California Secretary of State election, 2010
From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 5 min
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.
Race tracker[edit]
Ballotpedia predicted a Democrat would become California's new Secretary of State.
| 2010 Ballotpedia Race Rankings for California Secretary of State | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race Tracker | Race Rating | |||
| Ballotpedia | Likely Democrat | |||
| Overall Call | Likely Democrat | |||
General election[edit]
Results[edit]
| 2010 Race for Secretary of State - General Election[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Democratic Party |  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]
- 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
- 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]
Democratic primary[edit]
Candidates[edit]
- Incumbent Debra Bowen ran unopposed in this contest.
Finances[edit]
According to Election Track, as of June 8, 2010, here is 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 | Damon Dunn
|
74.3% | |
| Republican Party | Orly Taitz | 25.7% | |
| Total Votes | 1,447,827 | ||
Endorsements[edit]
- 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, here is 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)
Noteworthy events[edit]
Secretary of State Project[edit]
- See also: Secretary of State Project
Bowen, who was named "one of the most progressive Secretaries of State in the nation," has received the endorsement and, most likely, the financial assistance of the Secretary of State Project, a below-the-radar 527 political organization whose purpose is to "wrestling control of the country from the Republican Party" through the process of "removing their political operatives from deciding who can vote and whose votes will count," namely the office of Secretary of State in many cases.[12][31]
She once again received the endorsement of the political activist group in the midst of the 2010 election cyle.[32]
Taxpayer Funded Trip[edit]
The Los Angeles Times reported in late-October 2010 that two years earlier Secretary of State Debra Bowen initially paid with taxpayer money for her trip to Denver to see Barack Obama accept the party's nomination as president at the Democratic National Convention.[33] She claimed that expenses for that and another trip in April 2010 were accidentally placed on a state credit card rather than the one for her campaign account. Bowen reimbursed the state for $1,595 from her campaign account to make up for the clerical error.
See also[edit]
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]
Footnotes[edit]
- ↑ New York Times, "2010 General Election Results" 2 Nov. 2010
- ↑ AFL-CIO - 2010 Endorsements
- ↑ California LABOR Federation - November 2010 Endorsements
- ↑ California League of Conservation Voters - Endorsements and results for the November 2, 2010 general election
- ↑ Communication Workers of America - Endorsements
- ↑ Equality California PACs - Endorsements
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Bowen for secretary of State" 9 Oct. 2010
- ↑ The Sacramento Bee, "Endorsements: Bowen deserves new term as elections chief" 30 Sept. 2010
- ↑ The San Diego Union-Tribune, "Maldonado, Bowen should keep jobs" 9 Oct. 2010
- ↑ San Francisco Chronicle, "Secretary of State Debra Bowen merits 2nd term" 28 Sept. 2010
- ↑ San Jose Mercury News, "Mercury News editorial: Voters should re-elect Bowen as Secretary of State" 20 Oct. 2010
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Secretary of State Project - 2010 races
- ↑ Can-Do Conservatives of America - Endorsements
- ↑ San Francisco Chronicle, "NY Giants coach endorses Damon Dunn for CA Sec of State. Why?" 30 July, 2010
- ↑ Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association PAC - Ballot Recommendations and Candidate Endorsements for November 2010
- ↑ The Latino Journal, "Latino business group endorses Whitman" 21 Sept. 2010
- ↑ Follow the Money.org, "Debra Bowen candidate summary," May 24, 2011
- ↑ Follow the Money.org, "Damon Dunn candidate summary," May 24, 2011
- ↑ Follow the Money.org, "Ann Menasche candidate summary," May 24, 2011
- ↑ Follow the Money.org, "Marylou Cabral candidate summary," May 24, 2011
- ↑ Follow the Money.org, "Merton D. Short candidate summary," May 24, 2011
- ↑ Follow the Money.org, "Christina Tobin candidate summary," May 24, 2011
- ↑ Election Track - Contributions to Debra Bowen For Secretary Of State 2010
- ↑ The Bootleg, "Damon Dunn for CA Sec. of State!" 11 Jan. 2010
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Orly Taitz running for CA Secretary of State" 3 March, 2010
- ↑ Brian Dennert Here, "Assembly Member Audra Strickland Preparing To Run For Secretary Of State Against Debra Bowen" 19 Jan. 2009
- ↑ Ventura County Star, "Audra Strickland to run for county treasurer" 11 Nov. 2009
- ↑ California Secretary of State - 2010 Statewide Primary Election Results
- ↑ New Majority California, "New Majority California Endorses Damon Dunn for Secretary of State" 12 Feb. 2010
- ↑ Election Track - Contributions to Damon Dunn For Secretary Of State 2010
- ↑ American Spectator, "SOS in Minnesota" 7 Nov. 2008
- ↑ Secretary of State Project - 2010 races
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Whoops. About that taxpayer-funded travel…" 22 Oct. 2010
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