2002 United States Senate election in New Hampshire
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Sununu: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% >90% Shaheen: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% >90% Tie: 40–50% | |||||||||||||||||
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The 2002 United States Senate election in New Hampshire was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Bob Smith was defeated in the Republican primary by U.S. Representative John E. Sununu.[1] Sununu won the open seat, defeating Democratic Governor Jeanne Shaheen. As of 2023[update], this was the last time Republicans or a male candidate won the Class 2 Senate seat in New Hampshire; Shaheen defeated Sununu in their 2008 rematch for this seat and was re-elected in 2014 & 2020. This was Shaheen’s only unsuccessful run for elected office.
Republican primary
Campaign
Senator
Republican Senator, briefly left the party in 1999 to run for president as an independent, claiming that the Republican platform was "not worth the paper it's written on".[2] He rejoined the GOP a few months later, saying he made a mistake.[3] Nonetheless, the party never fully forgave him, and some of his fellow Republican Senators went so far as to endorse his primary opponent, Rep. John Sununu,[4]
who would go on to win by more than eight percentage points.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Sununu | 81,920 | 53.35% | |
| Republican | Bob Smith (incumbent) | 68,608 | 44.68% | |
| Total votes | 150,528 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Candidates
- Ken Blevens (Libertarian)
- Jeanne Shaheen, Governor of New Hampshire (Democratic)
- John E. Sununu, U.S. Representative (Republican)
Campaign
During the campaign, there was a major scandal that involved the use of a
FBI
during the original investigation.
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
Sabato's Crystal Ball[6]
|
Lean D (flip) | November 4, 2002 |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Sununu | 227,229 | 51.12% | |
| Democratic | Jeanne Shaheen | 207,478 | 46.67% | |
| Libertarian | Ken Blevens | 9,835 | 2.21% | |
| Total votes | 444,542 | 100.0% | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
See also
- 2002 United States Senate election
References
- ^ Hulse, Carl (September 12, 2002). "Campaign Season; G.O.P. Is Relieved At Republican's Loss". The New York Times.
- ^ Cole, Jim (September 10, 2002). "Sununu ousts Smith in New Hampshire primary". Associated Press. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
- ^ Cole, Jim (September 10, 2002). "Sununu ousts Smith in New Hampshire primary". Associated Press. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
- ^ Hulse, Carl (September 12, 2002). "Campaign Season; G.O.P. Is Relieved At Republican's Loss". The New York Times. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
- ^ "Election and voting information".
- ^ "Senate Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on November 18, 2002. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ State of New Hampshire, Elections Division, State General Election - November 5, 2002 retrieved September 5, 2011
