The 2010 United States Senate election in Utah took place on November 2, 2010, along with other midterm elections throughout the United States. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Bob Bennett was seeking re-election to a fourth term, but lost renomination at the Republican Party's state convention. Mike Lee proceeded to win the Republican primary against Tim Bridgewater and the general election against Democrat Sam Granato. As of 2026, this is the most recent U.S. Senate election in which a political party held the seat after denying renomination to the incumbent senator.

Process

The filing period for candidates began March 12, 2010 and ended March 19, 2010. Candidates who had not filed by that date cannot appear on the ballot in November. Eleven candidates filed with the Office of the Lieutenant Governor.

Both the Utah State Democratic Party and the Utah State Republican Party held statewide caucus meetings on March 23, 2010. Caucus meetings are grouped by legislative district and divided by precincts with each precinct electing delegates who attend their respective party's state nominating convention.

The Utah State Democratic and Republican Parties held their conventions on May 8, 2010. At the Republican convention, incumbent Senator Bob Bennett finished third in balloting among delegates and was eliminated from the race. Business owner Tim Bridgewater finished first and attorney Mike Lee finished second, but Bridgewater did not receive enough votes (he needed at least 60 percent) to avoid a primary election runoff against Lee. At the Democratic convention, delegates nominated businessman Sam Granato, who received 77.5 percent of the vote.

In the Republican primary election, held on June 22, 2010, Lee became the Republican nominee by winning 51 percent of the vote against Bridgewater's 49 percent.

The general election was held on November 2, 2010. Lee won the election with 62 percent of the vote to Granato's 33 percent and 6 percent for Constitution Party candidate Scott Bradley.

Republican nomination

Convention

Candidates

On Ballot

  • Bob Bennett, incumbent U.S. Senator
  • Tim Bridgewater, businessman and candidate for UT-02 in 2002 and 2004
  • David Chiu
  • Merrill Cook, former U.S. Representative
  • Cherilyn Eagar, businesswoman
  • Leonard Fabiano
  • Jeremy Friedbaum
  • Mike Lee, attorney

Withdrew

Endorsements

The following are endorsements made before the convention

Bennett

Lee

  • Former Governor Norm Bangerter of Utah
  • Attorney General Mark Shurtleff
  • State Senator Curt Bramble
  • State Senator Allen Christensen
  • State Senator Mark Madsen
  • State Representative John Dougall
  • State Representative Craig Frank
  • State Representative Francis Gibson
  • State Representative Kerry Gibson
  • State Representative Todd Kiser
  • State Representative Mike Morley
  • State Representative Curt Oda
  • State Representative Ken Sumsion
  • Former State Representative John Swallow
  • State Representative Ryan Wilcox
  • State Representative Carl Wimmer

Polling

Poll SourceDates AdministeredBob BennettTim BridgewaterMerrill CookCherilyn EagarMike Lee
Rasmussen ReportsApril 8, 201014%14%6%4%37%
Mason DixonApril 22–25, 201016%20%1%11%37%

Results

State Republican Convention results, 2010
CandidateFirst ballotPct.Second ballotPct.Third ballotPct.
Mike Lee98228.75%122535.99%138342.72%
Tim Bridgewater91726.84%127437.42%185457.28%
Bob Bennett88525.91%90526.99%Eliminated
Cherilyn Eagar54115.84%Eliminated
Merrill Cook491.43%Eliminated
Leonard Fabiano220.64%Eliminated
Jeremy Friedbaum160.47%Eliminated
David Chiu40.12%Eliminated
Total3,416100.00%3,404100.00%3,237100.00%

Primary

Candidates

  • Tim Bridgewater, businessman
  • Mike Lee, attorney

Endorsements

Bridgewater

Lee

  • Former governor Norm Bangerter of Utah
  • Attorney General Mark Shurtleff
  • State Senator Curt Bramble
  • State Senator Allen Christensen
  • State Senator Mark Madsen
  • State Representative John Dougall
  • State Representative Francis Gibson
  • State Representative Kerry Gibson
  • State Representative Craig Frank
  • State Representative Ken Sumsion
  • State Representative Todd Kiser
  • State Representative Mike Morley
  • State Representative Curt Oda
  • State Representative Ryan Wilcox
  • State Representative Carl Wimmer
  • Former State Representative John Swallow
  • Most of the 9/12 and Tea Party Groups of Utah

Polling

Poll SourceDates AdministeredTim BridgewaterMike Lee
Wilson ResearchJune 10, 201030%39%
Deseret News/KSL-TVJune 12–17, 201042%33%

Results

Results by county: Lee—60–70% Lee—50–60% Bridgewater—50–60% Bridgewater—60–70%
State Republican Primary results
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanMike Lee98,51251.2%
RepublicanTim Bridgewater93,90548.8%
Total votes192,417100.0%

Democratic nomination

Candidates

  • Sam Granato, businessman
  • Christopher Stout, accountant

Results

State Democratic Convention results (first round)
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticSam Granato7777%
DemocraticChristopher Stout2323%
Total votes100100.0%

General election

Candidates

  • Scott Bradley (C), businessman
  • Sam Granato (D), businessman
  • Mike Lee (R), attorney

Campaign

Granato emphasized his opposition to nuclear weapon tests in neighboring Nevada. In addition, he criticized Lee for his support of raising the retirement age and for questioning the constitutionality of Social Security.

Predictions

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

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s) administeredSample sizeMargin of errorSam Granato (D)Mike Lee (R)OtherUndecided
Rasmussen ReportsJune 23, 2010500± 4.5%28%58%5%9%
Rasmussen ReportsAugust 23, 2010500± 4.5%29%54%5%12%
Rasmussen ReportsOctober 13, 2010500± 4.5%28%61%4%8%
Deseret News/KSL-TVOctober 11–14, 2010600± 4.0%31%53%1%11%
Mason-DixonOctober 27, 2010625± 4.0%32%48%5%15%
Deseret News/KSL-TVOctober 25–28, 20101,206± 3.0%30%57%6%7%

Fundraising

Candidate (Party)ReceiptsDisbursementsCash On HandDebt
Mike Lee (R)$1,595,383$1,423,494$165,314$57,691
Sam Granato (D)$250,607$219,776$30,831$15,000
Source: Federal Election Commission

Results

United States Senate election in Utah, 2010
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
RepublicanMike Lee390,17961.56%−7.18%
DemocraticSam Granato207,68532.77%+4.37%
ConstitutionScott Bradley35,9375.67%+3.78%
Majority182,49428.79%
Total votes633,801100.00%
Republican holdSwing

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

External links

Debates

Official campaign sites (Archived)