2010 United States gubernatorial election

Final result of the 2010 United States gubernatorial election:

Democrat confirmed

Democrats gain

Republicans confirmed

Republicans gain

Gaining an independent

no gubernatorial election in 2010

The 2010 United States gubernatorial elections were held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010 in 37 states . In addition, the governors of Guam and the Virgin Islands and the mayor of Washington, DC were elected. As a result, mostly the candidates from the Republican Party were successful. While before the elections the ratio of Democratic to Republican governors was 19:18, it was 13:23 after the elections (an independent candidate was successful). However, the Democrats were able to win over the populous state of California for themselves.

Specifics of choice

In most states, the constitution allows a governor a maximum of two terms of office (8 years of office) ( term limit ). In the 2010 gubernatorial elections, 16 incumbent governors cannot run again due to such limitations. In the other 20 states, incumbent governors are constitutionally entitled to another term of office. The states of Vermont and New Hampshire , in which the governors only have a two-year term of office (but no term limit restrictions), are special .

Map of the 2010 United States gubernatorial election:

Democratic incumbent

Democratic incumbent did not run again

Republican incumbent

Republican incumbent did not run again

Incumbent resigned from the Republican Party, did not run again.

no gubernatorial election in 2010

Democratic governors who could not run again

• John Baldacci in Maine
• Jennifer Granholm in Michigan
• Bill Richardson in New Mexico
• Brad Henry in Oklahoma
• Ted Kulongoski in Oregon
• Ed Rendell in Pennsylvania
• Phil Bredesen in Tennessee
• Dave Freudenthal in Wyoming

Republican governors who could not run again

• Bob Riley in Alabama
• Arnold Schwarzenegger in California
• Sonny Perdue in Georgia
• Linda Lingle in Hawaii
• Donald Carcieri in Rhode Island
• Mark Sanford in South Carolina
• Mike Rounds in South Dakota

Democratic governors who ran again

• Mike Beebe in Arkansas
• Bill Ritter in Colorado
• Pat Quinn in Illinois
• Chet Culver in Iowa
• Mark Parkinson in Kansas
• Martin O'Malley in Maryland
• Deval Patrick in Massachusetts
• John Lynch in New Hampshire
• David Paterson in New York
• Ted Strickland in Ohio
• Jim Doyle in Wisconsin

Bill Ritter, Mark Parkinson and Jim Doyle had already announced that they would not run again.

Republican governors who ran again

• Sean Parnell in Alaska
• Jan Brewer in Arizona
• Mary Jodi Rell in Connecticut
• Butch Otter in Idaho
• Tim Pawlenty in Minnesota
• Dave Heineman in Nebraska
• Jim Gibbons in Nevada
• Rick Perry in Texas
• Gary Herbert in Utah
• Jim Douglas in Vermont

Mary Jodi Rell, Tim Pawlenty and Jim Douglas had announced that they would not run again for the office.

Independent governor who did not run again

• Charlie Crist in Florida

Charlie Crist resigned from the Republican Party in May 2010 and is seeking an independent candidacy for the Senate.

The states at a glance

Alabama

Incumbent Bob Riley could not run again after two elections. Robert J. Bentley , MP in the House of Representatives from Alabama , ran for the Republicans, and the current Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries ( Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries ) Ron Sparks ran for the Democrats . Polls put Bentley ahead of Sparks.

Bentley eventually won with 58% of the vote.

Alaska

Sean Parnell, who took over from the resigned Sarah Palin during the current term of office , applied for his own full term; he was the clear favorite for his party's primary election. Ethan Berkowitz , former member of the House of Representatives from Alaska , and State Senator Hollis French ran for the Democrats . In polls, Parnell was well ahead of Berkowitz and French.

The incumbent was re-elected with 59% of the vote, Berkowitz got 38%.

Arizona

Jan Brewer, who was appointed Secretary of State for Janet Napolitano , who was appointed Minister of Homeland Security , stood by for a full term of her own. For the Democrats, only Terry Goddard , the state's Attorney General , had announced his candidacy. A new immigration law in Arizona, passed by the Republicans, made Brewer so popular, most recently about 15-20% ahead of Goddard in polls.

Brewer achieved almost 55% in the election.

