The 2002 United States Senate election in South Dakota was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 U.S. Senator Tim Johnson won re-election to a second term by a margin of 524 votes.

Results

Candidates

• Kurt Evans (L), teacher
• Tim Johnson (D), incumbent U.S. Senator
• John Thune
  John Thune
  John Randolph Thune is the junior U.S. Senator from South Dakota and a member of the Republican Party. He previously served as a U.S. Representative for .-Early Life, Education:...
  
   (R), U.S. Representative

Campaign

Thune, who was considered a rising star in his party, ran against Tim Johnson, who narrowly won his first senate election in 1996. Thune launched a television advertising campaign mentioning al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...

, contending that both are seeking nuclear weapons and that this country needs a missile defense system, something Johnson voted against 29 times and that Thune supports. The incumbent attacked Thune for politicizing national security. President George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 campaigned for Thune in late October. More than $20 million was spent in the election. Both candidates had raised over $5 million each.

Results