2010 United States Senate election in Louisiana

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2010 United States Senate election in Louisiana
Flag of Louisiana.svg
  2004 November 2, 2010 2016  
  DVitterOfficial.jpg Charles Melancon (cropped).jpg
Nominee David Vitter Charlie Melançon
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote715,415476,572
Percentage56.55%37.67%

2010 United States Senate election in Louisiana results map by parish.svg
Parish results

Vitter:     40-50%     50-60%     60–70%     70-80%

Contents

Melançon:     40–50%     50–60%     70–80%

U.S. senator before election

David Vitter
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

David Vitter
Republican

The 2010 United States Senate election in Louisiana was held on November 2, 2010. Republican incumbent U.S. Senator David Vitter won re-election to a second term, becoming the first Republican ever to be re-elected to the United States Senate from Louisiana.

Background

Vitter faced a potentially serious challenge in the Republican primary as well as the general election. Lieutenant General Russel L. Honoré, who is best known for serving as commander of Joint Task Force Katrina responsible for coordinating military relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina-affected areas across the Gulf Coast, was allegedly mulling over whether or not to challenge Vitter in the Republican Primary. [1] Tony Perkins, a former Louisiana state representative and current president of the socially conservative Family Research Council, acknowledged interest in running against Vitter because of the prostitution scandal. [2] [3] Nonetheless, Perkins decided not to run and endorsed Vitter for reelection. [4]

Some speculated that Vitter's reelection might have become complicated, by the prostitution scandal revealed in 2007, but he continued to lead in aggregate polling against potential opponents. [5]

Following a movement to draft him into the race, [6] John Cooksey, a former U.S. Representative, appeared poised to put together a challenge, planning on spending $200,000 of his own money. [7] Cooksey, however, pulled back and did not qualify.

A campaign to draft porn actress Stormy Daniels began in early 2009. She considered whether to run even though at age 31, she was four years too young to be a Senator and ultimately declined to qualify. [8] [9] [10]

On June 14, 2009, Congressman Charlie Melançon announced his intentions to run for Senate in 2010. Melançon, who was representing Louisiana's 3rd Congressional District since 2005, released the announcement to his supporters, saying that "Louisiana needs a different approach, more bi-partisan, more disciplined, more honest and with a whole lot more common sense." Melançon was a leader of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of fiscally conservative Democrats who aim to lower the deficit and reform the budget. [11] [12]

In the weeks before the election a major concern for Vitter's camp was possibly voter apathy about the race. For example, publisher Rolfe H. McCollister Jr., in his Greater Baton Rouge Business Report, endorsed fellow Republican Jay Dardenne over Democrat Caroline Fayard in the simultaneous race for Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, but then explicitly made "no endorsement" for U.S. Senate:

I have talked with a number of voters who are just not very excited about this race—the candidates or the tone. I'm not either. You're on your own here. [13]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Polling

Poll SourceDates administeredCharlie MelançonNeeson ChauvinUndecided
Clarus Research Group August 15–16, 201043%3%52%

Results

Results by parish
.mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{}
Melancon--80-90%
Melancon--70-80%
Melancon--60-70%
Melancon--50-60%
Melancon--40-50% 2010 United States Senate Democratic primary in Louisiana results map by parish.svg
Results by parish
  Melançon—80–90%
  Melançon—70–80%
  Melançon—60–70%
  Melançon—50–60%
  Melançon—40–50%
Democratic Primary results [14]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Charlie Melançon 77,702 70.61%
Democratic Neeson Chauvin19,50717.73%
Democratic Cary Deaton12,84211.67%
Total votes110,051 100%

Republican primary

Candidates

Polling

Poll SourceDates administeredDavid Vitter (R)Chet Traylor (R)Undecided
Clarus Research Group August 15–16, 201074%5%18%
Public Policy Polling August 21–22, 201081%5%9%

