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Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district elections, 2012
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| November 6, 2012 |
| April 24, 2012 |
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Primary: Pennsylvania has a closed primary system, meaning only registered members of a particular party may vote in that party's primary.
Voter registration: Voters had to register to vote in the primary by March 25. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 7.[2]
- See also: Pennsylvania elections, 2012
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Jason Altmire, (D), who assumed office in 2007. Due to redistricting, however, Altmire fell into the newly redrawn 12th district.
This was the first election using new district maps based on 2010 Census data. Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district is located in the south portion of Pennsylvania and includes Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, and York 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
April 24, 2012 primary results
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Election Results
General Election
| U.S. House, Pennsylvania, District 4 General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Harry Perkinson | 34.4% | 104,643 | |
| Republican |  Scott Perry |
59.7% | 181,603 | |
| Independent | Wayne Wolff | 3.8% | 11,524 | |
| Libertarian | Mike Koffenberger | 2% | 6,210 | |
| Total Votes | 303,980 | |||
| Source: Pennsylvania Department of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Democratic Primary
| U.S. House of Representatives-Pennsylvania District 4 Democratic Primary, 2012 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|
Harry Perkinson |
56% | 14,188 |
| Ken Lee | 44% | 11,134 |
| Total Votes | 25,322 | |
Republican Primary
| U.S. House of Representatives-Pennsylvania District 4 Republican Primary, 2012 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
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Scott Perry |
53.5% | 34,881 |
| Christopher Reilly | 18.6% | 12,143 |
| Sean Summers | 14.3% | 9,316 |
| Theodore Waga | 4.7% | 3,086 |
| Eric Martin | 3.3% | 2,159 |
| Mark Swomley | 3.3% | 2,150 |
| Kevin Downs | 2.2% | 1,451 |
| Total Votes | 65,186 | |
Race background
The Washington Post listed the House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania in 2012 as one of the states that could determine whether Democrats would retake the House or Republicans would hold their majority in 2013.[16] Ohio tied with Pennsylvania for 9th on the list.[16]
Impact of Redistricting
- See also Redistricting in Pennsylvania
The 4th district's incumbent Jason Altmire was redistricted into the newly redrawn 12th district, where he lost to incumbent Mark Critz in the Democratic primary.[17]
The 4th district was re-drawn after the 2010 Census. The new district is composed of the following percentages of voters of the old congressional districts.[18][19]
- 7 percent from the 17th congressional district
- 93 percent from the 19th congressional district
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. Pennsylvania's 4th District became more Democratic because of redistricting.[20]
- 2012: 42D / 58R
- 2010: 41D / 59R
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. Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district has a PVI of R+9, which is the 118th most Republican district in the country. In 2008, this district was won by John McCain (R), 54-46 percent over Barack Obama (D). In 2004, George W. Bush (R) won the district 62-38 percent over John Kerry (D).[21]
Campaign contributions
Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Elections Commission during the 2012 elections season. Below are candidate reports.
Harry Perkinson
| Harry Perkinson (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| July Quarterly[22] | July 15, 2012 | $11,303.50 | $19,067.54 | $(20,789.79) | $9,581.25 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $19,067.54 | $(20,789.79) | ||||||||
Scott Perry
| Scott Perry (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| July Quarterly[23] | July 15, 2012 | $84,078.50 | $115,146.57 | $(187,243.66) | $11,981.41 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $115,146.57 | $(187,243.66) | ||||||||
District History
2010
On November 2, 2010, Altmire won re-election to the United States House of Representatives. He defeated Keith Rothfus in the general election.[24]
| U.S. House of Representatives, Pennsylvania Congressional District 4 Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Jason Altmire Incumbent |
50.8% | 120,827 | |
| Republican | Keith Rothfus | 49.2% | 116,958 | |
| Total Votes | 237,785 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania, 2012
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
- United States Senate elections in Pennsylvania, 2012
External links
Kieth Rothfus official campaign website 3r
References
- ↑ Politico "2012 House Race Results"
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State "Registration Deadlines," Accessed June 28, 2012
- ↑ Pennsylvania Redistricting Map "Map" Accessed July 30, 2012
- ↑ York Daily News "Two Democrats announce candidacies for Platts' seat" Accessed January 23, 2012
- ↑ York Daily Record "Nine candidates file petitions for Rep. Platts' congressional seat" Accessed April 15, 2012
- ↑ Pennsylvania Secretary of State
- ↑ witf.org "State Representative Scott Perry says he'll run for Congress" Accessed January 23, 2012
- ↑ York Dispatch "Perry gets Gov. Corbett's endorsement" Accessed April 15, 2012
- ↑ York Daily Record "4th district congressional candidates agree on many policy issues, highlight their different backgrounds" Accessed April 15, 2012
- ↑ York Daily Record "Platts retiring from Congress" Accessed January 20, 2012
- ↑ pennlive.com "York County Commissioner Chris Reilly will run for Congress" Accessed April 15, 2012
- ↑ The Patriot News "Sean Summers, lawyer for Albert Snyder in case against Westboro Baptist Church, announces run for Congress" Accessed January 23, 2012
- ↑ whptv.com "Springettsbury Township's Mark Swomley to run for Congress" Accessed April 15, 2012
- ↑ York Dispatch "Two area Democrats announce congressional bids" Accessed January 27, 2012
- ↑ Pennsylvania Dept of State 2012 Official Primary Results
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Washington Post "The 10 states that will determine control of the House in 2012" Accessed April 25, 2012
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State "2012 General Primary Unofficial Returns," April 24, 2012
- ↑ Moonshadow Mobile's CensusViewer "Pennsylvania's congressional districts 2001-2011 comparison"
- ↑ Labels & Lists "VoterMapping software voter counts"
- ↑ "2011 Redistricting and 2012 Elections in Pennsylvania," September 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report "Partisan Voting Index Districts of the 113th Congress: 2004 & 2008" Accessed October 2012
- ↑ Federal Elections Commission "Harry Perkinson July Quarterly," Accessed July 20, 2012
- ↑ Federal Elections Commission "Scott Perry July Quarterly," Accessed July 20, 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
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