# 2002 United States Senate election in North Carolina

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vte :
The 2002 United States Senate election in North Carolina was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jesse Helms announced in August 2001 that he would retire due to health issues. Republican Elizabeth 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 since 1974.

## Democratic primary

During the primary campaign, Bowles was considered the choice of the party establishment, receiving support from former Governor Jim Hunt and the AFL-CIO.

### Candidates

* Dan Blue, State Representative
* Erskine Bowles, former White House Chief of Staff
* Cynthia D. Brown, Durham City Councilwoman
* Elaine Marshall, Secretary of State of North Carolina

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 639,025 | 100.0% |

## Republican primary

Dole was described as the "handpicked" choice of the White House, and received the support of President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, as well as outgoing Senator Jesse Helms.

### Candidates

* Elizabeth Dole, former United States Secretary of Labor, former United States Secretary of Transportation, former Assistant to the President for Public Liaison, and wife of former U.S. Senator Bob Dole
* James Snyder Jr., former state representative
* Jim Parker, physician
* Ada Fisher, physician and activist

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 426,106 | 100.0% |

## General election
### Candidates

* Erskine Bowles (D), former White House Chief of Staff
* Elizabeth Dole (R), former United States Secretary of Labor, United States Secretary of Transportation, Assistant to the President for Public Liaison, and wife of U.S. Senator Bob Dole
* Sean Haugh (L)

### Debates

2002 United States Senate election in North Carolina debates :
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Democratic |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | | |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | 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 | P | P |
| 2 | Oct. 19, 2002 | East Carolina University WCTI-TV WNCT-TV | Wes Goforth Alan Hoffman | C-SPAN | P | P |

### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Lean R | November 4, 2002 |

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Elizabeth Dole (R) | Erskine Bowles (D) | Other / Undecided |
| SurveyUSA | October 28–30, 2002 | 611 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 50% | 46% | 4% |

### Results

2002 United States Senate election in North Carolina :
| Party | 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 | Write-in | 727 | 0.03% | +0.02% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,331,181 | 100.00% | N/A |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

#### Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

* Wake (largest town: Raleigh)
* Guilford (Largest city: Greensboro)
* Mecklenburg (Largest city: Charlotte)
* Buncombe (largest town: Asheville)
* Watauga (largest municipality: Boone)
* Martin (largest town: Williamston)

#### Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Perquimans (Largest city: Hertford)
* Granville (largest city: Oxford)
* Duplin (Largest city: Wallace)
* Jones (Largest city: Maysville)
* Madison (Largest city: Mars Hill)
* Haywood (Largest city: Waynesville)
* Yancey (largest municipality: Burnsville)
* Pasquotank (largest municipality: Elizabeth City)