United States Senate elections in California, 2012
 California's 2012 elections: • U.S. Senate • U.S. House • State Senate • State Assembly • Ballot measures |
 |
Dianne Feinstein  |
Dianne Feinstein |
 |
Solid D (Prior to election) |
| |
| |
 |
Contents |
Incumbent Dianne Feinstein (D) won re-election on November 6, 2012.[1]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
| |
|
|
Primary: California has a top-two primary system, in which the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, go on to the general election.
Voter registration: Voters had to register to vote in the primary by May 21. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 22.[2]
- See also: California elections, 2012
Incumbent: The election will fill the Class 1 Senate seat, which is currently held by Dianne Feinstein (D). She was first elected in 1992.
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 5, 2012 primary results
- Note: Due to California's recently adopted Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act, all candidates compete in one primary. The two who receive the most votes move on to the general election, regardless of any party affiliation.
- Dianne Feinstein
Incumbent[3]
- Colleen Shea Fernald
- David Alex Levitt
- Nak Shah
- Diane Stewart
- Mike Strimling
John Boruff [4]
- Oscar Alejandro Braun
- Greg Conlon
- Elizabeth Emken [5]
- Rogelio Gloria [6]
- Dan Hughes [7]
- Dennis Jackson
- Dirk Konopik[5]
- Donald Krampe
- Robert Lauten
- Al Ramirez [8]
- Nachum Shifren [9]
- Orly Taitz [5]
- Rick Williams
Gail Lightfoot [8]
Kabiruddin Karim Ali
- Marsha Feinland
Don Grundmann [8]
- Note: The following candidates withdrew prior to the primary: Keith Holbrook, Tim Kalemkarian, and Michael Stollaire
Election results
General election
| U.S. Senate, California, General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Dianne Feinstein Incumbent |
62.5% | 7,864,624 | |
| Republican | Elizabeth Emken | 37.5% | 4,713,887 | |
| Total Votes | 12,578,511 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Race background
Incumbent Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, first elected in 1992, will defend her seat in the 2012 election. Feinstein survived the first round of her re-election campaign on June 5th when she overcame a whopping 23 challengers in her first ever blanket (or "top-two") primary. The second-highest vote getting from the primary, Republican Elizabeth Emken, will also advance to the general election, taking place on November 6, 2012.
Blanket primary
This was the first election year in which California's Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act was in effect. Because of this, all candidates for a seat competed in one blanket primary. The two candidates who received the most votes then advanced to the general election on November 6.
The proposition's intent was to encourage primary competition, which backers of the act said would lead to more moderate legislators being elected. Despite this intention, only a few centrists successfully advanced to the general election. The primary results did reflect an increase in competition, with California's percentage of contested primaries being much higher than the nationwide average.[10]
However, the increase in competition has also led to an increase in campaign spending, due to the fact that competition within political parties will last for the entire year rather than ending after the primary. Experts predict that this will only increase the power of the special interest groups that fund the campaigns.[10]
Raphael J. Sonenshein, executive director of the Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Institute of Public Affairs at Cal State L.A., said the following, "It's hard to argue it's a better system where the incumbent congressman has a huge war chest and nobody else has any money... At least now we can make him spend it."[10]
Competitiveness
Several factors, including Feinstein's staggering campaign finance advantage over her only general election opponent, Elizabeth Emken (R), point to a high-probability of re-election for the Democratic incumbent this year. The consensus among race projections published in the months leading up to November's general election, such as The New York Times 2012 Battle for the Senate, rate the race for the California Class 1 Senate seat as Solid Democratic.[11]
Race rating
Cook Political Report
Each month the Cook Political Report releases race ratings for President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House (competitive only) and Governors. There are seven possible designations: [12]
|
Solid Democratic
|
Tossup |
Lean Republican
|
| Cook Political Report Race Rating -- California Senate | |
|---|---|
| Month | Rating |
| November 1, 2012[13] | |
| October 4, 2012[14] | |
| September 13, 2012[15] | |
| August 21, 2012[16] | |
| July 12, 2012[17] | |
| May 31, 2012[18] | |
| May 10, 2012[19] | |
| March 22, 2012[20] | |
| March 1, 2012[21] | |
| January 26, 2012[22] | |
| December 22, 2011[23] | |
| December 1, 2011[24] | |
Campaign contributions
Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2012 elections season. Below are candidate reports.
