2002 United States Senate election in South Dakota

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 by a margin of 524 votes.

2002 United States Senate election in South Dakota

November 5, 2002
 
Nominee Tim Johnson John Thune
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 167,481 166,957
Percentage 49.6% 49.5%

County results
Johnson:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Thune:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election

Tim Johnson
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Tim Johnson
Democratic

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tim Johnson (incumbent) 65,438 94.84%
Democratic Herman Eilers 3,558 5.16%
Total votes 68,996 100.00%

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Thune, who was considered a rising star in his party, 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]

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 Minnehaha County home of Sioux Falls, 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 the Senate in 2004, defeating incumbent minority leader Tom Daschle.

General election results[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Tim Johnson (incumbent) 167,481 49.62% -1.70%
Republican John Thune 166,949 49.47% +0.79%
Libertarian Kurt Evans 3,070 0.91%
Total votes 334,438 100.00% N/A
Democratic hold

See also

References

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