United States Senate election in Utah, 2010

United States Senate election in Utah, 2010

2004 ← November 2, 2010 → 2016

Nominee Mike Lee Sam Granato Scott Bradley Party Republican Democratic Constitution Popular vote 390,179 207,685 35,937 Percentage 61.6% 32.8% 5.7%

County Results

U.S. Senator before election Bob Bennett Republican Elected U.S. Senator Mike Lee Republican

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 was eliminated in the GOP state convention. Republican Mike Lee, who won the Republican primary, won the open seat.

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. There are eleven candidates that have filed with the Office of the Lieutenant Governor.^[1]

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 more than 60 percent) to avoid a primary election runoff against Lee.^[2] At the Democratic convention, delegates nominated businessman Sam Granato, who received 77.5 percent of the vote.^[3]

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.^[4]

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.^[5]

Republican nomination

Convention

Candidates

On Ballot

• Bob Bennett, incumbent U.S. Senator^[6]
• Tim Bridgewater, Small Businessman and Former congressional candidate^[7]
• David Chiu
• Merrill Cook, former U.S. Congressman^[8]
• Cherilyn Eagar, businesswoman^[7]
• Leonard Fabiano
• Jeremy Friedbaum
• Mike Lee, attorney^[9]

Withdrew

• Mark Shurtleff State Attorney General^[7]

Endorsements

The following are endorsements made before the convention

Bennett

Lee

Polling

Poll Source	Dates Administered	Bob Bennett	Tim Bridgewater	Merrill Cook	Cherilyn Eagar	Mike Lee
Mason Dixon	April 22–25, 2010	16%	20%	1%	11%	37%
Rasmussen Reports	April 8, 2010	14%	14%	6%	4%	37%

Results

State Republican Convention results (First Round) [13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Mike Lee	982	28.75%
	Republican	Tim Bridgewater	917	26.84%
	Republican	Bob Bennett	885	25.91%
	Republican	Cherilyn Eagar	541	15.84%
	Republican	Merrill Cook	49	1.43%
	Republican	Leonard Fabiano	22	0.64%
	Republican	Jeremy Friedbaum	16	0.47%
	Republican	David Chiu	4	0.12%
Totals			3,416	100.00%

State Republican Convention results (Second Round) [14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Tim Bridgewater	1274	37.42%
	Republican	Mike Lee	1225	35.99%
	Republican	Bob Bennett	905	26.99%
Totals			3404	100.00%

State Republican Convention results (Third Round) [15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Tim Bridgewater	1854	57.28%
	Republican	Mike Lee	1383	42.72%
Totals			3237	100.00%

Primary

Candidates

• Tim Bridgewater, small businessman (campaign site)
• Mike Lee, attorney

Endorsements

Bridgewater

Lee

Polling

Poll Source	Dates Administered	Tim Bridgewater	Mike Lee
Deseret News/KSL-TV	June 12–17, 2010	42%	33%
Wilson Research	June 10, 2010	30%	39%

Results

State Republican Primary results [18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Mike Lee	98,512	51.2%
	Republican	Tim Bridgewater	93,905	48.8%
Totals			192,417	100%

Democratic nomination

Candidates

• Sam Granato, Small businessman^[19]
• Christopher Stout, Accountant^[20]

Results

State Democratic Convention results (First Round)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Sam Granato		77.5%
	Democratic	Christopher Stout		22.5%
Totals			'	100%

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.^[21]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Cook Political Report	Solid R[22]	October 31, 2010
Rothenberg	Safe R[23]	October 28, 2010
Swing State Project	Safe R[citation needed]
RealClearPolitics	Safe R[24]	October 31, 2010
Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe R[25]	October 28, 2010
CQ Politics	Safe R[26]	October 31, 2010

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Sam Granato (D)	Mike Lee (R)	Other	Undecided
Deseret News/KSL-TV	October 25–28, 2010	1,206	± 3.0%	30%	57%	6%	7%
Mason-Dixon	October 27, 2010	625	± 4.0%	32%	48%	5%	15%
Deseret News/KSL-TV	October 11–14, 2010	600	± 4.0%	31%	53%	1%	11%
Rasmussen Reports	October 13, 2010	500	± 4.5%	28%	61%	4%	8%
Rasmussen Reports	August 23, 2010	500	± 4.5%	29%	54%	5%	12%
Rasmussen Reports	June 23, 2010	500	± 4.5%	28%	58%	5%	9%

Fundraising

Candidate (Party)	Receipts	Disbursements	Cash On Hand	Debt
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[27]

Results

United States Senate election in Utah, 2010[28]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mike Lee	390,179	61.56%	-7.18%
	Democratic	Sam Granato	207,685	32.77%	+4.37%
	Constitution	Scott Bradley	35,937	5.67%	+3.78%
Majority			182,494	28.79%
Total votes			633,801	100%
	Republican hold		Swing