Dianne Feinstein
| Dianne Feinstein[25] Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[26] | April 13, 2012 | $6,574,635.54 | $1,154,455.44 | $(449,994.83) | $7,279,096.15 | ||||
| Pre-Primary[27] | May 24, 2012 | $7,279,096.15 | $713,380.56 | $(5,368,080.87) | $2,624,395.84 | ||||
| July Quarterly[28] | July 14, 2012 | $2,607,347.09 | $612,506.71 | $(134,251.01) | $3,085,602.79 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $2,480,342.71 | $(5,952,326.71) | ||||||||
Elizabeth Emken
| Elizabeth Emken [29] Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[30] | April 14, 2012 | $33,441.64 | $262,310.36 | $(43,748.43) | $252,003.57 | ||||
| Pre-Primary[31] | May 24, 2012 | $252,003.57 | $28,658.00 | $(254,742.38) | $25,919.19 | ||||
| July Quarterly[32] | July 14, 2012 | $25,919.19 | $59,088.80 | $(58,254.39) | $26,753.60 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $350,057.16 | $(356,745.2) | ||||||||
Election history
2010
On November 2, 2010, Barbara Boxer won re-election to the United States Senate. She defeated Carly Fiorina, Gail K. Lightfoot, Marsha Feinland, Duane Roberts, and Edward C. Noonan in the general election.[33]
| U.S. Senate, California General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Barbara Boxer Incumbent |
52.2% | 5,218,441 | |
| Republican | Carly Fiorina | 42.2% | 4,217,366 | |
| Libertarian | Gail K. Lightfoot | 1.8% | 175,242 | |
| Peace and Freedom | Marsha Feinland | 1.4% | 135,093 | |
| Green | Duane Roberts | 1.3% | 128,510 | |
| American Independent | Edward C. Noonan | 1.3% | 125,441 | |
| Total Votes | 10,000,093 | |||
2006
On November 7, 2006, Dianne Feinstein won re-election to the United States Senate. She defeated Richard Mountjoy, Todd Chretien, Michael S. Metti, Marsha Feinland, and Don J. Grundmann in the general election.[34]
| U.S. Senate, California General Election, 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Dianne Feinstein Incumbent |
59.4% | 5,076,289 | |
| Republican | Richard Mountjoy | 35% | 2,990,822 | |
| Green | Todd Chretien | 1.7% | 147,074 | |
| Libertarian | Michael S. Metti | 1.6% | 133,851 | |
| Peace and Freedom | Marsha Feinland | 1.4% | 117,764 | |
| American Independent | Don J. Grundmann | 0.9% | 75,350 | |
| Total Votes | 8,541,150 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2012
- United States Senate elections, 2012
External links
References
- ↑ ABC News "2012 General Election Results"
- ↑ California Secretary of State "Elections FAQ," Accessed July 20, 2012
- ↑ Dianne Feinstein 2012 campaign website Accessed January 19, 2012
- ↑ John Boruff campaign website Accessed January 19, 2012
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Inside Bay Area "Danville woman seeks GOP nod to take on Feinstein," Accessed January 4, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission
- ↑ Dan Hughes campaign website Accessed January 19, 2012
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Inyo Register "Changes coming to elections," Accessed February 18, 2012
- ↑ TemeculaPatch, "Rabbi Who Denounced Temecula Mosque Runs for Senate," May 18, 2011
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Los Angeles Times, "Few centrists advance in California's new primary system," June 7, 2012
- ↑ The New York Times, "2012 Senate Elections race ratings," accessed September 17, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report "Our Accuracy," Accessed December 12, 2011
- ↑ Cook Political Report "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," November 1, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," October 4, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," September 13, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," August 21, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," July 12, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," May 31, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," May 10, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," March 22, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," March 1, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," January 26, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," December 27, 2011
- ↑ Cook Political Report "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," December 1, 2011
- ↑ FEC Reports "Dianne Feinstein Summary Reports" Accessed August 20, 2012
- ↑ FEC Reports "April Quarterly" Accessed August 20, 2012
- ↑ FEC Reports "Pre-Primary" Accessed August 20, 2012
- ↑ FEC Reports "July Quarterly" Accessed August 20, 2012
- ↑ FEC Reports "Elizabeth Emken Summary Reports" Accessed August 20, 2012
- ↑ FEC Reports "April Quarterly" Accessed August 20, 2012
- ↑ FEC Reports "Pre-Primary" Accessed August 20, 2012
- ↑ FEC Reports "July Quarterly" Accessed August 20, 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006"
| |||||||||||||
