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 County results Coats: 40–50% 50–60%. 60–70% 70–80% Ellsworth: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The2010 United States Senate election in Indiana took place on November 2, 2010, alongside 33 other elections to theUnited States Senate in other states and elections to theUnited States House of Representatives and various state and local elections to fill Indiana'sclass III United States Senate seat. IncumbentDemocratic SenatorEvan Bayh decided in February 2010 to retire instead of seeking a third term shortly afterDan Coats announced his candidacy.[1] Bayh's announcement came one day before the filing deadline and no Democratic candidate submitted enough signatures by the deadline to run, so the State Democratic Party chose U.S. CongressmanBrad Ellsworth as their nominee. TheLibertarian Party nominated YMCA instructor Rebecca Sink-Burris, who had previously unsuccessfully run for this seat in1998. Coats won the open seat, having previously held it from 1989 to 1999. Bayh later unsuccessfully ran for this seat again in2016.
Senate candidates in Indiana were required to have submitted 500 signatures from each of the state's nine congressional districts by February 16, 2010, one day after Bayh announced his retirement. Democratic leaders thought the popular incumbent would run for reelection, and as a result, no Democratic candidate had submitted the requisite signatures by the deadline to run in the state's primary, meaning that theIndiana Democratic Party's executive committee chose the party's nominee.[2] U.S. congressmanBrad Ellsworth was officially selected on May 15.[3]
| Poll Source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of Error | Dan Coats | John Hostettler | Marlin Stutzman | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Survey USA (reportArchived May 4, 2010, at theWayback Machine) | April 29, 2010 | 407 | ± 5.0% | 36% | 24% | 18% | 10% | 13% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dan Coats | 217,225 | 39.5% | |
| Republican | Marlin Stutzman | 160,981 | 29.2% | |
| Republican | John Hostettler | 124,494 | 22.6% | |
| Republican | Don Bates Jr. | 24,664 | 4.5% | |
| Republican | Richard Behney | 23,005 | 4.2% | |
| Total votes | 550,369 | 100.0% | ||
After Coats' win in the Republican primary, Ellsworth began to heavily criticize Coats for his ties to lobbyists. He called for more disclosure of the meetings lawmakers have with lobbyists, banning congressional staff from lobbying for six years after their congressional jobs, requiring Congress members to put all their investments in blind trusts, more disclosure of Senate candidates' personal financial information, and changes to the U.S. Senate filibuster rules. He proposed lowering number of votes required to break a filibuster to 55 from the current 60.[26] In response to Ellsworth's charges, Coats published his lobbying record in an 815-page document.[27]
Coats emphasized the individual issues rather than ethic reforms advocated by his opponent. He focused on Ellsworth's record of voting in support of theEconomic Stimulus Act of 2008,cap and trade legislation, andhealth care bill. Coats opinion of the healthcare law was that "the only responsible solution ... is to repeal the Obama-Pelosi-Ellsworth health spending bill and quickly replace it with cost-effective, incremental pieces that will decrease costs, increase coverage and not break the bank."[28]
The three candidates took part in three televised debates.[29]
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Cook Political Report[30] | Safe R(flip) | October 30, 2010 |
| Rothenberg[31] | Lean R(flip) | October 28, 2010 |
| RealClearPolitics[32] | Likely R(flip) | October 30, 2010 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[33] | Likely R(flip) | October 28, 2010 |
| CQ Politics[34] | Safe R(flip) | October 30, 2010 |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Dan Coats (R) | Brad Ellsworth (D) | Other | Unde cided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rasmussen Reports[35] | February 16–17, 2010 | 500 | ± 3.5% | 46% | 32% | 7% | 15% |
| Research 2000[36] | February 22–24, 2010 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 37% | 36% | — | 27% |
| Rasmussen Reports[37] | March 17–18, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 49% | 34% | 6% | 12% |
| Rasmussen Reports[38] | April 13–14, 2010 | 500 | ± 3.5% | 54% | 33% | 5% | 9% |
| SurveyUSA[39] | April 22–26, 2010 | 407 | ± 5.0% | 47% | 31% | — | 22% |
| Rasmussen Reports[40] | May 5–6, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 51% | 36% | 6% | 8% |
| Rasmussen Reports[41] | June 2–3, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 47% | 33% | 7% | 14% |
| Rasmussen Reports[42] | July 7–8, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 51% | 30% | 6% | 12% |
| The Polling Company[43] | July 11–15, 2010 | 502 | ± 4.2% | 51% | 25% | — | 14% |
| The Polling Company[44] | July 31 – August 3, 2010 | 502 | ± 4.2% | 50% | 35% | — | 14% |
| Rasmussen Reports[45] | August 4–7, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 50% | 29% | 7% | 14% |
| Rasmussen Reports[46] | September 14–15, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 50% | 34% | 8% | 9% |
| WISH-TV/EPIC-MRA[47] | September 29 – October 1, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.4% | 51% | 33% | 5% | 11% |
| Rasmussen Reports[48] | October 20, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 52% | 34% | 5% | 9% |
| WISH-TV/EPIC-MRA[49] | October 19–21, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.4% | 53% | 35% | 5% | 7% |
| SurveyUSA[50] | October 21–25, 2010 | 1,600 | ± 3.0% | 54% | 32% | 7% | 3% |
| Indiana Times[51] | October 29, 2010 | 1,600 | ± 3.0% | 60% | 32% | 4% | 3% |
| Rasmussen Reports[52] | October 30 – November 1, 2010 | 1,600 | ± 3.0% | 60% | 39% | 4% | 3% |
| Candidate (Party) | Receipts | Disbursements | Cash On Hand | Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Coats (R) | $4,408,537 | $3,384,413 | $1,024,123 | $185,500 |
| Brad Ellsworth (D) | $2,256,505 | $2,369,943 | $119,329 | $22,726 |
| Rebecca Sink-Burris (L) | $7,331 | $2,175 | $5,351 | $0 |
| Source: Federal Election Commission[53] | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dan Coats | 952,116 | 54.58% | +17.35% | |
| Democratic | Brad Ellsworth | 697,775 | 40.00% | −21.65% | |
| Libertarian | Rebecca Sink-Burris | 94,330 | 5.41% | +4.28% | |
| Write-in | 260 | 0.01% | N/A | ||
| Total votes | 1,744,481 | 100.0% | |||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | |||||
Debates
Official candidate sites (Archived)
