2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky explained

Election Name:	2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky
Country:	Kentucky
Type:	legislative
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky
Previous Year:	2008
Next Election:	2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky
Next Year:	2012
Seats For Election:	All 6 Kentucky seats to the United States House of Representatives
Election Date:	November 2, 2010
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Last Election1:	4
Seats1:	4
Popular Vote1:	844,369
Percentage1:	62.35%
Swing1:	7.76%
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Last Election2:	2
Seats2:	2
Popular Vote2:	506,319
Percentage2:	37.39%
Swing2:	6.11%

The 2010 congressional elections in Kentucky were held on November 2, 2010, and determined who would represent the Commonwealth of Kentucky in the United States House of Representatives. Kentucky has six seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; the elected served in the 112th Congress from January 3, 2011, until January 3, 2013. As of 2021, this is the last time the Democrats won more than one congressional district in Kentucky.

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky, 2010^[1]
Party	Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Republican	844,369	62.35%	4	—
	Democratic	506,319	37.39%	2	—
	Libertarian	2,029	0.15%	0	—
	Independents	1,581	0.12%	0	—
Totals		1,354,298	100.00%	6	—

By district

Results of the 2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky by district:^[2]

scope=col rowspan=3	District	scope=col colspan=2	Republican	scope=col colspan=2	Democratic	scope=col colspan=2	Others	scope=col colspan=2	Total	scope=col rowspan=3	Result
scope=col colspan=2 style="background:"	!	scope=col colspan=2 style="background:"	!	scope=col colspan=2	!	scope=col colspan=2
scope=col data-sort-type="number"	Votes !	scope=col data-sort-type="number"	% !	scope=col data-sort-type="number"	Votes !	scope=col data-sort-type="number"	% !	scope=col data-sort-type="number"	Votes !	scope=col data-sort-type="number"	% !	scope=col data-sort-type="number"	Votes !	scope=col data-sort-type="number"	%
	153,840	73.12%	62,090	26.88%	0	0.00%	215,930	100.0%	Republican hold
	155,906	69.19%	73,749	30.81%	0	0.00%	229,655	100.0%	Republican hold
	112,627	44.01%	139,940	54.68%	3,363	1.31%	255,930	100.0%	Democratic hold
	151,813	69.48%	66,694	30.52%	0	0.00%	218,507	100.0%	Republican hold
	151,019	77.42%	44,034	22.58%	0	0.00%	195,053	100.0%	Republican hold
	119,164	49.81%	119,812	50.08%	247	0.01%	239,223	100.0%	Democratic hold
Total	844,369	62.35%	506,319	37.38%	3,610	0.27%	1,354,298	100.0%

District 1

Election Name:	2010 Kentucky's 1st congressional district election
Country:	Kentucky
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky#District 1
Previous Year:	2008
Next Election:	2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky#District 1
Next Year:	2012
Image1:	File:Ed Whitfield, 113th Congress, Official Photo.jpg
Nominee1:	Ed Whitfield
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:	153,840
Percentage1:	71.2%
Nominee2:	Charles Hatchett
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:	62,090
Percentage2:	28.8%
U.S. Representative
Before Election:	Ed Whitfield
Before Party:	Republican Party (United States)
After Election:	Ed Whitfield
After Party:	Republican Party (United States)

See also: Kentucky's 1st congressional district.

Running for his ninth term in this conservative^[3] district based in western Kentucky, incumbent Republican Congressman Ed Whitfield faced a trivial challenge from Democratic candidate Charles Hatchett. As expected, Congressman Whitfield was overwhelmingly re-elected to another term in Congress.

Results

District 2

Election Name:	2010 Kentucky's 2nd congressional district election
Country:	Kentucky
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky#District 2
Previous Year:	2008
Next Election:	2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky#District 2
Next Year:	2012
Image1:	File:Brettguthrie.jpg
Nominee1:	Brett Guthrie
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:	155,906
Percentage1:	67.9%
Nominee2:	Ed Marksberry
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:	73,749
Percentage2:	32.1%
U.S. Representative
Before Election:	Brett Guthrie
Before Party:	Republican Party (United States)
After Election:	Brett Guthrie
After Party:	Republican Party (United States)

See also: Kentucky's 2nd congressional district.

