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2002 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska

The 2002 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska were held on November 5, 2002, to elect the state of Nebraska's three members to the United States House of Representatives. All three incumbent Republican members of Congress were re-elected by wide margins.

2002 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska
← 2000
November 5, 2002
2004 →
All 3 Nebraska seats to the United States House of Representatives
  Majority party Minority party
 
Party Republican Democratic
Last election 3 0
Seats won 3 0
Seat change Steady Steady
Popular vote 386,869 46,843
Percentage 81.65% 9.89%
Swing Increase 10.43pp Decrease 16.18pp

Overview

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2002 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska[1]
Party Votes Percentage Seats +/–
Republican 386,869 81.65% 3 Steady
Democratic 46,843 9.89% 0 Steady
Libertarian 36,866 7.78% 0 —
Green 3,236 0.68% 0 —
Totals 473,814 100.00% 3 —

District 1

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Incumbent Republican Congressman Doug Bereuter ran for re-election. He faced no major-party challengers and was opposed only by Libertarian nominee Robert Eckerson in the general election.[2] Bereuter defeated Eckerson in a landslide, winning 85 percent of the vote. Bereuter ultimately did not serve out his full term; he declined to seek re-election in 2004 and resigned on August 31, 2004.

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Republican primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Doug Bereuter (inc.) 40,911 100.00%
Total votes 40,911 100.00%

Libertarian primary

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Candidates

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  • Robert Eckerson, immigration attorney[4]

Results

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Libertarian primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Libertarian Robert Eckerson 83 100.00%
Total votes 83 100.00%

General election

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Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[5] Safe R November 4, 2002
New York Times[6] Safe R October 14, 2002

Candidates

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Results

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2002 Nebraska's 1st congressional district general election results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Doug Bereuter (inc.) 133,013 85.35%
Libertarian Robert Eckerson 22,831 14.65%
Total votes 155,844 100.00%
Republican hold

District 2

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Incumbent Republican Congressman Lee Terry ran for re-election to a third term. He was challenged by businessman Jim Simon, the Democratic nominee, and two third-party candidates. Terry ultimately defeated Simon in a landslide, winning 63 percent of the vote to Simon's 33 percent.

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Republican primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Lee Terry (inc.) 24,193 100.00%
Total votes 24,193 100.00%

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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  • Jim Simon, businessman[7]

Results

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Democratic primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jim Simon 16,377 100.00%
Total votes 16,377 100.00%

Libertarian primary

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Candidates

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  • Dave Stock

Results

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Libertarian primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Libertarian Dave Stock 73 100.00%
Total votes 73 100.00%

General election

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Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[5] Safe R November 4, 2002
New York Times[6] Safe R October 14, 2002

Candidates

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  • Lee Terry (Republican)
  • Jim Simon (Democratic)
  • Doug Paterson (Green)
  • Dave Stock (Libertarian)

Polling

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Poll source Date(s)
administered		 Sample
size		 Margin
of error		 Lee
Terry (R)		 Jim
Simon (D)		 Doug
Paterson (G)		 Dave
Stock (L)		 Other /
Undecided
Midwest Survey and Research[8] October 23–28, 2002 604 (LV) ± 3.98% 54% 33% 3% 1% 9%

Results

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2002 Nebraska's 2nd congressional district general election results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Lee Terry (inc.) 89,917 63.32%
Democratic Jim Simon 46,843 32.98%
Green Doug Paterson 3,236 2.28%
Libertarian Dave Stock 2,018 1.42%
Total votes 142,014 100.00%
Republican hold

District 3

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Incumbent Republican Congressman Tom Osborne ran for re-election to a second term. No Democratic candidates filed to run against him,[2] and he was challenged only by Libertarian nominee Jerry Hickman, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.[9] Osborne defeated Hickman in a landslide, winning re-election with 93 percent of the vote.

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Republican primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Tom Osborne 78,297 100.00%
Total votes 78,297 100.00%

Libertarian primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Libertarian primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Libertarian Jerry Hickman 73 100.00%
Total votes 73 100.00%

General election

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Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[5] Safe R November 4, 2002
New York Times[6] Safe R October 14, 2002

Candidates

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Results

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2002 Nebraska's 3rd congressional district general election results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Tom Osborne (inc.) 163,939 93.17%
Libertarian Jerry Hickman 12,017 6.83%
Total votes 175,956 100.00%
Republican hold

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 John A. Gale. Official Report of the Board of State Canvassers of the State of Nebraska, General Election, November 7, 2002 (PDF). Nebraska Secretary of State. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  2. 1 2 "No Democratic candidates in two races". Lincoln Journal Star. March 2, 2002. p. 5B. Retrieved January 30, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 John A. Gale. Official Report of the Board of State Canvassers of the State of Nebraska, Primary Election, May 14, 2002 (PDF). Nebraska Secretary of State. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  4. ↑ Walton, Don (October 19, 2002). "Intelligence role occupies Bereuter". Lincoln Journal Star. p. 2B. Retrieved January 30, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 3 "50 most competitive House races of 2002". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 6, 2002. Archived from the original on November 6, 2002. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 "2002 Senate, House and Governor Ratings". The New York Times. October 14, 2002. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  7. ↑ Kotok, C. David (February 19, 2002). "Jim Simon candidate for House". Omaha World-Herald. p. 1. Retrieved January 30, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Kotok, C. David (October 30, 2002). "Poll: Iraq options determine support". Omaha World-Herald. p. 46024. Retrieved January 30, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. 1 2 Fowler, Gretchen (March 28, 2002). "Hickman running for Congress for third time". The Grand Island Independent. p. 1-B. Retrieved January 30, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.

See also

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