2002 United States Senate election in North Carolina

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2002 United States Senate election in North Carolina
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  Elizabeth Dole official photo.jpg Erskine Bowles in 2010 (cropped).jpg
Nominee Elizabeth Dole Erskine Bowles
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote1,248,6641,047,983
Percentage53.56%44.96%
2002 United States Senate election in North Carolina results map by county.svg
County results
Dole:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Bowles:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
U.S. senator before election

Jesse Helms
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Elizabeth Dole
Republican

The 2002 United States Senate election in North Carolina was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jesse Helms announced in August 2001 that he would retire due to health issues. Republican Elizabeth Dole won the open seat, becoming the first non-incumbent elected Republican Senator in the state's history. This was the first open seat election since 1974 and the first time happened at this seat.

Contents

Democratic primary

During the primary campaign, Bowles was considered the choice of the party establishment, receiving support from former Governor Jim Hunt and the AFL-CIO. [1]

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Erskine Bowles 277,329 43.4%
Democratic Dan Blue 184,21628.8%
Democratic Elaine Marshall 97,39215.2%
Democratic Cynthia D. Brown27,7994.4%
Democratic Others52,2898.2%
Total votes639,025 100.0%

Republican primary

Dole was described as the "handpicked" choice of the White House, and received the support of President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, as well as outgoing Senator Jesse Helms. [1]

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Elizabeth Dole 342,631 80.4%
Republican James Snyder Jr. 60,47714.2%
Republican Jim Parker8,7522.1%
Republican Ada Fisher 6,0451.4%
Republican Others8,2011.9%
Total votes426,106 100.0%

General election

Candidates

Debates

2002 United States Senate election in North Carolina debates
No.DateHostModeratorLink Republican Democratic
Key:
 P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited  W  Withdrawn
Elizabeth Dole Erskine Bowles
1Oct. 14, 2002 Meredith College
WRAL-TV
WTVD-TV 		David Crabtree
Larry Stogner		 C-SPAN [5] PP
2Oct. 19, 2002 East Carolina University
WCTI-TV
WNCT-TV 		Wes Goforth
Alan Hoffman		 C-SPAN [6] PP

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
Sabato's Crystal Ball [7] Lean RNovember 4, 2002

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size [a] 		Margin
of error		Elizabeth
Dole (R)		Erskine
Bowles (D)		Other /
Undecided
SurveyUSA [8] October 28–30, 2002611 (LV)± 4.0%50%46%4%

Results

2002 United States Senate election in North Carolina [9]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Elizabeth Dole 1,248,664 53.56% +0.92%
Democratic Erskine Bowles 1,047,98344.96%−0.96%
Libertarian Sean Haugh 33,8071.45%+0.46%
Write-in 7270.03%+0.02%
Total votes2,331,181 100.00% N/A
Republican hold

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear

References

  1. 1 2 Broder, David (September 9, 2002). "N.C.'s Democratic Senate Primary Still Open to Upset". The Washington Post .
  2. ↑ State Board of Elections [ permanent dead link ]
  3. ↑ "CANDIDATE FAULTS DOLE, GOP\ JIM PARKER SAYS THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND THE DOLE CAMPAIGN AREN'T PLAYING FAIR". Greensboro News and Record. April 19, 2002. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  4. ↑ State Board of Elections [ permanent dead link ]
  5. ↑ C-SPAN
  6. ↑ C-SPAN
  7. ↑ "Senate Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on November 18, 2002. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  8. ↑ SurveyUSA
  9. ↑ State Board of Elections
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