The 2010 United States Senate special election in West Virginia was held on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Democratic Senator Robert Byrd died in office on June 28, 2010. Democratic Governor Joe Manchin appointed Carte Goodwin to temporarily fill the vacancy. Goodwin pledged to not run for election to the seat in exchange for the appointment. This was the first open U.S. Senate seat in West Virginia since 1984 and the first in this seat since 1956. Manchin won the open seat and served out the remainder of Byrd's elected term, which ended on January 3, 2013.

Background

Byrd's career

Byrd had held his seat in the U.S. Senate since 1959, after having served in the House of Representatives since 1953, making him the then-longest-serving person in Congress. Byrd led his party in the Senate from 1977 to 1989, as Majority Leader or Minority Leader. Afterwards, as the most senior Democrat in the Senate, he served as President pro tempore of the Senate whenever his party was in the majority, including at the time of his death. The Democrats held a 59–41-seat majority in the Senate at the time of Byrd's death.

State politics

West Virginia had not elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate since 1956, and voted Democratic in each presidential election from 1932 to 1996 (except for 1956, 1972 & 1984). 77% of voters in the state approved of Democratic governor Joe Manchin, but only 35% approved of Democratic President Barack Obama. Additionally, the Mountain (Green), Libertarian, and Constitution Parties have been slowly growing forces in the state, hoping to capitalize on discontent from both political parties. All three minor parties fielded ballot-qualified candidates in the 2014 Senate election to fill the open seat of retiring longtime Senator Jay Rockefeller.

Interim appointment

State law allowed Governor Joe Manchin to make a temporary appointment to the vacant seat. Manchin named a former aide, 36-year-old Carte Goodwin, an attorney and fellow Democrat. Goodwin was sworn in on July 20, 2010, and chose not to run in the special election. Hours later, Manchin announced his intention to seek Byrd's seat.

Timing of the election

Gov. Manchin urged the West Virginia Legislature to pass legislation scheduling the special election for 2010. Without a revision, state law would not allow an election to be held until 2012. On July 19, legislators hammered out a compromise bill setting an Aug 28 special primary and Nov 2 special election to elect a senator for the roughly two years and five months remaining in Byrd's term. The bill only changed election law for 2010 and will not apply to other future elections. It also allowed a West Virginian who was on the November general election ballot for some other office to also run in the special election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Declined

Campaign

Despite Manchin's very high popularity in the state, he received two politically experienced challengers. Hechler was a former Secretary of State and U.S. Representative, who at the age of 95 campaigned across the state on an anti-mountaintop removal platform. Fletcher was a former Republican member of the House of Delegates.

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Campaign

During the Republican primary campaign, only Raese and Warner released television advertisements.

Results

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Manchin's campaign ads emphasized his support from labor unions and Cecil Roberts (President of United Mine Workers of America), while criticizing Raese for "putting profits before people", supporting the elimination of the minimum wage, and supporting the FairTax. Manchin was endorsed by both the AFL–CIO and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Raese was endorsed from numerous anti-abortion PACs and FreedomWorks. Raese criticized Manchin for supporting House Bill 103, which is similar to cap and trade.

Debates

The first and only debate was held October 18. It featured all four Senate candidates. Raese wanted at least three debates.

Predictions

Polling

Fundraising

Results

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican