The 2010 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 2010, to elect the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

and

Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania The lieutenant governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The lieutenant governor is elected for a four-year term in the same year as the governor of Pennsylvania, governor. Each party picks a candidate for lieutena ...

, concurrently with

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and other states and

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

and various

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and

local elections Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

. Incumbent Democratic governor

Ed Rendell Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American politician, author, and former prosecutor who served as the 45th governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011. He previously served as chair of the national Democratic Party from 1999 to 2 ...

was term-limited and thus ineligible to seek re-election in 2010. In the primary, Democrats nominated Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato, who defeated Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner,

State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

Anthony H. Williams, and Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel. Republicans nominated

Pennsylvania Attorney General The Pennsylvania attorney general is the chief law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It became an elected office in 1980. The current attorney general is Republican Dave Sunday (politician), Dave ...

Tom Corbett Thomas Wingett Corbett Jr. (born June 17, 1949) is an American politician, lobbyist, and former prosecutor who served as the 46th governor of Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he was also attorney general of Pen ...

, who defeated

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

Sam Rohrer in the primary. In primary elections for lieutenant governor, which were held separately, H. Scott Conklin defeated Jonathan Saidel and Doris Smith-Ribner in the Democratic primary.

Jim Cawley James Cawley (born June 22, 1969) is an American politician and administrator who has served as president of Rosemont College since 2022. Cawley previously served as Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2015. As of 2025, he is the mo ...

emerged from a nine-candidate field in the Republican primary. Corbett defeated Onorato in the November general election. As lieutenant gubernatorial nominees run on a joint ticket with the gubernatorial nominee of their respective parties in the general election in Pennsylvania, Cawley was elected lieutenant governor over Conklin. As of 2024, this is the last time a Republican was elected Governor of Pennsylvania and the only time in the 21st century. This is also the last time Republicans won the following counties in a gubernatorial election: Allegheny, Erie,

Beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

Centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

, Dauphin, Luzerne,

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

, Lehigh, Berks, Bucks, and

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

. This is the last Pennsylvania gubernatorial election in which the winner won a majority of counties.

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Dan Onorato, Allegheny County Chief Executive (from

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

) * Jack Wagner,

Auditor General An auditor general, also known in some countries as a comptroller general or comptroller and auditor general, is a senior civil servant charged with improving government accountability by auditing and reporting on the government's operations. Freq ...

(from Pittsburgh) * Anthony Williams,

(from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

) * Joe Hoeffel, Montgomery County Commissioner and former

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

(from Abington Township, Montgomery County)

Dropped Out

* Chris Doherty, Mayor of

Scranton Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

* Tom Knox, healthcare executive (from Philadelphia)

Polling

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

(from Shaler Township) * Sam Rohrer,

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

(from Robeson Township)

Dropped Out

Jim Gerlach James William Gerlach (born February 25, 1955) is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2003 to 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party. Gerlach retired from Congress after completing his sixth term. Early life, education and c ...

, U.S. Representative *

Pat Meehan Patrick Leo Meehan (born October 20, 1955) is a former American Republican Party politician and federal prosecutor from Pennsylvania who represented parts of Delaware, Chester, Montgomery, Berks, and Lancaster counties in the United States Hou ...

, Former

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ( Ran for and won race for U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district)

Polling

Results

General election

Candidates

(R),

* Dan Onorato (D), Allegheny County Executive

Predictions

Polling

Results

Results by county

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

* Allegheny (Largest city:

) *

(largest city:

) * Berks (largest borough:

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

) * Bucks (largest municipality: Bensalem) *

Cambria Cambria is a name for Wales, being the Latinised form of the Welsh name for the country, . The term was not in use during the Roman period (when Wales had not come into existence as a distinct entity) or the early medieval period. After the ...

(largest municipality: Johnstown) *

Carbon Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...

(largest municipality: Lehighton) *

(largest municipality:

State College State College is a borough and home rule municipality in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a college town, home to the University Park campus of The Pennsylvania State University. State College is the largest designated borou ...

) *

(largest municipality: West Chester) * Clearfield (Largest city: DuBois) * Clinton (Largest city: Lock Haven) * Columbia (Largest city: Bloomsburg) *

Elk The elk (: ''elk'' or ''elks''; ''Cervus canadensis'') or wapiti, is the second largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. ...

(Largest city: St. Marys) * Erie (largest municipality: Erie) * Fayette (largest borough: Uniontown) * Greene (largest municipality: Waynesburg) * Lawrence (largest municipality: New Castle) * Lehigh (largest municipality:

Allentown Allentown may refer to: Places * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County * Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...

) * Luzerne (largest municipality:

Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. ...

) * Mercer (largest municipality: Hermitage) *

(largest borough: Stroudsburg) *

(largest municipality:

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

) *

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

(largest borough: Sunbury) * Pike (largest municipality: Matamoras) * Schuylkill (Largest city: Pottsville) * Susquehanna (largest municipality: Forest City) * Warren (Largest city: Warren) *

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

(largest municipality: Peters Township) * Wayne (largest municipality: Honesdale) *

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

(largest municipality: Tunkhannock)

References

External links

Pennsylvania Department of State

Official election results

Official general information for voting, no candidate listsPennsylvania Governor Candidates
at

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is an American 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 offic ...

Campaign contributions for 2010 Pennsylvania Governor
from ''Follow the Money''
2010 Pennsylvania Governor General Election: All Head-to-Head Matchups
graph of multiple polls from ''Pollster.com''
Election 2010: Pennsylvania Governor
from ''

Rasmussen Reports Rasmussen Reports is an American polling company founded in 2003. The company engages in political commentary and the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information. Rasmussen Reports conducts nightly tracking, ...

''
2010 Pennsylvania Governor Race
from ''

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

''
2010 Pennsylvania Governor's Race
from ''

CQ Politics ''Congressional Quarterly'', or ''CQ'', is an American publication that is part of the privately owned publishing company CQ Roll Call, which covers the United States Congress. ''CQ'' was formerly acquired by the U.K.-based The Economist Group, ...

''
Race Profile
in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Official campaign websites
Dan Onorato for Governor

Tom Corbett for Governor
{{United States elections, 2010

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Democratic primary

Candidates

Dropped Out

Polling

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Dropped Out

Polling

Results

General election

Candidates

Predictions

Polling

Results

Results by county

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

See also

References

External links