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2010 Michigan gubernatorial election

The 2010 Michigan gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm and Lieutenant Governor John D. Cherry were prohibited by the state's Constitution from seeking a third term. This resulted in a large pool of candidates which was whittled down, when the May 11 filing deadline passed, to two Democrats and five Republicans.[2] Both the Cook Political Report and the non-partisan Rothenberg Political Report rated the election as leaning Republican.[3][4]

The Republican primary race was highly competitive; both local and national polling reported Congressman Pete Hoekstra, state Attorney General Mike Cox, and businessman Rick Snyder as being front-runners for the Republican Party nomination.[5][6][7][8] The Democratic front-runner when the 2009 polls were conducted, Lieutenant Governor John D. Cherry, withdrew from the race in January 2010.[9][10] The final polls just days before the primary election showed that, while Lansing mayor Virg Bernero was in the lead, over a quarter of those polled were still undecided.[11] The deadline for candidates to file nominating petitions for the August 3 state primary was 4:00 PM on May 11, 2010.[2][12]

A total of 1,575,167 registered voters voted in the primaries, with 66.4% of them voting in the Republican primary.[13] Analysts believe a large portion of Democrats crossed party lines to vote for Snyder, whose ad campaign targeted bipartisan and independent support.[14] In Michigan, voters may vote in either primary regardless of their political affiliation, but can only vote for one party. Ballots with split tickets are not counted in partisan races. Both races came in more disparate than predicted. Snyder won with a near 10-point lead over closest rival Pete Hoekstra, and Bernero won with an even larger 17-point lead over early favorite state house speaker Andy Dillon. Both nominees portrayed themselves as political outsiders.[15] On August 25, Snyder appointed State Representative Brian Calley as his running mate.[16] On August 28, Bernero appointed Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence as his running mate.[17]

Snyder won a decisive victory over Bernero in the general election, winning by nearly 20 percentage points. As of 2022, this was the last time the counties of Ingham, Marquette, Eaton, Saginaw, Bay, and Muskegon voted for the Republican candidate.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Withdrew

Polling

Results

Results by county
Bernero
  •   Bernero—70–80%
  •   Bernero—60–70%
  •   Bernero—50–60%
Dillon
  •   Dillon—50–60%

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Withdrew

Polling

Results

Results by county
Snyder
  •   Snyder—40–50%
  •   Snyder—<40%
Hoekstra
  •   Hoekstra—<40%
  •   Hoekstra—40–50%
  •   Hoekstra—50–60%
Cox
  •   Cox—<40%
  •   Cox—40–50%

Other parties

Based on past election performance, the Libertarian Party of Michigan, Green Party of Michigan, and the U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan (affiliated with the Constitution Party) have automatic ballot access for the general election, but by state law they must nominate candidates through party conventions rather than primary elections. The Natural Law Party also has automatic ballot access in Michigan, but chose not to run a candidate for governor in 2010.

Libertarian Party candidates

The Libertarian Party of Michigan nominee was Kenneth Proctor.[36] The nomination was won at the Michigan Libertarian Convention held in Okemos, Michigan on Saturday, May 22, in accordance with Michigan state law. He beat out Bhagwan Dashairya, who had been the 2006 U.S. Taxpayers Party nominee for governor. The delegates ended up selecting Dashairya as the Libertarian nominee for U.S. Congress in District 8.

Proctor's running mate was Dr. Erwin Haas, Maryland of Grand Rapids. Haas received the Lt. Governor nomination unanimously.

Green Party candidates

The Green Party of Michigan held their statewide nominating convention July 31 and August 1 in Lansing, and nominated Harley Mikkelson for governor and Lynn Meadows for lieutenant governor.[37]

U.S. Taxpayers Party candidates

The 2010 U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan convention was held on June 26 in East Lansing. In a nearly unanimous vote, Stacey Mathia and Chris Levels were formally nominated as candidates of the U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan for the offices of governor and lieutenant governor.

According to Stacey Mathia's official press release, "The Convention applauded Mathia's agenda to institute Law-Abiding Constitutional Government and State Sovereignty in order to free the People of Michigan from the political oppression of big government operating outside of its authority."[38]

The press release also stated, "Chris Levels, is currently well known as a radio talk show host on WSNL in the Flint, Michigan area. His last minute nomination speech will be available on Mathia's website. The USTPM Convention gave him a standing applause."

General election

Debates

On August 12, it was reported that Virg Bernero accepted invitations to three debates. The first debate would be held September 21 and sponsored by WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids. The second debate would be held October 7 and be broadcast on 55 radio and TV stations throughout the state. The third debate would be held October 21 and would be sponsored by WXYZ-TV, WWJ (AM) and Crain's Detroit Business.[39] Then in early September, Bernero offered Snyder a deal of eight debates. Snyder proposed a counter-offer of three debates, which Bernero refused.[40] A Detroit Free Press editorial was critical of Snyder for not agreeing to debates.[41] Bernero called Snyder a wimp for not agreeing to debate him.[42] An impromptu debate developed after Bernero crashed a town hall meeting Snyder was hosting in Westland on September 13.[43] The two sides agreed to an hour-long televised debate, broadcast on October 10 from the studios of WTVS in Wixom.[44] A group of Detroit clergy invited the two major party candidates to a debate there on October 21. Only Bernero accepted the invitation.[45]

