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 ...
were held in the United States on November 2, 2010, in the middle of
Democratic President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
's first term.
Republicans ended unified Democratic control of
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
and the presidency by winning a majority in the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
and gained seats in the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
despite Democrats holding Senate control.
Republicans gained seven seats in the Senate (including a special election held in January 2010) but failed to gain a majority in the chamber. In the House of Representatives, Republicans won a net gain of 63 seats, the largest shift in seats since the
1948 elections. In state elections, Republicans won a net gain of six gubernatorial seats and flipped control of twenty state legislative chambers, giving them a substantial advantage in the redistricting that occurred following the
2010 United States census. The election was widely characterized as a
"Republican wave" election.
The heavy Democratic losses in 2010 were mainly attributed to the passing of the
Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...
along with a poor economic recovery from the
Great Recession
The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009. and large budget deficits. This marked the first election since 1858 that yielded a Republican-controlled House and a Democratic-controlled Senate.
Issues
Candidates and voters in 2010 focused on national economic conditions and the economic policies of the Obama administration and congressional Democrats. Attention was paid to public anger over the
Wall Street bailout signed into law by President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
in late 2008. Voters were also motivated for and against the
sweeping reforms of the health care system enacted by Democrats in 2010, as well as concerns over tax rates and record deficits. At the time of the election, unemployment was over 9%, and had not declined significantly since
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
had become president. Further eroding public trust in Congress were a series of scandals that saw Democratic representatives
Charlie Rangel and
Maxine Waters, as well as Republican senator
John Ensign
John Eric Ensign (born March 25, 1958) is an American veterinarian and former politician who served as a United States Senator from Nevada from 2001 until his resignation in 2011 amid a Senate Ethics Committee investigation into his attempts to ...
, all accused of unethical or illegal conduct in the months leading up to the 2010 election.
Immigration reform had become an important issue in 2010, particularly following the passage of
Arizona Senate Bill 1070, officially known as the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act. The Act greatly enhanced the power of Arizona's law enforcement agencies to investigate the immigration status of suspected illegal immigrants and to enforce state and national immigration laws. The Act also required immigrants to carry their immigration documentation on their person at all times. Its passage by a Republican-led legislature and its subsequent and very public signing by
Jan Brewer, the Republican
Governor of Arizona
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 ...
, ignited protests across the Southwest and galvanized political opinion among both pro-immigration Latino groups and Tea Party activists, many of whom supported stronger measures to stem illegal immigration.
The passage of the controversial
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act also contributed to the low approval ratings of Congress, particularly Democrats, in the months leading up to the election. Many Republicans ran on a promise to repeal the law, and beat incumbent Democratic opponents who had voted in favor of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Federal elections
Congressional elections
Senate elections
On January 19, 2010, a special election was also held for the Class I seat in
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, as a result of the death of incumbent Senator
Ted Kennedy. Republican
Scott Brown won the seat.
The 34 seats in 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 ...
Class III were up for election. In addition, the Class I/II seats held by appointed Senators
Ted Kaufman of
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
,
Kirsten Gillibrand
Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand (; ; born December 9, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from New York (state), New York since 2009 ...
of
New York, and
Carte Goodwin of
West Virginia
West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
were contested in
special elections on the same day. Republicans picked up six seats, but Democrats retained a majority in the Senate.
House of Representatives elections
All 435 voting seats in 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 ...
were up for election. Additionally, elections were held to select the
delegates for the
District of Columbia
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
and four of the five
U.S. territories. The only seat in the House not up for election was that of the
Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, who serves a four-year term and faced election in
2012
2012 was designated as:
*International Year of Cooperatives
*International Year of Sustainable Energy for All
Events January
*January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins.
* January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
. Republicans won the nationwide popular vote for the House of Representatives by a margin of 6.8 points
and picked up 63 seats, taking control of the chamber for the first time since the
2006 elections. This represented the largest single-election shift in House seats since the
1948 elections and the largest midterm election shift since the
1938 elections. The only seat Democrats flipped without unseating a Republican was Delaware's lone House seat, going to former Lt. Governor
John Carney.
State elections
Gubernatorial elections
37 state and two territory
United States governors were up for election. Republicans picked up a net of six state governorships; Democrats won control of five governorships previously controlled by Republicans, but Republicans took 11 governorships.
