The 2010 United States Senate election in Kansas 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 Senator Sam Brownback did not seek a third full term, but instead successfully ran for Governor of Kansas. Fellow Republican and representative Jerry Moran won the open seat. This was the first open-seat United States Senate election in Kansas for this seat since 1968.

Background

Sam Brownback was first elected to the Senate in 1996, replacing Bob Dole, who resigned to run for President. Brownback stated that he would not run for re-election in 2010 because of self-imposed term limits. Kansas is one of the most Republican states in the nation; no Democrat has been elected to either Senate seat since 1932.

Republican primary

Candidates

Campaign

The retirement of Brownback, a popular U.S. Senator, led to a heavily competitive primary election. Tiahrt, who was on the Committee of Appropriations, had been accused of excessive earmarking while he was in Congress. From 2006 to 2008, Tiahrt had requested and supported a total of 63 solo earmarks, costing $53.9 million. In the same period, Moran had requested and supported a total of 29 earmarks, with a pricetag of $13.4 million.

Endorsements

Moran

Tiahrt

Polling

Results

[[File:2010 United States Senate election in Kansas Republican primary results map by county.svg|thumb|270px|Primary results by county. Map legend {{legend|#C21B18|Moran—80–90%}} {{legend|#D72F30|Moran—70–80%}} {{legend|#D75D5D|Moran—60–70%}} {{legend|#E27F7F|Moran—50–60%}} {{legend|#FFB2B2|Moran—40–50%}} {{legend|#FFB580|Tiahrt—40–50%}} {{legend|#FF9A50|Tiahrt—50–60%}} {{legend|#EE8E50|Tiahrt—60–70%}} ]]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Polling

Results

General election

Candidates

Major

Minor

Campaign

Kansas is a very red state, where no Democrat has won a U.S. Senate election since 1932. After the primary, Moran chose not to release any more negative advertisements. Democrat Lisa Johnston ran a low-profile, quiet race. On election day, she won only two counties: Wyandotte County and Douglas County, while Moran won statewide by a landslide.

Debates

The two never met for a debate.

Predictions

Polling

Fundraising

Results

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic