2010 Alabama gubernatorial election

The 2010 Alabama gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Republican Governor Bob Riley was term limited and unable to seek re-election. The party primaries were held on June 1, 2010,[1] with a Republican runoff on July 13. In the general election, Republican Robert J. Bentley defeated Democrat Ron Sparks.

2010 Alabama gubernatorial election

November 2, 2010

Nominee Robert J. Bentley Ron Sparks Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 860,472 625,710 Percentage 57.9% 42.1%

County results Bentley:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Sparks:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Governor before election Bob Riley Republican Elected Governor Robert J. Bentley Republican

Republican primary

Candidates

• Robert J. Bentley, state representative
• Bradley Byrne, former state two-year college chancellor, former state senator and former member of the Alabama State Board of Education[2]
• Tim James, businessman, son of former Governor Fob James and candidate for governor in 2002[3]
• Bill Johnson, former director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs and former Birmingham City Councilman[4]
• Roy Moore, former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and candidate for governor in 2006[5]
• James Potts, perennial candidate
• Charles Taylor, perennial candidate

Endorsements

Robert J. Bentley

• Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas and candidate for president in 2008

Bradley Byrne

Individuals

• Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida[6]
• Jack Edwards, former U.S. Representative from Alabama's 1st congressional district[7]
• Jimmy Rane, president of Great Southern Wood[8]
• Brian LeCompte, conservative blogger
• Ben Brooks, state senator
• State Representatives Mike Ball, Phil Williams, Jamie Ison, Chad Fincher, Victor Gaston, and Jim Barton
• Mobile City Council members John Williams and Connie Hudson [9][10]

Associations

• Alabama Retail Association[11]
• Alabama Home Builders Association[12]
• Alabama Association of Realtors[13]
• Associated Builders and Contractors of Alabama[14]
• Right on Huntsville[15]

Tim James

• Alabama Republican Assembly[16]
• Robert Aderholt, U.S. Representative from Alabama's 4th congressional district[17]

Roy Moore

• Bobby Allison[18]

Polling

Source	Date(s) administered	Robert J. Bentley	Bradley Byrne	Kay Ivey	Tim James	Bill Johnson	Roy Moore	Undecided
Research 2000	May 17–19, 2010	9%	29%	--	17%	3%	23%	17%
Public Strategy Associates	May 10–11, 2010	12%	24%	n/a	23%	2%	18%	21%
Ayres, McHenry and Associates	May 3–4, 2010	7%	20%	n/a	26%	n/a	21%	26%
Public Policy Polling	March 27–29, 2010	10%	27%	10%	9%	1%	23%	20%
Public Strategy Associates	February 3–4, 2010	4%	20%	3%	8%	2%	17%	46%

Results

Primary county results

Republican primary results[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bradley Byrne	137,349	27.89
	Republican	Robert J. Bentley	123,870	25.15
	Republican	Tim James	123,662	25.11
	Republican	Roy Moore	95,077	19.31
	Republican	Bill Johnson	8,350	1.70
	Republican	Charles Taylor	2,622	0.53
	Republican	James Potts	1,549	0.31
Total votes			492,480	100.00

Runoff county results

Republican primary runoff results (July 13, 2010)[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Robert J. Bentley	260,887	56.07
	Republican	Bradley Byrne	204,394	43.93
Total votes			465,281	100.00

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Ron Sparks, Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries[21]
• Artur Davis, U.S. Representative[22]

Polling

Source	Date(s) administered	Artur Davis	Ron Sparks	Sam Franklin	Undecided
Research 2000	May 17–19, 2010	41%	33%	--	11%
Public Policy Polling	March 27–29, 2010	38%	28%	9%	25%

Results

County results

Democratic primary results[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ron Sparks	199,558	62.44
	Democratic	Artur Davis	120,050	37.56
Total votes			319,608	100.00

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Cook Political Report	Solid R[23]	October 29, 2010
Rothenberg	Safe R[24]	October 15, 2010
Swing State Project	Safe R
RealClearPolitics	Safe R[25]	October 21, 2010
Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe R[26]	October 21, 2010
CQ Politics	Safe R[27]	October 21, 2010