Other statewide elections
In many states where the following positions are elected offices, voters elected state executive branch offices (including
Lieutenant Governors (though some will be voted for on the same ticket as the gubernatorial nominee),
Secretary of state,
state Treasurer,
state Auditor,
state Attorney General, state Superintendent of Education, Commissioners of
Insurance
Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...
, Agriculture or, Labor, etc.) and state judicial branch offices (seats on
state Supreme Court
In the United States, a state supreme court (known by other names in some states) is the highest court in the state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of state law, the judgment of a state supreme court is considered final and binding in ...
s and, in some states, state appellate courts).
State legislative elections
Republicans made substantial gains in state legislatures across the nation. Twenty chambers flipped from Democratic to Republican control, giving Republicans full control of eleven state legislatures and control of one chamber in Colorado, Iowa, and New York. Additionally, Republicans gained enough seats in the Oregon House of Representatives to produce a 30-30 party split, pushing Democrats into a power-sharing agreement that resulted in the election of two "co-speakers" (one from each party) to lead the chamber. Republicans gained a net of 680 seats in state legislative races, breaking the previous record of 628 flipped seats set by Democrats in the post-Watergate elections of 1974.
Six states saw both chambers switch from Democrat to Republican majorities: Alabama (where the Republicans won a majority and a trifecta for the first time since 1874), Maine (for the first time since 1975 and a trifecta for the first time since 1965), Minnesota (for the first time since 1915 in partisan elections and 1973 in non-partisan elections), New Hampshire, North Carolina (for the first time since 1896), and Wisconsin. In addition, by picking up the lower chambers in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Montana and Pennsylvania, Republicans gained control of both chambers in an additional five states. Furthermore, Republicans picked up one chamber from Democrats in Colorado, Iowa, and New York to split control in those states. They expanded majorities in both chambers in Texas, Florida, and Georgia.
Local elections
On November 2, 2010, various cities, counties, school boards, and special districts (in the United States) witnessed elections. Some elections were high-profile.
*
Luzerne County,
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 ...
: The voters of Luzerne County adopted a
home rule charter by a margin of 51,413 to 41,639. This changed the county’s government from a
board of county commissioners to a
council-manager form of government. The following year (in 2011), the
first general election for the new
assembly was held. The first council members were sworn in on January 2, 2012.
High-profile mayoral elections are listed below:
*
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
: Incumbent mayor
Mufi Hannemann resigned on July 20, 2010, to run for
Governor of Hawaii. The city's Managing Director
Kirk Caldwell served as acting mayor until
Peter Carlisle was elected in a special election on September 18.
*
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
: Incumbent mayor
Jerry Abramson declined to run for a third consecutive term in order to run for
Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky in 2011.
Greg Fischer was elected as the successor.
*
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
: Incumbent mayor
Ray Nagin was term-limited out of office.
Mitch Landrieu was elected as the new mayor on February 6.
*
Washington, D.C.: Incumbent mayor
Adrian Fenty
Adrian Malik Fenty (born December 6, 1970) is an American politician who served as the mayor of the District of Columbia from 2007 to 2011.
A Washington, D.C. native, Fenty graduated from Oberlin College and Howard University Law School, then ser ...
was defeated in the Democratic primary by
Vincent C. Gray, who then went on to win the general election.
Turnout
Approximately 82.5 million people voted. Turnout increased relative to
the previous U.S. midterm elections without any significant shift in voters' political identification.
Table of federal and state results
Bold indicates a change in control. Note that not all states held gubernatorial, state legislative, and United States Senate elections in 2010.
Notes
References
Further reading
*
* Bullock, Charles S., et al. ''Key States, High Stakes: Sarah Palin, the Tea Party, and the 2010 Elections'' (2011)
*
* Sabato, Larry. ''Who Got in the Booth? A Look Back at the 2010 Elections'' (2011)
External links
2010 Midterm Election Debateson ''
C-SPAN
Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...
''
Wesleyan Media Project: 2010 Political Advertising Analysisat
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...
;National newspapers
Elections 2010at ''
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 ...
''
Campaign 2010at ''
The Washington Post
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''
;National radio
Election 2010at ''
NPR''
;National TV
2010 Electionat ''
ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to:
* ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
* ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company
ABC News may a ...
''
Campaign 2010on ''
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{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Elections, 2010
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 ...
November 2010 in the United States
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 ...