2002 United States Senate election in West Virginia
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The 2002 United States Senate election in West Virginia was held on November 5. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller won re-election to a fourth term, defeating Republican Jay Wolfe.
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November 5, 2002
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 County results Rockefeller: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Wolfe: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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This was one of the six Democratic-held Senate seats up for election in a state that George W. Bush won in the 2000 presidential election.
Major candidates
Democratic
- Jay Rockefeller, incumbent U.S. Senator
Republican
- Jay Wolfe, State Senator and nominee for U.S. Senate for 1988
Campaign
Wolfe ran a Grassroots campaign. Rockefeller was the heavy favorite.[1][2] Rockefeller had $2.9 million cash on hand to Wolfe at $100,536 (In mid-October). Wolfe was endorsed by President George W. Bush and the National Rifle Association of America, but it wasn't enough to make the election competitive.[3]
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[4] | Safe D | November 4, 2002 |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jay Rockefeller (incumbent) | 275,281 | 63.11% | −13.54% | |
| Republican | Jay Wolfe | 160,902 | 36.89% | +13.54% | |
| Total votes | 436,183 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Democratic hold | |||||
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Doddridge (largest municipality: West Union)
- Morgan (largest municipality: Berkeley Springs)
- Grant (largest municipality: Petersburg)
- Ritchie (largest municipality: Harrisville)