The 2010 United States Senate election in Kansas took place on November 2, 2010, alongside other 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 Senator Sam Brownback did not seek a third full term, but instead successfully ran for Governor of Kansas.

Fellow Republican and representative Jerry Moran won the open seat. This was the first open-seat United States Senate election in Kansas for this seat since 1968.

Background Sam Brownback was first elected to the Senate in 1996, replacing Bob Dole, who resigned to run for President. Brownback stated that he would not run for re-election in 2010 because of self-imposed term limits. Kansas is one of the most Republican states in the nation; no Democrat has been elected to either Senate seat since 1932.

Republican primary

Candidates Tom Little, accountant Bob Londerholm, former Attorney General of Kansas Jerry Moran, U.S. Representative Todd Tiahrt, U.S. Representative

Campaign The retirement of Brownback, a popular U.S. Senator, led to a heavily competitive primary election. Tiahrt, who was on the Committee of Appropriations, had been accused of excessive earmarking while he was in Congress. From 2006 to 2008, Tiahrt had requested and supported a total of 63 solo earmarks, costing $53.9 million. In the same period, Moran had requested and supported a total of 29 earmarks, with a pricetag of $13.4 million.

Endorsements

Moran

Tiahrt

Polling Poll source Dates administered Todd Tiahrt Jerry MoranResearch 2000Research 2000 February 2–4, 2009 24% 19%Survey USASurvey USA April 17–19, 2009 35%39%Survey USASurvey USA June 12–14, 2009 38%40%Survey USASurvey USA October 2–4, 2009 27% 43%Survey USASurvey USA December 4–6, 2009 34% 37%Survey USASurvey USA January 29–31, 2010 33% 40%Survey USASurvey USA March 26–28, 2010 32% 42%Survey USASurvey USA May 21–23, 2010 29% 52%Survey USASurvey USA June 24–27, 2010 33% 53%Survey USASurvey USA July 15–18, 2010 36% 50%Survey USASurvey USA July 29 – August 1, 2010 39% 49%

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates Robert Conroy, retired railroad employee David Haley, state senator and nominee for Secretary of State in 2002 and 2006 Lisa Johnston, administrator at Baker University Charles Schollenberger, retired communications executive Patrick Wiesner, attorney and CPA

Polling Poll source Dates administered Charles Schollenberger Lisa Johnston Robert Conroy David Haley UndecidedSurvey USA June 24–27, 2010 16% 24% 11% 11% 35%Survey USA July 15–18, 2010 14% 23% 7% 12% 36%Survey USA July 29 – August 1, 2010 21% 29% 7% 12% 25%

Results

General election

Candidates

Major Jerry Moran (R), U.S. Representative (campaign site, PVS , FEC) Lisa Johnston (D), Baker University administrator (campaign site, PVS , FEC)

Minor Michael Dann (L) (campaign site, PVS ) Joe Bellis (RE) (campaign site, PVS)

Campaign Kansas is a very red state, where no Democrat has won a U.S. Senate election since 1932. After the primary, Moran chose not to release any more negative advertisements. Democrat Lisa Johnston ran a low-profile, quiet race. On election day, she won only two counties: Wyandotte County and Douglas County, while Moran won statewide by a landslide.

Debates The two never met for a debate.

Predictions Source Ranking As of Cook Political Report October 26, 2010 Rothenberg October 22, 2010 RealClearPolitics October 26, 2010 Sabato's Crystal Ball October 21, 2010 CQ Politics October 26, 2010

Polling Poll source Date(s) administered Jerry Moran Lisa JohnstonRasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports May 11, 2010 61% 25%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports June 30, 2010 59% 23%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports August 4, 2010 61% 28%Survey USASurvey USA August 12–15, 2010 69% 23%Survey USASurvey USA September 14–16, 2010 66% 24%Survey USASurvey USA October 10–12, 2010 67% 27%Survey USASurvey USA October 22–26, 2010 66% 26%

Fundraising Candidate (party) Receipts Disbursements Cash on hand Debt Lisa Johnston (D) $10,627 $4,530 $6,096 $1,131 Jerry Moran (R) $2,749,244 $4,497,168 $795,015 $0 Source: Federal Election Commission

Results

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Douglas (largest city: Lawrence)

Notes

References

External links Kansas Secretary of State - Elections & Legislative U.S. Congress candidates for Kansas at Project Vote Smart Kansas U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com Campaign contributions from Open Secrets graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com Election 2010: Kansas Senate from Rasmussen Reports

2010 Kansas Senate Race from CQ Politics Race profile from The New York Times News coverage from The Midwest Democracy Project at The Kansas City Star Official candidate sites (Archived) Debates Kansas Senate Republican Primary Debate, C-SPAN, July 6, 2010 Lisa Johnston for U.S. Senate Jerry Moran for U.S. Senate Charles Schollenberger for U.S. Senate Todd Tiahrt for U.S. Senate