2010 United States Senate election in New York

Background

In the 2004 U.S. Senate election, Schumer had defeated Republican Assemblyman Howard Mills by a 71 to 24 percent margin. Schumer was highly popular in New York, and it was believed that any Republican contender would likely not fare well against him in 2010. Schumer was heavily favored to retain his seat.

In addition to this regular election, there was also a special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton, who became the United States Secretary of State on January 21, 2009. In addition, there was the New York gubernatorial election. The existence of two other top-level statewide races, one with a Democratic incumbent perceived as vulnerable and the other an open race, respectively, was believed to lead major New York Republicans to gravitate towards them rather than challenge the popular Schumer.

Republican nomination

Convention

Candidates

• Gary Berntsen, retired CIA officer, received the party's endorsement on the second round of balloting
• Martin Chicon, candidate for New York Senate in 2008 and New York Republican State Committee member from upper Manhattan.
• George Maragos, Nassau County Comptroller
• James Staudenraus, Long Island resident and 2008 state assembly candidate
• Jay Townsend, Republican strategist (finished second and also qualified for the primary)

Results

Only two candidates, Berntsen and Townsend, obtained at least 25% of the vote at the New York State Republican Convention on June 1, 2010. Berntsen came in first, but still needed to win the primary in order to win the Republican nomination. Berntsen lost the primary to Jay Townsend.

Primary

Candidates

• Gary Berntsen
• Jay Townsend

Results

| | | | | ]]

General election

Candidates

• Anti-Prohibition Party: Randy Credico
• Conservative Party of New York: Jay Townsend
• Democratic Party: Chuck Schumer
• Green Party: Colia Clark
• Libertarian Party: Randy Credico
• Republican Party: Jay Townsend
• Taxpayers Party: Gary Berntsen

Predictions

Fundraising

Polling

Results

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Tioga (largest municipality: Waverly)
• Wyoming (largest municipality: Perry)

Aftermath

Credico sued the New York State Board of Elections under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, claiming unfair treatment regarding ballot access. Despite being nominated by both the Libertarian Party and the Anti-Prohibition Party, in most jurisdictions, he only appeared on the ballot once. On June 19, 2013, the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of New York ruled in favor of Credico. The New York State Board of Elections did not appeal this decision.

References

References

1. Richberg, Keith B.. (December 2, 2008). "A Rush for Clinton's Senate Seat". The Washington Post.
2. Saltonsall, David. (February 1, 2009). "Sen. Chuck Schumer unlikely to see competition in 2010 reelection bid". [[New York Daily News]].
3. Silver, Nate. (December 8, 2008). "2010 Senate Rankings, Revised and Extended". [[FiveThirtyEight.com]].
4. Lovett, Kenneth. (March 23, 2009). "New Siena Poll finds Gov. David Paterson's approval rating at just 19%". Nydailynews.com.
5. (October 2010). "Senate Races 2010". VoteFromAbroad.org.
6. McKenna, Chris. (June 2, 2010). "Townsend trails Berntsen at state GOP convention". [[Times Herald-Record]].
7. "Martin Chicon NY-US Senator 2010 Republican Candidate NYC Sat 10/3/09 - AOL Video". Video.aol.co.uk.
8. (April 15, 2010). "Nassau Comptroller Eyeing Schumer Challenge". Capitaltonight.com.
9. (May 12, 2010). "Latest count on U.S. Senate candidates: 22 {{!}} Politics on the Hudson". Polhudson.lohudblogs.com.
10. (June 2, 2010). "NY GOP Chooses Berntsen Against Schumer".
11. (September 14, 2010). "Townsend Wins GOP Primary For Senate Seat".
12. (September 14, 2010). "New York State Board of Elections - Statewide Republican US Senator Primary - 6 year - Full Term". NYS Board of Elections.
13. "Senate". [[Cook Political Report]].
14. "Senate Ratings". [[Rothenberg Political Report]].
15. "Battle for the Senate". [[RealClearPolitics]].
16. "2010 Senate Ratings". [[Sabato's Crystal Ball]].
17. "Race Ratings Chart: Senate". [[CQ Politics]].
18. (April 2019). "2010 House and Senate Campaign Finance for New York". fec.gov.
19. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100703033944/http://www.siena.edu/uploadedfiles/home/parents_and_community/community_page/sri/sny_poll/SNY0610%20Release.pdf Siena College]
20. [http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2010/election_2010_senate_elections/new_york/toplines/toplines_new_york_senate_june_16_2010 Rasmussen Reports]
21. [http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2010/election_2010_state_toplines/new_york/toplines_new_york_senate_race_schumer_september_16_2010 Rasmussen Reports]
22. [http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=ddf78dd6-bef1-44e3-af71-225f2d2da637 Survey USA]
23. {{usurped
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25. [https://web.archive.org/web/20101105000502/http://www.siena.edu/uploadedfiles/home/Parents_and_Community/Community_Page/SRI/SNY_Poll/103110SNYPollReleaseFINAL.pdf Siena College]
26. "New York Election Results". The New York Times.
27. "NYS Board of Elections U.S. Senator Election Returns November 2, 2010". New York State BOE.
28. (June 20, 2013). "New York Libertarian Party Wins Lawsuit Against Discriminatory Election Law | Ballot Access News".
29. (July 12, 2013). "New York State Changes Mind, Won't Appeal Credico Decision | Ballot Access News".