Nebraska gubernatorial election, 2010

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## Contents

* 1 November 2, 2010 general election results
* 2 Inauguration and transition
* 2.1 Inaugural date
* 3 May 11, 2010 primaries
* 4 Race ratings
* 5 Polling
* 6 Candidates
* 6.1 Democrats
* 6.2 Republicans
* 7 Race background
* 7.1 Qualifications
* 7.2 Democratics struggle to find a nominee
* 8 Gubernatorial electoral history
* 9 Presidential electoral history
* 10 See also
* 11 External links
* 11.1 Candidate pages
* 12 Footnotes

In the Nebraska gubernatorial election of 2010, held on November 2, 2010, Republican Dave Heineman, the incumbent, defeated Democrat Mike Meister. Heineman's winning margin of 49 points was the largest gubernatorial win of 2010.

In the May 11, 2010 primary elections, Heineman was nominated for a second term. Nebraska Democrats nominated Mark Lakers without any primary opposition. However, in July, Lakers withdrew from the race, citing fundraising difficulties. He was replaced by Mike Meister at the state convention on July 19, 2010.

## November 2, 2010 general election results[edit]

Results are complete and certified.[1]

Governor of Nebraska, 2010

Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes
| Democratic  |  Mike Meister  | 26.1% | 127,343
| Republican  | Dave Heineman Incumbent | 73.9% | 360,645
Total Votes | 487,988

## Inauguration and transition[edit]

### Inaugural date[edit]

The Inaugural celebrations, themed "Celebrate Nebraska", were announced by Governor Heineman and First Lady Sally Galem on November 15, 2010.[2]

A series of events beginning with a breakfast on Friday, January 7, 2011 and continuing through the weekend were all centered around the actual swearing in, scheduled for noon on January 6, 2011.

## May 11, 2010 primaries[edit]

The official canvass and final count are available from the State of Nebraska.[3]

2010 Race for Governor - Democrat Primary[4]

Candidates  | Percentage
Mark Lakers (D) | 100.00%
Total votes | 57,463
2010 Race for Governor - Republican Primary[5]

Candidates  | Percentage
Paul Anderson (R)  | 5.28%
Christopher Geary (R)  | 4.81%
Dave Heineman (R) | 89.9%
Total votes | 170,090

## Race ratings[edit]

See also:  Gubernatorial elections 2010, Race tracking

2010 Race Rankings Nebraska

Race Tracker  | Race Rating  |
The Cook Political Report[6] | Solid Republican  |
Congressional Quarterly Politics[7] | Safe Republican  |
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball[8] | Safe Republican  |
Rasmussen Reports Gubernatorial Scorecard[9] | Solid GOP  |
The Rothenberg Political Report[10] | Currently Safe Republican  |
Overall Call | Republican |

## Polling[edit]

2010 Race for Nebraska Governor - Rasmussen Reports

Date Reported  | Heineman (R)  | Meister (D)  | Other  | Don't Know
October 7, 2010[11] | 66% | 24%  | 3%  | 6%
September 2, 2010[12] | 61% | 28%  | 3%  | 8%
July 19, 2010[13] | 71% | 18%  | 2%  | 8%
(Sample)[14] | n=500  | MoE=+/- 4.5%  | p=0.05  |

## Candidates[edit]

The November Ballot – Who Made It? Nebraska Governor[15]

Nominee  | Affiliation  |
Mike Meister | Democrat  |
Dave Heineman | Republican  |
This lists candidates who won their state's primary or convention, or who were unopposed, and who were officially certified for the November ballot by their state's election authority.

###  Democrats[edit]

* Following Mark Lakers' exit, the Nebraska Democratic Party recruited Mike Meister, who became the candidate on July 19, 2010. With the primary already in the past and given that Laker ran unopposed, Meister was automatically the official Democratic candidate for the general election. Mesiter is an attorney and an Army veteran, where he was part of JAG. He previously ran for elected office, unsuccessfully.

###  Republicans[edit]

Dave Heineman

* Dave Heineman, the incumbent governor, announced his re-election bid on January 18, 2010.[16]
* Christopher Nathan Geary, an ex-marine and martial arts teacher, made his candidacy official on June 29, 2009.[17]
* Paul Anderson

## Race background[edit]

### Qualifications[edit]

Standard qualifications necessary to run for the gubernatorial office include being at least 30 in addition to being both a resident of the state of Nebraska and a citizen of the United States for at least five years prior to the date of the election.[18] Each candidate for Governor, following each party's respective primary election, shall then select a person to be the candidate for Lieutenant Governor on the general election ballot. In the general election, one vote will be cast jointly for the candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor.[19]

### Democratics struggle to find a nominee[edit]

Democratic interest in taking the Governor's Mansion was one thing; finding a candidate to take on the task was another. Republicans had three candidates in the race by January 2010. Businessman Mark Lakers entered the race for the Democrats in late February.[20] On July 2, 1020, Lakers abruptly exited the race.[21]

Lakers pointed to a failure "to reach key milestones, including the financial support and endorsement of many major donors." When he spoke those words, his gubernatorial bid had just over $3,000 cash on hand, compared to $1.5 million reported by Republican opponent Dave Heineman. He also pointed to personal attacks and the harsh race his party is facing, remarking that, " "... there is no reason to remain in this race if we can not run a competitive campaign ... and .... I do not see how we can .... The personal attacks ... have been very difficult..."

