The 2010 Florida Attorney General election took place on November 2, 2010, to elect the

Attorney General of Florida The Florida attorney general is an elected cabinet official in the U.S. state of Florida. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state, and is head of the Florida Department of Legal Affairs. The office is one of Florida's ...

. Incumbent Attorney General

Bill McCollum Ira William McCollum Jr. (born July 12, 1944) is an American lawyer and Republican Party politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 2001, representing Florida's 5th congressional district, which was ...

opted to run for run for Governor rather than seek reelection. The election was won by Republican

Pam Bondi Pamela Jo Bondi ( ; born November 17, 1965) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who has served as the 87th United States attorney general since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, she served as the 37th attorney general of Fl ...

, a former assistant state attorney for Hillsborough County, who defeated Democrat

Dan Gelber Daniel Saul Gelber (born November 26, 1960) is an American politician and former prosecutor. He served in the Florida Legislature from 2000 to 2010 and was the Democratic nominee for Attorney General of Florida in 2010. From 2017 to 2023, he ...

by a 54.8% to 41.1% margin. Bondi took office in January 2011.

Republican primary

Candidates

* Holly Benson, former state representative *

, former assistant state attorney for Hillsborough County * Jeff Kottkamp,

Lieutenant Governor of Florida The lieutenant governor of Florida is a statewide constitutional office in the Government of Florida, executive branch of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the second highest-ranking official in the state government. The lieutenant governor is el ...

Campaign

With Governor

Charlie Crist Charles Joseph Crist Jr. ( ; born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. represen ...

opting to run for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

rather than seek

re-election The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be a ...

, Lieutenant Governor Jeff Kottkamp ran for attorney general. He was joined in the Republican primary by former state representative and Crist administration official Holly Benson and assistant state attorney

. Though all three candidates were relatively unknown, Kottkamp had the greatest name recognition following his successful statewide campaign in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, and raised the most money. Kottkamp campaigned on his endorsements from law enforcement, his support for cracking down on pill mills, cybercrime, and

Medicaid Medicaid is a government program in the United States that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by U.S. state, state governments, which also h ...

fraud, and his opposition to

illegal immigration Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...

. He was criticized, however, for his use of state planes and vehicles to travel on vacations and to music concerts. Benson, meanwhile, campaigned on her fiscal conservatism, pledging to create a "regulatory strike force" and to "focus legal efforts on cutting government regulation of businesses and unnecessary paperwork." She emphasized her experience running the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation and the state

Agency for Health Care Administration The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) is the chief health policy and planning entity for the US state of Florida. The agency was created by the Florida Legislature as part of the Health Care Reform Act of 1992. The agency is t ...

. The ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region, in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by pare ...

'', though praising her "stronger management experience," called her priorities "misplaced," and observed that "reducing regulations on business and limiting lawsuits" were more appropriate goals for a governor or state legislator. Bondi criticized Benson's remarks during a radio interview, where she said " st because you're poor doesn't mean you have to be unhealthy. It means you have a lot more time to go running." Finally, Bondi emphasized her conservative credentials and her opposition to the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...

. She noted that she would have refused to accept stimulus money from the federal government, took a position against the restoration of felons' voter rights, and pledged to challenge the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...

in court.

Endorsements

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Dave Aronberg, state senator *

, state senator

Endorsements

Results

General election

Results

References

{{2010 United States elections

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Florida Attorney General elections