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2010 United States Senate election in Maryland

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Main article: 2010 United States Senate elections

2010 United States Senate election in Maryland
← 2004 November 2, 2010 2016 →
 
Nominee Barbara Mikulski Eric Wargotz
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,140,531 655,666
Percentage 62.19% 35.75%
County results
Mikulski:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Wargotz:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
U.S. senator before election

Barbara Mikulski
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Barbara Mikulski
Democratic

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The 2010 United States Senate election in Maryland was held on November 2, 2010. Primary elections were held on September 14, 2010. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski won re-election to a fifth term.

According to The Baltimore Sun columnist David Nitkin, Mikulski had indicated she planned to seek re-election to a fifth term. If Mikulski were to win re-election and serve the full term, she would tie Paul Sarbanes as the longest-serving senator in state history, and also becoming the longest-serving female senator in history, turning 80 years old in the process.[1] On February 15, 2010, rumors began to circulate that Mikulski would not seek reelection; however, these were denied by Democratic sources soon after.[2][3]

She previously won senate elections in 1986, 1992, 1998, and 2004 by margins of 21, 42, 41 and 31 percentage points, respectively. Additionally, in the general election, state parties were expected to focus much of their attention on the seats of Governor Martin O'Malley and first-term Congressman Frank Kratovil, the latter of whom won a surprise victory in a conservative district of the state.[1] Nitkin[1] and Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball[4] considered her seat as overwhelmingly "safe."

Democratic primary

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Results by county:
  Mikulski—80–90%
  Mikulski—70–80%
  Mikulski—60–70%
Democratic primary results[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Barbara Mikulski (Incumbent) 388,868 82.32%
Democratic Christopher J. Garner 35,579 7.53%
Democratic A. Billy Bob Jaworski 15,131 3.20%
Democratic Blaine Taylor 10,787 2.28%
Democratic Theresa C. Scaldaferri 7,913 1.68%
Democratic Sanquetta Taylor 7,365 1.56%
Democratic Lih Young 6,733 1.43%
Total votes 472,376 100.00%

Republican primary

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Nominee

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Eliminated in primary

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  • Joseph Alexander
  • Barry Steve Asbury, newspaper publisher
  • Neil Cohen, dentist
  • Stephens Dempsey
  • Samuel R. Graham Sr.
  • John B. Kimble, perennial candidate
  • Gregory Kump
  • Daniel W. McAndrew
  • Jim Rutledge, attorney
  • Eddie Vendetti, engineer

Results

[edit]
Results by county:
  Wargotz—60–70%
  Wargotz—50–60%
  Wargotz—40–50%
  Wargotz—<40%
  Rutledge—<40%
  Rutledge—40–50%
Republican primary results[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Eric Wargotz 92,464 38.57%
Republican Jim Rutledge 73,311 30.58%
Republican Joseph Alexander 14,026 5.85%
Republican Neil H. Cohen 13,613 5.68%
Republican Stephens Dempsey 9,325 3.89%
Republican Daniel W. McAndrew 8,460 3.53%
Republican John B. Kimble 8,081 3.37%
Republican Samuel R. Graham, Sr. 6,600 2.75%
Republican Barry Steve Asbury 5,900 2.46%
Republican Eddie Vendetti 5,046 2.10%
Republican Gregory Kump 2,931 1.22%
Total votes 239,757 100.00%

General election

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Candidates

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Major

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Minor

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  • Don Kaplan (Independent)
  • Richard Shawver (Constitution)
  • Kenniss Henry (Green)
  • Natasha Pettigrew (deceased) was the Green Party candidate. On September 19, while cycling, Pettigrew was hit by an SUV driver. Her mother, Kenniss Henry, was chosen by the Green Party to replace Pettigrew on the ballot.[6]

Campaign

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Wargotz released two television ads, in the first he created and introduced the term "insidersaurus": comparing Mikulski to a dinosaur by calling her a political "insidersaurus" [7][8][9][10][11] being in Washington for over thirty years (a long-term political incumbent.) A second ad showed a hammer hitting a brick wall, breaking it down and citing criticisms of Mikulski's record as a U.S. Senator. Mikulski released advertisements emphasizing education and job creation.[12]

Despite Wargotz's limited campaign and resources he received the highest percentage of votes against Mikulski as an incumbent U.S. Senator (over 20 years.)

