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 County results Dole: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Bowles: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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The2002 United States Senate election in North Carolina was held on November 5, 2002. IncumbentRepublican U.S. SenatorJesse Helms announced in August 2001 that he would retire due to health issues. RepublicanElizabeth Dole won the open seat, becoming the first non-incumbent elected Republican Senator in the state's history. This was the first open seat election since1974 and the first time happened at this seat.
During the primary campaign, Bowles was considered the choice of the party establishment, receiving support from former GovernorJim Hunt and theAFL-CIO.[1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Erskine Bowles | 277,329 | 43.4% | |
| Democratic | Dan Blue | 184,216 | 28.8% | |
| Democratic | Elaine Marshall | 97,392 | 15.2% | |
| Democratic | Cynthia D. Brown | 27,799 | 4.4% | |
| Democratic | Others | 52,289 | 8.2% | |
| Total votes | 639,025 | 100.0% | ||
Dole was described as the "handpicked" choice of theWhite House, and received the support of PresidentGeorge W. Bush, Vice PresidentDick Cheney, as well as outgoing SenatorJesse Helms.[1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Elizabeth Dole | 342,631 | 80.4% | |
| Republican | James Snyder Jr. | 60,477 | 14.2% | |
| Republican | Jim Parker | 8,752 | 2.1% | |
| Republican | Ada Fisher | 6,045 | 1.4% | |
| Republican | Others | 8,201 | 1.9% | |
| Total votes | 426,106 | 100.0% | ||
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Democratic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn | ||||||
| Elizabeth Dole | Erskine Bowles | |||||
| 1 | Oct. 14, 2002 | Meredith College WRAL-TV WTVD-TV | David Crabtree Larry Stogner | C-SPAN[5] | P | P |
| 2 | Oct. 19, 2002 | East Carolina University WCTI-TV WNCT-TV | Wes Goforth Alan Hoffman | C-SPAN[6] | P | P |
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[7] | Lean R | November 4, 2002 |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | Elizabeth Dole (R) | Erskine Bowles (D) | Other / Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA[8] | October 28–30, 2002 | 611 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 50% | 46% | 4% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Elizabeth Dole | 1,248,664 | 53.56% | +0.92% | |
| Democratic | Erskine Bowles | 1,047,983 | 44.96% | −0.96% | |
| Libertarian | Sean Haugh | 33,807 | 1.45% | +0.46% | |
| Write-in | 727 | 0.03% | +0.02% | ||
| Total votes | 2,331,181 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Republicanhold | |||||
Official campaign websites (archived)
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