2002 United States Senate election in Mississippi
November 5, 2002
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County results Cochran: 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Mississippi |
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The 2002 United States Senate election in Mississippi was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Thad Cochran overwhelmingly won re-election to a fifth term. The Democratic Party did not field a candidate, resulting in Reform Party candidate Shawn O'Hara winning 15.42%. O'Hara's percentage of the vote was more than double Ross Perot's statewide total of 5.84% in the 1996 presidential election. His percentage was also the highest percentage for a Reform candidate in a U.S. Senate election.
Major candidates
Reform
- Shawn O'Hara, perennial candidate
Republican
- Thad Cochran, incumbent U.S. Senator
General election
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[1] | Safe R | November 4, 2002 |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Thad Cochran (incumbent) | 533,269 | 84.58% | |
| Reform | Shawn O'Hara | 97,226 | 15.42% | |
| Total votes | 630,495 | 100.00% | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
By county
| County[2] | Thad Cochran Republican |
Shawn O'Hara Reform |
Margin | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 6,621 | 76.41% | 2,044 | 23.59% | 4,577 | 52.82% | 8,665 |
| Alcorn | 3,284 | 88.52% | 426 | 11.48% | 2,858 | 77.04% | 3,710 |
| Amite | 3,811 | 65.87% | 1,975 | 34.13% | 1,836 | 31.73% | 5,786 |
| Attala | 4,810 | 85.07% | 844 | 14.93% | 3,966 | 70.15% | 5,654 |
| Benton | 1,272 | 81.07% | 297 | 18.93% | 975 | 62.14% | 1,569 |
| Bolivar | 5,660 | 83.27% | 1,137 | 16.73% | 4,523 | 66.54% | 6,797 |
| Calhoun | 2,614 | 86.33% | 414 | 13.67% | 2,200 | 72.66% | 3,028 |
| Carroll | 2,215 | 83.43% | 440 | 16.57% | 1,775 | 66.85% | 2,655 |
| Chickasaw | 3,299 | 79.67% | 842 | 20.33% | 2,457 | 59.33% | 4,141 |
| Choctaw | 1,698 | 87.26% | 248 | 12.74% | 1,450 | 74.51% | 1,946 |
| Claiborne | 1,386 | 64.32% | 769 | 35.68% | 617 | 28.63% | 2,155 |
| Clarke | 3,755 | 83.37% | 749 | 16.63% | 3,006 | 66.74% | 4,504 |
| Clay | 4,356 | 72.05% | 1,690 | 27.95% | 2,666 | 44.10% | 6,046 |
| Coahoma | 3,036 | 89.24% | 366 | 10.76% | 2,670 | 78.48% | 3,402 |
| Copiah | 5,315 | 79.25% | 1,392 | 20.75% | 3,923 | 58.49% | 6,707 |
| Covington | 4,685 | 84.07% | 888 | 15.93% | 3,797 | 68.13% | 5,573 |
| DeSoto | 10,431 | 88.55% | 1,349 | 11.45% | 9,082 | 77.10% | 11,780 |
| Forrest | 13,771 | 87.99% | 1,880 | 12.01% | 11,891 | 75.98% | 15,651 |
| Franklin | 2,475 | 84.04% | 470 | 15.96% | 2,005 | 68.08% | 2,945 |
| George | 3,717 | 90.15% | 406 | 9.85% | 3,311 | 80.31% | 4,123 |
| Greene | 2,256 | 89.21% | 273 | 10.79% | 1,983 | 78.41% | 2,529 |
| Grenada | 4,675 | 83.98% | 892 | 16.02% | 3,783 | 67.95% | 5,567 |
| Hancock | 7,034 | 85.84% | 1,160 | 14.16% | 5,874 | 71.69% | 8,194 |
| Harrison | 35,954 | 86.08% | 5,816 | 13.92% | 30,138 | 72.15% | 41,770 |
| Hinds | 46,687 | 82.16% | 10,138 | 17.84% | 36,549 | 64.32% | 56,825 |
| Holmes | 2,732 | 67.98% | 1,287 | 32.02% | 1,445 | 35.95% | 4,019 |
| Humphreys | 1,797 | 73.53% | 647 | 26.47% | 1,150 | 47.05% | 2,444 |
| Issaquena | 422 | 77.86% | 120 | 22.14% | 302 | 55.72% | 542 |
| Itawamba | 4,424 | 86.66% | 681 | 13.34% | 3,743 | 73.32% | 5,105 |
| Jackson | 25,305 | 89.22% | 3,056 | 10.78% | 22,249 | 78.45% | 28,361 |
| Jasper | 3,564 | 75.48% | 1,158 | 24.52% | 2,406 | 50.95% | 4,722 |
| Jefferson | 1,225 | 63.14% | 715 | 36.86% | 510 | 26.29% | 1,940 |
| Jefferson Davis | 2,964 | 77.07% | 882 | 22.93% | 2,082 | 54.13% | 3,846 |
| Jones | 13,463 | 88.49% | 1,751 | 11.51% | 11,712 | 76.98% | 15,214 |
| Kemper | 2,701 | 83.29% | 542 | 16.71% | 2,159 | 66.57% | 3,243 |
