The 2010 United States Senate election in Washington was held on November 2, 2010, alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democrat Senator Patty Murray won re-election to a fourth term by a margin of 52.1% – 47.4% over Republican Dino Rossi, who had run for governor in 2004 and 2008. This was the last U.S. Senate election in Washington where the margin of victory was single digits.
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 County results Murray: 50–60% 60–70% Rossi: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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Top-two primary election
Candidates
Democrats
- Patty Murray, incumbent U.S. Senator
- Charles Allen[1][2][3]
- Bob Burr[3]
Republicans
- Dino Rossi, former State Senator and gubernatorial candidate[4]
- Paul Akers, salesman[5]
- William Chovil[3][6]
- Clint Didier, former NFL football player[7]
- Norma Gruber[3]
- Michael Latimer[8]
Others
Polling
| Poll source | Dates administered | Patty Murray (D) | Dino Rossi (R) | Clint Didier (R) | Paul Akers (R) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elway Research[10] | April 29 – May 2, 2010 | 48% | –– | 4% | 8% | 36% |
| Elway Research[11] | June 13, 2010 | 43% | 31% | 5% | 2% | 17% |
| Survey USA[12] | June 30, 2010 | 37% | 33% | 5% | 3% | 19% |
| Public Policy Polling[13] | July 27 – August 1, 2010 | 47% | 33% | 10% | 4% | 6% |
| Survey USA[14] | August 6–9, 2010 | 41% | 33% | 11% | 5% | 4% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Patty Murray (incumbent) | 670,284 | 46.22% | |
| Republican | Dino Rossi | 483,305 | 33.33% | |
| Republican | Clint Didier | 185,034 | 12.76% | |
| Republican | Paul Akers | 37,231 | 2.57% | |
| Independent | Skip Mercer | 12,122 | 0.84% | |
| Democratic | Charles Allen | 11,525 | 0.79% | |
| Democratic | Bob Burr | 11,344 | 0.78% | |
| Republican | Norma Gruber | 9,162 | 0.63% | |
| Republican | Michael Latimer | 6,545 | 0.45% | |
| Democratic | Mike the Mover | 6,019 | 0.42% | |
| Democratic | Goodspaceguy | 4,718 | 0.33% | |
| Reform | William Baker | 4,593 | 0.32% | |
| Independent | Mohammad Said | 3,387 | 0.23% | |
| Independent | Schalk Leonard | 2,818 | 0.19% | |
| Republican | William Chovil | 2,039 | 0.14% | |
| Total votes | 1,450,126 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Candidates
The top 2 candidates from the blanket primary advanced to the general election.
- Patty Murray (D), incumbent U.S. Senator
- Dino Rossi (R), former State Senator and gubernatorial candidate
Campaign
Rossi heavily criticized Murray for her support of the 2009 economic stimulus package; however, Rossi's economic promises are nearly identical to those of President Bush who asked for the stimulus.[17] Rossi supports repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. He also criticized Murray for her support for earmarks. In response, Murray said, "You bet that seniority and leadership has a big thing to do with it, but the other part of it is, I get up every day and I work hard and I believe in this and I am going to continue fighting for the community I represent."[18]
The National Rifle Association spent $414,100 supporting Rossi and opposing Murray in the 2010 senatorial contest.[19]
Debates
Rossi offered six debates, five of which would be in-state and one nationally.[20] Murray agreed to two debates, and only two debates were held.[21]
Fundraising
| Candidate (party) | Receipts | Disbursements | Cash on hand | Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patty Murray (D) | $10,951,403 | $12,438,133 | $1,032,034 | $0 |
| Dino Rossi (R) | $7,365,098 | $4,331,414 | $2,960,039 | $0 |
| Source: Federal Election Commission[22] | ||||
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Cook Political Report[23] | Tossup | October 26, 2010 |
| Rothenberg[24] | Tossup | November 1, 2010 |
| RealClearPolitics[25] | Tossup | October 26, 2010 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[26] | Lean D | October 21, 2010 |
| CQ Politics[27] | Tossup | October 26, 2010 |
Polling
Aggregate polls
| Source of poll aggregation |
Dates administered |
Dates updated |
Patty Murray (D) |
Dino Rossi (R) |
Other/Undecided [a] |
Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Clear Politics[28] | October 24–31, 2010 | October 31, 2010 | 48.3% | 48.0% | 3.7% | Murray +0.3% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size |
Margin of error |
Patty Murray (D) |
Dino Rossi (R) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moore Information[29] | January 23–24, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.4% | 43% | 45% | –– | –– |
| Rasmussen Reports[30] | February 11, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 46% | 48% | 1% | 5% |
