The 2010 United States Senate election in Kentucky 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. Primaries for each respective party were held on May 18, 2010. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jim Bunning decided to retire instead of seeking a third term. Republican nominee

Rand Paul Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American physician and politician serving as the junior U.S. senator from Kentucky since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he is a son of former three-time presidential candidate and 12 ...

, an ophthalmologist and son of Congressman

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as well ...

, won the open seat against Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway.

Bunning's controversies

In early 2009, incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jim Bunning, who won reelection by a surprisingly narrow margin in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

said he would need to raise $10 million for his re-election campaign. However, National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman John Cornyn pressured Bunning to retire due to concerns that he could lose a re-election bid. In July 2009, Bunning announced he would not run for re-election.
/ref> In February 2009, Senator Bunning stated that another justice could soon be appointed to the United States Supreme Court because Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who had been diagnosed with

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

, would be dead within nine months, creating a significant amount of controversy, which resulted in an apology from Bunning. Ginsburg would not die until 2020, outliving Senator Bunning who died in 2017. In late May 2009, Bunning called fellow Kentucky Senator and Republican Minority Leader

Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and retired attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky and the Senate minority leader since 2021. Currently in his seventh term, McConne ...

a " control freak" and suggested that he did not need McConnell's endorsement. He also challenged Lexington Herald Leader editor John Stamper to an arm wrestling match over a question of being "fit to serve." Additionally, Bunning created further controversy in February 2010 when he objected to a proposal of unanimous consent for an extension of unemployment insurance, COBRA, and other federal programs, citing that this extension was not

pay-as-you-go Pay as you go or PAYG may refer to: Finance * Pay-as-you-go tax, or pay-as-you-earn tax * Pay-as-you-go pension plan * PAYGO, the practice in the US of financing expenditures with current funds rather than borrowing * PAUG, a structured financial ...

. He proposed an amendment which sought to find the funds to pay for the bill from the

Stimulus Bill of 2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a Stimulus (economics), stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed i ...

, and declared that he supported the unemployed, but that a bill such as this only added to the growing deficit and that it should be paid for immediately. Senator Bob Corker joined Bunning, while other senators worked to cease his objections. When Senator

Jeff Merkley Jeffrey Alan Merkley (born October 24, 1956) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Oregon since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Merkley served as the 64th speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives ...

urged him to drop his objections to vote on a 30-day extension of benefits, Bunning responded "tough shit." Bunning finally agreed to end his objection to the bill in exchange for a vote on his amendment to pay for the package. It failed 53–43 on a procedural vote. The extension of unemployment benefits then passed by a vote of 78–19.

Republican primary

Candidates

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...

Trey Grayson Charles Merwin "Trey" Grayson III (born April 18, 1972) is an American politician and attorney who is currently a member at Frost Brown Todd and a principal at CivicPoint. A former Secretary of State of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Grayson al ...

, Secretary of State of Kentucky * Gurley L. Martin, World War II veteran * Jon J. Scribner, businessman * John Stephenson, former Kentucky Superintendent of Public Education

Campaign

On August 20, 2009, a grassroots-planned moneybomb raised $433,509 for Rand Paul's campaign in a 24-hour period. According to Paul, this set a new record in Kentucky's political fundraising history (for a 24-hour period). Republican Liberty Caucus endorsed Paul in November 2009. On December 22, 2009, Rand Paul picked up the endorsement of Concerned Women for America."Women 4 Rand"
, December 22, 2009 Paul embraced the Tea Party movement, and promoted "small government principles" one day after he officially entered the race for Kentucky's open seat. Paul ran a strong anti-Washington message. One commercial tied Grayson as part of the problem, noting that Grayson raised money with AIG executives in Washington. In another advertisement, Paul had also attacked Grayson as a career politician and a liar. Grayson create
a new website
that attacked Paul for his "strange ideas," such as his opposition of the PATRIOT Act, and what Grayson alleged to be his support of closing down Guantanamo Bay and saying that Iran was not a threat. He also attacked Paul for being a

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

fan. He sent out another TV ad and web video that stirred controversy by making the case that Paul believes that foreign policy decisions made prior to September 11, 2001, are partially to blame for the attacks. Paul immediately responded by launching a statewide television ad in which he expresses his "outrage at terrorists who killed 3,000 innocents" before accusing Grayson of a "lie" and a "shameful" tactic. Grayson accused the

Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

of favoring Paul over him. On May 18, 2010, Paul won the Republican nomination. After conceding the election to Paul, Grayson said, "It's time to put all differences aside, unite behind Dr. Paul, he needs our help and I for one stand ready to serve".

Endorsements

* U.S. Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky * U.S. Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina * Former Governor

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 R ...

of Alaska * Former Governor

Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (born August 24, 1955) is an American politician, Baptist minister, and political commentator who served as the 44th governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate for the Republican Party presidential nomina ...

of Arkansas * Congressman

(father of Rand) * Former Republican presidential candidate and editor-in-chief of Forbes Steve Forbes * State Senator Dan Seum * Editor of conservative weblog RedState Erick Erickson * James Dobson, founder of

Focus on the Family Focus on the Family (FOTF or FotF) is a fundamentalist Protestant organization founded in 1977 in Southern California by James Dobson, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The group is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations ...

