2002 United States Senate election in Rhode Island

November 5, 2002


Nominee	Jack Reed	Robert Tingle
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	253,922	69,881
Percentage	78.43%	21.57%

Reed: 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%

U.S. senator before election

Jack Reed
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Jack Reed
Democratic

Federal government

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The 2002 United States Senate election in Rhode Island took place on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Jack Reed won re-election to a second term with nearly 80% of the vote, marking the best performance in his senatorial career as of 2025. Reed's best performance was in Providence County, where he won with over 80% of the vote.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Jack Reed, incumbent U.S. Senator

Results

Democratic primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jack Reed (incumbent)	85,315	100.00%
Total votes			85,315	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Robert Tingle, casino pit boss and nominee for RI-02 in 2000^[2]

Results

Republican Party primary results^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Robert Tingle	16,041	100.00%
Total votes			16,041	100.00%

General election

Candidates

Jack Reed (D), incumbent U.S. Senator
Robert Tingle (R), casino pit boss and nominee for RI-02 in 2000

Campaign

Reed was an extremely popular senator who got token opposition in the general election. A May Brown University poll showed the incumbent with a 73% approval rating, higher than any other elected lawmaker in the state.^[4] In June 2002, Tingle announced his candidacy.^[5] Tingle described himself as a working man with a family, while Reed is single and a veteran politician.^[6] In an October poll, Reed was up 61% to 14%.^[7]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[8]	Safe D	November 4, 2002

Results

General election results^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Jack Reed (incumbent)	253,922	78.43%	+15.12%
	Republican	Robert Tingle	69,881	21.57%	−13.38%
Majority			183,966	56.85%	+28.50%
Turnout			323,803
	Democratic hold		Swing

References

^ "Rhode Island Board of Elections: Elections & Voting". Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
^ "Candidate From Casino Knows Odds". theDay.com. July 2, 2008. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved July 8, 2008.
^ "Rhode Island Board of Elections: Elections & Voting". Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
^ "With apathy his opponent, Reed kicks off campaign". Providence Journal. May 20, 2002. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012.
^ "Republican Tingle declares Senate bid to unseat Reed". Providence Journal. June 7, 2002. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
^ "Reed running hard to retain his seat in the U.S. Senate". Providence Journal. October 29, 2002. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
^ "The poll: Rhode Island politics, Iraq". Providence Journal. October 23, 2002. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
^ "Senate Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on November 18, 2002. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives".

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Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Predictions

Results

See also

References