Senate[edit]

Edits not complete yet, as defeated categories have not been added.

2010 Legislative Election Results
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State legislative election results • Statewide elections, 2010 • State Senate elections • State House elections

Vermont State Senate Election Results[edit]

This page contains macro-level election results and analysis for the Vermont State Senate. For results in individual contests see our Vermont State Senate elections, 2010 page. The following is a breakdown of the state senate before and after the election:

What You'll See on This Page[edit]

This page displays the following lists of candidates

• Incumbents who ran on November 2
• Incumbents who were defeated
• Challengers who defeated an incumbent
• Newly elected senators
• List of all winners
• Unopposed candidates
• Third party candidates

State Senate Overview:[edit]

• There were 25 incumbents who ran in the November 2 general election. 1 incumbent lost, and thus 24 incumbents were re-elected to the Vermont State Senate.

• There will be 6 new senators sworn-in, 4 Democratic candidates and 2 Republicans.

• Of the 30 seats up for election, 22 were won by Democrats and 8 by Republicans.

• 1 candidate was unopposed, Democratic incumbent Richard Mazza.

• Only 14 candidates ran as an independent or third party candidate in the general election.

Incumbency Analysis[edit]

Of the 1,167 state senate seats up for election in 2010, incumbents ran for 894 (76.6%) of them. Of these 894, 94 lost their re-election bids, 89 Democrats and 5 Republicans. In Vermont, 5 incumbent senators did not run for re-election on the November 2 ballot, while 25 incumbents (83.3%) ran for re-election. There was 1 incumbent defeated, Matthew Choate (D).

Incumbents who ran on November 2[edit]

Claire Ayer, first elected to the Vermont State Senate in 2002. Ayer won re-election in 2010.

The following is a list of all of the incumbents who ran on the November 2 general election ballot:

Incumbents defeated[edit]

Matthew Choate, first elected to the Vermont State Senate in 2006. Kauffman was defeated in her re-election bid in 2010.

The following is a list of incumbents defeated on November 2:

Challengers who beat an incumbent[edit]

The following is a list of challengers who defeated an incumbent on November 2:

New State Senators and General Election Winners[edit]

388 new senators were elected across the country. This includes challengers who defeated incumbents as well as candidates who won open seats. Of these 388, 278 were Republicans and 110 were Democrats. In Vermont, 6 new senators will be sworn-in, 4 Democrats and 2 Republicans. In total, Vermont elected 30 senators, 8 Republicans and 22 Democrats.

Newly elected senators[edit]

The following is the newly-elected members of the Vermont State Senate:

Democratic[edit]

Republican[edit]

Robert Starr (D) won re-election to the Vermont State Senate in 2010. He was first elected in 2004.

Open Seat Winners[edit]

The following is a list of candidates who won election in seats where no incumbent was running:

Democratic[edit]

Republican[edit]

Candidates who won election[edit]

The following is a list of all candidates elected to the Vermont State Senate:

Democratic[edit]

Vincent Illuzzi was first elected to the senate in 1980. He was re-elected in 2010.

Republican[edit]

Competitiveness[edit]

Jim Honeyford was one of 4 unopposed Republican senate candidates in 1998. He was first elected in 2006.

Across the nation, 1,167 state senate seats were up for election in 2010. 1,143 of those seats were partisan seats (24 seats were up for election in Nebraska's nonpartisan unicameral legislature). In 320 (28.0%) of these state senate contests, there was a major party candidate with no major party opposition. In Vermont, 1 candidates (3.3% of seats) faced no major party opposition -- Democratic incumbent Richard Mazza.

Unopposed candidates in general election[edit]

The following candidates did not face major party competition:

Democratic[edit]

Republican[edit]

Ballot Access[edit]

Across the nation, 140 independent or third party candidates ran for state senate. In Vermont, 14 (20.9%) of the 67 senate candidates ran as an independent or third party candidate. None won election in 2010. Two Democrats, Timothy Ashe and Anthony Pollina, who won election were also members of the Progressive Party.

