 Donovan ran for County Executive in 2010, where she defeated incumbent Dennis McNerney and swept into office with her three Freeholder running mates, in an election in which perceived corruption by the Democratic incumbents, and rising spending and taxes were the major issues.Donovan won with 52.9% of the vote (117,104), while McNerney received 47.1% (104,366).On November 4, 2014, Donovan lost her reelection bid to Democratic Freeholder James J. Tedesco III, in an election in which the major issues were the county budget, consolidation of the county police and sheriff, and issues regarding lawsuits filed between the different branches of government.