2010 United States Senate election in Utah

Process

The filing period for candidates began March 12, 2010 and ended March 19, 2010. Candidates who had not filed by that date cannot appear on the ballot in November. Eleven candidates filed with the Office of the Lieutenant Governor.

Both the Utah State Democratic Party and the Utah State Republican Party held statewide caucus meetings on March 23, 2010. Caucus meetings are grouped by legislative district and divided by precincts with each precinct electing delegates who attend their respective party's state nominating convention.

The Utah State Democratic and Republican Parties held their conventions on May 8, 2010. At the Republican convention, incumbent Senator Bob Bennett finished third in balloting among delegates and was eliminated from the race. Business owner Tim Bridgewater finished first and attorney Mike Lee finished second, but Bridgewater did not receive enough votes (he needed at least 60 percent) to avoid a primary election runoff against Lee. At the Democratic convention, delegates nominated businessman Sam Granato, who received 77.5 percent of the vote.

In the Republican primary election, held on June 22, 2010, Lee became the Republican nominee by winning 51 percent of the vote against Bridgewater's 49 percent.

The general election was held on November 2, 2010. Lee won the election with 62 percent of the vote to Granato's 33 percent and 6 percent for Constitution Party candidate Scott Bradley.

Republican nomination

Convention

Candidates

On Ballot

• Bob Bennett, incumbent U.S. Senator
• Tim Bridgewater, businessman and candidate for UT-02 in 2002 and 2004
• David Chiu
• Merrill Cook, former U.S. Representative
• Cherilyn Eagar, businesswoman
• Leonard Fabiano
• Jeremy Friedbaum
• Mike Lee, attorney

Withdrew

• Mark Shurtleff State Attorney General

Endorsements

The following are endorsements made before the convention

Bennett

• U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah
• Former U.S. Senator Jake Garn of Utah
• Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich of Georgia
• Former governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts

Lee

• Former governor Norm Bangerter of Utah

• Attorney General Mark Shurtleff

• State Senator Curt Bramble

• State Senator Allen Christensen

• State Senator Mark Madsen

• State Representative John Dougall

• State Representative Craig Frank

• State Representative Francis Gibson

• State Representative Kerry Gibson

• State Representative Todd Kiser

• State Representative Mike Morley

• State Representative Curt Oda

• State Representative Ken Sumsion

• Former State Representative John Swallow

• State Representative Ryan Wilcox

• State Representative Carl Wimmer

• Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas

• Former U.S. Congressman James V. Hansen of Utah

• U.S. Congressman Ron Paul of Texas

• Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania

• Editor of conservative weblog RedState Erick Erickson

• Prominent conservative author and talk show host Mark Levin

• FreedomWorks PAC

• Most of the 9/12 and Tea Party Groups of Utah

Polling

Results

Primary

Candidates

• Tim Bridgewater, businessman
• Mike Lee, attorney

Endorsements

Bridgewater

• Incumbent U.S. Senator Bob Bennett

• Former chairman of RNC Dick Richards

• State Senator Howard A. Stephenson

• State Senator Jerry Stevenson

• State Senator David Hinkins

• State Representative Greg Hughes

• State Representative Lorie Fowlke

• State Representative Julie Fisher

• State Representative Merlynn Newbold

• Clearfield: Don Wood

• Coalville: Duane Schmidt

• Draper: Darrel Smith

• Fruit Heights: Todd Stevenson

• Farmington: Scott Harbertson

• Harrisville: Richard Hendrix

• Kaysville: Steve Hiatt

• Pleasant Grove: Bruce Call

• Pleasant View: Doug Clifford

• Provo: John Curtis

• Riverdale: J. Bruce Burrows

• Roy: Joe Ritchie

• Sandy: Tom Dolan

• Saratoga Springs: Mia Love

• St. George: Daniel McArthur

• South Weber: M. Jeffery Monroe

• Taylorsville: Russ Wall

• West Jordan: Melissa Johnson

Lee

• U.S. Senator Jim DeMint

• Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania

• Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas

• Former U.S. Congressman James V. Hansen of Utah

• U.S. Congressman Ron Paul of Texas

• Editor of conservative weblog RedState Erick Erickson

• Prominent conservative author and talk show host Mark Levin

• FreedomWorks PAC

• Republican Liberty Caucus

• Former governor Norm Bangerter of Utah

• Attorney General Mark Shurtleff

• State Senator Curt Bramble

• State Senator Allen Christensen

• State Senator Mark Madsen

• State Representative John Dougall

• State Representative Francis Gibson

• State Representative Kerry Gibson

• State Representative Craig Frank

• State Representative Ken Sumsion

• State Representative Todd Kiser

• State Representative Mike Morley

• State Representative Curt Oda

• State Representative Ryan Wilcox

• State Representative Carl Wimmer

• Former State Representative John Swallow

• Most of the 9/12 and Tea Party Groups of Utah

Polling

Results

]]