Predictions

Polling

Results

Results by county

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

See also

References

  1. ^ "General Election Voter Registration/Turnout Statistics". Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "2010 Official Michigan Primary Candidate Listing". Miboecfr.nictusa.com. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  3. ^ [1][dead link]
  4. ^ "The Cook Political Report | The insider's choice for election analysis". Cookpolitical.com. August 17, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  5. ^ "Election 2010: Michigan Governor – Rasmussen Reports". Rasmussenreports.com. August 4, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  6. ^ 1871media.com – [email protected]. "Poll: Cox leads Michigan governor's race". LegalNewsline. Retrieved August 21, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "Republicans Show Startling Strength in Race for Michigan Governor – Michael Barone". usnews.com. March 19, 2009. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  8. ^ "Snyder holds edge in tight GOP governor's race | freep.com | Detroit Free Press". Archived from the original on August 1, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  9. ^ [2] Archived January 8, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ a b "John Cherry tells AP he's out of MI race". BostonHerald.com. Associated Press. January 5, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  11. ^ "Poll Bernero opens 8 point lead | WOOD TV8". Woodtv.com. Archived from the original on July 31, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  12. ^ "2010 Important Dates Filing Deadline" (PDF). Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  13. ^ "2010 Unofficial Michigan Primary Election Results – Governor 4 Year Term (1) Position". Miboecfr.nictusa.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  14. ^ Berr, Jonathan (August 17, 2010). "Michigan Governor's Race: Will Voters Pick Tough Nerd Rick Snyder or Angry Mayor Virg Bernero?". DailyFinance. Archived from the original on September 18, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  15. ^ "Rick Snyder, Virg Bernero will test voters' opinions on organized labor, outsourcing". AnnArbor.com. August 5, 2010. Retrieved August 12, 2010. One thing Snyder and Bernero have in common: They're both portraying themselves as outsiders who can solve the political gridlock seizing the state legislature...It's clear voters are tired of politics as usual.
  16. ^ "It's a go: Rick Snyder names Brian Calley as GOP running mate (video)". MLive Media Group. Michigan. August 25, 2010. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  17. ^ [3][dead link]
  18. ^ [4][dead link]
  19. ^ "Speaker of the House Andy Dillon declares Democratic run for governor". MLive.com. March 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  20. ^ [5][dead link]
  21. ^ State Sen. Hansen Clarke drops out of governor's race, Mark Hornbeck / Detroit News Lansing Bureau, published January 15, 2010
  22. ^ Freeman out of gov's race, Bowman may be interested, Mark Hornbeck / Detroit News Lansing Bureau, published January 12, 2010
  23. ^ "Dan Kildee announces his withdrawal from race for Michigan governor". MLive.com. March 5, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  24. ^ Bell, Dawson (May 10, 2010). "Rep. Wheeler Smith abandons bid for governor". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on January 24, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2010.
  25. ^ a b "Michigan Primary results". 2010 Unofficial Michigan Primary Election Results. August 4, 2010. Archived from the original on December 1, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
  26. ^ "Elections : Elections News and Photos". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved August 21, 2010.[permanent dead link]
  27. ^ [6][dead link]
  28. ^ [7][dead link]
  29. ^ AP File Photo (May 27, 2009). "Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox will make official his campaign to seek governor's seat". MLive.com. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  30. ^ "Hoekstra To Run For Governor – Detroit Local News Story – WDIV Detroit". Clickondetroit.com. March 30, 2009. Archived from the original on April 2, 2009. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  31. ^ "Michigan Committee Statement of Organization". Miboecfr.nictusa.com. Archived from the original on January 24, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  32. ^ Crumm, Charles (May 9, 2010). "Kniffen withdraws from GOP race for governor". The Oakland Press. Archived from the original on March 4, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  33. ^ Mack, Julie (July 3, 2010). "Terri Lynn Land says she, Mike Bouchard looking to 'fix Michigan'". Kalamazoo News. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  34. ^ "Huron Daily Tribune > Archives > News > Local News > Rujan running for governor". Michigansthumb.com. July 3, 2009. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  35. ^ "Michigan 2010 Midterm Election". Thegreenpapers.com. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  36. ^ "candidates". Mi.lp.org. Archived from the original on August 5, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  37. ^ "the Green Party of Michigan's home on the web". Migreens.Org. Archived from the original on October 11, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  38. ^ "Stacey Mathia and Chris Levels-Formally Nominated" (PDF). Retrieved June 30, 2010.[dead link]
  39. ^ "Bernero accepts 3 debate invites, Snyder yet to commit | detnews.com | The Detroit News". detnews.com. August 12, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  40. ^ "Bernero Snyder spar over debates". The Detroit News. September 14, 2010. Archived from the original on September 19, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  41. ^ [8][dead link]
  42. ^ "Not only is Rick Snyder a nerd, he's also a wimp, says Virg Bernero".
  43. ^ "Debate held after Bernero crashes Snyder's meeting | freep.com | Detroit Free Press". Archived from the original on September 15, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  44. ^ says, Mary (September 22, 2010). "Mich. Gov. Hopefuls Agree To Debate".
  45. ^ "Detroit Clergy Demand Gubernatorial Debate". October 14, 2010.
  46. ^ "2010 Governors Race Ratings". Cook Political Report. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  47. ^ "Governor Ratings". Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  48. ^ "2010 Governor Races". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  49. ^ "THE CRYSTAL BALL'S FINAL CALLS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  50. ^ "Race Ratings Chart: Governor". CQ Politics. Archived from the original on October 5, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  51. ^ "2010 Michigan Election Results". Secretary of State, Michigan. November 2, 2010. Retrieved May 17, 2017.

External links

Debates
Official campaign sites (archived)