2002 United States Senate election in Oregon

2002 United States Senate election in Oregon
	November 5, 2002
	County results ; Smith: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% ; Bradbury: 50–60%
Senator before election; Gordon Smith; Republican	Elected Senator ; Gordon Smith; Republican

The 2002 United States Senate election in Oregon was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican United States Senator Gordon Smith ran for re-election to a second term. Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury emerged as the Democratic nominee, and though a competitive gubernatorial election occurred at the same time, Bradbury's campaign was never able to gain traction and Smith overwhelmingly won re-election (Bradbury only carried Multnomah County). As of 2025, this is the last time the Republicans have won a U.S. Senate election in Oregon and in any West Coast states (except Alaska).

Along with Maine and New Mexico, this was one of the three Republican-held Senate seats up for election in a state that Al Gore won in the 2000 presidential election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Bill Bradbury, Oregon Secretary of State
Craig Hanson
Greg Haven

Results

Democratic primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bill Bradbury	279,792	85.89%
	Democratic	Craig Hanson	27,472	8.43%
	Democratic	Greg Haven	13,995	4.30%
	Democratic	Write-ins	4,480	1.38%
Total votes			325,739	100.00%

Republican primary

Gordon Smith, incumbent United States Senator

Results

Republican primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gordon Smith (Incumbent)	306,504	98.89%
	Republican	Write-ins	3,439	1.11%
Total votes			309,943	100.00%

General election

Campaign

Smith, who had only served one term in the U.S. Senate, had slightly lower than a 50% approval rating before the summer of 2002 began.^[2] By July 2002, Smith had raised over $5 million, while Bradbury raised only about $1 million.^[3]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[4]	Likely R	November 4, 2002

Results

United States Senate election in Oregon, 2002^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Gordon H. Smith (Incumbent)	712,287	56.21%	+6.41%
	Democratic	Bill Bradbury	501,898	39.61%	−6.30%
	Libertarian	Dan Fitzgerald	29,979	2.37%	+1.43%
	Constitution	Lon Mabon	21,703	1.71%
	Write-ins		1,354	0.11%
Majority			210,389	16.60%	+12.71%
Turnout			1,267,221
	Republican hold		Swing

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Clatsop (largest city: Astoria)
Lane (largest city: Eugene)
Lincoln (largest city: Newport)
Benton (largest city: Corvallis)

References

^ ^a ^b "Content Manager WebDrawer - 2002 Primary Election Official Results".
^ Berke, Richard L. (June 8, 2002). "A Senate Candidate's Refrain: 'Could You Stretch It to $500?'". The New York Times.
^ Madden, Mike (July 16, 2002). "Smith, Hooley maintain comfortable fund-raising leads". USA Today. Archived from the original on November 14, 2012.
^ "Senate Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on November 18, 2002. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 38.

[Primary_election_results-1] "Content Manager WebDrawer - 2002 Primary Election Official Results".

[2] Berke, Richard L. (June 8, 2002). "A Senate Candidate's Refrain: 'Could You Stretch It to $500?'". The New York Times.

[3] Madden, Mike (July 16, 2002). "Smith, Hooley maintain comfortable fund-raising leads". USA Today. Archived from the original on November 14, 2012.

[4] "Senate Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on November 18, 2002. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[5] Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 38.

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Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary

Results

General election

Campaign

Predictions

Results

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

See also

References