Though incumbent Republican Congressman Brett Guthrie was elected by a slim margin in 2008, he did not face a serious challenge in his bid for a second term from Democratic candidate Ed Marksberry. As was expected, Congressman Guthrie was re-elected in a landslide in this conservative district based in west-central Kentucky.

Results

District 3

Election Name:	2010 Kentucky's 3rd congressional district election
Country:	Kentucky
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky#District 3
Previous Year:	2008
Next Election:	2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky#District 3
Next Year:	2012
Image1:	File:John Yarmuth 113th Congress.jpg
Nominee1:	John Yarmuth
Party1:	Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:	139,940
Percentage1:	54.7%
Nominee2:	Todd Lally
Party2:	Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:	112,627
Percentage2:	44.0%
U.S. Representative
Before Election:	John Yarmuth
Before Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:	John Yarmuth
After Party:	Democratic Party (United States)

See also: Kentucky's 3rd congressional district.

Campaign

Two-term Democratic incumbent Congressman John Yarmuth has represented this liberal-leaning district based in metro Louisville since he was first elected in 2006. Yarmuth defeated Republican Congresswoman Anne Northup in 2006, and defeated her again in a rematch in 2008, but she declined to run again in 2010. Instead, Congressman Yarmuth faced Republican candidate Todd Lally, an airline pilot and a failed State House candidate.

Lally attacked Yarmuth for being a "liberal follower" of Nancy Pelosi who voted with her "San Francisco agenda 99 percent of the time," charges that Yarmuth called "ignorant and irresponsible."^[4] The Courier-Journal, the largest newspaper in the district, strongly endorsed Congressman Yarmuth in his bid for re-election,^[5] and in the end, Yarmuth was able to best Lally by a surprisingly wide margin.

Polling

Poll source	Dates administered	John Yarmuth (D)	Todd Lally (R)	Undecided
SurveyUSA^[6]	October 21–25, 2010	align=center	50%	46%	1%
Rivercity Polling^[7]	October 19–23, 2010	align=center	41%	37%	-
Braun Research^[8]	October 18–19, 2010	align=center	57.9%	31.4%	2.6%
Braun Research^[9]	September 20–21, 2010	align=center	53%	30%	12%
Survey USA^[10]	August 27–30, 2010	align=center	47%	45%	5%
Braun Research^[11]	August 9–10, 2010	align=center	52%	29%	17%
Rivercity Polling^[12]	June 20–29, 2010	align=center	44%	43%	-
Cooper & Secrest Associates^[13]	June 21–23, 2010	align=center	58%	32%	-

Results

District 4

Election Name:	2010 Kentucky's 4th congressional district election
Country:	Kentucky
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky#District 4
Previous Year:	2008
Next Election:	2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky#District 4
Next Year:	2012
Image1:	File:Geoff Davis.jpg
Nominee1:	Geoff Davis
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:	151,813
Percentage1:	69.5%
Nominee2:	John Waltz
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:	66,694
Percentage2:	30.5%
U.S. Representative
Before Election:	Geoff Davis
Before Party:	Republican Party (United States)
After Election:	Geoff Davis
After Party:	Republican Party (United States)

See also: Kentucky's 4th congressional district.

Campaign

This conservative district based in northern Kentucky, including some of metropolitan Cincinnati, has been represented by Republican Congressman Geoff Davis since he was first elected in 2004. Seeking a fourth term, Congressman Davis faced Democratic candidate John Waltz, an Iraq War veteran in the general election, who was not given much of a chance given the conservative nature of the district. As expected, Davis was overwhelmingly re-elected.