Arkansas

The Democratic Governor Mike Beebe ran again. His Republican challenger was State Senator Jim Keet . Beebe was well ahead of Keet in polls.

Almost two thirds of the electorate voted for Beebe.

Colorado

Bill Ritter announced in January 2010 that he would not run for governorship again. For example, John Hickenlooper , the mayor of Denver , was nominated for the Democrats . For a long time, former Republican Congressman Scott McInnis was considered to be his most likely opponent , but he narrowly lost the primary to the Tea Party movement- supported Dan Maes , a businessman with no political experience.

Colorado was known as the swing state , a hotly contested state between Democrats and Republicans. According to surveys, there was also a close race between Hickenlooper and Maes, in which the decisive factor could have been that the former Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo has announced that he will be running for the Constitution Party , thereby dividing the conservative camp. Hickenlooper achieved just over 50%, Tancredo 37%, and Maes 11%.

Connecticut

Lieutenant Governor Michael Fedele wanted to succeed the no longer running governor Mary Jodi Rell , but he was defeated by the former ambassador to Ireland , Thomas C. Foley, in the vote at the Republican convention .

In the Democratic Party, the Secretary of State , Susan Bysiewicz , was initially the favorite, but she waived in January 2010 to run for Attorney General instead . As a result, the former Senate candidate Ned Lamont was initially given good chances, who ultimately lost significantly to the Mayor of Stamford , Dan Malloy , at the State Convention of the Democrats . In an August 2010 poll, Malloy was 15 percentage points ahead of Foley.

On election day, Malloy was just 7,000 votes ahead of Foley (49.6 to 48.9%).

Florida

While Charlie Crist is planning his tenure as a Senator, the battle for the Republican nomination has resulted in Bill McCollum , incumbent Attorney General , and Rick Scott , a healthcare entrepreneur. In recent polls, Scott and McCollum were roughly on par. The primaries took place on August 24th.

The Democratic Chief Financial Officer of Florida, Alex Sink , no longer had a serious opponent within her party after the artist and author Michael Edward Arth announced that he would no longer seek the Democratic nomination, but run as an independent.

According to recent polls, both Republican candidates were head-to-head with a sink.

Scott eventually hit 48.9%, 1.2% ahead of the sink.

Georgia

Majorities by county:

Deal ≥ 40% Deal ≥ 50% Deal ≥ 60% Deal ≥ 70% Deal ≥ 80% Barnes ≥ 40% Barnes ≥ 50% Barnes ≥ 60% Barnes ≥ 70%









According to polls, the successor to the Republican Sonny Perdue, who was limited in his tenure, was open. His party had three promising candidates with John Oxendine , the State Government's Insurance Commissioner, former Secretary of State Karen Handel and Congressman Nathan Deal . In the July 20 primaries, Handel (supported by Sarah Palin ) prevailed over Deal (supported by Newt Gingrich ). However, she did not get the 50% required to be a Republican candidate. Therefore, on August 10, there was a runoff between trade and deal, which the latter won by 0.4 percentage points.

With the Democrats Roy Barnes , governor from 1999 to 2003, sought a return to this office. In the July 20 primaries, he clearly stood out against Thurbert Baker , the Georgia Attorney General .

According to recent polls, Deal was nine percentage points ahead of Barnes.

Deal won with 53% of the vote.

Hawaii

For the Republicans, Lieutenant Governor James Aiona wanted to follow the limited-term Linda Lingle into office. His rival candidate was Congressman Neil Abercrombie , who was able to prevail in the Democratic primary against the former mayor of Honolulu , Mufi Hannemann . Hawaii was considered a Democratic stronghold, which was also reflected in the polls for the gubernatorial election: Both Abercrombie and Hannemann were each more than 20 percentage points ahead of Aiona for a long time. Most recently, Abercrombie's lead was around 8 percentage points.

In the poll, 58.2% went to Abercrombie and 41.1% to Aiona.

Idaho

Incumbent Butch Otter ran for re-election. The Democratic candidate was ex-Harvard professor Keith G. Allred . Idaho was a strongly Republican state, with Otter ahead of Allred by around 20% in surveys. This was also reflected in the election, in which Otter won 59.1% of the vote. His challenger Allred came in at 32.9%. The turnout was 57.9%.

