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Michigan's 3rd congressional district elections, 2012
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| November 6, 2012 |
| August 7, 2012 |
Justin Amash  |
Justin Amash |
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Incumbent Justin Amash won the election.[1]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
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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.[2]
- See also: Michigan elections, 2012
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent is Justin Amash (R), who has served since 2010.
This was the first election using new district maps based on 2010 Census data. Michigan's 3rd congressional district is located in the western region of the lower penninsula of Michigan and includes the city of Grand Rapids. It includes Kent, Ionia, Barry, Montcolm, and Calhoun counties.[3]
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
August 7, 2012 primary results
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Race background
Michigan's 3rd was considered to be Leaning Republican according to the New York Times race ratings. Republican incumbent Justin Amash was challenged by Democrat Steve Pestka. Amash has been considered as "the next Ron Paul" for his libertarian policies and has clashed with Republican leadership.[6]
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 3rd District became less Republican because of redistricting.[7]
- 2012: 47D / 53R
- 2010: 46D / 54R
Cook Political Report's PVI
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 3rd congressional district has a PVI of R+5, which is the 183rd most Republican district in the country. In 2008, this district was won by Barack Obama (D), 50-50 percent (rounded the figures are even, but Obama garnered more votes) over John McCain (R). In 2004, George W. Bush (R) won the district 58-42 percent over John Kerry (D).[8]
Election Results
General Election
| U.S. House, Michigan, District 3 General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Steve Pestka | 44.2% | 144,108 | |
| Republican |  Justin Amash Incumbent |
52.6% | 171,675 | |
| Libertarian | Bill Gelineau | 3.2% | 10,498 | |
| Total Votes | 326,281 | |||
| Source: Michigan Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Democratic Primary
| Michigan's 3rd Congressional District Democratic Primary, 2012 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
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Steve Petska |
58.9% | 13,408 |
| Trevor Thomas | 41.1% | 9,373 |
| Total Votes | 22,781 | |
District History
2010
On November 2, 2010, Amash won election to the United States House of Representatives. He defeated Pat Miles (D), James Rogers (L), Ted Gerrard (U.S. Taxpayers'), and Charlie Shick (G) in the general election.[9]
| U.S. House of Representatives, Michigan's 3rd Congressional District, General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Justin Amash |
59.7% | 133,714 | |
| Democratic | Pat Miles | 37.5% | 83,953 | |
| Libertarian | James Rogers | 1.2% | 2,677 | |
| U.S. Taxpayers' | Ted Gerrard | 1% | 2,144 | |
| Green | Charlie Shick | 0.7% | 1,575 | |
| Total Votes | 224,063 | |||
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 Amash and Pestka's reports.
Justin Amash
| Justin Amash (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[10] | March 31, 2012 | $162,899.89 | $139,451.92 | $(101,800.03) | $200,551.78 | ||||
| July Quarterly[11] | June 30, 2012 | $200,551.78 | $299,376.17 | $(80,882.08) | $419,045.87 | ||||
| Pre-Primary[12] | July 26, 2012 | $419,045.87 | $11,059.69 | $(21,529.67) | $408,575.89 | ||||
| October Quarterly[13] | October 15, 2012 | $408,575.89 | $201,813.71 | $(127,497.55) | $482,892.05 | ||||
| Pre-General[14] | October 25, 2012 | $482,892.05 | $80,179.62 | $(125,131.12) | $437,940.55 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $731,881.11 | $(456,840.45) | ||||||||
Steve Pestka
| Steve Pestka (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[15] | March 31, 2012 | $0.00 | $218,186.74 | $(22,677.65) | $195,509.09 | ||||
| July Quarterly[16] | June 30, 2012 | $195,509.09 | $576,171.32 | $(112,619.23) | $659,061.18 | ||||
| Pre-Primary[17] | September 30, 2012 | $659,061.18 | $4,164.33 | $(211,634.81) | $451,590.70 | ||||
| October Quarterly[18] | October 15, 2012 | $451,590.70 | $613,658.51 | $(902,962.16) | $162,287.05 | ||||
| Pre-General[19] | October 25, 2012 | $162,287.05 | $59,084.61 | $(130,594.52) | $90,777.14 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $1,471,265.51 | $(1,380,488.37) | ||||||||
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
References
- ↑ Politico "2012 Election Map, Michigan"
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State "2012 Registration Deadlines and Election Dates," Accessed June 29, 2012
- ↑ Michigan Redistricting Map "Map" Accessed August 31, 2012
- ↑ Miami Herald "Gay activist Trevor Thomas runs for Congress in Michigan; 'Time to return to values of Jerry Ford'" March 31, 2012
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State "Candidate Filing List" May 17, 2012
- ↑ New York Times "House Race Ratings," Accessed August 10, 2012
- ↑ "2011 Redistricting and 2012 Elections in Michigan," September 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report "Partisan Voting Index Districts of the 113th Congress: 2004 & 2008" Accessed October 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010" Accessed December 11, 2011
- ↑ Federal Election Commission "April Quarterly," Accessed August 1, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission "July Quarterly," Accessed August 1, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission "Pre-Primary," Accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission "October Quarterly," Accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission "Pre-General," Accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission "April Quarterly," Accessed August 1, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission "July Quarterly," Accessed August 1, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission "Pre-Primary," Accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission "October Quarterly," Accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission "Pre-General," Accessed November 6, 2012
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