Michigan's 1st congressional district elections, 2012

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Michigan's 1st Congressional District

General Election Date November 6, 2012

Primary Date August 7, 2012

November 6 Election Winner: Dan Benishek

Incumbent prior to election: Dan Benishek

Michigan U.S. House Elections District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12 • District 13 • District 14

2012 U.S. Senate Elections

The 1st congressional district of Michigan held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012.

Incumbent Dan Benishek won the election.

The 1st district is located in the northern region of the lower penninsula and the entire upper penninsula of Michigan.

This is the 1st congressional district prior to the 2010 redistricting.

Candidate Filing Deadline	Primary Election	General Election
May 15, 2012	August 7, 2012	November 6, 2012

Primary: Michigan has an open primary system, meaning any registered voter can vote in any party's primary.

Voter registration: Voters were required to register to vote in the primary by July 9. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 9.

See also: Michigan elections, 2012

Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent is Dan Benishek (R), who has served since 2010.

This was the first election using new district maps based on 2010 Census data. Michigan's 1st congressional district is located in the far northern portion of the state and includes Keweenaw, Houghton, Ontonagon, Gogebie, Baraga, Iron, Dickinson, Marquette, Menominee, Delta, Alger, Schoolcraft, Luce, Chippewa, Mackinac, Presque Isle, Cheboyan, Emmett, Charlevcix, Antrim, Leelanau, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Manistee, Mason, Kalkaska, Crawford, Oscoda, Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency, and Otsego counties.

Candidates

Note: Election results were added on election night as races were called. Vote totals will be added when official election results are certified. For more information about Ballotpedia's election coverage plan, click here. If you find any errors in this list, please email: Geoff Pallay.

General election candidates

Gary McDowell

Dan Benishek

Emily Salvette

Ellis Boal

August 7, 2012 primary results

Democratic Primary

• Gary McDowell a

Note: Derek Bailey withdrew from the primary on April 23, 2012

Republican Primary

• Dan Benishek: Incumbent a

Election Results

U.S. House, Michigan, District 1 General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Gary McDowell	47.6%	165,179
	Republican	Dan Benishek Incumbent	48.1%	167,060
	Libertarian	Emily Salvette	3.1%	10,630
	Green	Ellis Boal	1.2%	4,168
Total Votes				347,037
Source: Michigan Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

Race background

Competitiveness

Using the Federal Election Commission's October Quarterly campaign finance filings, the Brennan Center for Justice at The New York University School of Law published a report on October 22nd focusing on the 25 House races rated most competitive by The Cook Political Report, including the race for Michigan's 1st. The report examined the relative spending presence of non-candidate groups, candidates, and small donors in these races - "which will likely determine which party will control the House."

List of 25 Toss Up Races from the Cook Political Report:
Democratic Toss Ups: Georgia-12 Illinois-12 Kentucky-6 Nevada-4 New York-27 North Carolina-7 Pennsylvania-12 Utah-4 Republican Toss Ups: Arizona-1 California-7 California-10 California-26 California-36 California-52 Colorado-6 Florida-18 Illinois-11 Illinois-13 California-17 Michigan-1 Minnesota-8 Nevada-3 New Hampshire-1 New York-18 New York-19 Ohio-16 Texas-23

Michigan's 1st was considered to be a Tossup according to the New York Times race ratings. Republican incumbent Dan Benishek was challenged by Gary McDowell (D) for a rematch of their 2010 bout. The district had a large number of senior citizens, which could have hurt Benishek who voted for the Ryan budget, which was framed as voting to end traditional medicare. The district became slightly more Republican following redistricting.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) had targeted the 1st district for additional resources from the committee. The district is 1 of 36 nominated to receive additional resources through the DCCC’s “Red to Blue” program. The 1st district was the only one in Michigan that has been targeted.

Incumbent Dan Benishek was a part of the National Republican Congressional Committee's Patriot Program, a program to help House Republicans stay on offense and increase their majority in 2012.

McDowell explained the strategy to the Daily Press, "What they do is look across the country and they look at the most competitive races," he explained. "This one here is very competitive for a number of reasons. It's a swing district; it can go either way."

