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2010 United States Senate election in California
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The 2010 United States Senate election in California took place on November 2, 2010. The election was held alongside 33 other United States Senate elections in addition to congressional, state, and various local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer won re-election to a fourth term.
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Democratic primary
Candidates
- Barbara Boxer, incumbent U.S. Senator[1]
- Mickey Kaus, journalist and blogger[1]
- Brian Quintana, businessman and educator[1]
Campaign
In 2009, Boxer was criticized for correcting a general who called her "ma'am". Brigadier General Michael Walsh was testifying on the Louisiana coastal restoration process in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and answered Boxer's query with "ma'am" when Boxer interrupted him. "Do me a favor," Boxer said. "can you say 'senator' instead of 'ma'am?'" "Yes, ma'am," Walsh interjected. "It's just a thing, I worked so hard to get that title, so I'd appreciate it. Thank you," she said. The Army's guide to protocol instructs service members to call members of the U.S. Senate "sir", "ma'am" or "senator".[2][3][4] Fiorina used this incident prominently in campaign ads, as did David Zucker, who directed a humorous commercial for RightChange.com titled 'Call Me Senator'.
Results
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Republican primary
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Candidates
- Tom Campbell, former U.S. representative from Silicon Valley (1989–93 and 1995–2001) and candidate for Senate in 1992 and 2000[1]
- Chuck DeVore, state assemblyman from Irvine (2004–10)[1]
- Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard[1]
- Tim Kalemkarian[1]
- Al Ramirez, businessman[1]
Declined
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, governor of California since 2003
Campaign
Through 2009, the race largely shaped up as a campaign between former Hewlett-Packard executive Carly Fiorina and Irvine assemblyman Chuck DeVore. In November 2009, the Los Angeles Times reported that Fiorina had failed to vote in most elections. Fiorina apologized by saying, "I'm a lifelong registered Republican but I haven't always voted, and I will provide no excuse for it. You know, people die for the right to vote. And there are many, many Californians and Americans who exercise that civic duty on a regular basis. I didn't. Shame on me."[5][6]
In January 2010, Tom Campbell joined the race. He had previously been running for governor and had run unsuccessful campaigns for Senate in 1992 and 2000. Campbell led in initial public polling over Fiorina and DeVore. However, his campaign declined after sustained negative attacks from Fiorina and controversy over his past support for and association with Sami Al-Arian.
In February, Fiorina put out a campaign ad attacking Campbell as a wolf in sheep's clothing for his relatively liberal voting record. The ad, which became known as the Demon Sheep ad, gained international, mostly negative, publicity for its bizarre visuals, including a man in a sheep costume with glowing red eyes.[7][8]
Fiorina was more successful in attacking Campbell in February over his associations with Sami Al-Arian, a computer engineering professor at the University of South Florida who had pleaded guilty in 2006 after a lengthy trial for conspiracy to help the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a designated terrorist group.[9][10] In 2000, Campbell had received campaign contributions from Al-Arian, and in January 2002, Campbell wrote a letter opposing academic discipline for Al-Arian.[11][12][13]
Campbell initially denied that he had received contributions from Al-Arian, which proved to be untrue.[14] He defended the letter by arguing that he had not been aware of the charges against Al-Arian when he wrote it and had also not been aware of comments Al-Arian had recorded in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988, when he shouted, "Jihad is our path. Victory to Islam. Death to Israel." Al-Arian had previously defended the remarks on a September 26, 2001 episode of The O'Reilly Factor; Campbell initially claimed that his letter had been sent before the O'Reilly interview, but Al-Arian was placed on initial academic leave shortly after the interview.[14] Despite this, Campbell maintained,
I did not hear, I did not read, I was not aware of statements Sami Al-Arian had made relative to Israel. And I would not have written the letter had I known about those. ... To say 'Death to Israel' is abhorrent; it's horrible.[15]
As a result of his Al-Arian associations, Fiorina accused Campbell of being unfriendly to the interests of Israel. In late February, former California Secretary of State and state senator Bruce McPherson claimed that Fiorina campaign manager Marty Wilson, a longtime Sacramento political operative, had called Campbell an antisemite and expressed surprise that McPherson was endorsing Campbell.[16] Wilson strongly denied McPherson's charge.
