# 2002 United States Senate election in Louisiana

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The 2002 United States Senate election in Louisiana was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu won re-election to a second term, although she did not earn 50% of the vote in the first round and was therefore forced into a runoff election with Republican Suzanne Haik Terrell, the Louisiana Elections Commissioner.
During the runoff, Landrieu was outspent three-to-one by Terrell, who also had prominent Republicans including President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney visit Louisiana to campaign on her behalf. Republicans, confident of victory having gained seats in the elections to the House of Representatives and to the Senate, solidifying control of the former and taking control of the latter, publicly called the election "Operation Icing on the Cake". Some Democrats responded by calling their efforts "Operation Wipe that Smirk off of Bush's Face" and dubbed Landrieu's subsequent run-off victory, "Operation Pie in the Face".

## Candidates
### Democratic

* Raymond Brown
* Mary Landrieu, incumbent U.S. Senator

### Republican

* John Cooksey, U.S. Representative
* Tony Perkins, State Representative
* Ernest Edward Skillman
* Suzanne Haik Terrell, Louisiana Elections Commissioner

### Independents

* Live Wire Landry
* James Lemann
* Gary D. Robbins

## Primary results

Louisiana United States Senate jungle primary election, November 5, 2002 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Mary Landrieu (Incumbent) | 573,347 | 46.00% |
| | Republican | Suzanne Haik Terrell | 339,506 | 27.24% |
| | Republican | John Cooksey | 171,752 | 13.78% |
| | Republican | Tony Perkins | 119,776 | 9.61% |
| | Democratic | Raymond Brown | 23,553 | 1.89% |
| | Independent | Patrick E. "Live Wire" Landry | 10,442 | 0.84% |
| | Independent | James Lemann | 3,866 | 0.31% |
| | Libertarian | Gary D. Robbins | 2,423 | 0.19% |
| | Republican | Ernest Edward Skillman, Jr. | 1,668 | 0.13% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,246,333 | 100.00% |

## Runoff
### Debates (Jungle primary & runoff)

* Complete video of debate, October 24, 2002
* Complete video of debate, October 28, 2002
* Complete video of debate, October 29, 2002
* Complete video of debate, November 17, 2002
* Complete video of debate, November 21, 2002
* Complete video of debate, November 25, 2002
* Complete video of debate, December 2, 2002

### Predictions

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

### Results

Louisiana United States Senate election runoff, December 7, 2002 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Mary Landrieu (incumbent) | 638,654 | 51.70% | +1.53% |
| | Republican | Suzanne Haik Terrell | 596,642 | 48.30% | −1.53% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 42,012 | 3.40% | +3.06% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,235,296 | 100.00% | |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Swing | | |

#### Parishes that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Cameron (Largest community: Grand Lake)
* Catahoula (Largest town: Jonesville)
* East Baton Rouge (Largest city: Baton Rouge)
* Evangeline (Largest city: Ville Platte)
* Jefferson Davis (Largest city: Jennings)
* Morehouse (Largest city: Bastrop)
* Saint Martin (Largest city: Breaux Bridge)
* Saint Landry (Largest city: Opelousas)
* Washington (Largest city: Bogalusa)

## Analysis

Landrieu pulled off what many considered to be an upset victory. The Republicans believed they would most likely win the race. Before the election, many Republicans called the race operation icing on the cake. After Landrieu won the runoff Democrats dubbed her victory operation pie in the face. The race was close. In terms of rural parishes, the vote was split fairly evenly. Landrieu did well in Caddo Parish home of Shreveport, and in East Baton Rouge Parish home of Baton Rouge. Ultimately though it was Landrieu's huge win in Orleans Parish home of New Orleans that pushed her over the finish line. Haik Terrell conceded defeat to Landrieu at 12:38 P.M. EST, congratulating Landrieu on her victory. Landrieu would go on to be reelected to a third term in 2008, but ultimately defeated in her bid for a fourth term in 2014.