Michigan's 7th congressional district elections, 2012
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| November 6, 2012 |
| August 7, 2012 |
Tim Walberg  |
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Incumbent Tim Walberg 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: Incumbent Tim Walberg (R), who has represented the 7th district since January 2011 and previously served from 2007 until 2009, will seek re-election. In redistricting, The Hill published a list of the Top Ten House Members who were helped by redistricting.[3] Walberg ranked 6th on the list.[3]
This was the first election using new district maps based on 2010 Census data. Michigan's 7th congressional district is located in the southeastern region of the lower penninsula of Michigan and includes the city of Kalamazoo. It includes Eaton, Jackson, Branch, Hillsdale, Lenawee, Washeraw, and Monroe counties.[4]
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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Note: Mike Stahly initially appear on the official candidate list, but was later disqualified.[6] |
Race background
Michigan's 7th was considered to be Leaning Republican according to the New York Times race ratings. Republican incumbent Tim Walberg was initially elected in 2006, lost the seat in 2008, and was re-elected in 2010. He faced Kurt R. Haskell (D) in the general election.[8]
Election Results
General Election
| U.S. House, Michigan, District 7 General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Kurt R. Haskell | 43% | 136,849 | |
| Republican |  Tim Walberg Incumbent |
53.3% | 169,668 | |
| Libertarian | Ken Proctor | 2.5% | 8,088 | |
| Green | Richard Wunsch | 1.1% | 3,464 | |
| Total Votes | 318,069 | |||
| Source: Michigan Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Republican Primary
| Michigan's 7th Congressional District Republican Primary, 2012 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|
Tim Walberg Incumbent |
76% | 45,590 |
| Dan Davis | 24% | 14,386 |
| Total Votes | 59,976 | |
Democratic Primary
| Michigan's 7th Congressional District Democratic Primary, 2012 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|
Kurt Haskell |
66.7% | 18,811 |
| Ruben Marquez | 33.3% | 9,371 |
| Total Votes | 28,182 | |
Impact of Redistricting
In redistricting, The Hill published a list of the Top Ten House Members who were helped by redistricting.[3] Tim Walberg ranked 6th on the list.[3] The article notes that Tim Walberg lost the district to centrist Mark Schauer (D) in 2008. He then beat Schauer in a rematch by 5 points in 2010. The redistricting process, controlled by Republicans, made sure to cut Schauer’s home base out of the district and made it a few points more Republican.[3] According to the article, Schauer said that he will not run for a rematch because of the new map.[3]
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 7th District became more Republican because of redistricting.[9]
- 2012: 48D / 52R
- 2010: 49D / 51R
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 7th congressional district has a PVI of R+3, which is the 208th most Republican district in the country. In 2008, this district was won by Barack Obama (D), 52-48 percent over John McCain (R). In 2004, George W. Bush (R) won the district 55-45 percent over John Kerry (D).[10]
District History
2010
On November 2, 2010, Walberg won election to the United States House of Representatives. He defeated Mark H. Schauer (D), Greg Merle (L), Scott Eugene Aughney (U.S. Taxpayers), Richard Wunsch (G), and Danny Davis (Write-In) in the general election.[11]
| U.S. House of Representatives, Michigan's 7th Congressional District, General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Tim Walberg |
50.2% | 113,185 | |
| Democratic | Mark H. Schauer Incumbent | 45.4% | 102,402 | |
| Libertarian | Greg Merle | 1.4% | 3,239 | |
| U.S. Taxpayers | Scott Eugene Aughney | 1.6% | 3,705 | |
| Green | Richard Wunsch | 1.4% | 3,117 | |
| Independent | Danny Davis | 0% | 21 | |
| Total Votes | 225,669 | |||
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 Walberg and Haskell's reports.
Tim Walberg
| Tim Walberg(2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[12] | March 31, 2012 | $600,299.88 | $176,278.79 | $(90,525.96) | $686,052.71 | ||||
| July Quarterly[13] | June 30, 2012 | $686,052.71 | $166,593.33 | $(146,579.79) | $706,066.25 | ||||
| Pre-Primary[14] | July 26, 2012 | $706,066.25 | $13,037.7 | $(39,697.41) | $679,406.54 | ||||
| October Quarterly[15] | October 15, 2012 | $679,406.54 | $156,031.59 | $(148,190.48) | $687,247.65 | ||||
| Pre-General[16] | October 25, 2012 | $687,247.65 | $41,447.14 | $(324,180.14) | $40,451,465 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $553,388.55 | $(749,173.78) | ||||||||
Kurt Haskell
| Kurt Haskell (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[17] | March 31, 2012 | $0.00 | $6,564.37 | $(6,361.87) | $202.50 | ||||
| July Quarterly[18] | June 30, 2012 | $202.50 | $6,109.56 | $(4,095.97) | $2,216.09 | ||||
| Pre-Primary[19] | August 28, 2012 | $2,216.09 | $2,593.65 | $(3,713.39) | $1,096.35 | ||||
| October Quarterly[20] | October 15, 2012 | $1,096.35 | $39,655.15 | $(40,256.31) | $495.19 | ||||
| Pre-General[21] | October 23, 2012 | $495.19 | $13,437.35 | $(4,992.94) | $8,939.60 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $68,360.08 | $(59,420.48) | ||||||||
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
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 The Hill "House members most helped by redistricting" Accessed April 17, 2012
- ↑ Michigan Redistricting Map "Map" Accessed August 31, 2012
- ↑ Secretary of State "2012 Unofficial Michigan Primary Candidate List" May 31, 2012
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Secretary of State "2012 Unofficial Michigan Primary Candidate List" May 31, 2012
- ↑ Secretary of State "2012 Unofficial Michigan Primary Candidate List" May 31, 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 23, 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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