Illinois

Pat Quinn , successor to the dismissed Rod Blagojevich , wanted to run for a second term, but had to fight against State Comptroller Daniel Hynes for the Democratic nomination. In polls, Hynes was considered the more promising candidate for victory in the actual gubernatorial election. In the primaries, Quinn narrowly prevailed against Hynes.

The Republican nomination was completely open. Jim Ryan , Attorney General of Illinois, State Senators Bill Brady and Kirk W. Dillard, and Andrew McKenna , former Illinois party chairman, were roughly even in the polls. Bill Brady won the primaries.

Brady was slightly ahead of incumbent Quinn in polls for the main election; the Illinois Green Party candidate, Rich Whitney, recently received around 10% of the vote.

Iowa

The Democratic incumbent Chet Culver has run again. Former Governor Terry Branstad prevailed in the Republican primary . In polls, Branstad was well ahead of Culver.

California

The California primaries for the November 2, 2010 gubernatorial election, for which the Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, elected in October 2003, is not allowed to run again after his second term, took place on June 8, 2010. On the Republican side, Meg Whitman , eBay CEO from 1998 to 2008 , won with 64.2% of the votes cast, while Jerry Brown , Attorney General of the state since 2007 , who had held the governorship from 1975 to 1983, supported the Democrats 84.1% of the votes cast won through.

The Greens sent Laura Wells, the Libertarian Party Dale F. Ogden, the American Independent Party Chelene Nightingale and the Californian Peace and Freedom Party Carlos Alvarez into the race. Polls predicted a close race between Whitman and Brown.

Kansas

After Mark Parkinson succeeded Kathleen Sebelius , who was appointed health minister , the next change in the highest office of the state is imminent, as the former lieutenant governor will not run for re-election. The big favorite for the successor is the Republican Senator Sam Brownback , whose nomination within his party should only be a matter of form. Brownback was most recently about 30% ahead of prospective Democratic candidate Tom Holland , a member of the Kansas Senate .

Maine

Libby Mitchell , President of the State Senate , ran to succeed Democratic Governor John Baldacci .

With the Republicans Paul LePage , the mayor of Waterville could clearly win the primaries.

According to surveys, Eliot Cutler , an independent candidate and lawyer, was able to gain popularity in the last time and was around 15%. Far more Democrats than Republicans would have chosen Cutler, which is why LePage was about 5–10% ahead of Mitchell.

Maryland

Martin O'Malley , who has been in office since 2007, was about to run again and will most likely meet his Republican predecessor Robert L. Ehrlich . This was considered a big favorite for the nomination after Michael Steele , former lieutenant governor of Maryland and current chairman of the Republican National Committee , announced that he would not run for governorship. Polls put O'Malley on a par with Ehrlich.

Massachusetts

The Democrat Deval Patrick, in office since 2007, ran again. However, his re-election was uncertain, especially since Treasury Secretary Tim Cahill, a former inner-party rival, was now running as an independent. Cahill was previously in the lead over Patrick in polls for Democratic nominations. The Republicans entered the race with businessman Charlie Baker , the Green Rainbow Party with Jill Stein . Patrick was slightly ahead of Baker in surveys, Cahill came in at around 10%, and Stein at around 3%.

Michigan

The term limit of the Democratic governor Jennifer Granholm created a large field of potential applicants for the successor. Lieutenant Governor John D. Cherry was no longer one of them: He announced his resignation in January 2010. The primaries were won by Virg Bernero , Mayor of Lansing , against Andy Dillon , Chairman of the Michigan House of Representatives .

The Republican nomination secured the politically inexperienced businessman Rick Snyder , the Primary against Congressman Pete Hoekstra , Attorney General Mike Cox , the sheriff of Oakland County , Mike Bouchard and state Sen. Tom George won. Snyder was supported by William Clay Ford , chairman of Michigan-based Ford Motor Company , and was 20 percentage points ahead of Bernero according to recent polls.

Minnesota

Tim Pawlenty did not run for governor again. It has been speculated that he will run as a Republican presidential candidate in 2012. Former Senator Norm Coleman was also not on the ballot paper, so the Republican nomination was open for a long time. Marty Seifert, who initially led the polls, was ultimately defeated by Tom Emmer , an MP in the Minnesota House of Representatives .

