 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 42.9% 7.8[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
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 County resultsSnyder: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Bernero: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The2010 Michigan gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 2010. IncumbentDemocratic governorJennifer Granholm andlieutenant governorJohn D. Cherry were prohibited by thestate's Constitution from seeking a third term. This resulted in a large pool of candidates which was whittled down, when the May 11 filing deadline passed, to two Democrats and fiveRepublicans.[2] Both theCook Political Report and the non-partisanRothenberg Political Report rated the election as leaning Republican.[3][4]
The Republican primary race was highly competitive; both local and national polling reported CongressmanPete Hoekstra, state Attorney GeneralMike Cox, and businessmanRick Snyder as being front-runners for the Republican Party nomination.[5][6][7][8] The Democratic front-runner when the 2009 polls were conducted,Lieutenant GovernorJohn D. Cherry, withdrew from the race in January 2010.[9][10] The final polls just days before the primary election showed that, whileLansing mayorVirg Bernero was in the lead, over a quarter of those polled were still undecided.[11] The deadline for candidates to file nominating petitions for the August 3 state primary was 4:00 PM on May 11, 2010.[2][12]
A total of 1,575,167 registered voters voted in the primaries, with 66.4% of them voting in the Republican primary.[13] Analysts believe a large portion of Democrats crossed party lines to vote for Snyder, whose ad campaign targeted bipartisan and independent support.[14] In Michigan, voters may vote in either primary regardless of their political affiliation, but can only vote for one party. Ballots with split tickets are not counted in partisan races. Both races came in more disparate than predicted. Snyder won with a near 10-point lead over closest rival Pete Hoekstra, and Bernero won with an even larger 17-point lead over early favorite state house speaker Andy Dillon. Both nominees portrayed themselves as political outsiders.[15] On August 25, Snyder appointed State RepresentativeBrian Calley as his running mate.[16] On August 28, Bernero appointedSouthfield MayorBrenda Lawrence as his running mate.[17]
Snyder won a decisive victory over Bernero in the general election, winning by nearly 20 percentage points. As of 2022[update], this was the last time the counties ofIngham,Marquette,Eaton,Saginaw,Bay, andMuskegon voted for the Republican candidate.
| Poll source | Dates administered | John D. Cherry | Andy Dillon | George Perles | John Freeman | Alma Wheeler Smith | Dan Kildee | Virg Bernero |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPIC-MRA[25] | July 28, 2010 | -- | 32% | -- | -- | -- | -- | 40% |
| EPIC-MRA[26] | June 12–15, 2010 | -- | 34% | -- | -- | -- | -- | 24% |
| Public Policy Polling[27] | May 25–27, 2010 | -- | 23% | -- | -- | -- | -- | 26% |
| EPIC-MRA[28] | May 22–26, 2010 | -- | 29% | -- | -- | -- | -- | 23% |
| Rasmussen Reports[29] | April 22, 2010 | -- | 13% | -- | -- | 9% | -- | 12% |
| Rasmussen Reports[29] | March 24, 2010 | -- | 12% | -- | -- | 10% | -- | 8% |
| Denno-Noor Research[30] | March 3–5, 2010 | -- | 13% | -- | -- | 6% | 6% | 11% |
| EPIC-MRA[31] | February 22–25, 2010 | -- | 17% | -- | -- | 7% | 12% | 8% |
| Detroit Free Press[32] | November 12–17, 2009 | 20% | 6% | 6% | 2% | 2% | -- | -- |
| EPIC-MRA[33] | October 11–15, 2009 | 33% | -- | 3% | 2% | 5% | -- | -- |
| Marketing Resource Group[34] | September 12–20, 2009 | 40% | -- | -- | 9% | 8% | -- | -- |
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Democratic | Democratic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn | ||||||
| Virg Bernero | Andy Dillon | |||||
| 1 | Jun. 21, 2010 | WOOD-TV | Suzanne Geha Brian Sterling | C-SPAN | P | P |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Virg Bernero | 309,235 | 58.6% | |
| Democratic | Andy Dillon | 218,884 | 41.4% | |
