2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky

2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky

← 2008 November 2, 2010 2012 →
All 6 Kentucky seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Republican Democratic Last election 4 2 Seats won 4 2 Seat change Popular vote 844,369 506,319 Percentage 62.35% 37.39% Swing 7.76% 6.11%
2010 election results by district   Democratic hold   Republican hold

Elections in Kentucky
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The 2010 congressional elections in Kentucky were held on November 2, 2010, and determined who would represent the Commonwealth of Kentucky in the United States House of Representatives. Kentucky has six seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States Census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; the elected served in the 112th Congress from January 3, 2011 until January 3, 2013. As of 2021, this is the last time the Democrats won more than one congressional district in Kentucky.

Overview[]

United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky, 2010[1]
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Republican	844,369	62.35%	4	—
	Democratic	506,319	37.39%	2	—
	Libertarian	2,029	0.15%	0	—
	Independents	1,581	0.12%	0	—
Totals		1,354,298	100.00%	6	—

By district[]

Results of the 2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky by district:^[2]

District	Republican		Democratic		Others		Total		Result
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
District 1	153,840	73.12%	62,090	26.88%	0	0.00%	215,930	100.0%	Republican Hold
District 2	155,906	69.19%	73,749	30.81%	0	0.00%	229,655	100.0%	Republican Hold
District 3	112,627	44.01%	139,940	54.68%	3,363	1.31%	255,930	100.0%	Democratic Hold
District 4	151,813	69.48%	66,694	30.52%	0	0.00%	218,507	100.0%	Republican Hold
District 5	151,019	77.42%	44,034	22.58%	0	0.00%	195,053	100.0%	Republican Hold
District 6	119,164	49.81%	119,812	50.08%	247	0.01%	239,223	100.0%	Democratic Hold
Total	844,369	62.35%	506,319	37.38%	3,610	0.27%	1,354,298	100.0%

District 1[]

Running for his ninth term in this conservative^[3] district based in western Kentucky, incumbent Republican Congressman Ed Whitfield faced a trivial challenge from Democratic candidate Charles Hatchett. As expected, Congressman Whitfield was overwhelmingly re-elected to another term in Congress.

Results[]

Kentucky's 1st congressional district election, 2010^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ed Whitfield (incumbent)	153,840	71.25
	Democratic	Charles Kendall Hatchett	62,090	28.75
Total votes			215,930	100.00
	Republican hold

District 2[]

Though incumbent Republican Congressman Brett Guthrie was elected by a slim margin in 2008, he did not face a serious challenge in his bid for a second term from Democratic candidate Ed Marksberry. As was expected, Congressman Guthrie was re-elected in a landslide in this conservative^[3] district based in west-central Kentucky.

Results[]

Kentucky's 2nd congressional district election, 2010^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brett Guthrie (incumbent)	155,906	67.89
	Democratic	Ed Marksberry	73,749	32.11
Total votes			229,655	100.00
	Republican hold

District 3[]

Campaign[]

Two-term Democratic incumbent Congressman John Yarmuth has represented this liberal-leaning^[3] district based in metro Louisville since he was first elected in 2006. Yarmuth defeated Republican Congresswoman Anne Northup in 2006, and defeated her again in a rematch in 2008, but she declined to run again in 2010. Instead, Congressman Yarmuth faced Republican candidate Todd Lally, an airline pilot and a failed State House candidate.

Lally attacked Yarmuth for being a "liberal follower" of Nancy Pelosi who voted with her "San Francisco agenda 99 percent of the time," charges that Yarmuth called "ignorant and irresponsible."^[4] The Courier-Journal, the largest newspaper in the district, strongly endorsed Congressman Yarmuth in his bid for re-election,^[5] and in the end, Yarmuth was able to best Lally by a surprisingly wide margin.