According to the Daily Press, a recent poll showed McDowell leading Benishek by five points in a hypothetical head-to-head match-up, 46 to 41 percent. Benishek's approval rating in the poll sat at 32 percent.

Polls

Dan Benishek vs. Gary McDowell

Dan Benishek vs. Gary McDowell
Response	(June 25, 2012)	Average
Dan Benishek	40%	40%
Gary McDowell	38%	38%
Undecided	22%	22%
Number polled	402	402
Margin of error	+/-4.9	4.9%
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

Issues

Benishek had been targeted for defeat in the upcoming 2012 elections by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Media

The two campaign ads below were released by Republican incumbent Dan Benishek and Democratic challenger Gary McDowell.

Dan Benishek

Dan Benishek, "Ad: Promotion"

Gary McDowell

Gary McDowell, "Send a Message"

Impact of Redistricting

See also Redistricting in Michigan

District partisanship

FairVote's Monopoly Politics 2012 study

See also: FairVote's Monopoly Politics 2012

In 2012, FairVote did a study on partisanship in the congressional districts, giving each a percentage ranking (D/R) based on the new 2012 maps and comparing that to the old 2010 maps. Michigan's 1st District partisan breakdown did not change because of redistricting.

• 2012: 47D / 53R
• 2010: 47D / 53R

Cook Political Report's PVI

See also: Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

In 2012, Cook Political Report released its updated figures on the Partisan Voter Index, which measures each congressional district's partisanship relative to the rest of the country. Michigan's 1st congressional district has a PVI of R+4, which is the 201st most Republican district in the country. In 2008, this district was won by Barack Obama (D), 51-49 percent over John McCain (R). In 2004, George W. Bush (R) won the district 55-45 percent over John Kerry (D).

Campaign donors

Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2012 elections season. Below are Benishek and McDowell's reports.

Dan Benishek

Dan Benishek (2012) Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
April Quarterly	March 31, 2012	$277,055.84	$336,236.67	$(100,995.4)	$512,297.11
July Quarterly	June 30, 2012	$512,297.11	$305,245.35	$(203,306.98)	$614,235.48
Pre-Primary	July 26, 2012	$614,235.48	$36,273.6	$(152,229.94)	$498,729.14
October Quarterly	October 28, 2012	$498,314.14	$487,308.29	$(411,287.53)	$574,334.9
Pre-General	October 25, 2012	$574,334.9	$128,790.84	$(412,751.98)	$290,373.56
			Running totals
			$1,293,854.75	$(1,280,571.83)

Gary McDowell

Gary McDowell (2012) Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
April Quarterly	March 31, 2012	$303,077.60	$273,981.60	$(74,385.12)	$502,674.08
July Quarterly	June 30, 2012	$502,674.08	$291,062.38	$(107,074.92)	$686,661.54
Pre-General	October 15, 2012	$686,661.54	$15,238.40	$(81,542.06)	$620,357.88
October Quarterly	October 15, 2012	$620,357.88	$385,760.60	$(402,305.70)	$603,812.78
Pre-General	October 25, 2012	$603,812.78	$77,966.34	$(299,508.03)	$382,271.09
			Running totals
			$1,044,009.32	$(964,815.83)

McDowell reported raising $400,000 in the third quarter, leaving his campaign with $600,000 cash on hand.

District History

2010

On November 2, 2010, Benishek won election to the United States House of Representatives. He defeated Gary McDowell (D), Keith Shelton (L), Patrick Lambert (U.S. Taxpayers'), Ellis Boal (G), and Glenn A. Wilson (I) in the general election.

U.S. House of Representatives, Michigan's 1st Congressional District, General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dan Benishek	51.9%	120,523
	Democratic	Gary McDowell	40.9%	94,824
	Libertarian	Keith Shelton	1.1%	2,571
	U.S. Taxpayers'	Patrick Lambert	1.8%	4,200
	Green	Ellis Boal	0.9%	2,072
	Independent	Glenn A. Wilson	3.4%	7,847
Total Votes				232,037

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan, 2012
• United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
• United States Senate elections in Michigan, 2012

External links

• Dan Benishek Campaign Website