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2010 United States Senate election in New York

For the other Senate election in New York held in parallel, see 2010 United States Senate special election in New York.

2010 United States Senate election in New York
← 2004 November 2, 2010 2016 →
 
Nominee Chuck Schumer Jay Townsend
Party Democratic Republican
Alliance
Parties
 Conservative
Popular vote 3,047,111 1,479,724
Percentage 66.33% 32.21%
County results
Schumer:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Townsend:      40–50%      50–60%
U.S. senator before election

Chuck Schumer
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Chuck Schumer
Democratic

Elections in New York State
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The 2010 United States Senate election in New York took place on November 2, 2010, along with 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 Democrat U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer won re-election to a third term. Schumer won every county except for Wyoming, Tioga, and Hamilton counties.[1]

Background

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In the 2004 U.S. Senate election, Schumer had defeated Republican Assemblyman Howard Mills by a 71 to 24 percent margin. Schumer was highly popular in New York, and it was believed that any Republican contender would likely not fare well against him in 2010.[2] Schumer was heavily favored to retain his seat.[3]

In addition to this regular election, there was also a special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton, who became the United States Secretary of State on January 21, 2009. In addition, there was the New York gubernatorial election. The existence of two other top-level statewide races, one with a Democratic incumbent perceived as vulnerable and the other an open race, respectively,[4] was believed to lead major New York Republicans to gravitate towards them rather than challenge the popular Schumer.[2][5]

Republican nomination

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Convention

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Candidates

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Results

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Only two candidates, Berntsen and Townsend, obtained at least 25% of the vote at the New York State Republican Convention on June 1, 2010. Berntsen came in first,[10] but still needed to win the primary in order to win the Republican nomination. Berntsen lost the primary to Jay Townsend.[11]

Primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Results by county:
  Townsend
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  Berntsen
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
Republican primary results[12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jay Townsend 234,440 55.41%
Republican Gary Berntsen 188,628 44.59%
Total votes 423,068 100.00%

General election

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Candidates

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Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
Cook Political Report[13] Solid D October 26, 2010
Rothenberg[14] Safe D October 22, 2010
RealClearPolitics[15] Safe D October 26, 2010
Sabato's Crystal Ball[16] Safe D October 21, 2010
CQ Politics[17] Safe D October 26, 2010

Fundraising

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Candidate (party) Receipts Disbursements Cash on hand Debt
Chuck Schumer (D) $17,302,006 $11,824,587 $16,048,482 $0
Jay Townsend (R) $197,365 $180,693 $16,671 $105,854
Source: Federal Election Commission[18]

Polling

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Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size 		Margin
of error 		Chuck
Schumer (D) 		Jay
Townsend (R) 		Other Undecided
Siena College[19] May 17–20, 2010 808 ± 3.4% 63% 24% — 13%
Siena College[19] June 7–9, 2010 808 ± 3.4% 60% 26% — 14%
Rasmussen Reports[20] June 16, 2010 500 ± 4.5% 54% 33% 6% 6%
Siena College[19] July 12, 2010 808 ± 3.4% 63% 26% — 13%
Rasmussen Reports[21] September 16, 2010 500 ± 4.5% 58% 36% 3% 4%
Survey USA[22] September 20, 2010 1,000 ± 4.2% 54% 33% 10% 3%
Angus Reid Public Opinion[23] October 7, 2010 500 ± 4.5% 63% 27% 6% —
Rasmussen Reports[21] October 19, 2010 500 ± 4.5% 59% 31% 5% 5%
Angus Reid Public Opinion[24] October 28–29, 2010 541 ± 4.2% 61% 35% 4% —
Siena College[25] October 27–30, 2010 603 ± 4.0% 64% 32% — 2%

Results

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United States Senate election in New York, 2010[26][27]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Chuck Schumer 2,686,043 58.47%
Working Families Chuck Schumer 183,672 4.00%
Independence Chuck Schumer 177,396 3.86%
Total Chuck Schumer (incumbent) 3,047,111 66.33% −5.89
Republican Jay Townsend 1,238,947 26.97%
Conservative Jay Townsend 240,777 5.24%
Total Jay Townsend 1,479,724 32.21% +8.02
Green Colia Clark 42,340 0.92% +0.62
Libertarian Randy Credico 24,863 0.54% +0.24
Total votes 4,594,038 100.00% N/A
Democratic hold

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

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Aftermath

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Credico sued the New York State Board of Elections under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because of this unfair treatment regarding ballot access. Despite being nominated by both the Libertarian Party and the Anti-Prohibition Party, in most jurisdictions, he only appeared on the ballot once. On June 19, 2013, the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of New York ruled in favor of Credico.[28] The New York State Board of Elections did not appeal this decision.[29]

References

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  1. ^ Richberg, Keith B. (December 2, 2008). "A Rush for Clinton's Senate Seat". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
  2. ^ a b Saltonsall, David (February 1, 2009). "Sen. Chuck Schumer unlikely to see competition in 2010 reelection bid". New York Daily News. Retrieved February 2, 2009.
  3. ^ Silver, Nate (December 8, 2008). "2010 Senate Rankings, Revised and Extended". FiveThirtyEight.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2009. Retrieved January 24, 2009.
  4. ^ Lovett, Kenneth (March 23, 2009). "New Siena Poll finds Gov. David Paterson's approval rating at just 19%". New York: Nydailynews.com. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
  5. ^ "Senate Races 2010". VoteFromAbroad.org. Retrieved December 18, 2008. [dead link‍]
  6. ^ a b McKenna, Chris (June 2, 2010). "Townsend trails Berntsen at state GOP convention". Times Herald-Record. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved August 17, 2010.
  7. ^ "Martin Chicon NY-US Senator 2010 Republican Candidate NYC Sat 10/3/09 - AOL Video". Video.aol.co.uk. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
  8. ^ "Nassau Comptroller Eyeing Schumer Challenge". Capitaltonight.com. April 15, 2010. Archived from the original on August 15, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
  9. ^ "Latest count on U.S. Senate candidates: 22 | Politics on the Hudson". Polhudson.lohudblogs.com. May 12, 2010. Archived from the original on May 19, 2010. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
  10. ^ Trygstad, Kyle (June 2, 2010). "NY GOP Chooses Berntsen Against Schumer". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  11. ^ "Townsend Wins GOP Primary For Senate Seat". CBS New York. Associated Press. September 14, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  12. ^ "New York State Board of Elections - Statewide Republican US Senator Primary - 6 year - Full Term" (PDF). NYS Board of Elections. September 14, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 23, 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  13. ^ "Senate". Cook Political Report. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  14. ^ "Senate Ratings". Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  15. ^ "Battle for the Senate". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  16. ^ "2010 Senate Ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  17. ^ "Race Ratings Chart: Senate". CQ Politics. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  18. ^ "2010 House and Senate Campaign Finance for New York". fec.gov. Retrieved July 25, 2010.[permanent dead link‍]
  19. ^ a b c Siena College
  20. ^ Rasmussen Reports
  21. ^ a b Rasmussen Reports
  22. ^ Survey USA
  23. ^ Angus Reid Public Opinion
  24. ^ Angus Reid Public Opinion
  25. ^ Siena College
  26. ^ "New York Election Results". The New York Times.
  27. ^ "NYS Board of Elections U.S. Senator Election Returns November 2, 2010" (PDF). New York State BOE. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 30, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  28. ^ "New York Libertarian Party Wins Lawsuit Against Discriminatory Election Law | Ballot Access News". June 20, 2013.
  29. ^ "New York State Changes Mind, Won't Appeal Credico Decision | Ballot Access News". July 12, 2013.
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