2010 Illinois elections

← 2008 November 2, 2010 2012 →
Turnout	50.53%

Elections in Illinois
Federal government U.S. Presidential elections 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 Dem 2000 Dem 2004 Dem 2008 Dem Rep 2012 Dem Rep 2016 Dem Rep 2020 Dem Rep 2024 Dem Rep U.S. Senate elections 1818 1819 1823 1824 1824 sp 1825 1830 sp 1831 1835 1837 1843 1846 1849 1849 sp 1853 1859 1861 1863 sp 1867 1879 1882 1885 1885 sp 1887 sp 1888 1890 1894 1896 1897 1901 1903 1907 1909 1913 1913 sp 1914 1918 1920 1924 1926 1928 sp 1930 1932 1936 1938 1940 sp 1942 1944 1948 1950 1954 1956 1960 1962 1966 1968 1970 sp 1972 1974 1978 1980 1984 1986 1990 1992 1996 1998 2002 2004 2008 2010 2010 sp 2014 2016 2020 2022 2026 U.S. House elections 1818 1819 1820 1822 1824 1826 1828 1831 1832 1834 1836 1838 1840 1842 1844 1846 1848 1850 1852 1854 1856 1858 1859 6th sp 1860 1861 6th sp 1862 1864 1866 1868 1870 1871 AL sp 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1895 10th sp 18th sp 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 4th sp 1920 1922 AL sp 1923 2nd sp 4th sp 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 19th sp 1946 1948 1950 1952 1953 7th sp 1954 1956 1957 7th sp 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1969 13th sp 1970 6th sp 1972 15th sp 1973 7th sp 1974 1975 5th sp 1976 1978 1980 10th sp 1982 1983 1st sp 1984 1985 14th sp 1986 1988 21st sp 1990 1991 15th sp 1992 1994 1995 2nd sp 1996 1998 2000 1st 2002 2004 2006 2008 14th sp 2009 5th sp 2010 17th 2012 2013 2nd sp 2014 2015 18th sp 2016 2018 2020 2022 1st 2024
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Ballot measures and referendums State capitol referendum (1834) Cutback Amendment (1980) Crime Victim Rights Amendment (1992) Illinois Governor Recall Amendment (2010) Public Pension Amendment (2012) Marsy's Law (2014) Right to Vote Amendment (2014) Transportation Taxes and Fees Lockbox Amendment (2016) Fair Tax (2020) Right to Collective Bargaining Amendment (2022)
Chicago General elections 2019 2023 Mayoral elections 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1876 1877 1879 1881 1883 1885 1887 1889 1891 1893 1893 sp 1895 1897 1899 1901 1903 1905 1907 1911 1915 1919 1923 1927 1931 1935 1939 1943 1947 1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1977 sp 1979 1983 1987 1989 sp 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 Aldermanic elections 1923 1925 1927 1929 2011 2015 2019 2023 Chicago Board of Education elections 2024 2026
Cicero Municipal elections 1924
Cook County County elections 1946 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
v t e

Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. Primary elections were held on February 2, 2010.

Election information

2010 was a midterm election year in the United States.

Turnout

Primary election

For the primary election, turnout was 23.14%, with 1,758,489 votes cast.^[1]

Turnout by county^[1]

General election

For the general election, turnout was 50.53%, with 3,792,770 votes cast.^[2]

Turnout by county^[2]

Federal elections

United States Senate

Incumbent Democrat Roland Burris, appointed in 2009 by then-Governor Rod Blagojevich to fill the U.S. Senate seat that Barack Obama had vacated after being elected President of the United States, did not seek reelection.

U.S. Congressman Mark Kirk (Republican Party) won against State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias (Democratic Party), Mike Labno (Libertarian Party), and football coach LeAlan Jones (Green Party) in both a regular election for the Senate seat and a coinciding special election to fill the remainder of Barack Obama's unexpired term.

United States House

All Illinois seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 2010.

