2010 United States Senate election in Vermont
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
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November 2, 2010
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Leahy: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%
Britton: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Democratic primary
Candidates
- Daniel Freilich, military doctor (also running as an independent)
- Patrick Leahy, incumbent U.S. Senator
Results
| 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
- 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]
- Patrick Leahy (D), incumbent U.S. Senator
- Johenry Nunes (I), military education and training manager[3]
Campaign
First elected in 1974, Leahy was at the time 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
- October 14: All four candidates on CCTV in Burlington[citation needed]
- October 19: Two candidates on Vermont Public Radio[8]
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[14] | June 17, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 64% | 29% | 3% | 4% |
| Rasmussen Reports[15] | September 13, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 63% | 32% | 2% | 4% |
| Vermont Public Radio/Mason-Dixon[16] | 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[17] | ||||
Results
| 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 | ||||
By county
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