The Democratic Party could not initially agree on a candidate either. At the nomination convention, former Senator Mark Dayton narrowly won against Margaret Anderson Kelliher , Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives, and Matt Entenza , former minority leader in the state parliament.

The Independence Party of Minnesota , which with Jesse Ventura has already provided the governor, nominated Tom Horner. According to recent polls, he could count on up to 12% of the vote, while Mark Dayton was slightly ahead of Tom Emmer.

Nebraska

Republican Dave Heineman, in office since 2005, ran again. His Democratic opponent was lawyer Mike Meister after businessman Mark Lakers, the clear winner of the primary, withdrew his candidacy. Nebraska was considered a republican stronghold. Heineman came to about 70% in surveys, Meister about 20%.

Nevada

Incumbent Jim Gibbons was open to running again, but this was very questionable given poor poll numbers and scandals. Brian Sandoval , former Attorney General of Nevada, who was well ahead of Democratic candidate Rory Reid (son of Senator Harry Reid ) in polls , ultimately defeated Gibbons clearly in the primaries. The Democratic Mayor of Las Vegas , Oscar B. Goodman , announced in January 2010 that he was not running for an independent; he was at times tied with Sandoval in the polls.

New Hampshire

The Democrat John Lynch, already twice victorious, was again the clear favorite according to polls. Officially, there have been only politically inexperienced candidates among the Republicans (John Stephen, Jack Kimball and Karen Testerman). Former Republican Senator John E. Sununu declined to run.

New Mexico

Bill Richardson cannot be re-elected after two terms. The previous Vice-Governor Diane Denish stood as a candidate for her party. The actor Val Kilmer was also among the candidates, but declared his resignation early on.

In the Republicans, Congressmen Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson were considered as opposing candidates, but both turned down. Susana Martinez , District Attorney of Doña Ana County , clearly won the internal party primaries . Polls saw a close race between Denish and Martinez.

new York

David Paterson followed the resigned Eliot Spitzer into office in 2008 and had initially stated that he wanted to run again. However, he was considered very unpopular in New York, even among Democratic voters, which ultimately led to his withdrawing his application. Former Construction Minister and current Attorney General of the state, Andrew Cuomo , ran for the Democrats . He was given significantly better chances over the current Republican favorite for the nomination, Congressman Rick Lazio . In polls, Cuomo was about 30% ahead of Lazio, who meets businessman Carl Paladino in the Republican primary. The former mayor of New York City , Rudolph Giuliani , has not raced for.

Ohio

Polls indicated a change of power in Columbus . The Democratic incumbent Ted Strickland ran again, but recently fell significantly behind the former Republican Congressman John Kasich : According to surveys, Kasich was about 5% ahead of Strickland.

Oklahoma

The successor of the tenured Brad Henry wanted to succeed his lieutenant governor Jari Askins , who would be the first woman governor of the state. After she had been behind Attorney General Drew Edmondson for a long time in polls , she was ultimately able to defeat him in the Democratic primary by 0.6 percentage points. However, she was given little chance of beating Republican favorite Mary Fallin , current Congresswoman and Askins' predecessor as lieutenant governor, who clearly led in the polls.

Oregon

Since Ted Kulongoski could not run again, his Democratic Party had to agree on another candidate. This should be Kulongoski's predecessor, John Kitzhaber . Former Secretary of State , Bill Bradbury , also ran for the nomination, but lost to Kitzhaber in the primary. The Republican candidate was former NBA basketball player Chris Dudley . Polls indicated a close outcome to the race.

Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania, too, a move from Democrats to Republicans was considered likely. Incumbent Ed Rendell could not run again. From the primaries was the chief executive of Allegheny County , Dan Onorato, clearly emerged as the winner. Republican candidate Attorney General Tom Corbett was about 10% ahead of Onorato in polls.

Rhode Island

It was considered unlikely that the governorship in the liberal New England state would remain in Republican hands in view of Donald Carcieri's term limits. Accordingly, the party has not yet had an official candidate, with John Robitaille and Victor Moffitt being given the best chances. However, with the former Senator Lincoln Chafee, a promising former Republican stood for election as an independent. His most promising democratic competitor was Finance Minister Frank Caprio . In polls, Chafee and Caprio were tied, the Republican candidates about 10% behind.