| Lafayette | 5,605 | 85.53% | 948 | 14.47% | 4,657 | 71.07% | 6,553 |
| Lamar | 10,069 | 92.79% | 782 | 7.21% | 9,287 | 85.59% | 10,851 |
| Lauderdale | 17,398 | 88.78% | 2,198 | 11.22% | 15,200 | 77.57% | 19,596 |
| Lawrence | 4,186 | 83.29% | 840 | 16.71% | 3,346 | 66.57% | 5,026 |
| Leake | 4,326 | 84.81% | 775 | 15.19% | 3,551 | 69.61% | 5,101 |
| Lee | 12,585 | 88.76% | 1,594 | 11.24% | 10,991 | 77.52% | 14,179 |
| Leflore | 4,553 | 79.17% | 1,198 | 20.83% | 3,355 | 58.34% | 5,751 |
| Lincoln | 8,708 | 86.32% | 1,380 | 13.68% | 7,328 | 72.64% | 10,088 |
| Lowndes | 10,268 | 84.14% | 1,936 | 15.86% | 8,332 | 68.27% | 12,204 |
| Madison | 20,109 | 87.86% | 2,779 | 12.14% | 17,330 | 75.72% | 22,888 |
| Marion | 5,988 | 86.41% | 942 | 13.59% | 5,046 | 72.81% | 6,930 |
| Marshall | 4,068 | 77.83% | 1,159 | 22.17% | 2,909 | 55.65% | 5,227 |
| Monroe | 5,204 | 82.29% | 1,120 | 17.71% | 4,084 | 64.58% | 6,324 |
| Montgomery | 2,813 | 87.80% | 391 | 12.20% | 2,422 | 75.59% | 3,204 |
| Neshoba | 6,864 | 90.57% | 715 | 9.43% | 6,149 | 81.13% | 7,579 |
| Newton | 5,491 | 91.20% | 530 | 8.80% | 4,961 | 82.39% | 6,021 |
| Noxubee | 2,194 | 70.25% | 929 | 29.75% | 1,265 | 40.51% | 3,123 |
| Oktibbeha | 7,793 | 79.67% | 1,988 | 20.33% | 5,805 | 59.35% | 9,781 |
| Panola | 5,058 | 79.74% | 1,285 | 20.26% | 3,773 | 59.48% | 6,343 |
| Pearl River | 7,212 | 87.49% | 1,031 | 12.51% | 6,181 | 74.98% | 8,243 |
| Perry | 2,695 | 88.51% | 350 | 11.49% | 2,345 | 77.01% | 3,045 |
| Pike | 8,776 | 78.33% | 2,428 | 21.67% | 6,348 | 56.66% | 11,204 |
| Pontotoc | 4,530 | 89.53% | 530 | 10.47% | 4,000 | 79.05% | 5,060 |
| Prentiss | 4,951 | 87.54% | 705 | 12.46% | 4,246 | 75.07% | 5,656 |
| Quitman | 1,088 | 73.07% | 401 | 26.93% | 687 | 46.14% | 1,489 |
| Rankin | 31,180 | 93.02% | 2,341 | 6.98% | 28,839 | 86.03% | 33,521 |
| Scott | 5,501 | 83.82% | 1,062 | 16.18% | 4,439 | 67.64% | 6,563 |
| Sharkey | 1,233 | 78.74% | 333 | 21.26% | 900 | 57.47% | 1,566 |
| Simpson | 5,823 | 81.77% | 1,298 | 18.23% | 4,525 | 63.54% | 7,121 |
| Smith | 5,075 | 91.66% | 462 | 8.34% | 4,613 | 83.31% | 5,537 |
| Stone | 3,132 | 89.77% | 357 | 10.23% | 2,775 | 79.54% | 3,489 |
| Sunflower | 3,479 | 73.72% | 1,240 | 26.28% | 2,239 | 47.45% | 4,719 |
| Tallahatchie | 2,261 | 74.67% | 767 | 25.33% | 1,494 | 49.34% | 3,028 |
| Tate | 3,363 | 85.05% | 591 | 14.95% | 2,772 | 70.11% | 3,954 |
| Tippah | 3,646 | 86.01% | 593 | 13.99% | 3,053 | 72.02% | 4,239 |
| Tishomingo | 3,344 | 82.94% | 688 | 17.06% | 2,656 | 65.87% | 4,032 |
| Tunica | 551 | 68.11% | 258 | 31.89% | 293 | 36.22% | 809 |
| Union | 4,672 | 90.79% | 474 | 9.21% | 4,198 | 81.58% | 5,146 |
| Walthall | 3,530 | 81.17% | 819 | 18.83% | 2,711 | 62.34% | 4,349 |
| Warren | 11,036 | 86.76% | 1,684 | 13.24% | 9,352 | 73.52% | 12,720 |
| Washington | 8,263 | 75.57% | 2,671 | 24.43% | 5,592 | 51.14% | 10,934 |
| Wayne | 4,384 | 83.79% | 848 | 16.21% | 3,536 | 67.58% | 5,232 |
| Webster | 2,829 | 88.99% | 350 | 11.01% | 2,479 | 77.98% | 3,179 |
| Wilkinson | 1,403 | 60.45% | 918 | 39.55% | 485 | 20.90% | 2,321 |
| Winston | 5,661 | 82.53% | 1,198 | 17.47% | 4,463 | 65.07% | 6,859 |
| Yalobusha | 2,205 | 78.16% | 616 | 21.84% | 1,589 | 56.33% | 2,821 |
| Yazoo | 4,752 | 82.90% | 980 | 17.10% | 3,772 | 65.81% | 5,732 |
| Totals | 533,269 | 84.58% | 97,226 | 15.42% | 436,043 | 69.16% | 630,495 |
Counties that flipped from Reform to Republican
- Claiborne (largest municipality: Port Gibson)
- Holmes (Largest city: Durant)
- Wilkinson (Largest city: Centreville)
See also
References
- ^ "Senate Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on November 18, 2002. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ a b Clark, Eric (December 3, 2002). "U.S. Senate" (PDF). Secretary of State of Mississippi. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2008. Retrieved March 12, 2026.