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New York's 7th congressional district elections, 2012
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| November 6, 2012 |
| June 26, 2012 |
Nydia Velazquez  |
Joseph Crowley |
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Nydia Velazquez was re-elected on November 6, 2012.[1]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
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Primary: New York had a closed primary system, meaning only registered members of a particular party could vote in that party's primary.
Voter registration: Voters had to register to vote in the primary by June 1. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 12, or October 26 in person.[2]
- See also: New York elections, 2012
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Joseph Crowley (D), who was first elected to the House in 1998. Due to redistricting, Crowley ran in the new 14th district, and 12th district incumbent Nydia Velazquez ran in the 7th.
This was the first election using new district maps based on 2010 Census data. New York's 7th congressional district was located in the eastern portion of the state and included Kings county.[3]
Fusion voting
New York is one of eight states that have "electoral fusion" -- which allows more than one political party to support a common candidate. This creates a situation where one candidate will appear multiple times on the same ballot, for the same position. Electoral fusion was once widespread across the United States, but is now commonly practiced only in New York.
Opponents of fusion voting argued that the process resulted in dealmarking to ensure that patronage was rampant.[4] Proponents maintained that fusion voting allowed for minor parties to actually make a difference during the election,by allowing voters the opportunity to vote for a minority party platform but still affect the general election result.[5]
Candidates who appeared in the general election are listed below with colored dots corresponding to any party they represented on the ballot.
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
June 26, 2012 primary results
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Election Results
General Election
| U.S. House, New York, District 7 General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Nydia Velazquez Incumbent |
79% | 141,322 | |
| Conservative | James Murray | 4.4% | 7,811 | |
| N/A | Blank/Void/Scattering | 16.6% | 29,692 | |
| Total Votes | 178,825 | |||
| Source: New York State Board of Elections "U.S. House of Representatives Results" | ||||
Race background
Democratic primary
Due to Redistricting in New York, 12th district incumbent Nydia Velazquez ran in the 7th district, which included most of her former territory, and adds some of the Lower East Side.[8] Velazquez faced three primary challengers: Dan O'Connor, George Martinez, and Erik Dilan.
Dilan, a city councilman, was seen by some as the greatest challenge to Velazquez.[9] He was encouraged to run by Vito Lopez, chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party and a member of the New York Assembly. Lopez wanted to see Velazquez defeated, as he said she has rudely slighted him.[10] In return, Velazquez commented, "I advocate for cleaner politics, and he appoints cronies as judges."[10]
Bringing up a common theme in New York politics, Dilan said Velazquez had "the worst voting record on Israel in the New York congressional delegation."[11] Velazquez, however, was endorsed by what one Democratic source called "the three top Jewish Democrats in the state": U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler, and New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.[8] Velazquez was also endorsed by President Barack Obama.[9]
Dilan responded to questions of his fundraising sources -- a significant portion come from the real estate industry, which both Dilan and Lopez influence on the city and state level -- by responding that Velazquez received even more from banks.[12]
Martinez was a member of the Occupy Wall Street movement, and frequently delivered his messages in rap form. He was involved with an initiative called "Bum Rush the Vote."[13]
O'Connor was an economist by training and works in the renewable energy industry.[14]
Impact of redistricting
- See also: Redistricting in New York
Following the results of the 2010 Census, New York lost two congressional seats, bringing its total number of representatives down from 29 to 27.
The newly redrawn 7th includes most of 12th district incumbent Nydia Velazquez's territory, along with a large chunk of the Lower East Side.[8]
According to a report in the Washington Post political blog "The Fix," New York was one of the top 10 redistricting battles in the nation.[15]
The 7th district was re-drawn after the 2010 Census. The new district was composed of the following percentages of voters of the old congressional districts.[16][17]
- 1 percent from the 8th congressional district
- 6 percent from the 9th congressional district
- 12 percent from the 10th congressional district
- 8 percent from the 11th congressional district
- 70 percent from the 12th congressional district
- 2 percent from the 14th congressional district
Registration statistics
As of October 29, 2012, District 7 had the following partisan registration breakdown according to the New York State Board of Elections:
| New York Congressional District 7[18] | |||||||
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| Congressional District | District Total | Democrats | Republicans | Other & Unaffiliated | Advantage | Party Advantage | Change in Advantage from 2010 |
| District 7 | 326,120 | 232,330 | 24,980 | 68,810 | Democratic | 830.06% | 299.34% |
| "Party advantage" is the percentage gap between the two major parties in registered voters. "Change in advantage" is the spread in difference of party advantage between 2010 and 2012 based on the congressional district number only. | |||||||
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. New York's 7th District became more Democratic because of redistricting.[19]
- 2012: 81D / 19R
- 2010: 83D / 17R
Cook Political Report's PVI
In 2012, Cook Political Report released its updated figures on the Partisan Voter Index, which measured each congressional district's partisanship relative to the rest of the country. New York's 7th congressional district had a PVI of D+31, which was the 14th most Democratic district in the country. In 2008, this district was won by Barack Obama (D), 85-15 percent over John McCain (R). In 2004, John Kerry (D) won the district 80-20 percent over George W. Bush (R).[20]
District history
2010
On November 2, 2010, Joseph Crowley was re-elected to the United States House for a seventh term. He defeated Kenneth A. Reynolds (R who also ran on the Conservative Party ticket), and Anthony Gronowicz (Green).[21]
| U.S. House, New York Congressional District 7 General Election, 2010 | ||||
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Joseph Crowley Incumbent |
72.7% | 71,247 | |
| Republican | Kenneth A. Reynolds | 16.5% | 16,145 | |
| Blank/Scattering | 9.7% | 9,541 | ||
| Green | 1.1% | 1,038 | ||
| Total Votes | 97,971 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in New York, 2012
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
- United States Senate elections in New York, 2012
References
- ↑ York ABC News "2012 General Election Results"
- ↑ New York State Board of Elections "Voting Deadline Page," Accessed June 30, 2012
- ↑ New York Redistricting Map "Map" Accessed August 31, 2012
- ↑ Electoral fusion ruins elections
- ↑ Working Family Party: Fusion voting
- ↑ Dan O'Connor campaign website, Accessed January 27, 2012
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 New York Board of Elections "List of Filings for June 26, 2012 Federal Primary," Accessed May 30, 2012
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Jewish Press "Schumer, Silver, Nadler to Endorse Velázquez, Rebuffing Anti-Zionist Charges," June 3, 2012
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Capital New York "Obama endorses Nydia Velazquez," June 15, 2012
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 New York Times "With Three Spirited Primaries, Competitive Democracy Is Breaking Out," June 18, 2012
- ↑ ["http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2012/05/dilan-bashes-velazquez-on-israel-she-bashes-back New York Daily News "Dilan Bashes Velazquez On Israel; She Bashes Back," May 30, 2012]
- ↑ Capital New York "The congressional challenger from New York real estate," June 18, 2012
- ↑ Salon "An Occupier Eyes Congress," June 18, 2012
- ↑ Dan O'Connor campaign website "Biography," Accessed June 19, 2012
- ↑ Washington Post, "The Fix," "Redistricting battles hit a fever pitch," June 3, 2011
- ↑ Moonshadow Mobile's CensusViewer "New York's congressional districts 2001-2011 comparison"
- ↑ Labels & Lists "VoterMapping software voter counts"
- ↑ New York State Board of Elections, "District Active Enrollment 2012," April, 2012
- ↑ "2011 Redistricting and 2012 Elections in New York," 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"
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