2002 United States Senate election in Alabama
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 County results Sessions: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Parker: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Alabama |
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The 2002 United States Senate election in Alabama was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions won re-election to a second term.[1] Sessions became the first Republican to be elected to two full terms to the Senate from the state. As of 2022, this is the most recent Senate election in Alabama in which Colbert and Lawrence counties voted for the Democratic candidate.
Background
[edit]In the 1968 presidential election, Alabama supported native son and American Independent Party candidate George Wallace over both Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey. Wallace was the official Democratic candidate in Alabama, while Humphrey was listed as the "National Democratic".[2] In 1976, Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter from Georgia carried the state, the region, and the nation, but Democratic control of the region slipped after that.
Since 1980, conservative Alabama voters have increasingly voted for Republican candidates at the federal level, especially in presidential elections. By contrast, Democratic candidates have been elected to many state-level offices and comprised a longstanding majority in the Alabama Legislature.
Republican primary
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- Jeff Sessions, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1997
Sessions was not challenged in the primary.[3]
Democratic primary
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- Julian L. McPhillips, Attorney and candidate for Attorney General in 1978[4]
- Susan Parker, Alabama State Auditor
- Wayne Sowell, candidate for governor in 1998 and candidate for the U.S. House in 2000
Results
[edit]
Original on June 4[5]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Susan Parker | 190,978 | 47.99% | |
| Democratic | Julian L. McPhillips | 170,222 | 42.78% | |
| Democratic | Wayne Sowell | 36,719 | 9.23% | |
| Total votes | 397,919 | 100.00% | ||
McPhillips won many counties in the southern part of the state, but Parker won the most counties. Sowell endorsed Parker for the runoff.
Runoff on June 25
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Susan Parker | 176,708 | 65.15% | |
| Democratic | Julian L. McPhillips | 94,540 | 34.85% | |
| Total votes | 271,248 | 100.00% | ||
General election
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- Jeff Allen (L)
- Susan Parker (D), Alabama State Auditor
- Jeff Sessions (R), Incumbent U.S. Senator
Debates
[edit]- Complete video of debate, October 20, 2002
Predictions
[edit]| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[8] | Safe R | November 4, 2002 |
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jeff Sessions (incumbent) | 792,561 | 58.58% | +6.13% | |
| Democratic | Susan Parker | 538,878 | 39.83% | −5.63% | |
| Libertarian | Jeff Allen | 20,234 | 1.50% | +0.06% | |
| Write-in | 1,350 | 0.10% | +0.06% | ||
| Majority | 253,683 | 18.75% | |||
| Turnout | 1,353,023 | ||||
| Republican hold | Swing | ||||
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
[edit]- Coosa (Largest city: Goodwater)
- Chambers (Largest city: Valley)
- Barbour (largest city: Eufaula)
- Conecuh (largest city: Evergreen)
- Butler (Largest city: Greenville)
- Crenshaw (Largest city: Luverne)
- Washington (Largest city: Chatom)
- Choctaw (Largest city: Butler)
- Jackson (Largest city: Scottsboro)
- Cherokee (Largest city: Centre)
- Fayette (Largest city: Fayette)
- Franklin (Largest city: Russellville)
- Marion (Largest city: Hamilton)
- Walker (Largest city: Jasper)
- Lauderdale (Largest city: Florence)
- Lamar (Largest city: Vernon)
- Etowah (Largest city: Gadsden)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Archived from the original on July 25, 2007. Retrieved August 8, 2007.
- ^ "1968 Presidential General Election Results - Alabama". Uselectionatlas.org. November 5, 1968. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
- ^ "Primaries set stage for crucial Nov. vote". USA Today. June 5, 2002. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
- ^ "The Tuscaloosa News - Google News Archive Search".
- ^ "Gadsden Times - Google News Archive Search".
- ^ 2002 Senatorial Democratic Primary Election Results - Alabama US Election Atlas
- ^ "The Tuscaloosa News - Google News Archive Search".
- ^ "Senate Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on November 18, 2002. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ http://www.sos.alabama.gov/vb/election/her/her-sw2.aspx [dead link]