2002 United States Senate election in Kentucky
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The 2002 United States Senate election in Kentucky was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell won re-election to a fourth term. This election was McConnell's biggest margin of victory to date. It is the only election in which he won Franklin County, and the most recent in which he won urban Jefferson and Fayette counties. The latter two were the only Kentucky counties won by either Hillary Clinton in 2016 or Joe Biden in 2020, signifying their leftward drift.
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November 5, 2002
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 County results McConnell: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Weinberg: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Republican primary
Candidates
- Mitch McConnell, incumbent U.S. Senator
Results
McConnell was unopposed.
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Lois Combs Weinberg, Vice Chair of the Council on Postsecondary Education in Kentucky
- Tom Barlow, former U.S. Representative from Paducah (1993–95)
Results
Combs Weinberg
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
Barlow
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
- 80–90%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Lois Combs Weinberg | 231,013 | 50.10% | |
| Democratic | Tom Barlow | 230,055 | 49.90% | |
| Total votes | 461,068 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Candidates
- Mitch McConnell (R), incumbent U.S. Senator
- Lois Combs Weinberg (D), Vice Chair of the Council on Postsecondary Education in Kentucky
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[2] | Safe R | November 4, 2002 |
Polling
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mitch McConnell (incumbent) | 731,679 | 64.68% | +9.22% | |
| Democratic | Lois Combs Weinberg | 399,634 | 35.32% | −7.52% | |
| Majority | 332,045 | 29.35% | +16.74% | ||
| Total votes | 1,131,313 | 100.00% | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Magoffin (Largest city: Salyersville)
- Webster (Largest city: Providence)
- Morgan (Largest city: West Liberty)
- Henderson (Largest city: Henderson)
- Letcher (Largest city: Jenkins)
- Muhlenberg (Largest city: Central City)
- Fulton (Largest city: Fulton)
- Bath (Largest city: Owingsville)
- Marion (Largest city: Lebanon)
- Menifee (Largest city: Frenchburg)
- Rowan (Largest city: Morehead)
- Jefferson (Largest city: Louisville)
- Carlisle (Largest city: Bardwell)
- Livingston (Largest city: Salem)
- Hopkins (Largest city: Madisonville)
- Marshall (Largest city: Benton)
- Graves (Largest city: Mayfield)
- Hickman (Largest city: Clinton)
- Lyon (Largest city: Eddyville)
- Montgomery (Largest city: Mount Sterling)
- Union (Largest city: Morganfield)
- Perry (Largest city: Hazard)
- Ballard (Largest city: LaCenter)
- Boyd (Largest city: Ashland)
- Harlan (Largest city: Cumberland)
See also
Notes
- Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear