The 2010 United States Senate election in South Dakota was held on November 2, 2010, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of South Dakota. Republican incumbent John Thune won re-election to a second term unopposed.
Background Thune was narrowly elected to his first term over Democratic Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle with 51% of the vote in 2004. Despite his lack of seniority, Thune became chairman of the U.S. Republican Policy Committee in 2009.
Thune did not face any opposition whatsoever in his 2010 re-election. He won 100% of the votes cast in this senate race, just like John C. Stennis in the 1958 Mississippi senate race. South Dakota State Senate Minority Leader Scott Heidepriem said "We just concluded that John Thune is an extremely popular senator who is going to win another term in the Senate." There were exactly 89,136 undervotes compared to the concurrent gubernatorial election.
General election Candidates John Thune, incumbent U.S. senator (2005–present)
Predictions Source Ranking As of Cook Political Report October 26, 2010 Rothenberg October 22, 2010 RealClearPolitics October 26, 2010 Sabato's Crystal Ball October 21, 2010 CQ Politics October 26, 2010
Polling
Poll source Date (s)administered Samplesize Marginof error JohnThune (R) GenericDemocrat Other UndecidedPublic Policy PollingPublic Policy PollingDecember 10–13, 2009702 (LV)± 3.7% 56%33%–11%Public Policy PollingPublic Policy PollingJanuary 5, 2010702 (LV)± 3.7% 56%43%–5%Public Policy PollingPublic Policy PollingApril 5, 2010702 (LV)± 3.7% 58%34%–5%Public Policy PollingPublic Policy PollingJune 5–8, 2010702 (LV)± 3.7% 54%44%–5%
Fundraising Candidate (Party) Receipts Disbursements Cash on hand Debt John Thune (R) $6,282,750 $2,988,648 $7,194,549 $0 Source: Federal Election Commission
Results
By county Source
John ThuneRepublican County VotesAurora926Beadle4,897Bennett728Bon Homme1,965Brookings7,721Brown9,862Brule1,525Buffalo208Butte2,975Campbell642Charles Mix2,518Clark1,190Clay2,756Codington7,504Corson577Custer3,018Davison5,480Day1,673Deuel1,427Dewey943Douglas1,360Edmunds1,275Fall River2,336Faulk798Grant2,538Gregory1,549Haakon890Hamlin1,969Hand1,393Hanson1,323Harding583Hughes5,893Hutchinson2,486Hyde558Jackson734Jerauld759Jones507Kingsbury1,707Lake3,700Lawrence7,491Lincoln13,642Lyman1,012Marshall1,186McCook1,759McPherson990Meade7,360Mellette543Miner725Minnehaha44,085Moody1,822Pennington27,928Perkins1,088Potter1,035Roberts2,498Sanborn854Shannon854Spink2,055Stanley1,062Sully600Todd1,009Tripp1,925Turner2,778Union4,522Walworth1,745Yankton6,063Ziebach423 Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Beadle (Largest city: Huron) Bon Homme (Largest city: Springfield) Brown (Largest city: Aberdeen) Brule (Largest city: Chamberlain) Charles Mix (Largest city: Wagner) Corson (Largest city: McLaughlin) Deuel (Largest city: Clear Lake) Grant (Largest city: Milbank) Jerauld (Largest city: Wessington Springs) Kingsbury (Largest city: De Smet) Lake (Largest city: Madison) Miner (Largest city: Howard) Minnehaha (Largest city: Sioux Falls) Moody (Largest city: Flandreau) Sanborn (Largest city: Woonsocket) Brookings (largest city: Brookings) Aurora (largest city: Plankinton) Bennett (largest city: Martin) Clark (largest city: Clark) Edmunds (largest city: Ipswich) Faulk (largest city: Faulkton) Hand (largest city: Miller) Jackson (largest city: Kadoka) Lyman (largest city: Lower Brule) Spink (largest city: Redfield) Yankton (largest city: Yankton) Day (Largest city: Webster) Roberts (Largest city: Sisseton) Ziebach (Largest city: Dupree) Marshall (largest city: Britton) Shannon (largest city: Pine Ridge) Todd (largest city: Mission) Buffalo (largest city: Fort Thompson) Mellette (Largest city: White River) Clay (Largest city: Vermillion) Dewey (Largest city: North Eagle Butte)
References
Notes
External links South Dakota Elections and Voter Registration from the Secretary of State U.S. Congress candidates for South Dakota at Project Vote Smart South Dakota U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com Campaign contributions from Open Secrets 2010 South Dakota Senate General Election graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
from CQ Politics Race profile from The New York Times Official campaign websites (archived) John Thune for U.S. Senator