| Total votes | 528,119 | 100.0% | ||
| Poll source | Dates administered | Mike Cox | Pete Hoekstra | Mike Bouchard | Rick Snyder | Tom George | David Kniffen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPIC-MRA[46] | July 29, 2010 | 24% | 23% | 10% | 26% | 1% | -- |
| Detroit News 4/WDIV[47] | July 18, 2010 | 26.4% | 25.6% | 11.6% | 20.2% | 1.8% | -- |
| EPIC-MRA[26] | June 12–15, 2010 | 26% | 24% | 16% | 20% | 2% | -- |
| Public Policy Polling[27] | May 25–27, 2010 | 17% | 19% | 15% | 20% | 9% | -- |
| EPIC-MRA[28] | May 22–26, 2010 | 18% | 30% | 16% | 17% | 2% | -- |
| Rasmussen Reports[48] | April 22, 2010 | 13% | 28% | 9% | 14% | -- | -- |
| Rasmussen Reports[48] | March 30, 2010 | 13% | 27% | 6% | 18% | -- | -- |
| Marketing Research Group[49] | March 10–15, 2010 | 21% | 21% | 10% | 20% | 1% | - |
| Denno-Noor Research[30] | March 3–5, 2010 | 12% | 28% | 8% | 18% | 2% | -- |
| EPIC-MRA[31] | February 22–25, 2010 | 21% | 27% | 10% | 12% | 1% | -- |
| Mitchell Research & Communications[50] | November 17–19, 2009 | 27% | 24% | 12% | 3% | 3% | -- |
| Detroit Free Press[32] | November 12–17, 2009 | 15% | 21% | 13% | 5% | 3% | -- |
| EPIC-MRA[33] | October 11–15, 2009 | 28% | 29% | -- | 14% | 3% | 2% |
| Marketing Resource Group[34] | September 12–20, 2009 | 27% | 23% | 15% | -- | -- | -- |
| Marketing Resource Group[51] | March 4–10, 2009 | 15% | 17% | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn | |||||||||
| Mike Bouchard | Mike Cox | Tom George | Pete Hoekstra | Rick Snyder | |||||
| 1 | Jul. 13, 2010 | WDIV-TV | Devin Scillian | C-SPAN | P | P | P | P | A |
| 2 | Jul. 24, 2010 | WOOD-TV | Susan Shaw Brian Sterling | C-SPAN | P | P | P | P | A |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Rick Snyder | 381,327 | 36.4% | |
| Republican | Pete Hoekstra | 280,976 | 26.8% | |
| Republican | Mike Cox | 240,409 | 23.0% | |
| Republican | Mike Bouchard | 127,350 | 12.2% | |
| Republican | Tom George | 16,986 | 1.6% | |
| Total votes | 1,044,925 | 100.0% | ||
Based on past election performance, theLibertarian Party of Michigan,Green Party of Michigan, and theU.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan (affiliated with theConstitution Party) have automatic ballot access for the general election, but by state law they must nominate candidates through party conventions rather than primary elections. TheNatural Law Party also has automatic ballot access in Michigan, but chose not to run a candidate for governor in 2010.
TheLibertarian Party of Michigan nominee was Kenneth Proctor.[52] The nomination was won at the Michigan Libertarian Convention held in Okemos, Michigan on Saturday, May 22, in accordance with Michigan state law. He beat outBhagwan Dashairya, who had been the 2006 U.S. Taxpayers Party nominee for governor. The delegates ended up selecting Dashairya as the Libertarian nominee for U.S. Congress in District 8.
Proctor's running mate was Dr. Erwin Haas, Maryland of Grand Rapids. Haas received the Lt. Governor nomination unanimously.
TheGreen Party of Michigan held their statewide nominating convention July 31 and August 1 inLansing, and nominated Harley Mikkelson for governor and Lynn Meadows for lieutenant governor.[53]
The 2010U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan convention was held on June 26 inEast Lansing. In a nearly unanimous vote, Stacey Mathia and Chris Levels were formally nominated as candidates of the U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan for the offices of governor and lieutenant governor.
According to Stacey Mathia's official press release, "The Convention applauded Mathia's agenda to institute Law-Abiding Constitutional Government and State Sovereignty in order to free the People of Michigan from the political oppression of big government operating outside of its authority."[54]
The press release also stated, "Chris Levels, is currently well known as a radio talk show host onWSNL in the Flint, Michigan area. His last minute nomination speech will be available on Mathia's website. The USTPM Convention gave him a standing applause."