Debates

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Despite repeated requests by the Wargotz Campaign formal debate was declined by the incumbent U.S. Senator Mikulski. The two candidates did appear together on Maryland Public Television (MPT) fielding common questions posed to both by the moderator but no formal debate was held.

Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
Cook Political Report[13] Solid D October 26, 2010
Rothenberg[14] Safe D October 22, 2010
RealClearPolitics[15] Safe D October 26, 2010
Sabato's Crystal Ball[16] Safe D October 21, 2010
CQ Politics[17] Safe D October 26, 2010

Polling

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Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size 		Margin
of error 		Barbara
Mikulski (D) 		Eric
Wargotz (R) 		Other Undecided
Rasmussen Reports (report) July 8, 2010 500 ± 4.5% 58% 33% 2% 7%
Public Policy Polling (report) July 10–12, 2010 569 ± 4.1% 59% 27% –– 14%
Rasmussen Reports (report) August 20, 2010 750 ± 4.0% 55% 39% 3% 3%
Rasmussen Reports (report) September 15, 2010 750 ± 4.0% 54% 38% 4% 4%
Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies, Inc. (report) October 11–16, 2010 816 ± 3.5% 55% 38% –– 7%
Baltimore Sun/OpinionWorks (report) October 15–20, 2010 798 ± 3.5% 59% 32% –– 8%
Rasmussen Reports (report) October 24, 2010 750 ± 4.0% 56% 38% 2% 4%

Fundraising

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Candidate (party) Receipts Disbursements Cash on hand Debt Cash minus debt
Barbara Mikulski (D) $3,690,724 $2,792,437 $1,772,774 $0 $1,772,774
Eric Wargotz (R) $1,210,327 $743,392 $466,931 $459,600 $-7331.
Source: Federal Election Commission[18]

Results

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United States Senate election in Maryland, 2010[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Barbara Mikulski (incumbent) 1,140,531 62.19% −2.61%
Republican Eric Wargotz 655,666 35.75% +2.05%
Green Kenniss Henry 20,717 1.13% +0.06%
Constitution Richard Shawver 14,746 0.80% +0.42%
Write-in 2,213 0.11% +0.05%
Total votes 1,833,873 100.0%
Democratic hold

