2010 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania
The 2010 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania took place on November 2, 2010, during the 2010 midterm elections. Incumbent Republican-turned-Democrat U.S. Senator Arlen Specter ran for reelection to a sixth term, but lost in the Democratic primary to Joe Sestak. Republican nominee Pat Toomey then won the seat.
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Toomey: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Sestak: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 50% No data | |||||||||||||||||
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Toomey had previously run for United States Senate in 2004, challenging Specter for the Republican nomination, but was narrowly defeated in the primary. Specter went on to be reelected to his fifth term, defeating the Democratic nominee, Congressman Joe Hoeffel. Toomey announced on April 15, 2009, that he would again seek the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in the 2010 election.
The primary season was marked by Specter's decision in early 2009 to switch from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party due to his disagreement with the increasingly conservative positions of the party, pitting him against Sestak in the Democratic primary. The contest, characterized by attacks between the two Democratic candidates, was one of the most-watched primary races of the 2010 election cycle. Sestak ultimately defeated Specter in the May 18 primary, garnering 53.9% of the vote, to Specter's 46.1%. Pat Toomey easily defeated challenger Peg Luksik for the Republican nomination. Toomey received 81.5% of the vote, to Luksik's 18.5%.
Toomey defeated Sestak in the general election on November 2, 2010. Toomey garnered 2,028,945 votes (51.01%) to Sestak's 1,948,716 (48.99%), a margin of 80,229 votes (2.02%). The race was called by the Associated Press shortly before midnight. Not long thereafter, Sestak officially conceded the election to Toomey. Toomey's winning margin made this election the third-closest race of the 2010 Senate election cycle, behind only the elections in Illinois and Colorado. As of 2022, this is the last time that Lehigh County and Monroe County voted for a Republican.