2010 United States Senate election in Kansas

2010 United States Senate election in Kansas
	County results ; Moran: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%; Johnston: 40–50% 50–60%
U.S. senator before election; Sam Brownback; Republican	Elected U.S. Senator ; Jerry Moran; Republican

The 2010 United States Senate election in Kansas took place 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 Senator Sam Brownback did not seek a third full term, but instead successfully ran for Governor of Kansas.

Fellow Republican and representative Jerry Moran won the open seat. This was the first open-seat United States Senate election in Kansas for this seat since 1968.^[a]

Background

Sam Brownback was first elected to the Senate in 1996, replacing Bob Dole, who resigned to run for President. Brownback stated that he would not run for re-election in 2010 because of self-imposed term limits. Kansas is one of the most Republican states in the nation; no Democrat has been elected to either Senate seat since 1932.

Republican primary

Candidates

Tom Little, accountant
Bob Londerholm, former Attorney General of Kansas^[1]
Jerry Moran, U.S. Representative^[2]
Todd Tiahrt, U.S. Representative^[3]^[4]

Campaign

The retirement of Brownback, a popular U.S. Senator, led to a heavily competitive primary election. Tiahrt, who was on the Committee of Appropriations, had been accused of excessive earmarking while he was in Congress. From 2006 to 2008, Tiahrt had requested and supported a total of 63 solo earmarks, costing $53.9 million. In the same period, Moran had requested and supported a total of 29 earmarks, with a pricetag of $13.4 million.^[5]^[6]

Endorsements

Moran

Notable individuals and organizations endorsing Jerry Moran^[7]

U.S. Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina
U.S. Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma
U.S. Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina
U.S. Senator Mike Johanns of Nebraska
U.S. Senator and 2008 Republican nominee for President John McCain of Arizona
U.S. Senator John Thune of South Dakota
Former U.S. Senator Jim Talent of Missouri
U.S. Congressman Jeff Flake of Arizona

Tiahrt

State/local-level positions (State Senators, Governors, etc.)^[8]

State Senator Steve Abrams
State Senator Les Donovan
State Senator Dick Kelsey
State Senator Julia Lynn
State Senator Ty Masterson
State Senator Carolyn McGinn
State Senator Susan Wagle
Kansas House Majority Leader Ray Merrick
Kansas Speaker Pro Tempore Arlen Seigfreid
State Representative Steven Brunk
State Representative J. David Crum
State Representative Peter DeGraaf
State Representative Mario Goico
State Representative John Grange
State Representative Phil Hermanson
State Representative Steve Huebert
State Representative Aaron Jack
State Representative Kasha Kelley
State Representative Dan Kerschen
State Representative Brenda Landwehr
State Representative Joe McLeland
State Representative Virgil Peck
State Representative Marc Rhoades
State Representative Gene Suellentrop

U.S. federal positions (Senators, Congressmen, etc.)^[8]

U.S Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma
Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania
U.S. Congressman Mike Rogers of Alabama
Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert of Illinois
Former U.S. Congressman Jim Ryun of Kansas
Former attorney general of the United States John Ashcroft
Former United States Secretary of Education Bill Bennett

Notable individuals and organizations endorsing Todd Tiahrt^[8]

Sarah Palin, former Governor of Alaska and 2008 vice presidential nominee^[9]
James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family
Erick Erickson, editor of the conservative weblog RedState
Steve Forbes, former Republican presidential candidate and editor-in-chief of Forbes
Gracia Burnham, Kansas resident and former missionary kidnapped in Philippines
Darla Jaye, talk show host on KMBZ
David Keene, Chairman of the American Conservative Union
Mark Levin, prominent conservative author and talk show host
Dick Morris, Fox News contributor
Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council
Phyllis Schlafly, founder of Eagle Forum
Karl Rove, former Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor for President George W. Bush
Former U.S. Congressman Tom Tancredo of Colorado
Eagle Forum PAC
Concerned Women for America PAC
Family Research Council Action PAC
Great American Forum PAC
Kansans for Government Reform PAC
Kansans for Life PAC
Kansas State University College Republicans
Pittsburg State University College Republicans
Benedictine College Republicans
Baker University College Republicans
Kansas Federation of College Republicans
Northwest Johnson County Republicans
Wichita State University College Republicans

