151,281 72,699 Start date November 2, 2010 | 64.3% 30.9% | |
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The 2010 United States Senate election in Vermont 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 Democratic U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy won reelection to a seventh term.
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Candidates
Candidates
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Leahy, first elected in 1974, is the first and only Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Vermont. He won his last two re-election campaigns with at least 70% of the vote. He is the second-most-senior member of Congress. In a June 2010 poll, the incumbent was viewed very favorably by 52% of the state. 52% of the state opposed repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and 50% opposed Arizona's immigration law. Obama's approval rating in the poll was 62%. Obama carried Vermont with 67% of the vote in 2008.
His Republican opponent was Len Britton, a businessman who had never run for public office before. As of August 2010, he had released two TV ads, criticizing Obama's stimulus and the deficits. His campaign manager admitted "Len is an unknown candidate and we are rigorously running on a difficult campaign schedule."