California Secretary Of State Election, 2010

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2010 Election information
Primary election dates Statewide elections, 2010 November 2nd General Election results National Association of Secretaries of State Secretary of State Project
State Executive Official news headlines

The California Secretary of State election of 2010 was held on November 2, 2010. Democratic incumbent Debra Bowen, unopposed in the primary election, successfully defended her seat against five challengers, capturing 53.2% of the vote.

Her Republican challenger, Damon Dunn, earned his spot on the November ballot by defeating Orly Taitz and write-in candidate Roy V. Allmond, Jr. in the June 8 primary. He had a strong showing in the general election, garnering 38.2% of the vote. The remainder of the vote was split between third-party candidates Ann Menasche, Christina Tobin, Marylou Cabral and Merton D. Short.

General election[edit]

Results[edit]

2010 Race for Secretary of State - General Election[1]
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	a Debra Bowen	53.2%
	Republican Party	Damon Dunn	38.4%
	Green Party	Ann Menasche	3.0%
	Libertarian Party	Christina M. Tobin	2.3%
	Peace and Freedom Party	Marylou Cabral	1.7%
	American Independent Party	Merton D. Short	1.6%
Total Votes			9,336,900

Endorsements[edit]

Debra Bowen

• AFSCME California
• California AFL-CIO^[2]
• California Association of Highway Patrolmen
• California Federation of Teachers
• California Labor Federation^[3]
• California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV)^[4]
• California Teachers Association
• Communications Workers of America (CWA)^[5]
• Equality California PAC^[6]
• Los Angeles School Police Association
• Los Angeles Times, local newspaper^[7]
• Peace Officers Research Association of California
• Sacramento Bee, local newspaper^[8]
• San Diego Union-Tribune, local newspaper^[9]
• San Francisco Chronicle, local newspaper^[10]
• San Jose Mercury News, local newspaper^[11]
• Secretary of State Project^[12]
• Sierra Club

Damon Dunn

• Can-Do Conservatives of America^[13]
• Tom Coughlin, coach of the New York Giants^[14]
• Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association PAC^[15]
• Latin Business Association PAC^[16]

Finances[edit]

According to Follow the Money, the breakdown of campaign finances for each of the candidates is as follows:

South Carolina Secretary of State Campaign Finance
Candidate		Total Contributions
Debra Bowen[17]		$715,056
Damon Dunn[18]		$1,030,404
Ann Menasche[19]		$0
Marylou Cabral[20]		$0
Merton D. Short[21]		$0
Christina Tobin[22]		$13,100

June 8, 2010 primaries[edit]

See also: California gubernatorial election, 2010; California Attorney General election, 2010

Democratic primary[edit]

Candidates[edit]

• Incumbent Debra Bowen ran unopposed in this contest.

Finances[edit]

According to Election Track, as of June 8, 2010, the following was the breakdown of campaign finances for each of the candidates:

• Debra Bowen - $10,350 in contributions since May 22, 2010 (with $67,028 on hand)^[23]

Republican primary[edit]

Candidates[edit]

• Damon Dunn, former Arizona Cardinal wide receiver and kick return specialist^[24]
• Orly Taitz, attorney and leading birther figure^[25]
• Roy V. Allmond, Jr. (Write-in)

Drop outs[edit]

• California State Assemblywoman for the 37th Congressional District, Republican Audra Strickland, had filed paperwork in January 2009 to start raising money to run for Secretary of State in 2010, but has as of November 2009 decided to run for treasurer of Ventura County instead.^[26][27]

Electoral results[edit]

2010 Race for Secretary of State - Republican Primary[28]
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Republican Party	a Damon Dunn	74.3%
	Republican Party	Orly Taitz	25.7%
Total Votes			1,447,827

Endorsements[edit]

Damon Dunn

• California Republican Assembly
• Congressman Devin Nunes
• Congressman Gary Milller
• Congressman Kevin McCarthy
• Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association PAC
• New Majority California^[29]
• Placer County Republican Central Committee

Finances[edit]

According to Election Track, as of June 3, 2010, the following was the breakdown of campaign finances for each of the candidates:

• Damon Dunn - $76,400 in contributions since May 22, 2010 (with $75,167 on hand)^[30]

Other candidates[edit]

• Ann Menasche (Green Party)
• Christina M. Tobin (Libertarian)
• Merton D. Short (American Independent Party)
• Marylou Cabral (Peace and Freedom Party)

See also[edit]

• Candidates for Secretary of State, 2010

External links[edit]

• List of candidates qualified for California's June 8 Secretary of State primary (dead link)
• Green Paper's list of candidates for California Secretary of State, 2010

General Election candidates[edit]

• Debra Bowen for Secretary of State Campaign website
• Damon Dunn for Secretary of State 2010 Campaign website
• Ann Menasche Green Party Candidate for Secretary of State Campaign website
• Christina Tobin for Secretary of State Campaign website
• Merton Short for California Secretary of State Campaign website
• Marylou Cabral for Secretary of State Campaign website

Former candidates[edit]

• Orly Taitz for Secretary of State Campaign website

Footnotes[edit]

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