The Republican Party flipped four Democratic-held seats, making the composition of Illinois' House delegation 11 Republicans and 8 Democrats.

State elections

Governor and lieutenant governor

2010 Illinois gubernatorial election

← 2006 November 2, 2010 2014 →
Turnout	49.69%
Nominee Pat Quinn Bill Brady Party Democratic Republican Running mate Sheila Simon Jason Plummer Popular vote 1,745,219 1,713,385 Percentage 46.79% 45.94%
County results Quinn:      40–50%      60–70% Brady:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Governor before election Pat Quinn Democratic Elected Governor Pat Quinn Democratic

Incumbent Governor Pat Quinn, who became governor after Rod Blagojevich was removed from office, was elected outright to his first full term.

Attorney general

2010 Illinois Attorney General election

← 2006 November 2, 2010 2014 →
Turnout	49.36%
Nominee Lisa Madigan Steve Kim Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,397,723 1,172,427 Percentage 64.72% 31.65%
County results Madigan:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Kim:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Attorney General before election Lisa Madigan Democratic Elected Attorney General Lisa Madigan Democratic

Incumbent Democratic attorney general Lisa Madigan won reelection to a third term in office

Democratic primary

Republican primary

Green primary

General election

Secretary of state

2010 Illinois Secretary of State election

← 2006 November 2, 2010 2014 →
Turnout	49.39%
Nominee Jesse White Robert Enriquez Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,590,222 1,001,544 Percentage 69.87% 27.02%
County results White:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Enriquez:      40–50%      50–60%
Secretary of State before election Jesse White Democratic Elected Secretary of State Jesse White Democratic

Incumbent Democratic Secretary of State Jesse White won reelection to a fourth term in office.

Democratic primary

Republican primary

Green primary

General election

Green Party nominee Adrian Frost withdrew before the election.

Comptroller

2010 Illinois State Comptroller election

← 2006 November 2, 2010 2014 →
Turnout	48.79%
Nominee Judy Baar Topinka David E. Miller Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,927,139 1,497,263 Percentage 52.62% 40.88%
County results Topinka:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Miller:      40–50%      50–60%
State Comptroller before election Daniel Hynes Democratic Elected State Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka Republican

Incumbent Comptroller Daniel Hynes, a Democrat, did not seek a fourth term. Republican Judy Baar Topinka was elected to succeed him.

Democratic primary

Republican primary

Green primary

General election

Treasurer

2010 Illinois State Treasurer election

← 2006 November 2, 2010 2014 →
Turnout	48.58%
Nominee Dan Rutherford Robin Kelly Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,811,293 1,650,244 Percentage 49.68% 45.26%
County results Rutherford:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Kelly:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Treasurer before election Alexi Giannoulias Democratic Elected Treasurer Dan Rutherford Republican

Incumbent Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, a Democrat, did not seek reelection to a second term, instead opting to run for United States Senate. Republican Dan Rutherford was elected to succeed him. As of 2022^[update], this is the last time a Republican was elected Illinois state treasurer.

Democratic primary

Republican primary

Green primary

General election

State senate

One-third of the seats of the Illinois Senate were up for election in 2010.

• Illinois State Senate elections, 2010 at Ballotpedia

State House of Representatives

All of the seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 2010.

• Illinois House of Representatives elections, 2010 at Ballotpedia

Judicial elections

Multiple judicial positions were up for election in 2010.

• VoteForJudges.org

Ballot measure

One measure, the Governor recall amendment, was certified for the 2010 statewide election.^[4]

• Illinois 2010 ballot measures at Ballotpedia

Illinois Governor Recall Amendment

Voters approved the Illinois Governor Recall Amendment, allowing voters to hold recall elections of Illinois Governors.^[5] In order to be approved, the measure required either 60% support among those specifically voting on the amendment or 50% support among all ballots cast in the elections.^[6] The 60% support threshold was exceeded.^[5][6]

Local elections

Local elections were held. These included county elections, such as the Cook County elections.