References

1. ^ Untitled Document
2. ^ Gehrke, Robert. "Bennett out; GOP delegates reject 18-year Senate veteran - Salt Lake Tribune". Sltrib.com. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_15046264. Retrieved 2010-06-14. 
3. ^ Loomis, Brandon. "Matheson forced into runoff election - Salt Lake Tribune". Sltrib.com. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_15046643. Retrieved 2010-06-14. 
4. ^ Gehrke, Robert (2010-06-23). "Lee clinches GOP Senate nomination - Salt Lake Tribune". Sltrib.com. http://sltrib.com/sltrib/home/49810581-73/bridgewater-company-election-lee.html.csp. Retrieved 2010-06-23. 
5. ^ Utah Election Results
6. ^ Bernick, Jr., Bob (2008-12-06). "Bennett is gearing up for another Senate bid". Deseret News. http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705268417,00.html. Retrieved 2009-01-12. 
7. ^ ^{a b c} "ksl.com". http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=8550864. 
8. ^ Hamby, Peter (February 25, 2010). "Bennett gets another primary challenger". CNN. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/02/25/bennett-gets-another-primary-challenger/. Retrieved February 25, 2010. 
9. ^ Davidson, Lee (2010-01-05). "Mike Lee enters Senate race against Bennett — with Shurtleff endorsement". Deseret News. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705356276/Mike-Lee-enters-Senate-race-against-Bennett-2-with-Shurtleff-endorsement.html. Retrieved 2010-01-06. 
10. ^ "Hatch endorses Bennett's re-election". ksl.com. 2009-09-05. http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=7813360. Retrieved 2010-06-14. 
11. ^ By Robert GehrkeThe Salt Lake Tribune (2010-02-03). "Gingrich endorses Bennett re-election bid - Salt Lake Tribune". Sltrib.com. http://www.sltrib.com/utahpolitics/ci_14326982. Retrieved 2010-06-14. 
12. ^ "Romney endorses Bob Bennett in 2010 Senate race". Heraldextra.com. 2009-04-06. http://heraldextra.com/news/state-and-regional/article_67e2f8ac-ee82-5630-9b04-06e977f7f927.html. Retrieved 2010-06-14. 
13. ^ Senate Race: 1st Round Results Accessed May 10, 2010
14. ^ Senate Race: 2nd Round Results Accessed May 10, 2010
15. ^ Senate Race: 3rd Round Results Accessed May 10, 2010
16. ^ "Tim Bridgewater Receives Key Legislative Endorsements | Bridgewater for Senate". Timbridgewater.com. http://timbridgewater.com/2010/05/tim-bridgewater-receives-key-legislative-endorsements/. Retrieved 2010-08-21. 
17. ^ "Bridgewater Announces Endorsements by Municipal Leaders | Bridgewater for Senate". Timbridgewater.com. http://timbridgewater.com/2010/06/bridgewater-announces-endorsements-by-municipal-leaders/. Retrieved 2010-08-21. 
18. ^ Utah Election Results
19. ^ "Sam Granato for U.S. Senate". http://voteforgranato.com. 
20. ^ "Another Democratic Challenger to Bennett". http://bobaagard.blogspot.com/2010/01/another-democratic-challenger-to.html. 
21. ^ Senate candidates take stands on Social Security reform
22. ^ "Senate". Cook Political Report. http://cookpolitical.com/senate. Retrieved October 31, 2010. 
23. ^ "Senate Ratings". Rothenberg Political Report. http://rothenbergpoliticalreport.com/ratings/senate. Retrieved October 31, 2010. 
24. ^ "Battle for the Senate". RealClearPolitics. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2010/senate/2010_elections_senate_map.html. Retrieved October 31, 2010. 
25. ^ "2010 Senate Ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/category/2010-senate/. Retrieved October 31, 2010. 
26. ^ "Race Ratings Chart: Senate". CQ Politics. http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=ratings-senate. Retrieved October 31, 2010. 
27. ^ "2010 House and Senate Campaign Finance for Utah". fec.gov. http://www.fec.gov:80/DisclosureSearch/HSRefreshCandList.do?category=stateS_all&stateName=UT&election_yr=2010. Retrieved July 24, 2010. 
28. ^ http://elections.utah.gov/electionresults.html

External links

• Utah Government Services - Elections
• U.S. Congress candidates for Utah at Project Vote Smart
• Utah U.S. Senate 2010 from OurCampaigns.com
• Campaign contributions from Open Secrets
• Election 2010: Utah Senate from Rasmussen Reports
• Utah Senate - Lee vs. Granato from Real Clear Politics
• 2010 Utah Senate Race from CQ Politics
• Race profile from The New York Times

Debates

• Utah Senate Republican Primary Debate, C-SPAN, June 2, 2010
• Utah Senate Debate, C-SPAN, September 16, 2010

Official campaign sites

• Scott Bradley for U.S. Senate
• Mike Lee for U.S. Senate
• Sam Granato for U.S. Senate