2010 Nebraska gubernatorial election

See also: 2010 United States gubernatorial elections

The 2010 Nebraska gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, to elect the governor of Nebraska, who would serve a four-year term that began in January 2011. Republican incumbent Dave Heineman won, defeating Democrat Mike Meister in a landslide. Heineman easily won his party's nomination. Mark Lakers ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, but dropped out in July 2010.^[1] Attorney Mike Meister was chosen as a replacement.^[2] As of 2022^[update], this was the last time Lancaster County voted for the Republican candidate. To date, this is the last time that the winner of the Nebraska gubernatorial election carried all counties in Nebraska.

2010 Nebraska gubernatorial election

← 2006 November 2, 2010 2014 →

Nominee Dave Heineman Mike Meister Party Republican Democratic Running mate Rick Sheehy Anne Boyle Popular vote 360,645 127,343 Percentage 73.90% 26.10%

County results Heineman:      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%

Governor before election Dave Heineman Republican Elected Governor Dave Heineman Republican

Republican primary

Candidates

• Paul Anderson
• Christopher Geary, retired Marine
• Dave Heineman, incumbent Governor of Nebraska

Results

Republican primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dave Heineman (incumbent)	152,931	89.91
	Republican	Paul Anderson	8,980	5.28
	Republican	Christopher Geary	8,179	4.81
Total votes			170,090	100.00

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Mark Lakers, investment banker

Results

Democratic primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mark Lakers	57,463	100.00
Total votes			57,463	100.00

Lakers was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. However, he dropped out of the race on July 2, 2010, due to a scandal involving campaign fundraising. Several donors listed on a campaign finance report denied ever giving money to Lakers, prompting criticism from both parties.^[4]

After being forced from the race due to investigations by the Nebraska Attorney General's Office and the Nebraska Campaign Disclosure Board, Lakers pleaded guilty in September to a misdemeanor charge of abuse of public records and admitted to falsifying his campaign finance reports. As part of the plea, Lakers acknowledged that 51 of the 80 pledges listed on his reports were false and agreed to pay a $500 fine.^[5]

Mike Meister, the Democratic nominee for Attorney General of Nebraska in 2002, was selected to replace him^[6] and he selected Nebraska Public Service Commissioner and former state Democratic Party chairwoman Anne Boyle as his running mate.^[7]

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Cook Political Report[8]	Safe R	October 14, 2010
Rothenberg[9]	Safe R	October 28, 2010
RealClearPolitics[10]	Safe R	November 1, 2010
Sabato's Crystal Ball[11]	Safe R	October 28, 2010
CQ Politics[12]	Safe R	October 28, 2010

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Dave Heineman (R)	Mike Meister (D)	Other	Undecided
Rasmussen Reports[13]	October 7, 2010	500	± 4.5%	66%	24%	3%	6%
Rasmussen Reports[14]	September 2, 2010	500	± 4.5%	61%	28%	3%	8%
Rasmussen Reports[15]	July 19, 2010	500	± 4.5%	71%	18%	2%	8%

Hypothetical polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Dave Heineman (R)	Mark Lakers (D)	Other	Undecided
Rasmussen Reports[16]	March 4, 2010	500	± 4.5%	61%	23%	2%	14%

Results

Nebraska gubernatorial election, 2010^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Dave Heineman (inc.)	360,645	73.90%	+0.50%
	Democratic	Mike Meister	127,343	26.10%	+1.64%
Majority			233,302	47.81%	−1.13%
Total votes			487,988	100.00
	Republican hold

See also

• 2010 Nebraska elections
• 2010 United States gubernatorial elections