2002 United States Senate election in Iowa

The 2002 United States Senate election in Iowa was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Tom Harkin sought re-election to a fourth term in office. Harkin was opposed in the general election by U.S. Congressman Greg Ganske, who fought off a difficult challenger in the Republican primary. Though Harkin narrowly defeated his opponent six years earlier, he was able to defeat Ganske by a comfortable margin to win re-election.

2002 United States Senate election in Iowa

← 1996 November 5, 2002 2008 →

Nominee Tom Harkin Greg Ganske Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 554,278 447,892 Percentage 54.18% 43.78%

County results Harkin:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Ganske:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      80-90%

U.S. senator before election Tom Harkin Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Tom Harkin Democratic

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Tom Harkin, incumbent United States Senator

Results

Democratic primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Harkin (incumbent)	83,505	99.34%
	Democratic	Write-ins	555	0.66%
Total votes			84,060	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Greg Ganske, U.S. Representative from Des Moines
• Bill Salier, hog farmer

Results

Republican primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Greg Ganske	116,229	58.97%
	Republican	Bill Salier	80,700	40.95%
	Republican	Write-ins	167	0.08%
Total votes			197,096	100.00%

General election

Debates

• Complete video of debate, October 6, 2002

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[2]	Lean D	November 4, 2002

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size^[a]	Margin of error	Tom Harkin (D)	Greg Ganske (R)	Other / Undecided
SurveyUSA	October 27–29, 2002	605 (LV)	± 4.1%	60%	38%	2%

Results

United States Senate election in Iowa, 2002^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Tom Harkin (incumbent)	554,278	54.18%	+2.37%
	Republican	Greg Ganske	447,892	43.78%	-2.94%
	Green	Timothy A. Harthan	11,340	1.11%
	Libertarian	Richard J. Moore	8,864	0.87%
	Write-in		701	0.06%
Majority			106,386	10.40%	+5.30%
Turnout			1,023,075
	Democratic hold		Swing

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Adair (Largest city: Greenfield)
• Adams (Largest city: Corning)
• Allamakee (Largest city: Waukon)
• Audubon (Largest city: Audubon)
• Calhoun (Largest city: Rockwell City)
• Carroll (Largest city: Carroll)
• Cherokee (Largest city: Cherokee)
• Clay (Largest city: Spencer)
• Decatur (Largest city: Lamoni)
• Franklin (Largest city: Hampton)
• Guthrie (Largest city: Guthrie Center)
• Hancock (Largest city: Garner)
• Hardin (Largest city: Iowa Falls)
• Kossuth (Largest city: Algona)
• Monona (Largest city: Onawa)
• Pocahontas (Largest city: Pocahontas)
• Ringgold (Largest city: Mount Ayr)
• Taylor (Largest city: Bedford)
• Union (Largest city: Creston)
• Woodbury (Largest city: Sioux City)
• Wright (Largest city: Eagle Grove)
• Louisa (largest city: Wapello)
• Buena Vista (largest city: Storm Lake)
• Humboldt (largest city: Humboldt)
• Ida (largest city: Ida Grove)
• Sac (largest city: Sac City)
• Dickinson (Largest city: Spirit Lake)
• Wayne (Largest city: Corydon)

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Delaware (Largest city: Manchester)

See also

• 2002 United States Senate elections

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear

References

1. "Election: 2002 Primary Election (6/4/2002)" (PDF). State of Iowa Secretary of State.
2. . www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on November 18, 2002. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
3. Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 15.