2010 Nebraska gubernatorial election

2010 Nebraska gubernatorial election
	County results; Heineman: 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% 90–100%
Governor before election; Dave Heineman; Republican	Elected Governor ; Dave Heineman; Republican

The 2010 Nebraska gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010 to elect the governor of Nebraska, who will serve a four-year term to begin in January 2011. Republican incumbent Dave Heineman won, defeating Democrat Mike Meister in a landslide. Heineman easily won his party's nomination. Mark Lakers ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, but dropped out in July 2010.^[1] Attorney Mike Meister was chosen as a replacement.^[2] As of 2022, this is the last time Lancaster County voted for the Republican candidate.

Republican primary[]

Candidates[]

Paul Anderson
Christopher Geary, retired Marine
Dave Heineman, incumbent Governor of Nebraska

Results[]

Republican primary results^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dave Heineman (incumbent)	152,931	89.91
	Republican	Paul Anderson	8,980	5.28
	Republican	Christopher Geary	8,179	4.81
Total votes			170,090	100.00

Democratic primary[]

Candidates[]

Mark Lakers, investment banker

Results[]

Democratic primary results^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mark Lakers	57,463	100.00
Total votes			57,463	100.00

Lakers was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. However, he dropped out of the race on July 2, 2010, due to a scandal involving campaign fundraising. Several donors listed on a campaign finance report denied ever giving money to Lakers, prompting criticism from both parties.^[4]

After being forced from the race due to investigations by the Nebraska Attorney General's Office and the Nebraska Campaign Disclosure Board, Lakers pleaded guilty in September to a misdemeanor charge of abuse of public records and admitted to falsifying his campaign finance reports. As part of the plea, Lakers acknowledged that 51 of the 80 pledges listed on his reports were false and agreed to pay a $500 fine.^[5]

Mike Meister, the Democratic nominee for Attorney General of Nebraska in 2002, was selected to replace him^[6] and he selected Nebraska Public Service Commissioner and former state Democratic Party chairwoman Anne Boyle as his running mate.^[7]

General election[]

Predictions[]

Source	Ranking	As of
Cook Political Report^[8]	Safe R	October 14, 2010
Rothenberg^[9]	Safe R	October 28, 2010
RealClearPolitics^[10]	Safe R	November 1, 2010
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[11]	Safe R	October 28, 2010
CQ Politics^[12]	Safe R	October 28, 2010

Polling[]

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Dave Heineman (R)	Mark Lakers/Mike Meister (D)	Other	Undecided
Rasmussen Reports	October 7, 2010	500	± 4.5%	66%	24%	3%	6%
Rasmussen Reports	September 2, 2010	500	± 4.5%	61%	28%	3%	8%
Rasmussen Reports	July 19, 2010	500	± 4.5%	71%	18%	2%	8%

Hypothetical polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Dave Heineman (R)	Mark Lakers (D)	Other	Undecided
Rasmussen Reports	March 4, 2010	500	± 4.5%	61%	23%	2%	14%

Results[]

Nebraska gubernatorial election, 2010^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Dave Heineman (incumbent)	360,645	73.90%	+0.50%
	Democratic	Mike Meister	127,343	26.10%	+1.64%
Majority			233,302	47.81%	-1.13%
Turnout			487,988
	Republican hold		Swing

References[]

^ "NE StatePaper.com - Mark Lakers Drops Out of Nebraska Governor's Race". Nebraska.statepaper.com. 2010-07-02. Archived from the original on 2012-06-30. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
^ "Microsoft Word - Candidate List.rtf" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-08. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
^ ^a ^b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2010-10-11. Retrieved 2010-08-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ Mark Lakers Drops Out of Nebraska Governor's Race - NE StatePaper.com
^ "Lakers fined $500 for false campaign reports | Crime and Courts | journalstar.com". Archived from the original on 2021-11-18. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
^ "Mike Meister says he'd provide leadership as Nebraska's governor". Archived from the original on 2010-08-01. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
^ "August Surprise: Anne Boyle on the Democratic Ticket". Archived from the original on 2011-10-09. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
^ "2010 Governors Race Ratings". Cook Political Report. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
^ "Governor Ratings". Rothenberg Political Report. Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
^ "2010 Governor Races". RealClearPolitics. Archived from the original on October 27, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
^ "THE CRYSTAL BALL'S FINAL CALLS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Archived from the original on October 31, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
^ "Race Ratings Chart: Governor". CQ Politics. Archived from the original on October 5, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-10-23. Retrieved 2011-06-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links[]

Elections at Nebraska Secretary of State
Nebraska Governor Candidates at Project Vote Smart
Campaign contributions for 2010 Nebraska Governor from Follow the Money
Nebraska Governor 2010 from OurCampaigns.com
2010 Nebraska General Election graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
Election 2010: Nebraska Governor from Rasmussen Reports
2010 Nebraska Governor's Race^{[permanent dead link]} from CQ Politics
Race Profile in The New York Times

Official campaign sites (Archived)

[1] "NE StatePaper.com - Mark Lakers Drops Out of Nebraska Governor's Race". Nebraska.statepaper.com. 2010-07-02. Archived from the original on 2012-06-30. Retrieved 2010-07-30.

[2] "Microsoft Word - Candidate List.rtf" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-08. Retrieved 2010-08-21.

[sos_pdf1-3] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2010-10-11. Retrieved 2010-08-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[4] Mark Lakers Drops Out of Nebraska Governor's Race - NE StatePaper.com

[5] "Lakers fined $500 for false campaign reports | Crime and Courts | journalstar.com". Archived from the original on 2021-11-18. Retrieved 2011-07-01.

[6] "Mike Meister says he'd provide leadership as Nebraska's governor". Archived from the original on 2010-08-01. Retrieved 2011-06-10.

[7] "August Surprise: Anne Boyle on the Democratic Ticket". Archived from the original on 2011-10-09. Retrieved 2011-06-10.

[8] "2010 Governors Race Ratings". Cook Political Report. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.

[9] "Governor Ratings". Rothenberg Political Report. Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2010.

[10] "2010 Governor Races". RealClearPolitics. Archived from the original on October 27, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.

[11] "THE CRYSTAL BALL'S FINAL CALLS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Archived from the original on October 31, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.

[12] "Race Ratings Chart: Governor". CQ Politics. Archived from the original on October 5, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.

[13] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-10-23. Retrieved 2011-06-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

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2010 Nebraska gubernatorial election

Contents

Republican primary[]

Candidates[]

Results[]

Democratic primary[]

Candidates[]

Results[]

General election[]

Predictions[]

Polling[]

Results[]

See also[]

References[]

External links[]