* Cathy Bailey, Former U.S. Ambassador to Latvia * Brooks Wicker, 3rd congressional district candidate * James Edwards, host of

The Political Cesspool ''The Political Cesspool'' is a weekly far-right talk radio show founded by Tennessean political activist James Edwards and syndicated by the organizations Liberty News Radio Network and Accent Radio Network in the United States. First broa ...

* Concerned Women for America * Downsize DC Foundation * Americans For Prosperity * FreedomWorks * Gun Owners of America * Republican Liberty Caucus * Northern Kentucky Right to Life * Tea Party Express * REAGAN PAC * Bluegrass Bulletin's Marcus Carey * Kentucky Credit Union PAC * Lexington Herald-Leader * Club for Growth * U.S. Senate Republican Minority Leader

of Kentucky * Former Vice President

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U ...

* Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania * Former Congressman Ron Lewis of Kentucky * Former New York City Mayor

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...

* Congressman

Hal Rogers Harold Dallas Rogers (born December 31, 1937) is an American lawyer and politician serving his 21st term as the U.S. representative for , having served since 1981. He is a member of the Republican Party. Upon Don Young's death in 2022, Rogers b ...

of Kentucky * State Senator Julie Denton * State Senator Tom Jensen * State Senator Vernie McGaha * State Senator John Schickel * State Senator Brandon Smith * State Senator

Elizabeth Tori Elizabeth Tori (born March 2, 1936) is an American politician from the Republican Party. Tori represented the 10th state Senate district of Kentucky from 1995 until 2011. Tori attended the University of Kentucky and Western Kentucky University ...

* State Senator Jack Westwood * State Senator Ken Winters * State Representative Scott Brinkman * State Representative John "Bam" Carney * State Representative Tim Couch * State Representative Ronald Crimm * State Representative Bob Deweese * State Representative Myron Dossett * State Representative Bill Farmer * State Representative Mike Harmon * State Representative Brent Housman * State Representative Adam Koenig * State Representative Brad Montell * State Representative Tim Moore * State Representative David Osborne * State Representative Marie Rader * State Representative Steven Rudy * State Representative Sal Santoro * State Representative Alecia Webb-Edgington * State Representative Addia Wuchner * State Representative Jill York * Kentucky Right to Life *

The Kentucky Enquirer ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

Polling

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Jack Conway, Attorney General of Kentucky * Daniel Mongiardo,

Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky The lieutenant governor of Kentucky was created under the state's second constitution, which was ratified in 1799. The inaugural officeholder was Alexander Scott Bullitt, who took office in 1800 following his election to serve under James Garrard ...

and nominee in

* James Buckmaster, physician * Darlene Fitzgerald Price, former

U.S. Customs The United States Customs Service was the very first federal law enforcement agency of the U.S. federal government. Established on July 31, 1789, it collected import tariffs, performed other selected border security duties, as well as conducted ...

agent * Maurice Sweeney, businessman

Campaign

Mongiardo announced that he had received the endorsement of Governor

Steve Beshear Steven Lynn Beshear (born September 21, 1944) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 61st governor of Kentucky from 2007 to 2015. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 to 1980, was the state's 44th atto ...

and raised $420,000. Due to Conway's large margin of victory in his statewide campaign for attorney general, his fundraising ability, and the age difference between Conway and Bunning, Conway was described as a viable candidate. Both candidates were against the Senate version of the Affordable Care Act. When Mongiardo said that "it was time to start over," he was criticized by Conway and labeled "Dr. No." Both candidates supported the final version. Attorney General Conway refused to join a lawsuit claiming that health care reform is unconstitutional. On May 18, 2010, Conway won the Democratic nomination.

Endorsements

* U.S. Congressmen Ben Chandler * U.S. Congressman John Yarmuth * Speaker of the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form ...

Greg Stumbo * Kentucky Finance/Administration Cabinet Secretary Jonathan Miller * Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson * Former

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

and former Governor of Kentucky Wendell Ford * Former Governor of Kentucky

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

* Kentucky State Auditor Crit Luallen * The Courier-Journal *

Lexington Herald-Leader The ''Lexington Herald-Leader'' is a newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and based in Lexington, Kentucky. According to the ''1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook'', the paid circulation of the ''Herald-Leader'' is the second large ...

* Governor

* State Senator and former Governor Julian Carroll * State Senator

Perry Clark Perry Clark (born December 4, 1951) is an American college basketball coach and the former head men's basketball coach at University of Miami. He previously served as head coach of Tulane University, and later at Texas A&M University-Corpus Chris ...

* State Senator Denise Harper-Angel * State Senator Walter Blevins * State Senator Tim Shaughnessy * State Senator

Gerald Neal Gerald Anthony Neal (born September 22, 1945) is an American politician and attorney. He is a Democratic Party member of the Kentucky Senate, representing District 33 since January 1989. Life and career Born September 22, 1945, Gerald Anthony N ...

* Former State Senator David Karem

Polling

Results

The primary race was extremely close with Conway narrowly prevailing by just over 4,000 votes. The race remained in doubt for much of the night. Finally with 99% of the vote counted the Associated Press declared Conway the winner. Mongiardo called Conway to concede at 10:08 P.M. EST. Mongiardo congratulated Conway and pledged him his full support for the general election. In terms of the break down of the results, Conway ran up margins in Jefferson County home of Louisville, and Fayette County home of Lexington. In terms of more rural counties Mongiardo and Conway split the vote. Conway performed well in central Kentucky, while Mongiardo performed well in coal country in east Kentucky and farm country in western Kentucky. In the end Conway's performance in the states most populated county, Jefferson County proved to be just enough to carry him to victory. The primary race was also notable because both Conway and Mongiardo received more votes than Republican

General election

Candidates

(R),

and political activist * Jack Conway (D),

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

* Billy Ray Wilson (independent write-in) Kentucky's ballot access requirements allow Republicans and Democrats to run for office with two signatures, but require minor parties and independents to collect at least 5,000 signatures. The filing deadline for minor party and independent candidates was on August 10, and no candidate filed. Some speculate that the reason why no minor party or independent candidate filed is because Paul's candidacy helped discourage it. The Libertarian Party of Kentucky held its nominating convention for 2010 elections and failed to nominate a candidate for the U.S. Senate, as no one stepped forward to seek nomination to that office. Despite comments from some observers that Paul espouses

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

beliefs, the Kentucky Libertarian Party issued an official press release stating "Rand Paul is not a libertarian" and detailing the differences between Paul's beliefs and libertarian principles. Similarly, the Constitution Party of Kentucky avoided the Senate race ostensibly because of Rand Paul's presence in that race and perhaps because of his more minarchist stance than Trey Grayson, especially if the latter had been the nominee. Billy Ray Wilson, an independent of London, filed as a write-in candidate.

Campaign

Conway began the race trailing Paul, but as he attacked his opponent's positions on social-welfare and criminal-justice policies, the polls began to tighten. Conway agreed to run an advertisement that linked Paul's policy stances to a college prank in which Paul reportedly demanded that a female classmate worship a bong named "Aqua Buddha." Independent political analysts in Kentucky quickly warned that Conway would regret his decision. The ad's focus on religion led critics, including not just Republicans but also some liberals such as Hardball's

Chris Matthews Christopher John Matthews (born December 17, 1945) is an American political commentator, retired talk show host, and author. Matthews hosted his weeknight hour-long talk show, ''Hardball with Chris Matthews'', on America's Talking and later on M ...

, to charge that Conway was improperly questioning Paul's faith, to which Conway countered that the ad was intended to question Paul's "judgment." Nonetheless, Conway swiftly dropped again in the polls, a decline from which he never recovered. Conway ceased his defense of the commercial after the election, admitting that running it had been a mistake; he claimed that he had done so only reluctantly at the urging of national advisers despite finding it "harsh as mule's breath." Conway saw one last opportunity before his final debate with Paul. One of Rand Paul's supporters stomped on a MoveOn activist after she approached Paul's vehicle, and a video of the event was later used in a Conway TV commercial. Paul and Conway condemned the attack and the supporter was banned from campaign events. The campaign attracted $8.5 million in contributions from outside groups, of which $6 million was spent to help Rand Paul and $2.5 million to help Conway. This money influx was in addition to the money spent by the candidates themselves: $6 million by Paul and $4.7 million by Conway. Paul was endorsed by ''

'', '' The Richmond Register'', and the '' Bowling Green Daily News''; as well as by the National Federation of Independent Business, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, National Right to Life, US Chamber of Commerce, National Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans Coalition,

, and Tony Perkins/ FRC Action PAC. Conway was endorsed by the '' Courier-Journal'' and the '' Lexington Herald Leader''.

Debates

There were 5 televised debates between the two candidates. The first debate on October 3, 2010, which was moderated by Chris Wallace, seemed to focus on President Obama's decisions during his 2 years as president. Paul stated, "I think his agenda is wrong for America. I will stand up against President Obama's agenda." Conway responded, "I am a proud Democrat. I'm certainly not going to be on the left of Barack Obama." At the time of the debate, the election's polls indicated the race was a dead heat.

Predictions

Fundraising

Polling

Results

References

, including Voter's Guide fo
Democratic
an
Republican
candidates ;Debates
Kentucky Senate Democratic Primary Debate

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

, May 3, 2010
Kentucky Senate Republican Primary Debate

, May 10, 2010
Kentucky Senate Candidate Forum

, July 22, 2010
Kentucky Senate Debate
Fox News Sunday, October 3, 2010, full transcript ;Official campaign websites (Archived)
Jack Conway for U.S. Senate

Rand Paul for U.S. Senate
{{Rand Paul 2010 Kentucky elections Kentucky

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Rand Paul

Bunning's controversies

Republican primary

Candidates

Campaign

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Campaign

Endorsements

Polling

Results

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Debates

Predictions

Fundraising

Polling

Results

References

Further reading

External links