Results

Results by parish
Vitter-->90%
Vitter--80-90%
Vitter--70-80%
Vitter--60-70% 2010 United States Senate Republican primary in Louisiana results map by parish.svg
Results by parish
  Vitter—>90%
  Vitter—80–90%
  Vitter—70–80%
  Vitter—60–70%
Republican Primary results [14]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican David Vitter (Incumbent) 85,179 87.6%
Republican Chet Traylor6,8387.03%
Republican Nick Accardo5,2215.37%
Total votes97,238 100%

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Results

Libertarian Primary results
PartyCandidateVotes%
Libertarian Randall Todd Hayes 1,529 61.68%
Libertarian Anthony "Tony G" Gentile95038.32%
Total votes2,479 100%

General election

Candidates

Major

Minor

  • Michael Karlton Brown (I)
  • Skip Galan (I)
  • Milton Gordon (I)
  • Randall Todd Hayes (L)
  • Tommy LaFargue (I)
  • Bob Lang (I)
  • William McShan (Reform)
  • Sam Houston Melton Jr. (I)
  • Mike Spears (I)
  • Ernest Wooton (I)

Campaign

Melançon heavily criticized Vitter for prostitution sex scandal. [17] [18] Vitter released television advertising criticizing Melançon for his support for Obama's stimulus package and his support for amnesty for illegal immigrants. [19]

Debates

Melançon claimed "In August, Melançon challenged Vitter to a series of five live, televised town hall-style debates across the state. In his 2004 campaign for Senate, Vitter committed to five live, televised debates. Since Melançon issued the challenge, Vitter and Melançon have been invited to a total of seven live, televised debates. Vitter only accepted invitations to debates hosted by WWL-TV and WDSU-TV, both in New Orleans." [20]

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
Cook Political Report [24] Lean ROctober 26, 2010
Rothenberg [25] Likely ROctober 22, 2010
RealClearPolitics [26] Likely ROctober 26, 2010
Sabato's Crystal Ball [27] Likely ROctober 21, 2010
CQ Politics [28] Likely ROctober 26, 2010

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
David
Vitter (R)
Charlie
Melançon (D)
Research 2000 March 2–4, 200948%41%
Public Policy Polling July 17–19, 200944%32%
Rasmussen Reports October 5, 200946%36%
Rasmussen Reports January 14, 201053%35%
YouGovPolimetrix January 6–11, 201052%32%
Rasmussen Reports February 10, 201057%33%
Rasmussen Reports March 10, 201057%34%
Rasmussen Reports April 7, 201052%36%
Magellan Strategies Archived July 2, 2010, at the Wayback Machine June 10–13, 201051%31%
Public Policy Polling June 12–13, 201046%37%
Rasmussen Reports June 24, 201053%35%
Clarus Research Group August 15–16, 201048%36%
Public Policy Polling August 21–22, 201051%41%
Rasmussen Reports August 30, 201054%33%
Magellan Strategies September 19, 201052%34%
Magellan Strategies October 10, 201051%35%
Anazalone Archived November 16, 2010, at the Wayback Machine October 22, 201046%43%
Clarus Research Group October 21–24, 201050%38%
Magellan Strategies Archived November 16, 2010, at the Wayback Machine October 24, 201052%35%

Fundraising

Candidate (Party)ReceiptsDisbursementsCash On HandDebt
David Vitter (R)$8,384,938$6,833,900$3,555,994$0
Charles Melançon (D)$3,711,556$4,043,362$445,853$0
Source: Federal Election Commission [29]

Results

United States Senate election in Louisiana, 2010 [30] [31]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican David Vitter (incumbent) 715,415 56.56% +5.53%
Democratic Charlie Melançon 476,57237.67%+8.44%
Libertarian Randall Hayes13,9571.1%N/A
Independent Michael Brown9,9730.79%N/A
Independent Mike Spears9,1900.73%N/A
Independent Ernest Wooton8,1670.65%N/A
Independent Skip Galan7,4740.59%N/A
Reform William McShan5,8790.46%N/A
Independent Bob Lang5,7340.45%N/A
Independent Milton Gordon4,8100.38%N/A
Independent Tommy LaFargue4,0430.32%N/A
Independent Sam Melton3,7800.3%N/A
Total votes1,264,994 100%
Republican hold

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References

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