South carolina

Four Republicans fought for the succession of Mark Sanford, who could no longer stand as a candidate: his Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer , Attorney General Henry McMaster , Congressman J. Gresham Barrett and the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives , Nikki Haley . Haley, who won the primary, would be the first Indian- American governor of South Carolina and was supported by Sarah Palin . Haley was about 15 percentage points ahead of Democratic candidate Vincent Sheheen , a member of the State Senate .

South Dakota

Even after Mike Rounds' term ended, Republicans were expected to provide the governor. Republican Lieutenant Governor Dennis Daugaard met Minority Leader Scott Heidepriem . Daugaard was around 30 percentage points ahead of Heidepriem in surveys.

Tennessee

With Phil Bredesen, the governor resigned from office. With Congressman Zach Wamp , Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey and Bill Haslam , Mayor of Knoxville , there were three well-known Republican candidates. In the primary, Haslam finally prevailed over Wamp and Ramsey. The Democratic candidate was businessman Mike McWherter, son of former Governor Ned McWherter . According to opinion polls, it seemed doubtful that incumbent Bredesen would be succeeded by a Democrat: the Republican candidates were about 20 percentage points ahead of McWherter.

Texas

After the race for the Republican nomination seemed open at times, incumbent Rick Perry, who is already the governor with the longest term in office in Texas history, was able to clearly defeat Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison in the primary. The Democratic Party entered the race with Bill White , longtime mayor of Houston . Perry was safe ahead of White, according to recent polls.

Utah

In Utah, which has been Republican ruled for 25 years, Gary Herbert , who had replaced Jon Huntsman , was about to run for the first time. He met Democrat Peter Corroon , Mayor of Salt Lake County . Herbert was about 30% ahead of Corroon in surveys.

Vermont

After Republican Governor Jim Douglas announced that he would not run again, the New England state was the Democrats' primary target for a change of power. But it was still unclear who the candidate would be; The circle includes ex-Lieutenant Governor Doug Racine , Secretary of State Deborah Markowitz, and Senator Peter Shumlin . Vice-Governor Brian Dubie ran for the Republicans .

Wisconsin

With Jim Doyle, the incumbent Democratic governor did not run again. Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton also resigned, as did Senator Herb Kohl and Congressmen Tammy Baldwin and Ron Kind , which is why Tom Barrett , the Mayor of Milwaukee , was the unreserved favorite for the nomination.

Republicans so far have a choice between former Congressman Mark Neumann and Scott Walker , the county executive in Milwaukee County , the latter being given better chances. In recent polls, Walker was just ahead of Barrett.

Wyoming

Incumbent Dave Freudenthal could not run again after two terms. For the Democrats, Leslie Petersen, chairwoman of the Democrats in Wyoming, ran. On the Republican side, former Wyoming Attorney Matt Mead won the primary just ahead of Rita Meyer , who was State Auditor .

According to polls, there should be a change of power in Wyoming as the Republican candidates were about 20 percentage points ahead of the Democrats.

More choices

There were also gubernatorial elections in two outlying areas . It could Felix Perez Camacho , the Republican governor of Guam after two terms, not reapply. Camacho's predecessor Carl TC Gutierrez stood for the Democrats and Eddie B. Calvo for the Republicans .

Meanwhile, John de Jongh , the Democratic incumbent in the Virgin Islands , could seek a second term. In addition, the mayor of Washington, DC , was elected, with Democrat Adrian Fenty running for re-election. Given the strength of the Democrats in the capital, the Primary anticipated the actual election; with Vincent C. Gray , member of the city council, Fenty met a serious opponent.

Survey

• Real Clear Politics
• Dave Leip's Atlas of US Presidential Elections

References and comments

1. ↑ Hartford Courant: Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell Won't Seek Re-Election
2. ^ New York Times: Minnesota Governor Opts Against Run for Third Term
3. ↑ Derrick DePledge: Abercrombie retains lead over Aiona . In: Honolulu Star Advertiser , October 24, 2010. Archived from the original on October 27, 2010 Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved October 25, 2010.  
4. ↑ November 2, 2010 General Election Results: Statewide Totals. Idaho Secretary of State Election Division, accessed October 12, 2014 . 
5. ↑ Election Results - June 8, 2010, Statewide Direct Primary ( Memento June 30, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (California Secretary of State)