17 • District 19 • District 21 • District 23 • District 25 • District 27 • District 29 • District 31 • District 33

District 1

Republican primary

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Southerland	14,232	56.98%
	Republican	Tommy Haun (incumbent)	10,746	43.02%
Total votes			24,978	100.00%

General election

Tennessee's 1st State Senate District General Election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Southerland	25,111	100.00%
Total votes			25,111	100.00%
	Republican hold

District 3

Republican primary

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rusty Crowe (incumbent)	14,153	60.57%
	Republican	Kevin D. Cole	9,212	39.43%
Total votes			23,365	100.00%

Democratic primary

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard Dale Gabriel	3,656	100.00%
Total votes			3,656	100.00%

General election

Tennessee's 3rd State Senate District General Election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rusty Crowe (incumbent)	30,758	73.03%
	Democratic	Richard Dale Gabriel	8,129	19.30%
	Independent	Charlie Mattioli	3,232	7.67%
Total votes			42,119	100.00%
	Republican hold

District 5

Republican primary

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Randy McNally (incumbent)	11,692	50.92%
	Republican	Lee Frank	11,271	49.08%
Total votes			22,963	100.00%

Democratic primary

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gary Farmer	11,591	100.00%
Total votes			11,591	100.00%

General election

Tennessee's 5th State Senate District General Election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Randy McNally (incumbent)	35,345	65.48%
	Democratic	Gary Farmer	18,636	34.52%
Total votes			53,981	100.00%
	Republican hold

District 7

Republican primary

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tim Burchett (incumbent)	13,250	100.00%
Total votes			13,250	100.00%

Democratic primary

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bill Owen	6,027	79.41%
	Democratic	Kendall Gene Wells	1,562	20.59%
Total votes			7,589	100.00%

General election

Tennessee's 7th State Senate District General Election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tim Burchett (incumbent)	26,812	59.34%
	Democratic	Bill Owen	17,210	38.09%
	Independent	Joe Burchfield	1,159	2.57%
Total votes			45,181	100.00%
	Republican hold

District 9

Republican primary

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeff Miller (incumbent)	9,953	48.85%
	Republican	Calvin Rockholt	6,950	34.11%
	Republican	Hal Y. Roe	3,470	17.04%
Total votes			20,373	100.00%

Democratic primary

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ronald D. Moore	5,655	66.60%
	Democratic	Charles S. Heron Jr.	2,836	33.40%
Total votes			8,491	100.00%

General election

Tennessee's 9th State Senate District General Election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeff Miller (incumbent)	26,195	60.25%
	Democratic	Ronald D. Moore	17,282	39.75%
Total votes			43,477	100.00%
	Republican hold

District 11

Republican primary

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David Fowler (incumbent)	15,913	100.00%
Total votes			15,913	100.00%

General election

Tennessee's 11th State Senate District General Election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David Fowler (incumbent)	41,443	100.00%
Total votes			41,443	100.00%
	Republican hold

District 13

Republican primary

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Ketron	6,811	53.54%
	Republican	Alan Pedigo	5,910	46.46%
Total votes			12,721	100.00%

Democratic primary

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bobby Sands	13,043	100.00%
Total votes			13,043	100.00%

General election

Tennessee's 13th State Senate District General Election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Ketron	26,960	54.21%
	Democratic	Ronald D. Moore	22,769	45.79%
Total votes			49,729	100.00%
	Republican hold

District 15

Republican primary

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Bailey	10,848	100.00%
Total votes			10,848	100.00%

Democratic primary

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charlotte Burks (incumbent)	23,614	100.00%
Total votes			23,614	100.00%

General election

Tennessee's 15th State Senate District General Election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charlotte Burks (incumbent)	30,942	58.11%
	Republican	Paul Bailey	21,691	40.74%
	Independent	Robert E. Grubb	614	1.15%
Total votes			53,247	100.00%
	Democratic hold

District 17

Republican primary

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mae Beavers	13,159	100.00%
Total votes			13,159	100.00%

Democratic primary

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sherry Fisher	9,883	58.56%
	Democratic	Robert Rochelle (incumbent)	6,993	41.44%
Total votes			16,876	100.00%