On August 12, it was reported that Virg Bernero accepted invitations to three debates. The first debate would be held September 21 and sponsored byWOOD-TV inGrand Rapids. The second debate would be held October 7 and be broadcast on 55 radio and TV stations throughout the state. The third debate would be held October 21 and would be sponsored byWXYZ-TV,WWJ (AM) andCrain's Detroit Business.[55] Then in early September, Bernero offered Snyder a deal of eight debates. Snyder proposed a counter-offer of three debates, which Bernero refused.[56] ADetroit Free Press editorial was critical of Snyder for not agreeing to debates.[57] Bernero called Snyder a wimp for not agreeing to debate him.[58] An impromptu debate developed after Bernero crashed a town hall meeting Snyder was hosting inWestland on September 13.[59] The two sides agreed to an hour-long televised debate, broadcast on October 10 from the studios ofWTVS inWixom.[60] A group of Detroit clergy invited the two major party candidates to a debate there on October 21. Only Bernero accepted the invitation.[61]
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Cook Political Report[62] | Likely R(flip) | October 14, 2010 |
| Rothenberg[63] | Likely R(flip) | October 28, 2010 |
| RealClearPolitics[64] | Likely R(flip) | November 1, 2010 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[65] | Likely R(flip) | October 28, 2010 |
| CQ Politics[66] | Tossup | October 28, 2010 |
| Poll source | Dates administered | Virg Bernero (D) | Rick Snyder (R) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit News/WDIV Local 4[67] | October 25–26, 2010 | 35% | 53% |
| Free Press/WXYZ-TV Channel 7[68] | October 23–26, 2010 | 37% | 55% |
| Rossman Group/Team TelCom[69] | October 18, 2010 | 36% | 50% |
| Rasmussen Reports[70] | October 17, 2010 | 34% | 54% |
| Mitchell Research[71] | October 10, 2010 | 29% | 49% |
| EPIC-MRA[72] | October 3–7, 2010 | 29% | 49% |
| Rasmussen Reports[73] | September 20, 2010 | 38% | 51% |
| Public Policy Polling[74] | September 17–19, 2010 | 31% | 52% |
| Mitchell Research[75] | August 25–29, 2010 | 26% | 53% |
| Detroit News[76] | August 9–10, 2010 | 32% | 51% |
| Rasmussen Reports[77] | August 4, 2010 | 37% | 49% |
| Rasmussen Reports[78] | June 10, 2010 | 30% | 42% |
| Public Policy Polling[79] | May 25–27, 2010 | 28% | 44% |
| EPIC-MRA[28] | May 22–26, 2010 | 28% | 51% |
| EPIC-MRA[80] | March 28–31, 2010 | 29% | 42% |
| Michigan Research Group[81] | March 10–15, 2010 | 26% | 42% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Rick Snyder | 1,874,834 | 58.11% | +15.81% | |
| Democratic | Virg Bernero | 1,287,320 | 39.90% | −16.46% | |
| Libertarian | Ken Proctor | 22,390 | 0.69% | +0.08% | |
| Constitution | Stacey Mathia | 20,818 | 0.65% | +0.46% | |
