2002 United States Senate election in South Dakota explained

Election Name:2002 United States Senate election in South Dakota
Country:South Dakota
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1996 United States Senate election in South Dakota
Previous Year:1996
Next Election:2008 United States Senate election in South Dakota
Next Year:2008
Election Date:November 5, 2002
Image1:Tim Johnson official portrait, 2009.jpg
Nominee1:Tim Johnson
Party1:Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:167,481
Percentage1:49.62%
Nominee2:John Thune
Party2:Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:166,957
Percentage2:49.47%
Map Size:260px
U.S. Senator
Before Election:Tim Johnson
Before Party:Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:Tim Johnson
After Party:Democratic Party (United States)

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 narrowly won South Dakota's other U.S. Senate seat in 2004, and was re-elected in 2010, 2016, and 2022 in uncompetitive elections.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Candidates

Campaign

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.[1] President George W. Bush campaigned for Thune in late October.[2] More than $20 million was spent in the election. Both candidates had raised over $5 million each.[3]

Debates

Results

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.

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rothrock Library . 2010-09-18 . https://archive.today/20120707220212/http://0-infoweb.newsbank.com.wave.lccc.edu/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=NewsBank&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=0F6804A403B019B7&p_docnum=13&p_queryname=22 . 2012-07-07 . dead .
  2. Web site: Rothrock Library . 2010-09-18 . https://archive.today/20120707063934/http://0-infoweb.newsbank.com.wave.lccc.edu/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=NewsBank&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=0F6BEB729417F6F0&p_docnum=19&p_queryname=22 . 2012-07-07 . dead .
  3. Web site: Rothrock Library . 2010-09-18 . https://archive.today/20120701102420/http://0-infoweb.newsbank.com.wave.lccc.edu/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=NewsBank&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=12DD1BD23AD1CCE0&p_docnum=14&p_queryname=22 . 2012-07-01 . dead .
  4. Web site: Senate Races. https://web.archive.org/web/20021118115505/http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/senate_all.htm. November 18, 2002. www.centerforpolitics.org. en-US. November 4, 2002. June 25, 2021. dead. mdy-all.