| Election Name: | 2010 United States Senate election in Vermont |
| Country: | Vermont |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2004 United States Senate election in Vermont |
| Previous Year: | 2004 |
| Next Election: | 2016 United States Senate election in Vermont |
| Next Year: | 2016 |
| Election Date: | November 2, 2010 |
| Image1: | File:Patrick Leahy 113th Congress.jpg |
| Nominee1: | Patrick Leahy |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 151,281 |
| Percentage1: | 64.36% |
| Nominee2: | Len Britton |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 72,699 |
| Percentage2: | 30.93% |
| U.S. Senator | |
| Before Election: | Patrick Leahy |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Patrick Leahy |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
The 2010 United States Senate election in Vermont took place on November 2, 2010, alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy was re-elected to a seventh term.[1]
First elected in 1974, Leahy was at the time the first and only Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Vermont. He won his last two re-election campaigns with at least 70% of the vote. He is the second-most-senior member of Congress. In a June 2010 poll, the incumbent was viewed very favorably by 52% of the state. 52% of the state opposed repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and 50% opposed Arizona's immigration law. Obama's approval rating in the poll was 62%.[4] Obama carried Vermont with 67% of the vote in 2008.
His Republican opponent was Len Britton, a businessman who had never run for public office before. As of August 2010, he had released two TV ads, criticizing Obama's stimulus and the deficits.[5] His campaign manager admitted "Len is an unknown candidate and we are rigorously running on a difficult campaign schedule."[6]
| Source | Ranking | As of | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cook Political Report[8] | October 26, 2010 | ||
| Rothenberg[9] | October 22, 2010 | ||
| RealClearPolitics[10] | October 26, 2010 | ||
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[11] | October 21, 2010 | ||
| CQ Politics[12] | October 26, 2010 |
| Poll source | Patrick Leahy (D) | Len Britton (R) | Other | Undecided | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | Rasmussen Reports[13] | June 17, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 64% | 29% | 3% | 4% | ||
| align=left | Rasmussen Reports[14] | September 13, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 63% | 32% | 2% | 4% | ||
| align=left | Vermont Public Radio/Mason-Dixon[15] | October 11–13, 2010 | 625 | ± 4.0% | 62% | 27% | 4% | 7% |
| Candidate (party) | Receipts | Disbursements | Cash on hand | Debt | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Leahy (D) | $3,469,878 | $2,090,603 | $2,598,061 | $0 | |
| Len Britton (R) | $199,813 | $144,541 | $55,270 | $69,833 | |
| Source: Federal Election Commission[16] | |||||
Official campaign websites