| Green | Harley Mikkelson | 20,699 | 0.64% | +0.12% | |
| Write-ins | 27 | 0.00% | 0.00% | ||
| Majority | 587,514 | 18.21% | +4.15% | ||
| Turnout | 3,226,088 | −15.13% | |||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | Swing | ||||
| County | Rick Snyder (R) | Virg Bernero (D) | Others | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage | Votes | Percentage | Votes | Percentage | Votes | |
| Alcona | 63.4% | 2,896 | 33.2% | 1,518 | 3.4% | 155 |
| Alger | 54.9% | 2,075 | 41.3% | 1,559 | 3.8% | 143 |
| Allegan | 72.3% | 26,990 | 25.3% | 9,438 | 2.4% | 895 |
| Alpena | 57.1% | 5,753 | 39.6% | 3,982 | 3.3% | 333 |
| Antrim | 70.6% | 7,295 | 26.6% | 2,753 | 2.8% | 288 |
| Arenac | 64.0% | 3,521 | 33.2% | 1,825 | 2.9% | 159 |
| Baraga | 59.5% | 1,578 | 37.1% | 983 | 3.5% | 92 |
| Barry | 72.8% | 15,300 | 25.0% | 5,243 | 2.2% | 470 |
| Bay | 59.6% | 23,622 | 38.2% | 15,147 | 2.2% | 868 |
| Benzie | 62.3% | 4,709 | 34.7% | 2,625 | 2.9% | 222 |
| Berrien | 62.2% | 28,519 | 35.3% | 16,178 | 2.5% | 1,123 |
| Branch | 71.9% | 9,183 | 25.9% | 3,306 | 2.3% | 290 |
| Calhoun | 62.8% | 25,967 | 35.2% | 14,572 | 2.0% | 809 |
| Cass | 63.6% | 8,879 | 33.4% | 4,661 | 2.9% | 411 |
| Charlevoix | 68.8% | 7,048 | 28.5% | 2,918 | 2.8% | 283 |
| Cheboygan | 67.2% | 6,775 | 29.9% | 3,016 | 2.8% | 285 |
| Chippewa | 60.7% | 7,114 | 36.4% | 4,261 | 2.9% | 345 |
| Clare | 64.8% | 6,078 | 32.2% | 3,018 | 3.0% | 279 |
| Clinton | 65.5% | 18,425 | 32.8% | 9,239 | 1.7% | 466 |
| Crawford | 66.2% | 3,233 | 30.3% | 1,477 | 3.5% | 171 |
| Delta | 57.8% | 7,558 | 39.2% | 5,122 | 3.0% | 397 |
| Dickinson | 63.5% | 5,910 | 33.7% | 3,134 | 2.9% | 266 |
| Eaton | 59.7% | 24,927 | 38.1% | 15,899 | 2.2% | 921 |
| Emmet | 69.7% | 9,183 | 27.6% | 3,632 | 2.8% | 368 |
| Genesee | 46.7% | 62,589 | 51.3% | 68,708 | 2.0% | 2,635 |
| Gladwin | 64.0% | 5,756 | 33.2% | 2,986 | 2.7% | 247 |
| Gogebic | 47.3% | 2,511 | 49.4% | 2,627 | 3.3% | 176 |
| Grand Traverse | 69.6% | 23,541 | 27.8% | 9,395 | 2.6% | 879 |
| Gratiot | 65.6% | 7,234 | 32.1% | 3,537 | 2.3% | 253 |
| Hillsdale | 71.2% | 10,055 | 26.0% | 3,675 | 2.7% | 388 |
| Houghton | 59.9% | 7,295 | 36.8% | 4,479 | 3.3% | 397 |
| Huron | 69.9% | 8,453 | 27.7% | 3,347 | 2.5% | 297 |
| Ingham | 49.0% | 43,181 | 48.8% | 42,961 | 2.2% | 1,927 |
| Ionia | 72.2% | 13,269 | 25.9% | 4,754 | 1.9% | 358 |
| Iosco | 61.5% | 5,943 | 35.5% | 3,435 | 3.0% | 287 |
| Iron | 56.0% | 2,516 | 40.6% | 1,825 | 3.4% | 154 |
| Isabella | 61.7% | 9,865 | 36.1% | 5,776 | 2.2% | 345 |
| Jackson | 64.1% | 31,914 | 34.0% | 16,947 | 1.9% | 961 |
| Kalamazoo | 59.4% | 46,823 | 38.7% | 30,499 | 1.9% | 1,535 |
| Kalkaska | 70.5% | 4,096 | 25.3% | 1,467 | 4.2% | 245 |
| Kent | 68.9% | 134,019 | 29.4% | 57,142 | 1.8% | 3,448 |
| Keweenaw | 62.9% | 691 | 34.1% | 374 | 3.0% | 33 |
| Lake | 60.5% | 2,220 | 36.9% | 1,354 | 2.7% | 98 |
| Lapeer | 66.8% | 19,771 | 30.7% | 9,072 | 2.5% | 752 |
| Leelanau | 65.5% | 7,467 | 32.1% | 3,655 | 2.4% | 278 |
| Lenawee | 61.9% | 19,611 | 35.6% | 11,284 | 2.4% | 769 |
| Livingston | 75.0% | 51,560 | 23.3% | 15,994 | 1.7% | 1,147 |
| Luce | 65.9% | 1,285 | 31.5% | 615 | 2.6% | 50 |
| Mackinac | 65.7% | 3,129 | 31.8% | 1,511 | 2.5% | 119 |
| Macomb | 61.3% | 164,660 | 36.7% | 98,675 | 2.0% | 5,365 |
| Manistee | 60.3% | 5,513 | 36.6% | 3,352 | 3.1% | 282 |
| Marquette | 49.2% | 10,690 | 47.4% | 10,301 | 3.3% | 727 |
| Mason | 67.0% | 6,871 | 30.7% | 3,152 | 2.3% | 239 |
| Mecosta | 68.3% | 8,079 | 29.5% | 3,485 | 2.3% | 268 |
| Menominee | 57.6% | 4,114 | 39.1% | 2,797 | 3.3% | 234 |
| Midland | 70.1% | 20,262 | 27.8% | 8,041 | 2.1% | 615 |
| Missaukee | 76.7% | 4,057 | 20.9% | 1,105 | 2.4% | 127 |
| Monroe | 60.3% | 28,911 | 37.4% | 17,917 | 2.4% | 1,139 |
| Montcalm | 68.2% | 12,170 | 29.4% | 5,237 | 2.4% | 433 |
| Montmorency | 67.8% | 2,625 | 28.7% | 1,113 | 3.5% | 136 |
| Muskegon | 53.9% | 27,567 | 44.1% | 22,552 | 2.0% | 1,006 |
| Newaygo | 70.2% | 10,503 | 27.4% | 4,101 | 2.4% | 364 |
| Oakland | 60.1% | 272,040 | 38.4% | 173,615 | 1.5% | 6,982 |
| Oceana | 67.7% | 5,710 | 30.2% | 2,549 | 2.1% | 175 |
| Ogemaw | 64.4% | 4,866 | 32.3% | 2,442 | 3.3% | 248 |
| Ontonagon | 54.9% | 1,585 | 40.8% | 1,176 | 4.3% | 124 |
| Osceola | 72.1% | 5,518 | 24.9% | 1,901 | 3.0% | 229 |
| Oscoda | 66.8% | 2,079 | 28.8% | 896 | 4.3% | 135 |
| Otsego | 70.3% | 6,130 | 26.9% | 2,349 | 2.7% | 238 |
| Ottawa | 79.1% | 71,847 | 19.3% | 17,534 | 1.6% | 1,437 |
| Presque Isle | 62.5% | 3,427 | 34.5% | 1,892 | 3.0% | 163 |
| Roscommon | 65.1% | 6,450 | 31.8% | 3,157 | 3.1% | 306 |
| Saginaw | 55.7% | 37,920 | 42.6% | 29,008 | 1.7% | 1,159 |
| St. Clair | 66.0% | 34,503 | 31.4% | 16,425 | 2.6% | 1,340 |
| St. Joseph | 70.6% | 10,794 | 27.0% | 4,126 | 2.4% | 374 |
| Sanilac | 71.8% | 9,576 | 25.9% | 3,453 | 2.3% | 309 |
| Schoolcraft | 56.3% | 1,787 | 40.5% | 1,285 | 3.3% | 104 |
| Shiawassee | 60.9% | 14,245 | 36.8% | 8,595 | 2.3% | 546 |
| Tuscola | 66.1% | 12,314 | 31.4% | 5,850 | 2.4% | 455 |
| Van Buren | 64.1% | 13,985 | 33.3% | 7,264 | 2.7% | 579 |
| Washtenaw | 48.4% | 58,029 | 49.9% | 59,829 | 1.8% | 2,147 |
| Wayne | 38.3% | 201,424 | 60.2% | 316,514 | 1.5% | 7,812 |
| Wexford | 70.5% | 7,251 | 26.3% | 2,707 | 3.1% | 320 |
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)One thing Snyder and Bernero have in common: They're both portraying themselves as outsiders who can solve the political gridlock seizing the state legislature...It's clear voters are tired of politics as usual.
