Nebraska gubernatorial election, 2010

Nebraska gubernatorial election, 2010

2006 ← November 2, 2010 → 2014

Nominee Dave Heineman Mike Meister Party Republican Democratic Running mate Rick Sheehy Anne Boyle Popular vote 352,267 121,994 Percentage 74.3% 25.7%

County results

Governor before election Dave Heineman Republican Elected Governor Dave Heineman Republican

The 2010 Nebraska gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010 to elect the Governor of Nebraska, who will serve a four-year term to begin in January 2011. Republican incumbent Dave Heineman won, defeating Democrat Mike Meister. Heineman easily won his party's nomination. Mark Lakers ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, but dropped out in July 2010.^[1] Attorney Mike Meister was chosen as a replacement.^[2]

Republican primary

Candidates

• Dave Heineman, incumbent Governor of Nebraska
• Paul Anderson
• Christopher Geary, retired Marine

Results

Republican primary results[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Dave Heineman (inc.)	152,931	89.91%
	Republican	Paul Anderson	8,980	5.28%
	Republican	Christopher Geary	8,179	4.81%
Totals			170,090	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Mark Lakers, businessman

Results

Democratic primary results[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Mark Lakers	57,463	100.00%
Totals			57,463	100.00%

Though Mark Lakers won the Democratic nomination for Governor, he dropped out of the race on July 2, 2010, due to a scandal involving campaign fundraising. Several donors listed on a campaign finance report denied ever giving money to Lakers, prompting criticism from both parties.^[5]

After being forced from the race due to investigations by the Nebraska Attorney General's Office and the Nebraska Campaign Disclosure Board, Lakers pleaded guilty in September to falsifying his campaign finance reports. As part of the plea, Lakers admitted that 51 of the 80 pledges listed on his reports were false.^[6]

Mike Meister, the Democratic nominee for Attorney General of Nebraska in 2002, was selected to replace him^[7] and he selected Nebraska Public Service Commissioner and former Chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Nebraska Anne Boyle as his running mate.^[8]

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Mike Meister (D)	Dave Heineman (R)	Other	Unde- cided
Rasmussen Reports (report)	October 7, 2010	500	± 4.5%	24%	66%	3%	6%
Rasmussen Reports (report)	September 2, 2010	500	± 4.5%	28%	61%	3%	8%
Rasmussen Reports (report)	July 19, 2010	500	± 4.5%	18%	71%	2%	8%

Results

Nebraska gubernatorial election, 2010[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Dave Heineman (inc.)	360,645	73.90%	+0.50%
	Democratic	Mike Meister	127,343	26.10%	+1.64%
Majority			233,302	47.81%	-1.13%
Turnout			487,988
	Republican hold		Swing

See also

• Nebraska elections, 2010
• United States gubernatorial elections, 2010

References

1. ^ "NE StatePaper.com - Mark Lakers Drops Out of Nebraska Governor's Race". Nebraska.statepaper.com. 2010-07-02. http://nebraska.statepaper.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2010/07/02/4c2e2f6f08af7. Retrieved 2010-07-30. 
2. ^ "Microsoft Word - Candidate List.rtf" (PDF). http://www.sos.ne.gov/elec/2010/pdf/general%20election%20list.pdf. Retrieved 2010-08-21. 
3. ^ http://www.sos.ne.gov/elec/2010/pdf/Canvas%20PR10%20After%20Recount%20Final.pdf
4. ^ http://www.sos.ne.gov/elec/2010/pdf/Canvas%20PR10%20After%20Recount%20Final.pdf
5. ^ http://nebraska.statepaper.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2010/07/02/4c2e2f6f08af7
6. ^ http://www.journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/1d807454-b779-11df-9786-001cc4c002e0.html
7. ^ http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/article_ac81a48a-9b35-11df-a62c-001cc4c002e0.html
8. ^ http://nebraska.watchdog.org/8318/august-surprise-anne-boyle-on-the-democratic-ticket/
9. ^ http://www.sos.ne.gov/elec/pdf/2010%20Gen%20Canvass%20Book%2011-30-Final.pdf

External links

• Elections at Nebraska Secretary of State
• Nebraska Governor Candidates at Project Vote Smart
• Campaign contributions for 2010 Nebraska Governor from Follow the Money
• Nebraska Governor 2010 from OurCampaigns.com
• 2010 Nebraska General Election graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
• Election 2010: Nebraska Governor from Rasmussen Reports
• 2010 Nebraska Governor's Race from CQ Politics
• Race Profile in The New York Times

Official campaign sites

• Dave Heineman for Re-election
• Mike Meister for Governor