Polling[]

Poll source	Dates administered	John Yarmuth (D)	Todd Lally (R)	Undecided
SurveyUSA	October 21–25, 2010	50%	46%	1%
Rivercity Polling	October 19–23, 2010	41%	37%	-
Braun Research	October 18–19, 2010	57.9%	31.4%	2.6%
Braun Research	September 20–21, 2010	53%	30%	12%
Survey USA	August 27–30, 2010	47%	45%	5%
Braun Research[dead link]	August 9–10, 2010	52%	29%	17%
Rivercity Polling	June 20–29, 2010	44%	43%	-
Cooper & Secrest Associates	June 21–23, 2010	58%	32%	-

Results[]

Kentucky's 3rd congressional district election, 2010^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Yarmuth (incumbent)	139,940	54.68
	Republican	Todd Lally	112,627	44.01
	Libertarian	Edward A. Martin	2,029	0.79
	Independent	Michael D. Hansen	1,334	0.52
Total votes			255,930	100.00
	Democratic hold

District 4[]

Campaign[]

This conservative^[3] district based in northern Kentucky, including some of metropolitan Cincinnati, has been represented by Republican Congressman Geoff Davis since he was first elected in 2004. Seeking a fourth term, Congressman Davis faced Democratic candidate John Waltz, an Iraq War veteran in the general election, who was not given much of a chance given the conservative nature of the district. As expected, Davis was overwhelmingly re-elected.

Results[]

Kentucky's 4th congressional district election, 2010^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Geoff Davis (incumbent)	151,813	69.48
	Democratic	John Waltz	66,694	30.52
Total votes			218,507	100.00
	Republican hold

District 5[]

Campaign[]

Republican Congressman Hal Rogers, the dean of the Kentucky congressional delegation, has represented this conservative^[3] district based in eastern Kentucky, faced Democratic candidate Jim Holbert in his bid for a sixteenth term. Holbert had previously run against Congressman Rogers in 2008 as an independent candidate. However, Holbert was defeated by Rogers in a landslide for the second time in the general election.

Results[]

Kentucky's 5th congressional district election, 2010^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Hal Rogers (incumbent)	151,019	77.42
	Democratic	Jim Holbert	44,034	22.58
Total votes			195,053	100.00
	Republican hold

District 6[]

Campaign[]

This conservative^[3] district based around the Lexington metropolitan area has been represented by incumbent Democratic Congressman Ben Chandler since he was first elected in a 2004 special election. This year, Chandler faced a serious threat to bid for a fifth term in Congress from Republican attorney Andy Barr.

In the general election, both candidates started releasing television ads in August 2010, with Barr attacking Chandler for being part of "politics as usual" while Chandler countered by proclaiming his independence, saying, "If the Republican Party is going to suggest that I'm a tool of somebody else, there is no basis in fact for that."^[6] As election day grew nearer, both sides ramped up attacks, with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee releasing an ads slamming Barr for his criminal record and plans to privatize Social Security.^[7] Barr, meanwhile, attacked Chandler for supporting gun control, even though Chandler was endorsed in his bid for re-election by the National Rifle Association.^[8] Polls predicted a tight race, and on election night, those polls were vindicated; no media organization called the race that night because Chandler led Barr by only a few hundred votes.^[9] It was only a few days later that Chandler was proclaimed the winner.

Polling[]

Poll source	Dates administered	Ben Chandler (D)	Andy Barr (R)	Undecided
Braun Research[permanent dead link]	October 20–21, 2010	46.6%	42.3%	11%
Mason-Dixon	October 15–19, 2010	48%	44%	8%
Tarrance Group	October 4–5, 2010	47%	48%	-
Mellman Group	September 29–30, 2010	52%	40%	-
Braun Research	September 21–22, 2010	50.7%	36.5%	12.5%
Tarrance Group	September 20–21, 2010	49%	42%	9%
Mellman Group	September 13–14, 2010	53%	33%	14%
Grove Insight	September 7–9, 2010	52%	38%	-
Braun Research	July 26–27, 2010	46.1%	32.2%	21%
Tarrance Group	May 24–25, 2010	45%	38%	17%

Results[]

Kentucky's 6th congressional district election, 2010^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ben Chandler (incumbent)	119,812	50.08
	Republican	Andy Barr	119,164	49.81
	Write-in		247	0.10
Total votes			239,223	100.00
	Democratic hold

References[]

External links[]

• Kentucky State Board of Elections
• U.S. Congress Candidates for Kentucky at Project Vote Smart

Preceded by 2008 elections

United States House elections in Kentucky 2010

Succeeded by 2012 elections