INDIANA
      Nov. 2, 2010 U.S. Senate

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+Dan Coats (R)
952,116
 		53.36%
Brad Ellsworth (D)
 		697,775
 		39.10%
Rebecca Sink-Burris (L)
 		94,330
 		5.29%
write-ins (2)
 260
 
 1,784,481
  
Registered voters:4,329.153  Voters voting: 1,786,213.
 Plurality: 254,341 votes (14.25 percentage points).
 IN Sec. of State Election Division




REPUBLICAN PICK-UP
Notes: Sen. Evan Bayh (D) announced on Feb. 15, 2010 that he would not seek a third term (>).  Dan Coats (R), who had served a previous stint in the Senate from Jan. 1989 to Jan. 1999, then as Ambassador the Germany during the Bush administration, and most recently as a lawyer/lobbyist in Washington, DC, defeated U.S. Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D) and Rebecca Sink-Burris (L) for a Republican pick up.

Because Bayh made his announcement shortly before the deadline to file petitions for the primary, it was left to the Indiana Democratic Central Committee to choose the party's nominee.  Ellsworth, who was elected to represent the 8th CD in 2006 and previously served as Vanderburgh County sheriff, was seen as the likely candidate, and on May 15 the party made it official. 

Five candidates vied for the Republican nomination (>).  In the May 4 primary Coats finished first with 39.5% of the vote, followed by state Sen. Marlin Stutzman (29.2%), former U.S. Rep. John Hostettler (22.6%), businessman Don Bates Jr., (4.5%) and businessman Richard Behney (4.2%).

In the general election the three candidates participated in three  debates sponsored by the  Indiana Debate Commission:

Oct. 11 - at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (>);

Oct. 22 - at IPFW, Rhinehart Music Center in Fort Wayne (>); and

Oct. 25 - at Vincennes University in Vincennes (>).

Open Secrets reported the Coats campaign outspent the Ellsworth campaign by $4.6 million to $2.6 million (>), although Ellsworth also benefited from just under $1 million spent by the Indiana Democratic Congressional Victory Committee.  The Sink-Burris campaign spent under $17,000.


Campaign Managers:
Dan Coats: ?

Brad Ellsworth:  Cori Smith
Chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Ellsworth, Jan. 2007-Jan. 2011.  Chief of staff (May 2003-June 2006), approps. coordinator (Jan.-June 2003) and special projects director (Jan. 2001-Dec. 2002) to U.S. Rep. Mike Ross (AR).  B.S. in political science and religious studies from Rhodes College, 1999.


See also:
Eric Lipton.  "A Journey From Lawmaker to Lobbyist and Back Again."  The New York Times, Nov. 13, 2010.

David Catanese.  "Ellsworth going back up against Coats."  Politico, Oct. 4, 2010.

Staff.  "Former Sen. Coats survives GOP primary."  The Hill, May 5, 2010.

Carl Hulse.  "Seeing Handpicked as a Bad Thing."  The New York Times, Mar. 13, 2010.

Alex Isenstadt.  "The nuking of Dan Coats."  Politico, Feb. 10, 2010.

Brian A. Howey.  "Coats engages Bayh 12 years later."  Howey Politics Indiana, Feb. 4, 2010.






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