Third party candidates[edit]

The following is a list of third party and independent candidates who ran in 2010:

House[edit]

2010 Legislative Election Results
State-by-State Analysis
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Other 2010 Election information
State legislative election results • Statewide elections, 2010 • State Senate elections • State House elections

Vermont State House Election Results[edit]

This page contains macro-level election results and analysis for the Vermont House of Representatives. For results in individual contests, see our Vermont House of Representatives elections, 2010. The following is a breakdown of the state house before and after the election:

What You'll See on This Page[edit]

This page displays the following lists of candidates

• Incumbents who ran on November 2
• Incumbents who were defeated
• Challengers who defeated an incumbent
• Newly elected senators
• List of all winners
• Unopposed candidates
• Third party candidates

State House Overview:[edit]

• There were 133 incumbents who ran in the November 2 general election. Only 5 incumbents lost, and thus 128 incumbents were re-elected to the Vermont House of Representatives.

• 2 Republican incumbents lost in the general election, while 3 incumbent Democratic incumbent lost.

Note: While 5 incumbents lost, 6 challengers defeated an incumbent because Vermont has multi-member districts. Thus, in one district, two challengers were elected, and each had to defeat the one incumbent who was running.

• There will be 21 new representatives sworn-in. Of those 21, 12 are Democrats and 9 are Republicans

• Of the 150 seats up for election, 94 were won by Democrats, 48 by Republicans, 5 by Vermont Progressives and 3 by Independents.

• 63 candidates were unopposed, 39 Democrats, 22 Republicans, and 2 Progressives.

• Only 18 candidates ran as an independent or third party candidate in the general election.

Incumbency Analysis[edit]

Of the 4,958 state house seats up for election, incumbents ran in the general election for 4,091 (79.5%) of them. Of these 4,091 incumbents, 413 lost their re-election bids, 403 Democrats and 10 Republicans. In Vermont, 128 (85.3%) incumbents ran for re-election. Of these 128, 5 incumbent representatives were defeated. Of those 5 incumbents who lost, 3 are Democrats and 2 are Republicans.

Incumbents who ran on November 2[edit]

The following is a list of all of the incumbents who ran on the November 2 general election ballot:

Norm Johnson (R) was first elected to the house in 2008. He was re-elected in 2010.

Incumbents defeated[edit]

Geoff Simpson (D) was first elected to the house in 2000. He was defeated by Mark Hargrove (R) in the general election.

The following is a list of incumbents defeated on November 2:

Challengers who beat an incumbent[edit]

The following is a list of challengers who defeated an incumbent on November 2:

New Representatives and General Election Winners[edit]

1,345 new representatives were elected across the country. This includes challengers who defeated incumbents as well as candidates who won open seats. Of these 1,345, 988 were Republicans and 357 were Democrats. In Vermont, 21 new representatives will be sworn-in. Of those 21, 12 are Democrats and 9 are Republicans. In the 15 open seat contests, Republicans won 6 and Democrats 9. In total, Vermont elected 150 representatives, 94 Democrats, 48 Republicans, 5 Progressives, and 2 independents.

Newly elected representatives[edit]

The following are the newly-elected members of the Vermont House of Representatives:

Democratic[edit]

Republican[edit]

Open Seat Winners[edit]

The following is a list of candidates who won election in seats where no incumbent was running:

Democratic[edit]

Republican[edit]

Candidates who won election[edit]

The following is a list of all candidates elected to the Vermont House of Representatives:

Democratic[edit]

Ross Hunter was first elected to the house in 2002. He won re-election in 2010.

Republican[edit]

Susan Fagan was first elected to the house in 2009. She won re-election in 2010.

Other[edit]

Competitiveness[edit]

Across the nation, 4,958 state house seats were up for election in 2010. In 1,680 (33.9%) of these state house contests, there was a major party candidate with no major party opposition. In Vermont, 63 candidates (42.0% of all seats) faced no major party opposition. Of these 63, 39 were Democrats, 22 were Republicans, and 2 were Progressives.

