2010 United States Senate election in Vermont

The 2010 United States Senate election in Vermont took place on November 2, 2010 alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy was re-elected to a seventh term.[1]

2010 United States Senate election in Vermont

November 2, 2010
 
Nominee Patrick Leahy Len Britton
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 151,281 72,699
Percentage 64.4% 30.9%

Leahy:      30-40%      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90%
Britton:      40-50%      50-60%

U.S. senator before election

Patrick Leahy
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Patrick Leahy
Democratic

Democratic primary

Candidates

  • Patrick Leahy, incumbent U.S. Senator
  • Daniel Freilich, military doctor (also running as an independent)

Results

Democratic primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Patrick Leahy (incumbent) 64,177 89.06%
Democratic Daniel Freilich 7,886 10.94%
Total votes 72,063 100.0%

General election

Candidates

  • Len Britton (R), businessman
  • Patrick Leahy (D), incumbent U.S. Senator
  • Stephen Cain (I)[3]
  • Pete Diamondstone (Socialist)[3][4]
  • Cris Ericson (U.S. Marijuana), two-time former candidate for U.S. Senate[3]
  • Daniel Freilich (I), military doctor[3]
  • Johenry Nunes (I), military education and training manager[3]

Campaign

First elected in 1974, Leahy is the first and only Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Vermont. He won his last two re-election campaigns with at least 70% of the vote. He is the second-most-senior member of Congress. In a June 2010 poll, the incumbent was viewed very favorably by 52% of the state. 52% of the state opposed repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and 50% opposed Arizona's immigration law. Obama's approval rating in the poll was 62%.[5] Obama carried Vermont with 67% of the vote in 2008.

His Republican opponent was Len Britton, a businessman who had never run for public office before. As of August 2010, he had released two TV ads, criticizing Obama's stimulus and the deficits.[6] His campaign manager admitted "Len is an unknown candidate and we are rigorously running on a difficult campaign schedule."[7]

Debates

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
Cook Political Report[9] Solid D October 26, 2010
Rothenberg[10] Safe D October 22, 2010
RealClearPolitics[11] Safe D October 26, 2010
Sabato's Crystal Ball[12] Safe D October 21, 2010
CQ Politics[13] Safe D October 26, 2010

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Patrick
Leahy (D)
Len
Britton (R)
Other Undecided
Rasmussen Reports June 17, 2010 500 ± 4.5% 64% 29% 3% 4%
Rasmussen Reports September 13, 2010 500 ± 4.5% 63% 32% 2% 4%
Vermont Public Radio/Mason-Dixon October 11–13, 2010 625 ± 4.0% 62% 27% 4% 7%

Fundraising

Candidate (party) Receipts Disbursements Cash on hand Debt
Patrick Leahy (D) $3,469,878 $2,090,603 $2,598,061 $0
Len Britton (R) $199,813 $144,541 $55,270 $69,833
Source: Federal Election Commission[14]

Results

United States Senate election in Vermont, 2010[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Patrick Leahy (incumbent) 151,281 64.36% -6.27%
Republican Len Britton 72,699 30.93% +6.38%
Independent Daniel Freilich 3,544 1.51% N/A
Marijuana Cris Ericson 2,731 1.16% N/A
Independent Stephen Cain 2,356 1.00% N/A
Socialist Peter Diamondstone 1,433 0.61% N/A
Independent Johenry Nunes 1,021 0.43% N/A
Majority 78,528 33.43%
Total votes 235,065 100.00%
Democratic hold Swing

References

  1. "Patrick Leahy Defeats Len Britton In Vermont Senate Race". Huffington Post. November 2, 2010.
  2. "Vermont Results". Politico. August 24, 2010. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  3. "2010 General Election Candidate Listing as of (June 17, 2010 at 7:15 p.m.)" (PDF). Secretary of State of Vermont. June 17, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 27, 2011. Retrieved August 18, 2010.
  4. "2010 Minor Party Nominations for the November 2, 2010 Vermont General Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of Vermont. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2011. Retrieved August 18, 2010.
  5. "Election 2010: Vermont Senate". www.rasmussenreports.com.
  6. Len Britton unveils 2nd humorous as on national debt crisis
  7. Burlington Free Press
  8. Opponents challenge Leahy in first debate Burlington Free Press
  9. "Senate". Cook Political Report. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  10. "Senate Ratings". Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  11. "Battle for the Senate". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  12. "2010 Senate Ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  13. "Race Ratings Chart: Senate". CQ Politics. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  14. "2010 House and Senate Campaign Finance for Vermont". fec.gov. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  15. "Vermont Election Results". The New York Times.
Official campaign websites
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