Democratic nomination

Candidates

• Sam Granato, businessman
• Christopher Stout, accountant

Results

General election

Candidates

• Scott Bradley (C), businessman
• Sam Granato (D), businessman
• Mike Lee (R), attorney

Campaign

Granato emphasized his opposition to nuclear weapon tests in neighboring Nevada. In addition, he criticized Lee for his support of raising the retirement age and for questioning the constitutionality of Social Security.

Predictions

Polling

Fundraising

Results

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Summit (largest municipality: Park City)

References

References

1. "Untitled Document".
2. Gehrke, Robert. "Bennett out; GOP delegates reject 18-year Senate veteran - Salt Lake Tribune". Sltrib.com.
3. Loomis, Brandon. "Matheson forced into runoff election - Salt Lake Tribune". Sltrib.com.
4. Gehrke, Robert. (June 23, 2010). "Lee clinches GOP Senate nomination - Salt Lake Tribune". Sltrib.com.
5. "Utah Election Results".
6. Bernick, Bob Jr.. (December 6, 2008). "Bennett is gearing up for another Senate bid". [[Deseret News]].
7. (February 25, 2010). "Bennett gets another primary challenger". CNN.
8. Davidson, Lee. (January 5, 2010). "Mike Lee enters Senate race against Bennett — with Shurtleff endorsement". [[Deseret News]].
9. "ksl.com".
10. (September 5, 2009). "Hatch endorses Bennett's re-election". ksl.com.
11. Robert GehrkeThe Salt Lake Tribune. (February 3, 2010). "Gingrich endorses Bennett re-election bid - Salt Lake Tribune". Sltrib.com.
12. (April 6, 2009). "Romney endorses Bob Bennett in 2010 Senate race". Heraldextra.com.
13. [http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/election_2010/election_2010_senate_elections/utah/election_2010_utah_republican_primary_for_senate Rasmussen Reports]
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15. [http://blog.utgop.org/sites/2010/05/senate-race-1st-round-results Senate Race: 1st Round Results] {{Webarchive. link. (May 11, 2010 Accessed May 10, 2010)
16. [http://blog.utgop.org/sites/2010/05/senate-race-2nd-round-results Senate Race: 2nd Round Results] {{Webarchive. link. (May 10, 2010 Accessed May 10, 2010)
17. [http://blog.utgop.org/sites/2010/05/senate-race-round-3-results Senate Race: 3rd Round Results] {{Webarchive. link. (May 12, 2010 Accessed May 10, 2010)
18. "Tim Bridgewater Receives Key Legislative Endorsements {{!}} Bridgewater for Senate". Timbridgewater.com.
19. "Bridgewater Announces Endorsements by Municipal Leaders {{!}} Bridgewater for Senate". Timbridgewater.com.
20. [http://gallery.mailchimp.com/efe69fe191bc9d0bfa35f68d2/files/wilson_research.pdf Wilson Research]
21. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100620174719/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700041500/Poll-shows-Tim-Bridgewater-ahead-of-Mike-Lee-in-tight-US-Senate-race.html Deseret News/KSL-TV]
22. [http://electionresults.utah.gov/xmlData/300010.html Utah Election Results] {{webarchive. link. (June 17, 2010)
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25. "Senate candidates take stands on Social Security reform".
26. "Senate". [[Cook Political Report]].
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31. [http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2010/election_2010_senate_elections/utah/toplines/toplines_utah_senate_june_23_2010 Rasmussen Reports]
32. [http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2010/election_2010_senate_elections/utah/toplines/toplines_utah_senate_august_23_2010 Rasmussen Reports]
33. [http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2010/election_2010_senate_elections/utah/election_2010_utah_senate Rasmussen Reports]
34. [https://web.archive.org/web/20101020044912/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700074276/Lee-leads-Granato-in-Senate-race.html Deseret News/KSL-TV]
35. [http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50563185-76/percent-matheson-philpot-poll.html.csp Mason-Dixon]
36. [https://web.archive.org/web/20101105060644/http://www.deseretnews.com/media/pdf/244286.pdf Deseret News/KSL-TV]
37. "2010 House and Senate Campaign Finance for Utah". fec.gov.
38. "Results".