In 2010, Terry faced another primary challenge, this one from Matt Sakalosky, a Tea Party challenger who accused Terry of being "insufficiently conservative". Terry refused to debate him and Sakalosky struggled to raise money but ended up taking 37% of the vote to Terry's 63%. In the general election, Esch declined to seek another rematch with Terry and so he faced Democratic State Senator Tom White. In a year that saw the Republicans make widespread gains and retake the House, Terry defeated White 61% to 39%.