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.
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 County results Johnson: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Thune: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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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
- Tim Johnson, incumbent U.S. Senator
- Herman Eilers
Results
| 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
- Kurt Evans (L), teacher
- Tim Johnson (D), incumbent U.S. Senator
- John Thune (R), U.S. Representative
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.[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
- Complete video of debate, August 27, 2002
- Complete video of debate, October 7, 2002
- Complete video of debate, October 21, 2002
- Complete video of debate, October 24, 2002
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[5] | Lean D | November 4, 2002 |
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.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Tim Johnson (incumbent) | 167,481 | 49.62% | -1.70% | |
| Republican | John Thune | 166,957 | 49.47% | +0.79% | |
| Libertarian | Kurt Evans | 3,070 | 0.91% | ||
| Total votes | 334,438 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Democratic hold | |||||
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Union (Largest city: Dakota Dunes)
- Davison (largest city: Mitchell)
- Gregory (largest city: Gregory)
- Hamlin (largest city: Estelline)
- Lincoln (largest city: Sioux Falls)
- Turner (largest city: Parker)
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Bennett (largest city: Martin)
- Corson (Largest city: McLaughlin)
- Mellette (Largest city: White River)