Results

District 5

Election Name:	2010 Kentucky's 5th congressional district election
Country:	Kentucky
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky#District 5
Previous Year:	2008
Next Election:	2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky#District 5
Next Year:	2012
Image1:	File:Halrogers.jpg
Nominee1:	Hal Rogers
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:	151,019
Percentage1:	77.4%
Nominee2:	Jim Holbert
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:	44,034
Percentage2:	22.6%
U.S. Representative
Before Election:	Hal Rogers
Before Party:	Republican Party (United States)
After Election:	Hal Rogers
After Party:	Republican Party (United States)

See also: Kentucky's 5th congressional district.

Campaign

Republican Congressman Hal Rogers, the dean of the Kentucky congressional delegation, has represented this conservative district based in eastern Kentucky, faced Democratic candidate Jim Holbert in his bid for a sixteenth term. Holbert had previously run against Congressman Rogers in 2008 as an independent candidate. However, Holbert was defeated by Rogers in a landslide for the second time in the general election.

Results

District 6

Election Name:	2010 Kentucky's 6th congressional district election
Country:	Kentucky
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky#District 6
Previous Year:	2008
Next Election:	2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky#District 6
Next Year:	2012
Image1:	File:Benchandler (cropped).jpeg
Nominee1:	Ben Chandler
Party1:	Democratic Party (US)
Popular Vote1:	119,812
Percentage1:	50.1%
Nominee2:	Andy Barr
Party2:	Republican Party (US)
Popular Vote2:	119,164
Percentage2:	49.8%
Map Size:	300px
U.S. Representative
Before Election:	Ben Chandler
Before Party:	Democratic Party (US)
After Election:	Ben Chandler
After Party:	Democratic Party (US)

See also: Kentucky's 6th congressional district.

Campaign

This conservative district based around the Lexington metropolitan area has been represented by incumbent Democratic Congressman Ben Chandler since he was first elected in a 2004 special election. This year, Chandler faced a serious threat to bid for a fifth term in Congress from Republican attorney Andy Barr.

In the general election, both candidates started releasing television ads in August 2010, with Barr attacking Chandler for being part of "politics as usual" while Chandler countered by proclaiming his independence, saying, "If the Republican Party is going to suggest that I'm a tool of somebody else, there is no basis in fact for that."^[14] As election day grew nearer, both sides ramped up attacks, with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee releasing an ads slamming Barr for his criminal record and plans to privatize Social Security.^[15] Barr, meanwhile, attacked Chandler for supporting gun control, even though Chandler was endorsed in his bid for re-election by the National Rifle Association of America.^[16] Polls predicted a tight race, and on election night, those polls were vindicated; no media organization called the race that night because Chandler led Barr by only a few hundred votes.^[17] It was only a few days later that Chandler was proclaimed the winner.

Polling

Poll source	Dates administered	Ben Chandler (D)	Andy Barr (R)	Undecided
Braun Research^[18]	October 20–21, 2010	align=center	46.6%	42.3%	11%
Mason-Dixon^[19]	October 15–19, 2010	align=center	48%	44%	8%
Tarrance Group^[20]	October 4–5, 2010	47%	align=center	48%	-
Mellman Group^[21]	September 29–30, 2010	align=center	52%	40%	-
Braun Research^[22]	September 21–22, 2010	align=center	50.7%	36.5%	12.5%
Tarrance Group^[23]	September 20–21, 2010	align=center	49%	42%	9%
Mellman Group^[24]	September 13–14, 2010	align=center	53%	33%	14%
Grove Insight^[25]	September 7–9, 2010	align=center	52%	38%	-
Braun Research^[26]	July 26–27, 2010	align=center	46.1%	32.2%	21%
Tarrance Group^[27]	May 24–25, 2010	align=center	45%	38%	17%

Results

External links

• Kentucky State Board of Elections
• U.S. Congress Candidates for Kentucky at Project Vote Smart

Notes and References

1. Web site: Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives . Clerk of the United States House of Representatives . Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010 . 20.
2. Web site: Haas. Karen L.. Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010. Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. November 12, 2019. June 3, 2011.
3. "Partisan Voting Index Districts of the 111th Congress." The Cook Political Report. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2011. .
4. Web site: Louisville - Jefferson County Democratic Party John Yarmuth, Todd Lally go on the attack at Louisville debate . 2011-06-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110205181826/http://louisvilledem.com/main/index.php/news/news-from-jefferson-county/207-john-yarmuth-todd-lally-go-on-the-attack-at-louisville-debate . 2011-02-05 . dead .
5. Web site: The Courier-Journal: Archives. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121107054604/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courier_journal/access/2178999951.html?FMT=ABS&date=Nov+02,+2010. 2012-11-07.
6. http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20101026/NEWS0106/310260065/1008/NEWS01/Bluegrass+Poll++John+Yarmuth+leads+Todd+Lally+in+Louisville+s+3rd+District+House+race SurveyUSA
7. http://www.dcpoliticalreport.com/KYPoll.htm#3rd Rivercity Polling
8. https://web.archive.org/web/20101125184818/http://politics.mycn2.com/2010/10/21/yarmuth-extends-lead-over-lally-to-26-points-cn2-poll-shows/ Braun Research
9. https://web.archive.org/web/20100925004651/http://politics.mycn2.com/2010/09/22/cn2-poll-yarmuth-keeps-23-point-lead-in-3rd-congressional-district/ Braun Research
10. http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=d85d333e-4e4e-4c93-8c5d-05ae52235a4c Survey USA
11. http://politics.mycn2.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/7491-Tabs-Weighted-2-.pdf Braun Research
12. http://elections.nytimes.com/2010/forecasts/house/kentucky/3 Rivercity Polling
13. http://thevillevoice.com/2010/07/22/yarmuth-releases-polling-data-hes-ahead/ Cooper & Secrest Associates
14. Web site: Ben Chandler and Andy Barr both hit the airwaves : Bluegrass Politics. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100826121248/http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2010/08/25/ben-chandler-and-andy-barr-both-hit-the-airwaves/. 2010-08-26.
15. Web site: Ben Chandler hammers Andy Barr's criminal record Moonage Political Webdream . 2011-06-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120326002128/http://politics.moonagewebdream.com/2010/10/18/ben-chandler-hammers-andy-barrs-criminal-record/ . 2012-03-26 . dead .
16. Web site: Barefoot and Progressive: Andy Barr's Outlandish Attacks on Ben Chandler Have "Gun" Too Far! . Barefootandprogressive.blogspot.com . 2010-10-27 . 2021-12-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101029173755/http://barefootandprogressive.blogspot.com/2010/10/andy-barrs-outlandish-attacks-on-ben.html . 2010-10-29 . dead.
17. Web site: Voters might have to wait for official winner between Ben Chandler, Andy Barr - Vote results - Kentucky.com. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20101105121605/http://www.kentucky.com/2010/11/04/1508697/voters-may-have-to-wait-for-official.html. 2010-11-05.
18. http://politics.mycn2.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/6th-District-October.pdf Braun Research
19. http://www.kentucky.com/2010/10/23/1491204/kentucky-poll-chandler-and-barr.html Mason-Dixon
20. http://www.dcpoliticalreport.com/KYPoll.htm Tarrance Group
21. http://www.dcpoliticalreport.com/KYPoll.htm Mellman Group
22. https://web.archive.org/web/20101004043206/http://politics.mycn2.com/2010/09/24/cn2-poll-chandler-leads-barr-by-14-points/ Braun Research
23. http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/eyeon2010/2010/09/new-kentucky-poll.html Tarrance Group
24. https://web.archive.org/web/20101018143741/http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/eyeon2010/2010/09/kentucky-chandler-poll-shows-2.html Mellman Group
25. https://web.archive.org/web/20101018143741/http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/eyeon2010/2010/09/kentucky-chandler-poll-shows-2.html Grove Insight
26. https://web.archive.org/web/20110114142021/http://politics.mycn2.com/2010/07/28/ben-chandler-starts-with-double-digit-lead-over-andy-barr-but-21-undecided-cn2-poll-shows/ Braun Research
27. https://web.archive.org/web/20100618131531/http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/eyeon2010/2010/06/chandler.html Tarrance Group