2002 United States Senate election in Oregon

2002 United States Senate election in Oregon

←  1996 November 5, 2002 2008  →

Nominee Gordon Smith Bill Bradbury Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 712,287 501,898 Percentage 56.21% 39.61%

County results Smith:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Bradbury:     50–60%

Senator before election Gordon Smith Republican Elected Senator Gordon Smith Republican

The 2002 United States Senate election in Oregon was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican United States Senator Gordon Smith ran for re-election to a second term. Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury emerged as the Democratic nominee, and though a competitive gubernatorial election occurred at the same time, Bradbury's campaign was never able to gain traction and Smith overwhelmingly won re-election (Bradbury only carried Multnomah County). As of 2025, this is the last time the Republicans have won a U.S. Senate election in Oregon and in any West Coast states (except Alaska).

Along with Maine and New Mexico, this was one of the three Republican-held Senate seats up for election in a state that Al Gore won in the 2000 presidential election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Bill Bradbury, Oregon Secretary of State
• Craig Hanson
• Greg Haven

Results

Democratic primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bill Bradbury	279,792	85.89%
	Democratic	Craig Hanson	27,472	8.43%
	Democratic	Greg Haven	13,995	4.30%
	Democratic	Write-ins	4,480	1.38%
Total votes			325,739	100.00%

Republican primary

• Gordon Smith, incumbent United States Senator

Results

Republican primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gordon Smith (Incumbent)	306,504	98.89%
	Republican	Write-ins	3,439	1.11%
Total votes			309,943	100.00%

General election

Campaign

Smith, who had only served one term in the U.S. Senate, had slightly lower than a 50% approval rating before the summer of 2002 began. ^[2] By July 2002, Smith had raised over $5 million, while Bradbury raised only about $1 million. ^[3]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball [4]	Likely R	November 4, 2002

Results

United States Senate election in Oregon, 2002 ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Gordon H. Smith (Incumbent)	712,287	56.21%	+6.41%
	Democratic	Bill Bradbury	501,898	39.61%	−6.30%
	Libertarian	Dan Fitzgerald	29,979	2.37%	+1.43%
	Constitution	Lon Mabon	21,703	1.71%
	Write-ins		1,354	0.11%
Majority			210,389	16.60%	+12.71%
Turnout			1,267,221
	Republican hold		Swing

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Clatsop (largest city: Astoria)
• Lane (largest city: Eugene)
• Lincoln (largest city: Newport)
• Benton (largest city: Corvallis)

See also

• 2002 United States Senate elections

References

1. "Content Manager WebDrawer - 2002 Primary Election Official Results".
2. Berke, Richard L. (June 8, 2002). "A Senate Candidate's Refrain: 'Could You Stretch It to $500?'". The New York Times.
3. Madden, Mike (July 16, 2002). "Smith, Hooley maintain comfortable fund-raising leads". USA Today. Archived from the original on November 14, 2012.
4. "Senate Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on November 18, 2002. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
5. Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 38.