On paper, the redrawn 17th appeared to so heavily favor Gekas that it appeared unwinnable for a Democrat, even one as conservative as Holden. To some, it was blatant gerrymandering to force Holden into retirement. Gekas retained 60% of his former territory, and George W. Bush had carried the newly drawn district with 57% of the vote in 2000. However, to the surprise of many observers, Holden did not retire, instead opting to run in a district that was 65% new to him (a small corner from the even more Republican 9th District was moved to the 17th). Gekas was forced into his first real campaign ever. Holden managed to gain endorsements from much of Gekas' old base, much to Gekas' surprise. Even Gekas' hometown paper, "The Patriot-News", endorsed Holden, saying that the 17th was not the same district that elected Gekas in 1982. Gekas got another rude surprise when Holden visited African American neighborhoods such as Uptown and Allison Hill after finding out that Gekas had never set foot in these neighborhoods in his congressional career. He asked the residents of these neighborhoods not to vote for a congressman who didn't bother to visit them. In November 2002, in one of the biggest upsets in recent political history, Holden narrowly defeated Gekas.