2010 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania information
Class III U.S. Senate election in Pennsylvania
For related races, see 2010 United States Senate elections.
2010 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania
← 2004
November 2, 2010
2016 →
Nominee
Pat Toomey
Joe Sestak
Party
Republican
Democratic
Popular vote
2,028,945
1,948,716
Percentage
51.01%
48.99%
County results
Precinct results
Toomey: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Sestak: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 50% No data
U.S. senator before election
Arlen Specter
Democratic
Elected U.S. Senator
Pat Toomey
Republican
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Government
v
t
e
The 2010 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania took place on November 2, 2010, during the 2010 midterm elections. Incumbent Republican-turned-Democrat U.S. Senator Arlen Specter ran for reelection to a sixth term,[1] but lost in the Democratic primary to Joe Sestak. Republican nominee Pat Toomey then won the seat.
Toomey had previously run for United States Senate in 2004, challenging Specter for the Republican nomination, but was narrowly defeated in the primary.[2] Specter went on to be reelected to his fifth term, defeating the Democratic nominee, Congressman Joe Hoeffel.[3] Toomey announced on April 15, 2009, that he would again seek the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in the 2010 election.[4]
The primary season was marked by Specter's decision in early 2009 to switch from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party due to his disagreement with the increasingly conservative positions of the party, pitting him against Sestak in the Democratic primary. The contest, characterized by attacks between the two Democratic candidates, was one of the most-watched primary races of the 2010 election cycle. Sestak ultimately defeated Specter in the May 18 primary, garnering 53.9% of the vote, to Specter's 46.1%.[5] Pat Toomey easily defeated challenger Peg Luksik for the Republican nomination. Toomey received 81.5% of the vote, to Luksik's 18.5%.[6]
Toomey defeated Sestak in the general election on November 2, 2010. Toomey garnered 2,028,945 votes (51.01%) to Sestak's 1,948,716 (48.99%), a margin of 80,229 votes (2.02%).[7] The race was called by the Associated Press shortly before midnight. Not long thereafter, Sestak officially conceded the election to Toomey.[8] Toomey's winning margin made this election the third-closest race of the 2010 Senate election cycle, behind only the elections in Illinois and Colorado.[9] As of 2022, this is the last time that Lehigh County and Monroe County voted for a Republican.
^"Longtime GOP Sen. Arlen Specter becomes Democrat". CNN.com. April 28, 2009. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
^"PA US Senate – R Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
^"The Green Papers: Pennsylvania 2004 General Election". The Green Papers. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
^Cite error: The named reference McCormack0415 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference electionreturns.state.pa.us was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"2010 General Primary". Pennsylvania Department of State. November 16, 2010. Archived from the original on November 16, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2010.
^Cite error: The named reference finalresults was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Levy, Marc (November 3, 2010). "Pa. Dem concedes to GOP's Toomey in Senate race". The Washington Post.
^"Election Results 2010: Senate Races: What to Watch, Hour by Hour". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 28, 2018.
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