 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 237,137 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||
 County resultsBerg: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Pomeroy: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Elections in North Dakota | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Federal government | ||||
| State government | ||||
Ballot measures
|
||||
Fargo
|
||||
Bismarck
|
||||
Grand Forks
|
||||
The 2010 House election in North Dakota took place on November 2, 2010, to elect the state's at-large Representative to the United States House of Representatives. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; this election was for the 112th Congress from January 3, 2011, until January 3, 2013. North Dakota has one seat in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States census.
The election was held concurrently with the United States Senate elections of 2010 (including one in North Dakota), the United States House elections in other states and various state and local elections.
Background
 | This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (July 2014) |
Despite Republican dominance at the presidential level in North Dakota, which has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964, as well as state and local elections, Democrats achieved several consecutive victories in congressional elections in the state since the 1980s. Democrats had held the state's at-large House seat since 1981. From 1987 to 2011, North Dakota had a completely Democratic congressional delegation.
Since his first election in 1992, incumbent Democrat Earl Pomeroy had usually won reelection by comfortable margins. However, with Democrats fighting in a much tougher political environment in 2010, Republicans planned on putting forward a serious challenge. Republicans running against him included state Public Service Commissioner Kevin Cramer, state Representative Rick Berg, and former University of Mary football coach Paul Schaffner. Pomeroy was likely more vulnerable than usual due to his support for the Democratic House Healthcare bill, which 64% of North Dakotans opposed, and President Barack Obama's declining job approval ratings in the state.
General election
Candidates
Democrats
- Earl Pomeroy, incumbent U.S. Representative
Republicans
- Rick Berg, North Dakota State Representative and former state House Majority Leader
- J.D. Donaghe, oil field consultant
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s)dministered | Earl Pomeroy (D) |
Rick Berg (R) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Opinion Strategies† | October 24–25, 2010 | 42% | 51% | - | - |
| Rasmussen Reports | October 18–19, 2010 | 42% | 52% | 1% | 5% |
| The Hill/ANGA | October 16–19, 2010 | 45% | 44% | - | 9% |
| Prairie Poll | October 2010 | 44% | 34% | - | - |
| Rasmussen Reports | September 20–21, 2010 | 45% | 48% | 1% | 5% |
| Garin-Hart-Yang† | September 10–12, 2010 | 46% | 44% | - | - |
| Rasmussen Reports | August 10–11, 2010 | 44% | 53% | 1% | 3% |
| Rasmussen Reports | July 21, 2010 | 46% | 49% | 1% | 5% |
| Rasmussen Reports | June 15–16, 2010 | 44% | 51% | 1% | 5% |
| Rasmussen Reports | May 19, 2010 | 43% | 52% | 2% | 3% |
| Rasmussen Reports | April 20, 2010 | 45% | 49% | 2% | 4% |
| Rasmussen Reports | March 23–24, 2010 | 44% | 51% | 1% | 4% |
| Rasmussen Reports | February 9–10, 2010 | 40% | 46% | 3% | 11% |
†Internal poll (Garin-Hart-Yang for Pomeroy and Public Opinion Strategies for Berg)
Results
In the general election Berg unseated Pomeroy by a vote of 129,802 (55%) to 106,542 (45%) becoming the first Republican since 1980 to represent North Dakota's at-large congressional district.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Rick Berg | 129,802 | 54.74 | |||
| Democratic–NPL | Earl Pomeroy (incumbent) | 106,542 | 44.93 | |||
| Write-in | 793 | 0.33 | ||||
| Total votes | 237,137 | 100.00 | ||||
| Republican gain from Democratic–NPL | ||||||
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Adams (largest city: Hettinger)
- Cass (largest city: Fargo)
- Bottineau (largest city: Bottineau)
- Burke (largest city: Powers Lake)
- Burleigh (largest city: Bismarck)
- Dickey (largest city: Oakes)
- Divide (largest city: Crosby)
- Foster (largest city: Carrington)
- Grant (largest city: Elgin)
- Griggs (largest city: Cooperstown)
- Hettinger (largest city: Mott)
- Kidder (largest city: Steele)
- LaMoure (largest city: LaMoure)
- Logan (largest city: Napoleon)
- McHenry (largest city: Velva)
- McIntosh (largest city: Wishek)
- McKenzie (largest city: Watford City)
- McLean (largest city: Garrison)
- Mercer (largest city: Beulah)
- Morton (largest city: Mandan)
- Pembina (largest city: Cavalier)
- Pierce (largest city: Rugby)
- Renville (largest city: Mohall)
- Richland (largest city: Wahpeton)
- Stark (largest city: Dickinson)
- Stutsman (largest city: Jamestown)
- Walsh (largest city: Grafton)
- Ward (largest city: Minot)
- Wells (largest city: Harvey)
- Williams (largest city: Williston)
See also
References
- Cadei, Emily (February 12, 2010). "Pomeroy Trails GOP Challenger in North Dakota - The Eye (CQ Politics)". Blogs.cqpolitics.com. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
- "Election 2010: North Dakota House of Representatives - Rasmussen Reports". Rasmussenreports.com. August 16, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
- Public Opinion Strategies
- Rasmussen Reports
- The Hill/ANGA
- Prairie Poll
- Rasmussen Reports
- Garin-Hart-Yang
- Rasmussen Reports
- Rasmussen Reports
- Rasmussen Reports
- Rasmussen Reports
- Rasmussen Reports
- Rasmussen Reports
- Rasmussen Reports
- "North Dakota Secretary of State".
External links
- Elections and Voting at the North Dakota Secretary of State
- U.S. Congress candidates for North Dakota at Project Vote Smart
- 2010 North Dakota General Election: Rick Berg (R) vs Earl Pomeroy (D) graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
- House - North Dakota from the Cook Political Report
- North Dakota - At-Large from OurCampaigns.com
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets
- 2010 North Dakota - 1st District from CQ Politics
- Race profile at The New York Times
Debates
- North Dakota House Debate on C-SPAN, October 4, 2010 (26:42)