Lakers had also been under investigation by the Nebraska Attorney General for campaign finance questions when it came to light that he had listed somewhat vague promises of campaign donations as actual pledges on his financial reports.[22]

Mike Meister filled the vacant ballot position for Democrats after being nominated at the state convention on July 19, 2010.

## Gubernatorial electoral history[edit]

1998 Gubernatorial Results[23]

Candidates  | Percentage
Mike Johanns (R) | 53.9%
Bill Hoppner (D)  | 46.0%
Total votes | 544,588

2002 Gubernatorial Results[24]

Candidates  | Percentage
Mike Johanns (R) | 68.7%
Stormy Dean (D)  | 27.5%
Paul Rosberg (NEB)  | 1.1%
Total votes | 480,991

2006 Gubernatorial Results

Candidates  | Percentage
Dave Heineman (R) | 73.4%
David Hahn (D)  | 24.5%
Barry Richards (NEB)  | 1.5%
Mort Sullivan (I)  | 0.6%
Total votes | 593,357

## Presidential electoral history[edit]

2000 Presidential Results[25]

Candidates  | Percentage
George W. Bush (R) | 62.2%
Al Gore (D)  | 33.3%

2004 Presidential Results

Candidates  | Percentage
George W. Bush (R) | 65.9%
John Kerry (D)  | 32.7%

2008 Presidential Results

Candidates  | Percentage
John McCain (R) | 56.5%
Barack Obama (D)  | 41.6%

1992 Presidential Results

Candidates  | Percentage
George H.W. Bush (R) | 49.6%
Bill Clinton (D)  | 29.4%

1996 Presidential Results

Candidates  | Percentage
Bob Dole (R) | 53.7%
Bill Clinton (D)  | 35.0%

## See also[edit]

* Gubernatorial elections, 2010
* Nebraska lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2010

## External links[edit]

* Nebraska Secretary of State, 2010 Elections

### Candidate pages[edit]

* Christopher Geary for Governor
* Dave Heineman for Governor (dead link)
* Marks Lakers for Governor
* Mike Meister for Governor

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "Official Report of the State Board of Canvassers of the State of Nebraska," accessed December 21, 2010
2. ↑ Office of Governor Dave Heineman, "Governor & First Lady Announce Plans for 2011 Inaugural Gala," November 15, 2010
3. ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "Official Report of the Board of State Canvassers of the State of Nebraska," May 11, 2010
4. ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State
5. ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State
6. ↑ The Cook Political, “Governors: Race Ratings”
7. ↑ CQ Politics, “2010 Race Ratings: Governors”
8. ↑ Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball', “2010 Governor Ratings”
9. ↑ Rasmussen Reports', “Election 2010: Scorecard Ratings”
10. ↑ Rothenberg Political Report, “Governor Ratings”
11. ↑ Rasmussen Reports, “Election 2010: Nebraska Governor: Heineman (R) Still Comfortably Ahead of Challenger”, October 10, 2010
12. ↑ Rasmussen Reports, “Election 2010: Nebraska Governor: Heineman (R) 61%, Meister (D) 28%”, September 6, 2010
13. ↑ Rasmussen Reports, “Election 2010: Nebraska Governor: Heineman (R) 71%, Meister (D) 18%”, July 20, 2010
14. ↑ [More complete methodology and sampling tabs are available at www.RasmussenReports.com]
15. ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, “2010 Candidate List (not including judicial races)”, certified September 7, 2010
16. ↑ WOWT - Channel 6 "Gov. Heineman To Seek Re-Election" 18 Jan. 2010
17. ↑ Nebraska State Paper, "Black Belt Starts Run for Governor's Chair" 29 June, 2009 (dead link)
18. ↑ Nebraska State Constitution - Section IV-2
19. ↑ Nebraska State Constitution - Section IV-1
20. ↑ Nebraska Journal Star, "Mark Lakers enters governor race against Heineman ," February 19, 2001
21. ↑ Nebraska Journal Star, "Lakers will withdraw from governor's race," July 2, 2010
22. ↑ Mark That Down, "As goes Mark Lakers, so go Nebraska Democrats," June 29, 2010
23. ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, “1998 General Election Results“
24. ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, “2002 General Election Results“
25. ↑ Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections', accessed July 28, 2010

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