Bennet won a full term, defeating former state House speaker Andrew Romanoff in the Democratic primary, and Republican nominee Ken Buck in the general election.[3][4] With a margin of 1.7%, this election was the second closest race of the 2010 Senate election cycle after the concurrent one in Illinois.
This was one of the most expensive elections in the nation, as more than $30 million was spent by outside organizations.[25] Conservative third party groups hammered Bennet for voting 92% of the time with the Democratic leadership, including voting for healthcare reform and the stimulus package.[26] Liberal third party groups called Buck extremist. Bennet focused on attacking Buck's views on abortion, which he believed should be banned including those of cases of rape and incest. He was also attacked for wanting to eliminate the 17th Amendment[27] and refusing to prosecute an alleged rapist as Weld County district attorney. Planned Parenthood mounted a mail campaign, targeting women voters with the warning that "Colorado women can't trust Ken Buck." Bennet won the women vote by 17 points according to exit polls. After the election, Buck conceded to the Denver Post that the main reason why he lost is because of social issues.[28]
Debates
September 12: Sponsored by Club 20 in Grand Junction[29]
Predictions
Polling
Fundraising
These totals reflect the campaign accounts of the candidates themselves, and do not include independent expenditures by other groups.
Results
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
^Osher, Christopher N.; Bunch, Joey (December 15, 2008). "Salazar poised to head Interior". Denver Post. Retrieved December 15, 2008.
^"Ken Salazar Resigns From Senate". Associated Press. January 19, 2009. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
^Crummy, Karen (January 2, 2009). "Michael Bennet chosen as next Senator". Denver Post. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
^Johnson, Kirk. "Michael Bennet News". The New York Times.
^"Colorado's Bennet Needs to Get Better Known for 2010". CQ Politics. January 27, 2009. Archived from the original on March 9, 2009. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
^"Who Will Face Bennet?". Roll Call. February 10, 2009. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
^Riley, Michael (August 29, 2009). "Denver Post article on Andrew Romanoff". Denverpost.com. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
^Riley, Michael (September 17, 2009). "Sen. Bennet wins Obama's support". The Denver Post. Archived from the original on July 21, 2024. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
^Burns, Alexander (June 29, 2010). "Clinton rocks Colo., backs Romanoff". Politico. Archived from the original on July 21, 2024. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
^ a b"Colorado Primary Results". Politico. August 10, 2010. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
^ a b c d"State election results, 2010 (PDF)" (PDF). Colorado Secretary of State.
^"The Buck starts here". Politico. April 27, 2009.
^Bartels, Lynn (August 17, 2009). "Former Lt. Gov. Norton mulling U.S. Senate bid". The Denver Post. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
^"Denver Daily - Wiens, U.S. Senate candidate, drops out". Thedenverdailynews.com. May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
^"Beauprez not running for Senate - The Scorecard". Politico.Com. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
^"Troy Eid to resign, run for Colorado attorney general". Coloradoindependent.com. January 8, 2009. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
^Fender, Jessica (October 14, 2009). "Aurora's Ryan Frazier has work cut out for him in shift to challenge U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter". The Denver Post. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
^Eli Stokols (April 14, 2010). "Tea Party Endorsement: Tea Party idol DeMint endorses Buck in Colorado Senate race". KDVR. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
^"DeMint on Buck endorsement: 'We've got to have an earthquake election'". Coloradoindependent.com. April 23, 2010. Archived from the original on April 17, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
^"CO US Senate - R Primary Race - August 10, 2010". Our Campaigns. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
^"Conservatives Rally Behind Norton". Janenortonforcolorado.com. May 24, 2010. Archived from the original on August 18, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
^"CO US Senate - R Primary Race - August 10, 2010". Our Campaigns. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
^Catanese, David (June 28, 2010). "Chamber comes to Norton's aid". Politico. Archived from the original on July 21, 2024. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
^"Colorado - County Vote Results". ap.org. August 11, 2010. Retrieved August 3, 2016.