The 2010 United States Senate election in New York took place on November 2, 2010, along with elections to the

United States Senate 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 pow ...

in other states, as well as elections to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democrat U.S. Senator

Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, an ...

won re-election to a third term. Schumer won every county except for

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

, Tioga, and

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

counties.

Background

In the 2004 U.S. Senate election, Schumer had defeated Republican Assemblyman

Howard Mills Howard D. Mills III (born May 29, 1964) is an American insurance consultant and former politician from Goshen, New York. He served as New York's Superintendent of Insurance from 2005 to 2006, and previously held elective office in both the New ...

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. Schumer was heavily favored to retain his seat. In addition to this regular election, there was also a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

to fill the Senate seat vacated by

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

, who became the

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

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, was believed to lead major New York Republicans to gravitate towards them rather than challenge the popular Schumer.

Republican nomination

Convention

Candidates

Gary Berntsen Gary Berntsen (born July 23, 1957) is an American former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) career officer who served in the National Clandestine Service, Directorate of Operations between October 1982 and June 2005. During his time at the CIA, he ...

, retired

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

officer, received the party's endorsement on the second round of balloting * Martin Chicon, candidate for New York Senate in 2008 and

New York Republican State Committee The New York Republican State Committee, established in 1855, is the New York State affiliate of the United States Republican Party (GOP). The party has headquarters in Albany, Buffalo, and New York City.

member from upper Manhattan. * George Maragos, Nassau County Comptroller * James Staudenraus, Long Island resident and 2008 state assembly candidate * Jay Townsend, Republican strategist (finished second and also qualified for the primary)

Results

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, but still needed to win the primary in order to win the Republican nomination. Berntsen lost the primary to Jay Townsend.

Primary

Candidates

* Jay Townsend

Results

General election

Candidates

* Anti-Prohibition Party:

Randy Credico Randolph A. Credico (born 1954) is an American perennial political candidate, comedian, radio host, and activist, and the former director of the William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice. Entertainment career Credico was formerly active o ...

* Conservative Party of New York: Jay Townsend * Democratic Party:

* Green Party:

Colia Clark Colia L. Liddell Lafayette Clark (July 21, 1940 – November 4, 2022) was an American activist and politician. Clark was the Green Party's candidate for the United States Senate in New York in 2010 and 2012. Clark was a veteran of the Civil Right ...

* Libertarian Party:

* Republican Party: Jay Townsend * Taxpayers Party:

Predictions

Fundraising

Polling

Results

Aftermath

Credico sued the New York State Board of Elections under the

Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "''nor shall any State ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equa ...

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. The New York State Board of Elections did not appeal this decision.

References

External links

New York State Board of Elections
*
Official candidate list

U.S. Congress candidates for New York
at

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in s ...

New York U.S. Senate 2010
from OurCampaigns.com
Campaign contributions
from

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New York Polls
graph of multiple polls from ''Pollster.com''
Election 2010: New York Senate
from

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2010 New York Senate Race
from

Real Clear Politics RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator formed in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. The site features selected political new ...

2010 New York Senate Race
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Race profile
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{{New York elections New York 2010