United States Senate election in Rhode Island, 2002

United States Senate election in Rhode Island, 2002

November 4, 2002

Nominee Jack Reed Robert Tingle Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 253,922 69,881 Percentage 78% 22%

County results

U.S. Senator before election Jack Reed Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Jack Reed Democratic

The 2002 United States Senate election in Rhode Island took place on November 4, 2002. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Jack Reed won re-election to a second term. Reed's best performance was in Providence County, where he won with over 80% of the vote.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Jack Reed, incumbent U.S. Senator

Results

Democratic primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jack Reed (inc.)	85,315	100.00
Total votes			85,315	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• Robert Tingle, casino pit boss and nominee for RI-02 in 2000^[2]

Results

Republican Party primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Robert Tingle	16,041	100.00
Total votes			16,041	100.00

General election

Candidates

• Jack Reed (D), incumbent U.S. Senator
• Robert Tingle (R), casino pit boss and nominee for RI-02 in 2000

Campaign

Reed was an extremely popular senator who got token opposition in the general election. A May Brown University poll showed the incumbent with a 73% approval rating, higher than any other elected lawmaker in the state.^[4] In June 2002, Tingle announced his candidacy.^[5] Tingle described himself as a working man with a family, while Reed is single and a veteran politician.^[6] In an October poll, Reed was up 61% to 14%.^[7]

Results

General election results^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Jack Reed (inc.)	253,922	78.43%	+15.12%
	Republican	Robert Tingle	69,881	21.57%	-13.38%
Majority			183,966	56.85%	+28.50%
Turnout			323,582
	Democratic hold		Swing

References

1. http://www.elections.state.ri.us/elections/results/2002/statewideprimary/summary.php
2. "Candidate From Casino Knows Odds". theDay.com. 2008-07-02.
3. http://www.elections.state.ri.us/elections/results/2002/statewideprimary/summary.php
4. "With apathy his opponent, Reed kicks off campaign". Providence Journal. May 20, 2002.
5. "Republican Tingle declares Senate bid to unseat Reed". Providence Journal. June 7, 2002.
6. "Reed running hard to retain his seat in the U.S. Senate". Providence Journal. October 29, 2002.
7. "The poll: Rhode Island politics, Iraq". Providence Journal. October 23, 2002.
8. http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2002/2002Stat.htm#39