By county

[edit]
County Barbara A. Mikulski

Democratic

Eric Wargotz

Republican

Kennis Henry

Green

Richard Shawver

Constitution

Other

Other

Margin Total

Votes

Cast

# % # % # % # % # % # %
Allegany 9639 44.60% 11350 52.52% 288 1.33% 319 1.48% 16 0.07% -1711 -7.92% 21612
Anne Arundel 102511 51.17% 92994 46.42% 2766 1.38% 1868 0.93% 214 0.11% 9517 4.75% 200353
Baltimore (City) 138312 86.59% 18336 11.48% 2094 1.31% 831 0.52% 167 0.10% 119976 75.11% 159740
Baltimore (County) 165678 58.27% 112670 39.62% 3426 1.20% 2233 0.79% 343 0.12% 53008 18.64% 284350
Calvert 15247 48.44% 15569 49.46% 364 1.16% 275 0.87% 21 0.07% -322 -1.02% 31476
Caroline 4508 45.46% 5142 51.86% 120 1.21% 127 1.28% 19 0.19% -634 -6.39% 9916
Carroll 21632 34.38% 39312 62.48% 834 1.33% 1040 1.65% 101 0.16% -17680 -28.10% 62919
Cecil 13132 44.22% 15600 52.53% 443 1.49% 485 1.63% 40 0.13% -2468 -8.31% 29700
Charles 30106 64.88% 15598 33.62% 348 0.75% 321 0.69% 28 0.06% 14508 31.27% 46401
Dorchester 6481 55.96% 4910 42.39% 99 0.85% 87 0.75% 5 0.04% 1571 13.56% 11582
Frederick 34913 46.67% 38013 50.81% 876 1.17% 905 1.21% 107 0.14% -3100 -4.14% 74814
Garrett 3361 35.76% 5750 61.17% 117 1.24% 164 1.74% 8 0.09% -2389 -25.41% 9400
Harford 40712 43.50% 50513 53.98% 1082 1.16% 1171 1.25% 106 0.11% -9801 -10.47% 93584
Howard 63738 59.71% 40853 38.27% 1239 1.16% 794 0.74% 125 0.12% 22885 21.44% 106749
Kent 4549 56.04% 3405 41.95% 81 1.00% 74 0.91% 8 0.10% 1144 14.09% 8117
Montgomery 204005 70.67% 79582 27.57% 3353 1.16% 1393 0.48% 351 0.12% 124423 43.10% 288684
Prince George's 204441 89.11% 22607 9.85% 1472 0.64% 752 0.33% 164 0.07% 181834 79.25% 229436
Queen Anne's 8575 43.64% 10561 53.75% 195 0.99% 284 1.45% 35 0.18% -1986 -10.11% 19650
St. Mary's 14669 46.86% 15911 50.83% 320 1.02% 377 1.20% 26 0.08% -1242 -3.97% 31303
Somerset 4082 53.98% 3363 44.47% 48 0.63% 67 0.89% 2 0.03% 719 9.51% 7562
Talbot 7968 49.28% 7946 49.15% 147 0.91% 95 0.59% 12 0.07% 22 0.14% 16168
Washington 17356 43.71% 20873 52.57% 579 1.46% 653 1.64% 247 0.62% -3517 -8.86% 39708
Wicomico 14668 49.88% 14189 48.25% 243 0.83% 278 0.95% 30 0.10% 479 1.63% 29408
Worcester 10248 48.28% 10619 50.03% 183 0.86% 153 0.72% 23 0.11% -371 -1.75% 21226
Total 1140531 62.19% 655666 35.75% 20717 1.13% 14746 0.80% 2198 0.12% 484865 26.44% 1833858
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Nitkin, David (November 12, 2008). "Smooth sailing for Mikulski". Maryland Politics Blog. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
  2. ^ Geraghty, Jim (February 15, 2010). "Let's Get Real: Barbara Mikulski Does Not Fear a Loss This Year". National Review. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  3. ^ Hockstader, Lee (February 16, 2010). "Mikulski another Dem retirement? Not likely". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 21, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  4. ^ "Senate 2010: A three-peat for Democrats or Comeback for the GOP?". Crystal Ball. February 19, 2009. Archived from the original on January 7, 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Maryland Senate Primary Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. September 17, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
  6. ^ Natasha Pettigrew – Mother to replace Green Party nominee for Senate – Baltimore Sun
  7. ^ "'Insidersaurus'". Politico. September 2010.
  8. ^ "Political Insidersaurus:Eric Wargotz on the Hunt". YouTube.
  9. ^ "Senate Candidate Runs on Dinosaur Metaphor". The Atlantic. September 2, 2010.
  10. ^ "MD-Sen: Wargotz Hits Mikulski for Being A "Political Insidersaurus" | RealClearPolitics".
  11. ^ "Eric Wargotz - Political Insidersaurus is FoxNews Ad of the Day". YouTube.
  12. ^ Pershing, Ben; Dropp, Kyle (October 4, 2010). "Mikulski leads despite drop in popularity". The Washington Post.
  13. ^ "Senate". Cook Political Report. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  14. ^ "Senate Ratings". Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  15. ^ "Battle for the Senate". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  16. ^ "2010 Senate Ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  17. ^ "Race Ratings Chart: Senate". CQ Politics. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  18. ^ "2010 House and Senate Campaign Finance for Maryland". fec.gov. Retrieved May 1, 2010.[permanent dead link‍]
  19. ^ Maryland State Board of Elections
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Official campaign sites

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