Polling

Poll source	Dates administered	Todd Tiahrt	Jerry Moran
Research 2000^[10]	February 2–4, 2009	24%	19%
Survey USA^[11]	April 17–19, 2009	35%	39%
Survey USA^[12]	June 12–14, 2009	38%	40%
Survey USA^[13]	October 2–4, 2009	27%	43%
Survey USA^[14]	December 4–6, 2009	34%	37%
Survey USA^[15]	January 29–31, 2010	33%	40%
Survey USA^[16]	March 26–28, 2010	32%	42%
Survey USA^[17]	May 21–23, 2010	29%	52%
Survey USA^[18]	June 24–27, 2010	33%	53%
Survey USA^[19]	July 15–18, 2010	36%	50%
Survey USA^[20]	July 29 – August 1, 2010	39%	49%

Results

Primary results by county.

Map legend

Moran—80–90%
Moran—70–80%
Moran—60–70%
Moran—50–60%
Moran—40–50%
Tiahrt—40–50%
Tiahrt—50–60%
Tiahrt—60–70%

Republican primary results^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jerry Moran	161,407	49.8%
	Republican	Todd Tiahrt	144,372	44.6%
	Republican	Tom Little	10,104	3.1%
	Republican	Bob Londerholm	8,168	2.5%
Total votes			324,051	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Robert Conroy, retired railroad employee
David Haley, state senator and nominee for Secretary of State in 2002 and 2006^[22]
Lisa Johnston, administrator at Baker University^[23]
Charles Schollenberger, retired communications executive^[24]
Patrick Wiesner, attorney and CPA

Polling

Poll source	Dates administered	Charles Schollenberger	Lisa Johnston	Robert Conroy	David Haley	Undecided
Survey USA^[18]	June 24–27, 2010	16%	24%	11%	11%	35%
Survey USA^[19]	July 15–18, 2010	14%	23%	7%	12%	36%
Survey USA^[20]	July 29 – August 1, 2010	21%	29%	7%	12%	25%

Results

Democratic primary results^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lisa Johnston	25,421	31.2%
	Democratic	Charles Schollenberger	19,228	23.6%
	Democratic	David Haley	15,584	19.2%
	Democratic	Patrick Wiesner	13,359	16.4%
	Democratic	Robert Conroy	7,779	9.6%
Total votes			81,371	100.00%

General election

Candidates

Major

Jerry Moran (R), U.S. Representative (campaign site, PVS Archived September 29, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, FEC^{[permanent dead link‍]})
Lisa Johnston (D), Baker University administrator (campaign site, PVS Archived September 29, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, FEC)

Minor

Michael Dann (L) (campaign site, PVS Archived September 29, 2010, at the Wayback Machine)
Joe Bellis (RE) (campaign site, PVS)

Campaign

Kansas is a very red state, where no Democrat has won a U.S. Senate election since 1932.^[25] After the primary, Moran chose not to release any more negative advertisements. Democrat Lisa Johnston ran a low-profile, quiet race. On election day, she won only two counties: Wyandotte County and Douglas County, while Moran won statewide by a landslide.^[26]

Debates

The two never met for a debate.^[27]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Cook Political Report^[28]	Solid R	October 26, 2010
Rothenberg^[29]	Safe R	October 22, 2010
RealClearPolitics^[30]	Safe R	October 26, 2010
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[31]	Safe R	October 21, 2010
CQ Politics^[32]	Safe R	October 26, 2010

