The 2002 United States Senate election in Kentucky was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell won re-election to a fourth term. This election was McConnell's biggest margin of victory to date. It is the only election in which he won Franklin County, and the most recent in which he won urban Jefferson and Fayette counties. The latter two were the only Kentucky counties won by either Hillary Clinton in 2016 or Joe Biden in 2020, signifying their leftward drift.
 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
 County results McConnell: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Weinberg: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Democratic primary
editCandidates
edit- Lois Combs Weinberg, Vice Chair of the Council on Postsecondary Education in Kentucky
- Tom Barlow, former U.S. Representative from Paducah (1993–95)
Results
edit
Combs Weinberg
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
Barlow
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
- 80–90%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Lois Combs Weinberg | 231,013 | 50.10% | |
| Democratic | Tom Barlow | 230,055 | 49.90% | |
| Total votes | 461,068 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
editCandidates
edit- Mitch McConnell, incumbent U.S. Senator
Results
editMcConnell was unopposed.
General election
editCandidates
edit- Mitch McConnell (R), incumbent U.S. Senator
- Lois Combs Weinberg (D), Vice Chair of the Council on Postsecondary Education in Kentucky
Predictions
edit| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[2] | Safe R | November 4, 2002 |
Polling
edit| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Mitch McConnell (R) |
Lois Weinberg (D) |
Other / Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA[3] | October 28–30, 2002 | 705 (LV) | ± 3.8% | 66% | 29% | 4% |
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mitch McConnell (incumbent) | 731,679 | 64.68% | +9.22% | |
| Democratic | Lois Combs Weinberg | 399,634 | 35.32% | −7.52% | |
| Majority | 332,045 | 29.35% | +16.74% | ||
| Total votes | 1,131,313 | 100.00% | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
edit- Magoffin (Largest city: Salyersville)
- Webster (Largest city: Providence)
- Morgan (Largest city: West Liberty)
- Henderson (Largest city: Henderson)
- Letcher (Largest city: Jenkins)
- Muhlenberg (Largest city: Central City)
- Fulton (Largest city: Fulton)
- Bath (Largest city: Owingsville)
- Marion (Largest city: Lebanon)
- Menifee (Largest city: Frenchburg)
- Rowan (Largest city: Morehead)
- Jefferson (Largest city: Louisville)
- Carlisle (Largest city: Bardwell)
- Livingston (Largest city: Salem)
- Hopkins (Largest city: Madisonville)
- Marshall (Largest city: Benton)
- Graves (Largest city: Mayfield)
- Hickman (Largest city: Clinton)
- Lyon (Largest city: Eddyville)
- Montgomery (Largest city: Mount Sterling)
- Union (Largest city: Morganfield)
- Perry (Largest city: Hazard)
- Ballard (Largest city: LaCenter)
- Boyd (Largest city: Ashland)
- Harlan (Largest city: Cumberland)
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear
References
edit- ^ "KENTUCKY STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS REPORT OF "OFFICIAL" ELECTION NIGHT TALLY RESULT". Archived from the original on November 11, 2010.
- ^ "Senate Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on November 18, 2002. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ SurveyUSA
- ^ "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives".