The 2002 United States Senate election in Maine was held November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Susan Collins won re-election to a second term.
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Collins: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Pingree: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Tie: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Candidates
editDemocratic
edit- Chellie Pingree, State Senator and Senate Majority Leader
Republican
edit- Susan Collins, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1997
General election
editCampaign
editPingree attacked Collins for supporting the Bush tax cuts.[1] Both candidates opposed the Iraq War in the fall of 2002.[2] However, Collins then supported the congressional resolution to attack Iraq, while Pingree opposed it.[3]
Collins, a popular moderate, was supported by health care groups, environmentalists and gay rights advocates. She handily defeated Pingree in one of the first U.S. Senate elections in which both major parties nominated women in U.S. history.[4]
Debate
edit| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Democratic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn |
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| Susan Collins | Chellie Pingree | |||||
| 1 | Oct. 19, 2002 | Maine Public | Barbara Cariddi Charlotte Renner |
C-SPAN | P | P |
Predictions
edit| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[5] | Likely R | November 4, 2002 |
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Susan Collins (incumbent) | 295,041 | 58.44% | +9.25% | |
| Democratic | Chellie Pingree | 209,858 | 41.56% | −2.31% | |
| Majority | 85,183 | 16.87% | +11.57% | ||
| Turnout | 504,899 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Republican hold | |||||
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
edit- Androscoggin (largest city: Lewiston)
- Cumberland (largest municipality: Portland)
- Kennebec (largest city: Augusta)
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Griffin, Walter (October 30, 2002). "Senate rivals clash on federal tax cuts". Bangor Daily News – via news.google.com.
- ^ "Collins, Pingree oppose invasion". Sun Journal. AP. August 24, 2002 – via news.google.com.
- ^ Griffin, Walter (October 23, 2002). "Collins, Pingree divided on Iraq". Bangor Daily News – via news.google.com.
- ^ "CNN.com - Collins wins re-election in Maine, CNN projects - Nov. 6, 2002". edition.cnn.com.
- ^ "Senate Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on November 18, 2002. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ "2002 ELECTION STATISTICS". clerk.house.gov.