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Jerry Moran	Lisa Johnston
Rasmussen Reports^[33]	May 11, 2010	61%	25%
Rasmussen Reports^[34]	June 30, 2010	59%	23%
Rasmussen Reports^[35]	August 4, 2010	61%	28%
Survey USA^[36]	August 12–15, 2010	69%	23%
Survey USA^[37]	September 14–16, 2010	66%	24%
Survey USA^[38]	October 10–12, 2010	67%	27%
Survey USA^[39]	October 22–26, 2010	66%	26%

Fundraising

Candidate (party)	Receipts	Disbursements	Cash on hand	Debt
Lisa Johnston (D)	$10,627	$4,530	$6,096	$1,131
Jerry Moran (R)	$2,749,244	$4,497,168	$795,015	$0
Source: Federal Election Commission^[40]

Results

United States Senate election in Kansas, 2010^[41]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jerry Moran	587,175	70.09%	+0.93%
	Democratic	Lisa Johnston	220,971	26.38%	−1.11%
	Libertarian	Michael Dann	17,922	2.14%	+0.21%
	Reform	Joe Bellis	11,624	1.39%	−0.03%
Total votes			837,692	100.0%
	Republican hold

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Douglas (largest city: Lawrence)

Notes

^ Sheila Frahm ran for the 1996 special election to finish Bob Dole's term, but lost in the primary to Sam Brownback.

References

^ "Londerholm drops out of Senate race". Associated Press. July 13, 2010. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
^ "Moran now eyes U.S. Senate seat". Associated Press. November 8, 2008. Retrieved November 10, 2008. ^{[dead link‍]}
^ "Tiahrt preparing for Senate race in Kansas". Associated Press. November 21, 2008. Retrieved November 23, 2008. ^{[dead link‍]}
^ "Congressman Tiahrt Announces Senate Steering Committee - KWCH - Kansas News and Weather". KWCH. January 27, 2009. Archived from the original on February 5, 2009. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
^ Clark, Matthew (June 5, 2010). "POLITICS BLOG: Earmarks, earmarks and more earmarks - Pittsburg, KS". Morning Sun. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
^ "Truth Test". YouTube. June 7, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
^ "Jerry Moran Endorsements". Moran for Kansas. June 2, 2010. Archived from the original on June 26, 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Todd Tiahrt Endorsements". Todd Tiahrt for Kansas. June 2, 2010.
^ "Niet compatibele browser". Facebook. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
^ Research 2000
^ Survey USA
^ Survey USA
^ Survey USA
^ Survey USA
^ Survey USA
^ Survey USA
^ Survey USA
^ ^a ^b Survey USA
^ ^a ^b Survey USA
^ ^a ^b Survey USA
^ ^a ^b "Kansas Primary results". Politico. August 3, 2010. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
^ "State Sen. David Haley to enter race for U.S. Senate | Wichitopekington | Wichita Eagle Blogs". Blogs.kansas.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
^ "Moran squeezes past Tiahrt, looks forward to Johnston". KCUR-FM. Associated Press. August 4, 2010. Archived from the original on September 16, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
^ "The Hutchinson News Online Edition". Hutchnews.com. June 15, 2009. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
^ "Canadian Press".^{[dead link‍]}
^ "Wyandotte County voters buck statewide trend". BonnerSprings.com. Archived from the original on November 13, 2010. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
^ "Moran takes Senate seat - McPherson, KS - The McPherson Sentinel". Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved November 9, 2010.
^ "Senate". Cook Political Report. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
^ "Senate Ratings". Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
^ "Battle for the Senate". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
^ "2010 Senate Ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
^ "Race Ratings Chart: Senate". CQ Politics. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
^ Rasmussen Reports
^ Rasmussen Reports
^ Rasmussen Reports
^ Survey USA
^ Survey USA
^ Survey USA
^ Survey USA
^ "2010 House and Senate Campaign Finance for Kansas". fec.gov. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
^ "2010 General Election - Official Vote Totals" (PDF). Kansas Secretary of State.

