2002 United States Senate election in Arkansas

The 2002 United States Senate election in Arkansas was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Tim Hutchinson ran for a second term, but was defeated by Democratic candidate Mark Pryor, whose father David had held the seat from 1979 to 1997. This was the only Senate seat in the 2002 midterm elections to switch from Republican to Democratic, and Hutchinson was the only incumbent Republican senator to lose reelection during that cycle.

2002 United States Senate election in Arkansas

← 1996 November 5, 2002 2008 →

Nominee Mark Pryor Tim Hutchinson Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 435,347 372,909 Percentage 53.86% 46.14%

County results Pryor:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Hutchinson:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Tim Hutchinson Republican Elected U.S. Senator Mark Pryor Democratic

Major candidates

Democratic

• Mark Pryor, Arkansas Attorney General

Republican

Republican Jim Bob Duggar challenged Hutchinson in the primary.

• Tim Hutchinson, incumbent U.S. Senator
• Jim Bob Duggar, State Representative

Republican primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tim Hutchinson (incumbent)	71,576	77.7%
	Republican	Jim Bob Duggar	20,546	22.3%
Total votes			92,116	100.0%

Republican primary results by county

  Hutchinson

•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%
•   >90%

General election

Debates

• Complete video of debate, October 14, 2002

Predictions

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

Results

2002 United States Senate election in Arkansas^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mark Pryor	435,347	53.86%
	Republican	Tim Hutchinson (incumbent)	372,909	46.14%
Total votes			808,256	100.0%
	Democratic gain from Republican

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Columbia (Largest city: Magnolia)
• Craighead (Largest city: Jonesboro)
• Conway (Largest city: Morrilton)
• Franklin (Largest city: Ozark)
• Garland (Largest city: Hot Springs)
• Independence (Largest city: Batesville)
• Johnson (Largest city: Clarksville)
• Logan (Largest city: Booneville)
• Perry (Largest city: Perryville)
• Sharp (Largest city: Cherokee Village)
• Stone (Largest city: Mountain View)
• Union (Largest city: El Dorado)
• Van Buren (Largest city: Clinton)
• Yell (Largest city: Dardanelle)

See also

• 2002 United States Senate elections