Polling

Poll source	Dates administered	Robert Bentley (R)	Ron Sparks (D)
Rasmussen Reports	September 21, 2010	55%	35%
Rasmussen Reports	August 19, 2010	58%	34%
Rasmussen Reports	July 22, 2010	55%	35%
Rasmussen Reports	June 3, 2010	56%	37%
Rasmussen Reports	May 25, 2010	44%	31%

Results

2010 Alabama gubernatorial election[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Robert J. Bentley	860,472	57.90%	+0.45
	Democratic	Ron Sparks	625,710	42.10%	+0.53
Majority			234,762	15.80%
Turnout			1,486,182	100.00%
	Republican hold		Swing

See also

• List of Governors of Alabama

References

1. "Alabama Secretary of State's website". Sos.state.al.us. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
2. File photo (2009-05-27). "Bradley Byrne announces run for governor of Alabama | al.com". Blog.al.com. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
3. "Alabama State Profile". KOMO-TV. Retrieved April 18, 2009.
4. "Former Birmingham City Councilman Bill Johnson enters Alabama governor's race". The Birmingham News. Archived from the original on 2009-11-29.
5. Screen reproduction (2009-06-01). "Roy Moore makes it official, he's running for Alabama governor | al.com". Blog.al.com. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
6. "Bush Backs Byrne in Alabama". Politico.com. 2010-03-05.
7. Jack Edwards' Endorsement of Bradley Byrne.
8. Jimmy Rane's Endorsement of Bradley Byrne.
9. "Various Individual Endorsements of Bradley Byrne".
10. "Byrne Endorsed by Conservative Leaders at Huntsville Campaign Fish Fry".
11. "RetailPAC Endorses Byrne for Governor". Archived from the original on 2011-07-24.
12. "Alabama Home Builders Association Endorses Bradley Byrne". Archived from the original on 2010-04-18.
13. REALTOR's Endorsment [sic] of Bradley Byrne. Archived from the original on 2010-08-10.
14. ABC's Endoresment of Bradley Byrne.
15. "Right on Hunstville Endorses Bradley Byrne".
16. "Ala. Republican Assembly backs James, Erwin". Opelika-Auburn News. 2009-05-11. Archived from the original on 2012-03-07.
17. "Aderholt, Giles Endorse Tim James for Governor". Doc's Political Parlor. 2009-04-22. Archived from the original on 2010-04-29.
18. "NASCAR legend Bobby Allison endorses Roy Moore for Alabama governor". The Huntsville Times. Associated Press. 2010-04-21. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
19. "Alabama Governor Primary Results". Politico. June 1, 2010. Archived from the original on 5 June 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
20. "The 2010 Results Maps". Politico.Com. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
21. "Ron Sparks announces run for governor". The Birmingham News. April 3, 2009. Retrieved April 18, 2009.
22. Dean, Charles J. (February 1, 2009). "Alabama U.S. Rep Artur Davis set to launch run for governor". The Birmingham News. Retrieved April 18, 2009.
23. "Senate". Cook Political Report. Archived from the original on 19 September 2010. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
24. "Senate Ratings". Rothenberg Political Report. Archived from the original on 28 September 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
25. "Battle for the Senate". RealClearPolitics. Archived from the original on 20 October 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
26. "2010 Senate Ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Archived from the original on 28 October 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
27. "Race Ratings Chart: Senate". CQ Politics. Archived from the original on 28 October 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
28. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-04. Retrieved 2010-11-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links

• Alabama Secretary of State – Elections
• Alabama Governor Candidates at Project Vote Smart
• Alabama Governor 2010 from OurCampaigns.com
• Campaign contributions for 2010 Alabama Governor from Follow the Money
• 2010 Alabama Gubernatorial General Election graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
• Election 2010: Alabama Governor from Rasmussen Reports
• 2010 Alabama Governor Race from Real Clear Politics
• 2010 Alabama Governor's Race from CQ Politics
• Race Profile in The New York Times

Debates

• Alabama Gubernatorial Debate, C-SPAN, September 16, 2010

Official campaign websites

• Robert J. Bentley for Governor
• Ron Sparks for Governor