| Rasmussen Reports[31] | March 9, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 46% | 49% | 3% | 2% |
| Research 2000[32] | March 22–24, 2010 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 52% | 41% | –– | 7% |
| Rasmussen Reports[33] | April 6, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 48% | 46% | 3% | 4% |
| Survey USA[34] | April 22, 2010 | 517 | ± 4.4% | 42% | 52% | –– | 7% |
| The Washington Poll[35] | May 3–23, 2010 | 626 | ± 3.9% | 44% | 40% | –– | 16% |
| Rasmussen Reports[33] | May 4, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 48% | 46% | 2% | 3% |
| Rasmussen Reports[36] | May 25, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 48% | 47% | 2% | 4% |
| The Washington Poll[37] | May 24–28, 2010 | 221 | ± 6.6% | 39% | 42% | 5% | 13% |
| The Washington Poll[35] | May 28 – June 7, 2010 | 848 | ± 3.3% | 42% | 40% | –– | 12% |
| Elway Research[38] | June 13, 2010 | 405 | ± 5.0% | 47% | 40% | –– | 13% |
| Rasmussen Reports[39] | June 22, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 47% | 47% | 3% | 3% |
| Rasmussen Reports[40] | July 14, 2010 | 750 | ± 4.0% | 45% | 48% | 3% | 3% |
| Rasmussen Reports[33] | July 30, 2010 | 750 | ± 4.0% | 49% | 47% | 2% | 2% |
| Public Policy Polling[13] | July 27 – August 1, 2010 | 1,204 | ± 2.8% | 49% | 46% | –– | 5% |
| Rasmussen Reports[41] | August 18, 2010 | 750 | ± 4.0% | 48% | 44% | 4% | 4% |
| Survey USA[42] | August 18, 2010 | 618 | ± 4.0% | 45% | 52% | –– | –– |
| Rasmussen Reports[43] | August 31, 2010 | 750 | ± 4.0% | 46% | 48% | 3% | 3% |
| Elway Research[44] | September 9–12, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 50% | 41% | 3% | 7% |
| CNN/Time[45] | September 10–14, 2010 | 906 | ± 3.5% | 53% | 44% | 2% | 1% |
| Rasmussen Reports[46] | September 16, 2010 | 750 | ± 4.0% | 51% | 46% | 1% | 2% |
| SurveyUSA[47] | September 22, 2010 | 609 | ± 4.1% | 50% | 48% | –– | 3% |
| Fox News[48] | September 25, 2010 | 1,000 | ± 3.0% | 48% | 47% | 2% | 3% |
| Rasmussen Reports[46] | September 28, 2010 | 750 | ± 4.0% | 47% | 48% | 2% | 3% |
| Rasmussen Reports[46] | October 6, 2010 | 750 | ± 4.0% | 46% | 49% | 3% | 2% |
| Fox News[49] | October 9, 2010 | 1,000 | ± 3.0% | 46% | 47% | 7% | 0% |
| Elway[50] | October 7–11, 2010 | 450 | ± 4.6% | 55% | 40% | 0% | 5% |
| CNN/Opinion Research[51] | October 8–12, 2010 | 850 | ± 3.5% | 51% | 43% | 2% | 0% |
| The Washington Poll[52] | October 4–14, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.3% | 50% | 42% | –– | 8% |
| SurveyUSA[53] | October 11–14, 2010 | 606 | ± 4.1% | 50% | 47% | 0% | 3% |
| Public Policy Polling[54] | October 14–16, 2010 | 1,873 | ± 2.3% | 49% | 47% | –– | 4% |
| McClatchy/Marist[55] | October 14–17, 2010 | 589 | ± 4.0% | 48% | 47% | 1% | 5% |
| Rasmussen Reports[56] | October 17, 2010 | 750 | ± 4.0% | 49% | 46% | 2% | 3% |
| Rasmussen Reports[46] | October 27, 2010 | 750 | ± 4.0% | 47% | 48% | 3% | 2% |
| SurveyUSA[57] | October 24–27, 2010 | 678 | ± 3.8% | 47% | 47% | –– | 6% |
| The Washington Poll[58] | October 18–28, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.3% | 51% | 45% | –– | 4% |
| Marist College[59] | October 26–28, 2010 | 838 | ± 3.5% | 49% | 48% | 2% | 1% |
| Fox News/Pulse Opinion Research[60] | October 30, 2010 | 1,000 | ± 3.0% | 49% | 47% | 4% | 0% |
| YouGov[61] | October 25–30, 2010 | 850 | ± 4.1% | 50% | 48% | 0% | 2% |
| Public Policy Polling[62] | October 29–31, 2010 | 2,055 | ± 2.2% | 48% | 50% | 0% | 2% |
Results
Murray defeated Rossi by about 114,000 votes. King County, the home of Seattle, likely gave Murray a victory.[63]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Patty Murray (incumbent) | 1,314,930 | 52.08% | ||
| Republican | Dino Rossi | 1,196,164 | 47.37% | ||
| Write-in | 13,939 | 0.55% | |||
| Total votes | 2,525,033 | 100.00% | |||
| Turnout | 71.24 | ||||
| Democratic hold | |||||
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Island (largest city: Oak Harbor)
- Pierce (largest city: Tacoma)
- Skagit (largest city: Mount Vernon)
- Clallam (largest city: Port Angeles)
- Mason (largest city: Shelton)
- Skamania (Largest city: Carson)
- Cowlitz (Largest city: Longview)
- Wahkiakum (Largest city: Puget Island)
By congressional district
Murray won 5 of 9 congressional districts.[64]
| District | Murray | Rossi | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 56% | 44% | Jay Inslee |
| 2nd | 51% | 49% | Rick Larsen |
| 3rd | 47% | 53% | Brian Baird |
| Jaime Herrera Beutler | |||
| 4th | 36% | 64% | Doc Hastings |
| 5th | 41% | 59% | Cathy McMorris Rodgers |
| 6th | 53% | 47% | Norm Dicks |
| 7th | 81% | 19% | Jim McDermott |
| 8th | 49% | 51% | Dave Reichert |
| 9th | 53% | 47% | Adam Smith |
Notes
References
External links
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