The 2010 United States Senate election in Indiana took place on November 2, 2010, alongside 33 other 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 and 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

and various state and local elections to fill Indiana's class III United States Senate seat. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator

Evan Bayh Birch Evans Bayh III ( ; born December 26, 1955) is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Indiana from 1999 to 2011 and the 46th governor of Indiana from 1989 to 1997. Bayh w ...

decided in February 2010 to retire instead of seeking a third term shortly after Republican former U.S. Senator Dan Coats, announced his candidacy for Bayh's contested seat. Bayh's announcement came one day before the filing deadline and no Democratic candidate submitted enough signatures by the deadline to run, so the State Democratic Party chose U.S. Congressman Brad Ellsworth as their nominee. The

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...

nominated YMCA instructor Rebecca Sink-Burris, who had previously run against

in the 1998 United States Senate election in Indiana but with less success than in this election. Coats won the open seat.

Democratic nomination

Senate candidates in Indiana were required to have submitted 500 signatures from each of the state's nine congressional districts by February 16, 2010, one day after Bayh announced his retirement. Democratic leaders thought the popular incumbent would run for reelection, and as a result, no Democratic candidate had submitted the requisite signatures by the deadline to run in the state's primary, meaning that the

Indiana Democratic Party The Democratic Party of Indiana is the affiliate of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Indiana. The Indiana Democratic Party currently holds two of Indiana's United States congressional delegations from I ...

's executive committee chose the party's nominee. U.S. congressman Brad Ellsworth was officially selected on May 15.

Republican primary

Candidates

* Don Bates, businessman * Richard Behney, businessman * Dan Coats, former U.S. Senator *

John Hostettler John Nathan Hostettler (born July 19, 1961) is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from January 3, 1995, to January 3, 2007, representing the Indiana's 8th congressional district. He lost his reelectio ...

, former U.S. Representative *

Marlin Stutzman Marlin Andrew Stutzman (born August 31, 1976) is an American politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Indiana's 3rd congressional district, from 2010 to 2017. A Republican, Stutzman previously served ...

, State Senator

Debates

* 1. March 6 * 2. April 8 (on the

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radio station) * 3. April 10 * 4. April 19 (at Franklin College, on radio station WFCI) * 5. April 20 (televised on WFYI)

Endorsements

Coats

Hostettler

Stutzman

Polling

Results

General election

Candidates

* Brad Ellsworth (D), U.S. Representative * Dan Coats (R), former U.S. Senator * Rebecca Sink-Burris ( L), teacher and small business owner

Campaign

After Coats' win in the Republican primary, Ellsworth began to heavily criticize Coats for his ties to lobbyists. He called for more disclosure of the meetings lawmakers have with lobbyists, banning congressional staff from lobbying for six years after their congressional jobs, requiring Congress members to put all their investments in blind trusts, more disclosure of Senate candidates' personal financial information, and changes to the U.S. Senate filibuster rules. He proposed lowering number of votes required to break a filibuster to 55 from the current 60. In response to Ellsworth's charges, Coats published his lobbying record in an 815-page document. Coats emphasized the individual issues rather than ethic reforms advocated by his opponent. He focused on Ellsworth's record of voting in support of the

Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 () was an Act of Congress providing for several kinds of economic stimuli intended to boost the United States economy in 2008 and to avert a recession, or ameliorate economic conditions. The stimulus package was ...

cap and trade Emissions trading is a market-based approach to controlling pollution by providing economic incentives for reducing the emissions of pollutants. The concept is also known as cap and trade (CAT) or emissions trading scheme (ETS). Carbon emission t ...

legislation, and health care bill. Coats opinion of the healthcare law was that "the only responsible solution ... is to repeal the Obama-Pelosi-Ellsworth health spending bill and quickly replace it with cost-effective, incremental pieces that will decrease costs, increase coverage and not break the bank."

Debates

The three candidates took part in three televised debates. * Monday, October 11, in Indianapolis * Friday, October 22, in Fort Wayne * Monday, October 25, in Vincennes

Predictions

Polling

Fundraising

Results

References

External links

Indiana Secretary of State Elections Division

U.S. Congress candidates for Indiana
at

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Indiana U.S. Senate
from OurCampaigns.com
Campaign contributions
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Indiana Polls
graph of multiple polls from ''Pollster.com''
Election 2010: Indiana Senate
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2010 Indiana Senate Race
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2010 Indiana Senate Race
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Race profile
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;Debates
Indiana Senate Republican Primary Debate

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, April 20, 2010 ;Official candidate sites (Archived)
Dan Coats for Senate

Brad Ellsworth for Senate

Rebecca Sink-Burris for Senate
{{US Third Party Election

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 ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

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