General election

Tennessee's 17th State Senate District General Election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mae Beavers	28,624	52.80%
	Democratic	Sherry Fisher	25,592	47.20%
Total votes			54,216	100.00%
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 19

Democratic primary

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Thelma Harper (incumbent)	14,798	100.00%
Total votes			14,798	100.00%

General election

Tennessee's 19th State Senate District General Election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Thelma Harper (incumbent)	27,872	100.00%
Total votes			27,872	100.00%
	Democratic hold

District 21

Republican primary

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Alexander	9,138	100.00%
Total votes			9,138	100.00%

Democratic primary

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Douglas Henry (incumbent)	11,669	60.95%
	Democratic	Jeff Wilson	7,476	39.05%
Total votes			19,145	100.00%

General election

Tennessee's 21st State Senate District General Election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Douglas Henry (incumbent)	32,708	63.42%
	Republican	Tom Alexander	18,865	36.58%
Total votes			51,573	100.00%
	Democratic hold

District 23

Republican primary

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Bryson	11,510	48.91%
	Republican	Clint Callicott	9,882	41.99%
	Republican	Laban Samuel Defriese	2,141	9.10%
Total votes			23,533	100.00%

General election

Tennessee's 23rd State Senate District General Election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Bryson	55,870	100.00%
Total votes			55,870	100.00%
	Republican hold

District 25

Republican primary

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James F. Brasfield	9,679	100.00%
Total votes			9,679	100.00%

Democratic primary

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Douglas S. Jackson (incumbent)	19,992	100.00%
Total votes			19,992	100.00%

General election

Tennessee's 25th State Senate District General Election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Douglas S. Jackson (incumbent)	28,677	62.94%
	Republican	James F. Brasfield	16,887	37.06%
Total votes			45,564	100.00%
	Democratic hold

District 27

Republican primary

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bobby Carter (incumbent)	12,389	100.00%
Total votes			12,389	100.00%

Democratic primary

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Don McLeary	9,088	52.50%
	Democratic	Alex J. Leech	6,801	39.29%
	Democratic	Harold T. Smith	1,422	8.21%
Total votes			17,311	100.00%

General election

Tennessee's 27th State Senate District General Election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Don McLeary	27,706	54.62%
	Republican	Bobby Carter (incumbent)	23,018	45.38%
Total votes			50,724	100.00%
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 29

Democratic primary

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Ford (incumbent)	17,397	78.15%
	Democratic	Richard B. Fields	4,863	21.85%
Total votes			22,260	100.00%

General election

Tennessee's 29th State Senate District General Election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Ford (incumbent)	27,480	100.00%
Total votes			27,480	100.00%
	Democratic hold

District 31

Republican primary

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Curtis S. Person Jr. (incumbent)	24,739	100.00%
Total votes			24,739	100.00%

Democratic primary

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Anthony D'Agostino	24,739	100.00%
Total votes			24,739	100.00%

General election

Tennessee's 31st State Senate District General Election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Curtis S. Person Jr. (incumbent)	34,911	68.32%
	Democratic	Anthony D'Agostino	11,186	21.89%
	Independent	Barbara Leding	4,999	9.79%
Total votes			51,096	100.00%
	Republican hold

District 33

Democratic primary

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Roscoe Dixon (incumbent)	24,170	100.00%
Total votes			24,170	100.00%

General election

Tennessee's 33rd State Senate District General Election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Roscoe Dixon (incumbent)	36,298	100.00%
Total votes			36,298	100.00%
	Democratic hold

See also

• 2002 Tennessee elections
• 2002 Tennessee gubernatorial election
• 2002 Tennessee House of Representatives election

References

1. "General Election" (PDF). sharetngov.tnsosfiles.com. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
2. "Tennessee State Senate elections, 2002". ballotpedia.org. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
3. "Republican Primary" (PDF). sharetngov.tnsosfiles.com. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
4. "Democratic Primary" (PDF). sharetngov.tnsosfiles.com. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
5. Jacobson, Louis (4 October 2002). "2002 State Legislature Ratings" . The Cook Political Report : 149–150. doi:10.7910/DVN/EH6LU0. Archived from the original on 24 August 2020 – via Harvard Dataverse.