Unopposed candidates in general election[edit]

The following candidates did not face major party competition:

Democratic[edit]

Republican[edit]

Other[edit]

Ballot Access[edit]

In Vermont, 18 (7.5%) of the 241 house candidates ran as independent or third party candidates. 8 won election in 2010.

Third party candidates[edit]

The following is a list of third party and independent candidates who ran in 2010:

National Partisan Trends[edit]

2010 Legislative Election Results
State-by-State Analysis
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Other 2010 Election information
State legislative election results • Statewide elections, 2010 • State Senate elections • State House elections

National Partisan Trends[edit]

The following tables detail the partisan breakdown of national election results. These results provide context for Republican gains in Vermont.

Incumbents who were defeated in the general election[edit]

Across the nation, only 15 Republican incumbents were defeated while 492 Democratic incumbents were defeated. In total, 507 (10.4%) of the 4,872 incumbents running in the general election were defeated. The following is a breakdown of incumbent defeats in the 2010 general election:

The following is the breakdown of incumbents who lost.

Total new legislators elected[edit]

In total, 1,733 (28.3%) new legislators were elected in 2010. Of these 1,733, 1,266 (73.1%) are Republicans and 467 (26.9%) are Democrats.

The following is the breakdown of new legislators.

Winners of Open Seats[edit]

Open seats contests made up 1,178 (19.2%) of the 6,125 seats on November 2. Of these 1,178 open seats, Republicans won 729 (61.9%) while Democrats won 449 (38.1%). Going into the election, the number of open seats formerly held by each party was quite similar. Estimates prior to the election suggest that approximately 52% of the open seats were previously held by Republicans and 48% were held by Democrats.

The following is the breakdown of open seat winners.

Impact on legislative majorities[edit]

See also: Partisan balance of state legislatures

Heading into the November 2 elections, the Democratic Party held a commanding lead in state houses in the 88 legislative chambers that held elections in 2010. 52 of the 88 chambers, or nearly 60% of them, had a Democratic majority, while only 33 of them had a Republican majority. (Two chambers had an exactly equal number of Democrats and Republicans and one is officially nonpartisan.) The following is a partisan breakdown of state legislatures prior to the November 2 election:

Partisan breakdown before the November 2010 Election
Legislative chamber
State senates	23	18	1	1
State houses	29	15	1	-
Totals:	52	33	2	1

As a result of the election, Republicans picked up 20 legislative chambers while Democrats lost 20. Republicans won 53 total chambers on November 2, while Democrats won only 32. The following is a partisan breakdown of state legislatures after the November 2 election:

Partisan breakdown after the November 2010 Election
Legislative chamber
State senates	16	25	1	1
State houses	16	28	1	0
Totals:	32	53	2	1

Another way to examine the data is to gauge how many chambers had gains for the Democratic Party versus the Republican Party. Using this variable, the wide-sweeping Republican victory is further amplified. Democrats bolstered their majorities in only 7 of 88 (7.96%) state chambers. These legislatures are as follows:

In 7 chambers, the GOP kept their current number of seats. In one chamber, the California State Assembly, both major parties gained seats by filling 2 vacancies and defeating an incumbent independent. Overall, the Republican Party picked up legislative seats in 75 (85.2%) of the 88 legislative chambers that held elections on November 2.

Impact on State Politics[edit]

Along with the GOP capture of the U.S. House of Representatives, state Republicans gained trifectas (control of the governorship, house, and senate) in 12 states. The following is a breakdown of trifectas across the nation, before and after the 2010 election:

Before the election, 131 U.S House seats were in states with Democratic trifectas, while 66 districts were in states with Republican trifectas. After the election, Republicans trifectas control redistricting for 198 U.S. House seats while Democrats control only 115. Additionally, California, the strongest Democratic trifecta with 53 U.S. House representatives, passed propositions that take redistricting power away from state government.

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