2010 United States Senate election in New York

For the other Senate election in New York held in parallel, see 2010 United States Senate special election in New York.

The 2010 United States Senate election in New York took place on November 2, 2010, along with 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 Democrat U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer won re-election to a third term. Schumer won every county except for Wyoming, Tioga, and Hamilton counties.^[1]

2010 United States Senate election in New York

← 2004 November 2, 2010 2016 →

Nominee Chuck Schumer Jay Townsend Party Democratic Republican Alliance Parties Working Families Independence Conservative Popular vote 3,047,111 1,479,724 Percentage 66.33% 32.21%

County results Schumer:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Townsend:      40–50%      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Chuck Schumer Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer Democratic

Background

In the 2004 U.S. Senate election, Schumer had defeated Republican Assemblyman Howard Mills by a 71 to 24 percent margin. Schumer was highly popular in New York, and it was believed that any Republican contender would likely not fare well against him in 2010.^[2] Schumer was heavily favored to retain his seat.^[3]

In addition to this regular election, there was also a special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton, who became the United States Secretary of State on January 21, 2009. In addition, there was the New York gubernatorial election. The existence of two other top-level statewide races, one with a Democratic incumbent perceived as vulnerable and the other an open race, respectively,^[4] was believed to lead major New York Republicans to gravitate towards them rather than challenge the popular Schumer.^[2][5]

Republican nomination

Convention

Candidates

• Gary Berntsen, retired CIA officer, received the party's endorsement on the second round of balloting^[6]
• Martin Chicon, candidate for New York Senate in 2008^[7] and New York Republican State Committee member from upper Manhattan.
• George Maragos, Nassau County Comptroller^[8]
• James Staudenraus, Long Island resident and 2008 state assembly candidate^[9]
• Jay Townsend, Republican strategist (finished second and also qualified for the primary)^[6]

Results

Only two candidates, Berntsen and Townsend, obtained at least 25% of the vote at the New York State Republican Convention on June 1, 2010. Berntsen came in first,^[10] but still needed to win the primary in order to win the Republican nomination. Berntsen lost the primary to Jay Townsend.^[11]

Primary

Candidates

• Gary Berntsen
• Jay Townsend

Results

Results by county:

  Townsend

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

  Berntsen

•   50–60%
•   60–70%

Republican primary results^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jay Townsend	234,440	55.41%
	Republican	Gary Berntsen	188,628	44.59%
Total votes			423,068	100.00%

General election

Candidates

• Anti-Prohibition Party: Randy Credico
• Conservative Party of New York: Jay Townsend
• Democratic Party: Chuck Schumer
• Green Party: Colia Clark
• Libertarian Party: Randy Credico
• Republican Party: Jay Townsend
• Taxpayers Party: Gary Berntsen

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Cook Political Report[13]	Solid D	October 26, 2010
Rothenberg[14]	Safe D	October 22, 2010
RealClearPolitics[15]	Safe D	October 26, 2010
Sabato's Crystal Ball[16]	Safe D	October 21, 2010
CQ Politics[17]	Safe D	October 26, 2010

Fundraising

Candidate (party)	Receipts	Disbursements	Cash on hand	Debt
Chuck Schumer (D)	$17,302,006	$11,824,587	$16,048,482	$0
Jay Townsend (R)	$197,365	$180,693	$16,671	$105,854
Source: Federal Election Commission[18]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Chuck Schumer (D)	Jay Townsend (R)	Other	Undecided
Siena College[19]	May 17–20, 2010	808	± 3.4%	63%	24%	—	13%
Siena College[19]	June 7–9, 2010	808	± 3.4%	60%	26%	—	14%
Rasmussen Reports[20]	June 16, 2010	500	± 4.5%	54%	33%	6%	6%
Siena College[19]	July 12, 2010	808	± 3.4%	63%	26%	—	13%
Rasmussen Reports[21]	September 16, 2010	500	± 4.5%	58%	36%	3%	4%
Survey USA[22]	September 20, 2010	1,000	± 4.2%	54%	33%	10%	3%
Angus Reid Public Opinion[23]	October 7, 2010	500	± 4.5%	63%	27%	6%	—
Rasmussen Reports[21]	October 19, 2010	500	± 4.5%	59%	31%	5%	5%
Angus Reid Public Opinion[24]	October 28–29, 2010	541	± 4.2%	61%	35%	4%	—
Siena College[25]	October 27–30, 2010	603	± 4.0%	64%	32%	—	2%

Results

United States Senate election in New York, 2010^[26][27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Chuck Schumer	2,686,043	58.47%
	Working Families	Chuck Schumer	183,672	4.00%
	Independence	Chuck Schumer	177,396	3.86%
	Total	Chuck Schumer (incumbent)	3,047,111	66.33%	−5.89
	Republican	Jay Townsend	1,238,947	26.97%
	Conservative	Jay Townsend	240,777	5.24%
	Total	Jay Townsend	1,479,724	32.21%	+8.02
	Green	Colia Clark	42,340	0.92%	+0.62
	Libertarian	Randy Credico	24,863	0.54%	+0.24
Total votes			4,594,038	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic hold

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Tioga (largest municipality: Waverly)
• Wyoming (largest municipality: Perry)

Aftermath

Credico sued the New York State Board of Elections under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, claiming unfair treatment regarding ballot access. Despite being nominated by both the Libertarian Party and the Anti-Prohibition Party, in most jurisdictions, he only appeared on the ballot once. On June 19, 2013, the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of New York ruled in favor of Credico.^[28] The New York State Board of Elections did not appeal this decision.^[29]