The 2010 United States Senate election in Vermont 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. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy was re-elected to a seventh term.

Democratic primary

Candidates

  • Daniel Freilich, military doctor (also running as an independent)
  • Patrick Leahy, incumbent U.S. Senator

Results

Democratic primary results
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticPatrick Leahy (incumbent)64,17789.06%
DemocraticDaniel Freilich7,88610.94%
Total votes72,063100.0%

General election

Candidates

  • Len Britton (R), businessman
  • Stephen Cain (I)
  • Pete Diamondstone (Socialist)
  • Cris Ericson (U.S. Marijuana), two-time former candidate for U.S. Senate
  • Daniel Freilich (I), military doctor
  • Patrick Leahy (D), incumbent U.S. Senator
  • Johenry Nunes (I), military education and training manager

Campaign

First elected in 1974, Leahy was at the time the first and only Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Vermont. He won his last two re-election campaigns with at least 70% of the vote. He is the second-most-senior member of Congress. In a June 2010 poll, the incumbent was viewed very favorably by 52% of the state. 52% of the state opposed repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and 50% opposed Arizona's immigration law. Obama's approval rating in the poll was 62%. Obama carried Vermont with 67% of the vote in 2008.

His Republican opponent was Len Britton, a businessman who had never run for public office before. As of August 2010, he had released two TV ads, criticizing Obama's stimulus and the deficits. His campaign manager admitted, "Len is an unknown candidate and we are rigorously running on a difficult campaign schedule."

Debates

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
Cook Political ReportSolid DOctober 26, 2010
RothenbergSafe DOctober 22, 2010
RealClearPoliticsSafe DOctober 26, 2010
Sabato's Crystal BallSafe DOctober 21, 2010
CQ PoliticsSafe DOctober 26, 2010

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s) administeredSample sizeMargin of errorPatrick Leahy (D)Len Britton (R)OtherUndecided
Rasmussen ReportsJune 17, 2010500± 4.5%64%29%3%4%
Rasmussen ReportsSeptember 13, 2010500± 4.5%63%32%2%4%
Vermont Public Radio/Mason-DixonOctober 11–13, 2010625± 4.0%62%27%4%7%

Fundraising

Candidate (party)ReceiptsDisbursementsCash on handDebt
Patrick Leahy (D)$3,469,878$2,090,603$2,598,061$0
Len Britton (R)$199,813$144,541$55,270$69,833
Source: Federal Election Commission

Results

United States Senate election in Vermont, 2010
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
DemocraticPatrick Leahy (incumbent)151,28164.36%−6.27%
RepublicanLen Britton72,69930.93%+6.38%
IndependentDaniel Freilich3,5441.51%N/A
MarijuanaCris Ericson2,7311.16%N/A
IndependentStephen Cain2,3561.00%N/A
SocialistPeter Diamondstone1,4330.61%N/A
IndependentJohenry Nunes1,0210.43%N/A
Majority78,52833.43%
Total votes235,065100.00%
Democratic holdSwing

By county

By county
County Patrick Leahy Democratic Len Britton Republican Various candidates Other parties # % # % # % Addison 9,904 66.55% 4,397 29.54% 582 3.91% Bennington 8,517 63.15% 3,873 28.72% 1,096 8.13% Caledonia 6,058 56.04% 4,247 39.28% 506 4.68% Chittenden 40,837 68.21% 16,716 27.92% 2,314 3.87% Essex 1,173 52.06% 939 41.68% 141 6.26% Franklin 9,629 60.54% 5,582 35.1% 693 4.36% Grand Isle 2,083 60.52% 1,159 33.67% 200 5.81% Lamoille 6,205 66.03% 2,844 30.26% 348 3.71% Orange 6,894 61.87% 3,777 33.9% 471 4.23% Orleans 5,517 60.31% 3,176 34.72% 455 4.97% Rutland 12,265 55.36% 8,808 39.75% 1,083 4.89% Washington 16,682 68.62% 6,541 26.9% 1,089 4.48% Windham 11,587 69.32% 3,391 23.52% 1,197 7.16% Windsor 13,390 64.31% 6,709 30.97% 1,023 4.72% Totals 151,281 64.33% 72,699 30.91% 11,198 4.76%
CountyPatrick Leahy DemocraticLen Britton RepublicanVarious candidates Other parties
#%#%#%
Addison9,90466.55%4,39729.54%5823.91%
Bennington8,51763.15%3,87328.72%1,0968.13%
Caledonia6,05856.04%4,24739.28%5064.68%
Chittenden40,83768.21%16,71627.92%2,3143.87%
Essex1,17352.06%93941.68%1416.26%
Franklin9,62960.54%5,58235.1%6934.36%
Grand Isle2,08360.52%1,15933.67%2005.81%
Lamoille6,20566.03%2,84430.26%3483.71%
Orange6,89461.87%3,77733.9%4714.23%
Orleans5,51760.31%3,17634.72%4554.97%
Rutland12,26555.36%8,80839.75%1,0834.89%
Washington16,68268.62%6,54126.9%1,0894.48%
Windham11,58769.32%3,39123.52%1,1977.16%
Windsor13,39064.31%6,70930.97%1,0234.72%
Totals151,28164.33%72,69930.91%11,1984.76%

External links

Official campaign websites

  • - incumbent