2010 Indiana's 3rd congressional district special election explained

Election Name:2010 Indiana's 3rd congressional district election
Country:Indiana
Type:Presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Indiana#District 3
Previous Year:2008
Next Election:2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Indiana#District 3
Next Year:2012
Nominee1:Marlin Stutzman
Party1:Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:115,415
Percentage1:63%
Nominee2:Tom Hayhurst
Party2:Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:60,880
Percentage2:33%
Representative
Before Election:Mark Souder
Before Party:Republican Party (United States)
After Election:Marlin Stutzman
After Party:Republican Party (United States)
Map Size:325px

The 2010 United States House of Representatives special election for Indiana's Third congressional district occurred on November 2, 2010, to elect the successor to Mark Souder (R) who resigned upon admitting to an extramarital affair. This election coincided with the regularly scheduled election.

Background

Two weeks after winning renomination, Souder resigned both from office as U.S. Representative and as the Republican nominee for the Third district following the revelation of an affair with Tracy Meadows Jackson, a married female staffer.[1] Governor Mitch Daniels (R), in the interest of cutting the costs of holding the election, scheduled the special election to succeed him to occur on the same day as the general election.[2]

Nominating caucuses

As per Indiana state law, the parties held caucuses within thirty days following Souder's resignation to choose their nominees for the special election.[3]

Republican

Republicans held their caucus on June 12. State Senator Marlin Stutzman, the runner-up in the Republican U.S. Senatorial primary, won the nomination decisively in the second round over state Representative Randy Borror, car salesman Bob Thomas, Fort Wayne City Councilwoman Liz Brown, and Ryan Elijah.

Democratic

Democrats choose former Fort Wayne city councilman Tom Hayhurst, who had won the Democratic primary for the general election earlier, as their nominee for the special election.

Libertarian

Tea Party activist and ex-Republican Scott W. Wise, also their nominee for the general election, was chosen as the Libertarian nominee for the special election.

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Marlin Stutzman (R)Tom Hayhurst (D)Scott Wise (L)Undecided
American Viewpoint[4] July 19–20, 2010400±4.9%56%29%2%n/a
SurveyUSA[5] October 21–25, 2010400±4.9%57%32%7%2%
Riggs Research[6] October 27–28, 2010400±4.9%36%40%3%n/a

Election results

Given the district's strong conservative bent, which at the time had a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+14, Stutzman, as predicted by many political prognosticators, handily won the simultaneous special and general elections in November.

General election

Notes and References

  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20100521065051/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gG1FTYolYkpS5NuRUB_yYVq_xiKgD9FPA09O0 Indiana Rep. Souder says he'll resign over affair
  2. Web site: Special congressional election set for Nov. 2 | the Journal Gazette | Fort Wayne, IN . 2022-02-14 . 2010-07-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100731071936/http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20100528%2FNEWS07%2F100529561 . dead .
  3. Web site: Our Campaigns - IN District 03 - R Replacement Convention Race - Jun 12, 2010. www.ourcampaigns.com.
  4. http://www.dcpoliticalreport.com/INPoll.htm American Viewpoint
  5. https://web.archive.org/web/20101030102637/http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/Newest-Poll-Data-with-Surprises-105821978.html SurveyUSA
  6. https://web.archive.org/web/20101102231616/http://aroundfortwayne.info/blog/?p=14559&cpage=1 Riggs Research