A live March 5 debate between the three main candidates was hosted by KTKZ in Sacramento and focused on the issue at Campbell's behest.[17] Campbell responded strongly to Fiorina's accusations, saying, "I called for this debate today so that both of my opponents can bring up absolutely any charge they want. Air it, and let me respond to it. But there's no place for calling me antisemitic, then denying it. That whispering campaign, that 'silent slander,' stops today."[18] Campbell maintained that he had not been aware of Al-Arian's statements and attributed his earlier inaccurate claims to failures of memory,[14] but he apologized for not researching the matter more thoroughly before writing the letter.[11][15][19][20]
After the March debate, Campbell appeared to maintain his lead in polling, with polls throughout the spring showing him leading Fiorina in the primary and leading or even with Boxer in the general election. However, Fiorina surged into the lead in May after dedicating a significant portion of her personal fortune, including a $5.5 million loan to her campaign, to a late advertising push. She additionally secured the endorsement of Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, who remained popular with rank-and-file Republican voters.
Polling
Results
Fiorina
- 40–50%
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
Campbell
- 40–50%
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Third party primaries
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Perspective
Candidates
American Independent
- Don Grundmann, chiropractor and American Independent nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2006[1]
- Edward Noonan, small-business owner[1]
- Al Salehi, political analyst[1]
Green
- Duane Roberts, community volunteer[1]
Libertarian
- Gail Lightfoot, retired nurse[1]
Peace and Freedom
- Marsha Feinland, retired teacher and Peace and Freedom nominee for president in 1996[1]
General election
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Candidates
The following were certified by the California Secretary of State as candidates in the general election for Senator.[21]
- Barbara Boxer (Democratic), incumbent U.S. Senator
- Carly Fiorina (Republican), former CEO of Hewlett-Packard
- Edward Noonan (American Independent Party), small business owner
- Duane Roberts (Green), community volunteer
- Gail Lightfoot (Libertarian), retired nurse
- Marsha Feinland (Peace and Freedom), retired teacher and Peace and Freedom nominee for president in 1996
Campaign
Boxer criticized Fiorina's choice "to become a CEO, lay off 30,000 workers, ship jobs overseas [and] have two yachts." A spokesman for Fiorina responded that the Fiorinas were a two-yacht family because they spent time in both California and Washington, D.C.[22] Boxer also claimed that Fiorina "skirted the law" by selling equipment to Iran during her tenure as HP's CEO, also claiming that the equipment may have ended up in the hands of the Iranian military.[23]
Debate
The only debate took place on September 1 at Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga. It was sponsored by San Francisco Chronicle, KTVU, and KQED.[24]
Predictions
Polling
Hypothetical polling
Fundraising
Results
Despite the last poll before the election showed Fiorina only trailing by 4 points, on election night Boxer defeated Fiorina by a ten-point margin, and around a one million vote majority. Boxer performed extremely well in Los Angeles County, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Boxer was declared the winner shortly after the polls closed. Fiorina conceded defeat to Boxer at 11:38 P.M.
By county
Results from the Secretary of State of California.[47]
- Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Merced (largest community: Merced)
- Mono (largest municipality: Mammoth Lakes)
- San Luis Obispo (largest town: San Luis Obispo)
- San Bernardino (largest town: San Bernardino)
- San Diego (largest community: San Diego)
- San Joaquin (largest city: Stockton)
- Santa Barbara (largest municipality: Santa Barbara)
By congressional district
Boxer won 33 of 53 congressional districts, with the remaining 20 going to Fiorina, including one that elected a Democrat.[48]
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References
External links
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