2002 United States Shadow Senator election in the District of Columbia

The 2002 United States Shadow Senator election in the District of Columbia took place on November 5, 2002, to elect a shadow member to the United States Senate to represent the District of Columbia. The member was only recognized by the District of Columbia and was not officially sworn or seated by the United States Senate. Incumbent Shadow Senator Paul Strauss decisively won the primary against challenger Pete Ross and was reelected to a second term by a landslide.

2002 United States Shadow Senator election in the District of Columbia

← 1996 November 5, 2002 2008 →
Turnout	32.6% 6.4pp
Nominee Paul Strauss Joyce Robinson-Paul Norma M. Sasaki Party Democratic DC Statehood Green Republican Popular vote 91,434 13,966 11,277 Percentage 77.3% 11.8% 9.5%
Shadow Senator before election Paul Strauss Democratic Elected Shadow Senator Paul Strauss Democratic

Primary elections

Party primaries took place on September 10, 2002.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Paul Strauss, incumbent shadow senator
• Pete Ross, businessman, landlord, former Army captain

Results

Democratic primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul Strauss	47,787	65.87%
	Democratic	Pete Ross	22,633	31.20%
	Write-in		2,128	2.93%
Total votes			72,548	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Norma M. Sasaki
• Clark D. Horvath

Democratic primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Norma M. Sasaki (write-in)	34	5.61%
	Republican	Clark D. Horvath (write-in)	2	0.33%
	Write-in		570	94.06%
Total votes			606	100.00%

General election

Strauss faced Republican Norma M. Sasaki, and D.C. Statehood Green candidate Joyce Robinson-Paul. As is usual for Democrats in the District, Strauss won in a landslide.

Candidates

• Paul Strauss (Democratic)
• Norma M. Sasaki (Republican)
• Joyce Robinson-Paul (D.C. Statehood Green)

Results

General election results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul Strauss (incumbent)	91,434	77.32%
	DC Statehood Green	Joyce Robinson-Paul	13,966	11.81%
	Republican	Norma M. Sasaki	11,277	9.54%
	Write-in		1,582	1.34%
Total votes			118,259	100.00%
	Democratic hold

References

1. "Certified Election Results for the September 10, 2002 Primary Election". Retrieved May 21, 2022.
2. "Certified Election Results for the September 10, 2002 Primary Election". Retrieved May 21, 2022.
3. "DC Shadow Senator 2002 election". Our Campaigns. Retrieved May 21, 2022.