Tennessee 2010 legislative election results

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2010 Legislative Election Results

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Tennessee State Senate Election Results

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

Tennessee State Senate
Party As of November 1, 2010 After the 2010 Election
     Democratic Party 14 13
     Republican Party 19 20
Total 33 33


What You'll See on This Page

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:

  • There were 15 incumbents who ran in the November 2 general election. Only 1 incumbent lost, and thus 14 incumbents were re-elected to the Tennessee State Senate.
  • No Republican incumbents lost in the general election, while 1 Democratic incumbent lost.
  • There will be 3 new senators sworn-in. Of those 3, 0 are Democrats and 3 are Republicans
  • Of the 17 seats up for election, 6 were won by Democrats and 11 by Republicans.
  • 6 candidates were unopposed, 2 Democrats and 4 Republicans.
  • Only 3 candidates ran as an independent or third party candidate in the general election.

Incumbency Analysis

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 Tennessee, 2 incumbent senators did not run for re-election on the November 2 ballot, while 15 incumbents (88.2%) ran for re-election. Of these 15 incumbents, 1 was defeated (Democratic incumbent).

Incumbents who ran on November 2

Brian Kelsey, first elected to the Tennessee State Senate in 2008

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

Incumbents defeated

Doug Jackson, first elected to the state senate in 2000, was defeated in 2010.

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

CandidatePartyDistrict
Doug Jackson

Challengers who beat an incumbent

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

CandidatePartyDistrict
Jim Summerville

New State Senators and General Election Winners

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 Tennessee, 3 new senators will be sworn-in. Of those 3, 0 are Democrats and 3 are Republicans. Republicans won both open seat contests. In total, Tennessee elected 17 senators, 11 Republicans and 6 Democrats.

Newly elected senators

Ophelia Ford was elected to the Tennessee State Senate in 2004

The following are the newly-elected members of the Tennessee State Senate:

Democratic

There are no candidates under this category

Republican

Open Seat Winners

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

Republican

Candidates who won election

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

Democratic

Charlie Smith Dannelly was first elected to the senate in 1994. He was re-elected in 2010.

Republican

Competitiveness

Thelma Harper was one of 2 unopposed Democratic senate candidates in 2010

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 Tennessee, 6 candidates (24.0% of seats) faced no major party opposition. Of these 6, 2 were Democrats and 4 were Republicans.

Unopposed candidates in general election

The following candidates did not face major party competition:

Democratic

Republican

Ballot Access

Across the nation, 140 independent or third party candidates ran for state senate. In Tennessee, 3 (9.7%) of the 31 senate candidates ran as an independent or third party candidate. None won election in the November 2 general election.

Third party candidates

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

House

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2010 Legislative Election Results

State-by-State Analysis
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Tennessee State House Election Results

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

Tennessee House of Representatives
Party As of November 1, 2010 After the 2010 Election
     Democratic Party 48 34
     Republican Party 51 64
     Independent 1 1
Total 99 99


What You'll See on This Page

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:

  • There were 90 incumbents who ran in the November 2 general election. Only 12 incumbents lost, and thus 78 incumbents were re-elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives.
  • No Republican incumbents lost in the general election, while 12 incumbent Democratic incumbent lost.
  • There will be 21 new representatives sworn-in. Of those 21, 0 are Democrats and 21 are Republicans
  • Of the 99 seats up for election, 34 were won by Democrats, 64 by Republicans, and 1 by an Independent.
  • 43 candidates were unopposed, 15 Democrats and 28 Republicans.
  • Only 16 candidates ran as an independent or third party candidate in the general election.

Incumbency Analysis

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 Tennessee, 90 (90.9%) incumbents ran for re-election. Of these 90, 12 incumbent representatives were defeated. All 12 incumbents were Democrats.

Incumbents who ran on November 2

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

Incumbents defeated

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

CandidatePartyDistrict
Eddie Yokley
Dennis Ferguson
Jim Hackworth
Leslie Winningham
George Fraley
Stratton Bone, Jr.
Ty Cobb
Judy Barker
Henry Fincher
Willie Borchert
Kent Coleman
Mark Maddox

Challengers who beat an incumbent

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

CandidatePartyDistrict
Jeremy Faison
Andrew Holt
Tim Wirgau
Bill Sanderson
Sheila Butt
Mark Pody
Mike Sparks (Tennessee)
Kelly Keisling
Ryan Williams (Tennessee)
Julia Cheyanne Hurley
John Ragan
David Alexander (Tennessee)

New Representatives and General Election Winners

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 Tennessee, 24 new representatives will be sworn-in. Of those 21, 0 are Democrats and 21 are Republicans. In the 10 open seat contests, Republicans won 10 and Democrats 0. In total, Tennessee elected 120 representatives, 64 Republicans, 34 Democrats, and 1 independent.

Newly elected representatives

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

Republican

Open Seat Winners

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

Republican

Candidates who won election

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

Democratic

Republican

Other

Competitiveness

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 Tennessee, 43 candidates (43.4% of all seats) faced no major party opposition. Of these 44, 15 were Democrats and 28 were Republicans.

Unopposed candidates in general election

The following candidates did not face major party competition:

Democratic

Republican

Ballot Access

In Tennessee, 16 (9.4%) of the 171 house candidates ran as independent or third party candidates. One candidate, Kent Williams, Tennessee Representative, won election in the November 2 general election.

Third party candidates

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

National Partisan Trends

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2010 Legislative Election Results

State-by-State Analysis
AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming
Other 2010 Election information
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National Partisan Trends

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

Incumbents who were defeated in the general election

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.

Incumbents defeated in 2010 legislative elections
Party Senate House Total
Democratic 89 403 492
Republican 5 10 15
TOTALS 94 413 507

Total new legislators elected

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.

New Legislators after the 2010 legislative elections
Party Senate House Total
Democratic 110 357 467
Republican 278 988 1,266
TOTALS 388 1,345 1,733

Winners of Open Seats

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.

Open Seat Winners in 2010 legislative elections
Party Senate House Total
Democratic 108 341 449
Republican 191 538 729
TOTALS 299 879 1,178

Impact on legislative majorities

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 Democratic Party Republican Party Purple.png Grey.png
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 Democratic Party Republican Party Purple.png Grey.png
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:

State legislative chambers where Democrats gained seats on November 2
State Chamber Number of seats gained by Democrats
California Assembly + 2
Delaware House + 2
Hawaii Senate + 1
Maryland Senate + 2
Massachusetts Senate + 1
Missouri Senate + 1
West Virginia Senate + 1

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

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:

Trifectas before and after the 2010 Election
Party Before election U.S. House seats After election U.S. House seats Gain/loss states Gain/loss congressional seats
Democratic
16 131 11 115 -5 -16
Republican
8 66 20 198 +12 +132

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.