2010 United States Senate election in Indiana

The 2010 United States Senate election in Indiana took place on November 2, 2010, alongside 33 other elections to the United States Senate in other states, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections, to fill Indiana's class III United States Senate seat.

Incumbent Democratic Senator Evan Bayh decided in February 2010 to retire instead of seeking a third term, shortly after Dan Coats announced his candidacy. 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. Congressman Brad Ellsworth as their nominee. The Libertarian Party nominated YMCA instructor Rebecca Sink-Burris, who had previously unsuccessfully run for this seat in 1998. Coats won the open seat, having previously held it from 1989 to 1999. Bayh later unsuccessfully ran for this seat again in 2016.

Democratic nomination 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 the Indiana Democratic Party's executive committee chose the party's nominee. U.S. Congressman Brad Ellsworth was officially selected on May 15.

Republican primary

Candidates Don Bates, businessman Richard Behney, businessman Dan Coats, former U.S. senator John Hostettler, former U.S. representative Marlin Stutzman, state senator

Debates March 6 April 8 (on the WXNT radio station) April 10 April 19 (at Franklin College, on radio station WFCI) April 20 (televised on WFYI)

Endorsements

Coats

Hostettler

Stutzman

Polling Poll source error DanCoats JohnHostettler MarlinStutzman Other Undecided Survey USA (report ) April 29, 2010 407 ± 5.0% 36% 24% 18% 10% 13%

Results

General election

Candidates Dan Coats (R), former U.S. senator Brad Ellsworth (D), U.S. representative Rebecca Sink-Burris (L), teacher and small business owner

Campaign 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. In response to Ellsworth's charges, Coats published his lobbying record in an 815-page document.

Coats emphasized the individual issues rather than ethic reforms advocated by his opponent. He focused on Ellsworth's record of voting in support of the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, cap and trade legislation, and health 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."

Debates The three candidates took part in three televised debates.

Monday, October 11, in Indianapolis Friday, October 22, in Fort Wayne Monday, October 25, in Vincennes

Predictions Source Ranking As of Cook Political Report October 30, 2010 Rothenberg October 28, 2010 RealClearPolitics October 30, 2010 Sabato's Crystal Ball October 28, 2010 CQ Politics October 30, 2010

Polling Poll source Margin oferror DanCoats (R) BradEllsworth (D) Other UndecidedRasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports February 16–17, 2010 500 ± 3.5% 46% 32% 7% 15%Research 2000Research 2000 February 22–24, 2010 600 ± 4.0% 37% 36% — 27%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports March 17–18, 2010 500 ± 4.5% 49% 34% 6% 12%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports April 13–14, 2010 500 ± 3.5% 54% 33% 5% 9%SurveyUSASurveyUSA April 22–26, 2010 407 ± 5.0% 47% 31% — 22%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports May 5–6, 2010 500 ± 4.5% 51% 36% 6% 8%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports June 2–3, 2010 500 ± 4.5% 47% 33% 7% 14%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports July 7–8, 2010 500 ± 4.5% 51% 30% 6% 12%The Polling CompanyThe Polling Company July 11–15, 2010 502 ± 4.2% 51% 25% — 14%The Polling Company July 31 – August 3, 2010 502 ± 4.2% 50% 35% — 14%Rasmussen Reports August 4–7, 2010 500 ± 4.5% 50% 29% 7% 14%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports September 14–15, 2010 500 ± 4.5% 50% 34% 8% 9%WISH-TV/EPIC-MRAWISH-TV/EPIC-MRA September 29 – October 1, 2010 500 ± 4.4% 51% 33% 5% 11%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports October 20, 2010 500 ± 4.5% 52% 34% 5% 9%WISH-TV/EPIC-MRAWISH-TV/EPIC-MRA October 19–21, 2010 500 ± 4.4% 53% 35% 5% 7%SurveyUSASurveyUSA October 21–25, 2010 1,600 ± 3.0% 54% 32% 7% 3%Indiana TimesIndiana Times October 29, 2010 1,600 ± 3.0% 60% 32% 4% 3%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports October 30 – November 1, 2010 1,600 ± 3.0% 60% 39% 4% 3%

Fundraising 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

Results

Results by county County Dan CoatsRepublican Brad EllsworthDemocratic Rebecca Sink-BurrisLibertarian Write-ins Margin Total Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Adams 6,181 64.9% 2,880 30.2% 465 4.9% 0 0.0% 3,301 34.7% 9,526 Allen 55,454 61.0% 31,347 34.5% 4,125 4.4% 31 0.1% 24,107 26.5% 90,957 Bartholomew 12,243 61.9% 6,492 32.8% 1,035 5.2% 6 0.1% 5,751 31.1% 19,776 Benton 1,432 63.3% 667 29.5% 160 7.1% 2 0.1% 765 33.8% 2,261 Blackford 2,068 53.7% 1,551 40.3% 230 6.0% 0 0.0% 517 13.4% 3,849 Boone 12,773 66.7% 4,944 25.8% 1,419 7.4% 0 0.0% 7,829 40.9% 19,136 Brown 3,201 51.2% 2,608 41.7% 439 7.0% 0 0.0% 593 9.5% 6,248 Carroll 3,566 59.8% 1,883 31.6% 512 8.6% 2 0.0% 1,683 28.2% 5,963 Cass 6,361 58.8% 3,673 34.0% 775 7.2% 2 0.0% 2,688 24.8% 10,811 Clark 17,773 54.5% 13,429 41.2% 1,409 4.3% 2 0.0% 4,344 13.3% 32,613 Clay 4,543 55.4% 3,187 38.9% 465 5.7% 1 0.0%1,356 16.5% 8,196 Clinton 4,618 62.3% 2,222 30.0% 570 7.7% 2 0.0% 2,396 32.3% 7,412 Crawford 1,803 48.1% 1,755 46.8% 192 5.1% 0 0.0% 48 1.3% 3,750 Daviess 4,690 66.7% 2,061 29.3% 283 4.0% 0 0.0% 2,629 37.4% 7,034 Dearborn 10,589 70.4% 3,776 25.1% 663 4.4% 4 0.1% 6,813 45.3% 15,032 Decatur 4,838 63.3% 2,283 29.9% 526 6.9% 0 0.0% 2,555 33.4% 7,647 DeKalb 7,351 63.9% 3,479 30.2% 671 5.8% 0 0.0% 3,872 33.7% 11,501 Delaware 14,720 48.0% 14,414 47.0% 1,547 5.0% 0 0.0% 306 1.0% 30,681 Dubois 7,059 50.5% 6,344 45.3% 588 4.2% 0 0.0% 715 5.2% 13,991 Elkhart 30,546 66.3% 13,867 30.1% 1,680 3.6% 1 0.0% 16,679 36.2% 46,094 Fayette 3,154 50.2% 2,618 41.7% 511 8.1% 0 0.0% 536 8.5% 6,283 Floyd 14,529 56.5% 10,238 39.8% 944 3.7% 0 0.0% 4,291 16.7% 25,711 Fountain 3,178 59.1% 1,837 34.2% 364 6.8% 0 0.0% 1,341 24.9% 5,379 Franklin 4,858 67.3% 1,976 27.4% 389 5.4% 0 0.0% 2,882 39.9% 7,223 Fulton 3,854 62.9% 1,977 32.3% 298 4.9% 0 0.0% 1,877 30.6% 6,129 Gibson 6,308 55.2% 4,644 40.6% 478 4.2% 1 0.0% 1,664 14.6% 11,341 Grant 9,684 60.5% 5,433 33.9% 894 5.6% 0 0.0% 4,251 26.6% 16,011 Greene 5,281 53.5% 4,079 41.4% 504 5.1% 0 0.0% 1,202 12.1% 9,864 Hamilton 54,675 67.7% 20,658 25.6% 5,380 6.7% 11 0.0% 34,017 42.1% 80,724 Hancock 14,367 63.5% 6,325 28.0% 1,930 8.5% 4 0.0% 8,042 35.5% 22,626 Harrison 8,362 57.2% 5,569 38.1% 679 4.6% 1 0.1% 2,793 19.1% 14,611 Hendricks 26,072 67.2% 9,896 25.5% 2,815 7.3% 20 0.1% 16,176 41.7% 38,803 Henry 7,192 54.3% 4,944 37.3% 1,107 8.4% 0 0.0% 2,248 17.0% 13,243 Howard 14,212 55.2% 9,734 37.8% 1,789 7.0% 4 0.0% 4,478 17.4% 25,739 Huntington 7,731 69.0% 2,717 24.3% 752 6.7% 0 0.0% 5,014 44.7% 11,200 Jackson 7,838 58.1% 4,826 35.8% 831 6.1% 3 0.0% 3,012 22.3% 13,498 Jasper 5,329 64.9% 2,505 30.5% 379 4.6% 2 0.0% 2,824 34.4% 8,215 Jay 3,432 59.5% 1,986 34.4% 352 6.1% 1 0.0% 1,446 25.1% 5,771 Jefferson 5,447 54.4% 3,981 39.8% 584 5.8% 1 0.0% 1,416 14.6% 5,771 Jennings 4,725 56.3% 3,161 37.7% 500 6.0% 1 0.0% 1,564 18.6% 8,387 Johnson 25,462 66.5% 9,813 25.6% 2,981 7.8% 12 0.1% 15,649 40.9% 38,268 Knox 5,604 49.1% 5,230 45.9% 569 5.0% 0 0.0% 374 3.2% 11,403 Kosciusko 14,936 74.9% 3,917 19.6% 1,081 5.4% 5 0.1% 11,019 55.3% 19,939 LaGrange 4,420 67.9% 1,733 26.6% 358 5.5% 0 0.0% 2,687 41.3% 6,511 Lake 44,232 39.2% 65,767 58.4% 2,702 2.4% 0 0.0% -21,535 -19.2% 112,701 LaPorte 13,597 47.3% 13,627 47.4% 1,528 5.3% 0 0.0% -30 -0.1% 28,752 Lawrence 6,963 63.0% 3,343 30.2% 748 6.8% 0 0.0% 3,620 32.8% 11,054 Madison 18,848 48.2% 17,694 45.3% 2,553 6.5% 4 0.0% 1,154 2.9% 39,099 Marion 88,564 41.4% 113,634 53.1% 11,879 5.5% 0 0.0% -25,070 -11.7% 214,077 Marshall 8,280 62.6% 4,362 33.0% 580 4.4% 0 0.0% 3,918 29.6% 13,222 Martin 2,189 52.9% 1,719 41.5% 231 5.6% 0 0.0% 470 11.4% 4,139 Miami 5,275 60.5% 2,612 30.0% 828 9.5% 0 0.0% 2,663 30.5% 8,715 Monroe 14,336 40.0% 19,797 55.2% 1,698 4.7% 10 0.1% -5,461 -15.2% 35,841 Montgomery 6,396 59.9% 3,051 28.6% 1,231 11.5% 1 0.0% 3,345 41.3% 10,679 Morgan 11,961 66.3% 4,436 24.6% 1,626 9.0% 10 0.1% 7,525 41.7% 18,033 Newton 2,593 61.7% 1,397 33.2% 215 5.1% 0 0.0% 1,196 28.5% 4,205 Noble 7,167 63.6% 3,443 30.5% 666 5.9% 0 0.0% 3,724 33.1% 11,276 Ohio 1,302 59.2% 789 35.9% 109 5.0% 0 0.0% 513 23.3% 2,200 Orange 3,405 58.3% 2,142 36.7% 296 5.1% 0 0.0% 1,263 21.7% 5,843 Owen 3,353 54.7% 2,329 38.0% 452 7.4% 0 0.0% 1,024 16.7% 6,134 Parke 2,898 53.6% 2,120 39.2% 393 7.3% 0 0.0% 778 14.4% 5,411 Perry 2,484 36.9% 3,939 58.5% 306 4.5% 3 0.1% -1,455 -21.6% 6,732 Pike 2,294 47.7% 2,288 47.6% 226 4.7% 0 0.0% 6 0.1% 6,732 Porter 23,723 53.8% 18,556 42.1% 1,832 4.1% 12 0.0% 5,167 11.7% 44,123 Posey 5,144 52.1% 4,418 44.7% 318 3.2% 0 0.0% 726 7.4% 9,880 Pulaski 2,762 61.1% 1,512 33.4% 245 5.4% 4 0.1% 1,250 27.7% 4,523 Putnam 5,964 58.7% 3,452 34.0% 738 7.3% 1 0.0% 2,512 24.7% 10,155 Randolph 4,201 60.5% 2,185 31.5% 559 8.0% 0 0.0% 2,016 29.0% 6,945 Ripley 5,580 67.1% 2,323 27.9% 418 5.0% 0 0.0% 3,257 39.2% 8,321 Rush 2,987 60.5% 1,421 28.8% 530 10.7% 1 0.0% 1,566 31.7% 4,939 Scott 3,329 47.9% 3,215 46.2% 409 5.9% 2 0.0% 114 1.7% 6,955 Shelby 6,597 61.7% 3,200 29.9% 896 8.4% 0 0.0% 3,397 31.8% 10,693 Spencer 3,674 49.3% 3,486 46.7% 291 3.9% 7 0.1% 188 2.6% 7,458 St. Joseph 39,111 49.3% 37,563 47.3% 2,661 3.4% 7 0.0% 1,548 2.0% 79,342 Starke 3,557 51.2% 3,050 43.9% 343 4.9% 0 0.0% 507 7.3% 6,950 Steuben 6,149 61.2% 3,297 32.8% 598 6.0% 0 0.0% 2,852 28.4% 10,044 Sullivan 2,681 41.6% 3,392 52.6% 372 5.8% 0 0.0% -711 -9.0% 6,445 Switzerland 1,583 53.6% 1,215 41.1% 155 5.2% 0 0.0% 368 12.5% 2,953 Tippecanoe 19,494 54.6% 14,078 39.4% 2,106 5.9% 15 0.1% 5,416 15.2% 35,693 Tipton 3,512 59.8% 1,929 32.8% 435 7.4% 0 0.0% 1,583 27.0% 5,876 Union 1,590 66.1% 658 27.4% 157 6.5% 0 0.0% 932 38.7% 2,405 Vanderburgh 26,372 52.4% 22,305 44.3% 1,591 3.2% 42 0.1% 4,067 8.1% 50,310 Vermillion 1,991 40.5% 2,613 53.2% 309 6.3% 2 0.0% -622 -12.7% 4,915 Vigo 12,443 43.5% 14,771 51.7% 1,380 4.8% 1 0.0% -2,328 -8.2% 28,595 Wabash 5,666 63.4% 2,571 28.7% 706 7.9% 0 0.0% 3,095 34.7% 8,943 Warren 1,530 59.3% 896 34.7% 156 6.0% 0 0.0% 634 24.6% 2,582 Warrick 11,771 57.0% 8,207 39.8% 661 3.2% 0 0.0% 3,564 17.2% 20,639 Washington 4,844 58.2% 2,975 35.8% 495 6.0% 4 0.0% 1,869 22.4% 8,318 Wayne 9,602 58.2% 5,386 32.6% 1,506 9.1% 3 0.1% 4,216 25.6% 16,497 Wells 6,401 67.4% 2,471 26.0% 620 6.5% 3 0.1% 3,930 41.4% 9,495 White 4,393 59.1% 2,377 32.0% 658 8.8% 4 0.1% 2,016 27.1% 7,432 Whitley 6,869 64.4% 3,105 29.1% 695 6.5% 5 0.0% 3,764 35.3% 10,674 Total 952,116 54.6% 697,775 40.0% 94,330 5.4% 260 0.0% 254,341 14.6% 1,744,481 Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

See also