External links

Kansas Secretary of State - Elections & Legislative
U.S. Congress candidates for Kansas Archived September 29, 2010, at the Wayback Machine at Project Vote Smart
Kansas U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com
Campaign contributions from Open Secrets
2010 Kansas Senate General Election: Jerry Moran (R) vs Lisa Johnston (D) graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
Election 2010: Kansas Senate from Rasmussen Reports
2010 Kansas Senate Race from CQ Politics
Race profile from The New York Times
News coverage from The Midwest Democracy Project at The Kansas City Star

Official candidate sites (Archived)
Debates

[1] Sheila Frahm ran for the 1996 special election to finish Bob Dole's term, but lost in the primary to Sam Brownback.

[2] "Londerholm drops out of Senate race". Associated Press. July 13, 2010. Retrieved August 3, 2010.

[3] "Moran now eyes U.S. Senate seat". Associated Press. November 8, 2008. Retrieved November 10, 2008. ^{[dead link‍]}

[4] "Tiahrt preparing for Senate race in Kansas". Associated Press. November 21, 2008. Retrieved November 23, 2008. ^{[dead link‍]}

[5] "Congressman Tiahrt Announces Senate Steering Committee - KWCH - Kansas News and Weather". KWCH. January 27, 2009. Archived from the original on February 5, 2009. Retrieved June 14, 2010.

[6] Clark, Matthew (June 5, 2010). "POLITICS BLOG: Earmarks, earmarks and more earmarks - Pittsburg, KS". Morning Sun. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2010.

[7] "Truth Test". YouTube. June 7, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.

[8] "Jerry Moran Endorsements". Moran for Kansas. June 2, 2010. Archived from the original on June 26, 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2010.

[Tiahrt_endorsements-9] "Todd Tiahrt Endorsements". Todd Tiahrt for Kansas. June 2, 2010.

[10] "Niet compatibele browser". Facebook. Retrieved August 21, 2010.

[11] Research 2000

[12] Survey USA

[13] Survey USA

[14] Survey USA

[15] Survey USA

[16] Survey USA

[17] Survey USA

[18] Survey USA

[Survey_USA-19] Survey USA

[surveyusa.com-20] Survey USA

[ReferenceA-21] Survey USA

[Politico-22] "Kansas Primary results". Politico. August 3, 2010. Retrieved August 3, 2010.

[23] "State Sen. David Haley to enter race for U.S. Senate | Wichitopekington | Wichita Eagle Blogs". Blogs.kansas.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2010.

[24] "Moran squeezes past Tiahrt, looks forward to Johnston". KCUR-FM. Associated Press. August 4, 2010. Archived from the original on September 16, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2010.

[25] "The Hutchinson News Online Edition". Hutchnews.com. June 15, 2009. Retrieved June 14, 2010.

[26] "Canadian Press".^{[dead link‍]}

[27] "Wyandotte County voters buck statewide trend". BonnerSprings.com. Archived from the original on November 13, 2010. Retrieved December 20, 2022.

[28] "Moran takes Senate seat - McPherson, KS - The McPherson Sentinel". Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved November 9, 2010.

[29] "Senate". Cook Political Report. Retrieved October 26, 2010.

[30] "Senate Ratings". Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved October 26, 2010.

[31] "Battle for the Senate". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved October 26, 2010.

[32] "2010 Senate Ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2010.

[33] "Race Ratings Chart: Senate". CQ Politics. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2010.

[34] Rasmussen Reports

[35] Rasmussen Reports

[36] Rasmussen Reports

[37] Survey USA

[38] Survey USA

[39] Survey USA

[40] Survey USA

[41] "2010 House and Senate Campaign Finance for Kansas". fec.gov. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2010.

[42] "2010 General Election - Official Vote Totals" (PDF). Kansas Secretary of State.

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