2010 gubernatorial election results map Democratic gain Republican gain Democratic hold Republican hold Independent gain
The 2010 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, in the middle of Democratic President Barack Obama's first term. Republicans ended unified Democratic control of Congress and the presidency by winning a majority in the House of Representatives and gained seats in the Senate despite Democrats holding Senate control.
Republicans gained seven seats in the Senate (including a special election held in January 2010) but failed to gain a majority in the chamber. In the House of Representatives, Republicans won a net gain of 63 seats, the largest shift in seats since the 1948 elections. In state elections, Republicans won a net gain of six gubernatorial seats and flipped control of twenty state legislative chambers, giving them a substantial advantage in the redistricting that occurred following the 2010 United States census. The election was widely characterized as a "Republican wave" election.
The heavy Democratic losses in 2010 were mainly attributed to the passing of the Affordable Care Act along with a poor economic recovery from the Great Recession and large budget deficits. This marked the first election since 1858 that yielded a Republican-controlled House and a Democratic-controlled Senate. This configuration was also in place for most of the 107th Congress, but on account of Senator Jim Jeffords' party switch rather than the election results.
Issues
Candidates and voters in 2010 focused on national economic conditions and the economic policies of the Obama administration and congressional Democrats. Attention was paid to public anger over the Wall Street bailout signed into law by President George W. Bush in late 2008. Voters were also motivated for and against the sweeping reforms of the health care system enacted by Democrats in 2010, as well as concerns over tax rates and record deficits.[2] At the time of the election, unemployment was over 9%, and had not declined significantly since Barack Obama had become president. Further eroding public trust in Congress were a series of scandals that saw Democratic representatives Charlie Rangel and Maxine Waters, as well as Republican senator John Ensign, all accused of unethical or illegal conduct in the months leading up to the 2010 election.
Immigration reform had become an important issue in 2010, particularly following the passage of Arizona Senate Bill 1070, officially known as the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act. The Act greatly enhanced the power of Arizona's law enforcement agencies to investigate the immigration status of suspected illegal immigrants and to enforce state and national immigration laws. The Act also required immigrants to carry their immigration documentation on their person at all times. Its passage by a Republican-led legislature and its subsequent and very public signing by Jan Brewer, the Republican Governor of Arizona, ignited protests across the Southwest and galvanized political opinion among both pro-immigration Latino groups and Tea Party activists, many of whom supported stronger measures to stem illegal immigration.
The passage of the controversial Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act also contributed to the low approval ratings of Congress, particularly Democrats, in the months leading up to the election. Many Republicans ran on a promise to repeal the law, and beat incumbent Democratic opponents who had voted in favor of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
On January 19, 2010, a special election was also held for the Class I seat in Massachusetts, as a result of the death of incumbent Senator Ted Kennedy. Republican Scott Brown won the seat.
All 435 voting seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election. Additionally, elections were held to select the delegates for the District of Columbia and four of the five U.S. territories. The only seat in the House not up for election was that of the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, who serves a four-year term and faced election in 2012. Republicans won the nationwide popular vote for the House of Representatives by a margin of 6.8 points[3] and picked up 63 seats, taking control of the chamber for the first time since the 2006 elections. This represented the largest single-election shift in House seats since the 1948 elections and the largest midterm election shift since the 1938 elections. The only seat Democrats flipped without unseating a Republican was Delaware's lone House seat, going to former Lt. Governor John Carney. [4][5]
State elections
Partisan control of state governments after the 2010 elections:
37 state and two territory United States governors were up for election. Republicans picked up a net of six state governorships; Democrats won control of five governorships previously controlled by Republicans, but Republicans took 11 governorships.
Other statewide elections
In many states where the following positions are elected offices, voters elected state executive branch offices (including Lieutenant Governors (though some will be voted for on the same ticket as the gubernatorial nominee), Secretary of state, state Treasurer, state Auditor, state Attorney General, state Superintendent of Education, Commissioners of Insurance, Agriculture or, Labor, etc.) and state judicial branch offices (seats on state Supreme Courts and, in some states, state appellate courts).
Republicans scored record gains, gaining at least 680 total seats and taking control of 20 legislative chambers through election, while the Democrats lost 21 chambers.[6][7] The winners of this election cycle were slated to serve in their respective legislatures for either two or four-year terms, depending on state election rules.
Republicans made substantial gains in state legislatures across the nation. Twenty chambers flipped from Democratic to Republican control, giving Republicans full control of eleven state legislatures and control of one chamber in Colorado, Iowa, and New York.1[8] Additionally, Republicans gained enough seats in the Oregon House of Representatives to produce a 30-30 party split, pushing Democrats into a power-sharing agreement that resulted in the election of two "co-speakers" (one from each party) to lead the chamber.[9] Republicans gained a total of 680 seats in state legislative races, breaking the previous record of 628 flipped seats set by Democrats in the post-Watergate elections of 1974.[10]
Six states saw both chambers switch from Democrat to Republican majorities: Alabama (where the Republicans won a majority and a trifecta for the first time since 1874), Maine (for the first time since 1964), Minnesota (for the first time since 1915 in partisan elections and 1973 in non-partisan elections), New Hampshire, North Carolina (for the first time since 1896), and Wisconsin. In addition, by picking up the lower chambers in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Montana[a] and Pennsylvania, Republicans gained control of both chambers in an additional five states. Further, Republicans picked up one chamber from Democrats in Colorado, Iowa, and New York to split control in those states. They expanded majorities in both chambers in Texas, Florida, and Georgia. The massive Republican victories in legislative races would be widely expected to significantly impact the redrawing of congressional districts for the 2012 election cycle.
Local elections
On November 2, 2010, various cities, counties, school boards, and special districts (in the United States) witnessed elections. Some elections were high-profile.
Approximately 82.5 million people voted.[14] Turnout increased relative to the previous U.S. midterm elections without any significant shift in voters' political identification.[15]
^Prior to the 2010 election, the 100 seats in the Montana House of Representatives were evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, but the Democratic Party controlled the chamber by virtue of holding the governor's office.
^ abJoe Lieberman was elected as an independent but continued to caucus with Senate Democrats. Connecticut's other Senator was a Democrat.
^ abBernie Sanders was elected as an independent but caucused with Senate Democrats. Vermont's other Senator was a Democrat.
^ abWashington, D.C. does not elect a governor or state legislature, but it does elect a mayor and a city council.
^ abAlthough elections for governor of American Samoa are non-partisan, Governor Togiola Tulafono affiliates with the Democratic party at the national level.
^Northern Marianas Islands Delegate Gregorio Sablan was elected as an independent in 2008 and caucused with the Democrats in Congress after taking office in 2009.
^ abPuerto Rican Governor Luis Fortuño is a member of the New Progressive Party but affiliates with the Republican Party at the national level.
^ abPuerto Rico's Resident Commissioner, Pedro Pierluisi, was elected as a member of the New Progressive Party and has caucused with the Democrats since taking office in 2009.
References
^The Class 2 Senate seat in Illinois held concurrent regular and special elections in November 2010. That special election is not included in the total number of seats contested.
^Jeffrey M. Jones, "Americans Give GOP Edge on Most Election Issues; Greatest Republican advantages on terrorism, immigration, federal spending", Gallup, September 1, 2010
