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United States Senate elections in Connecticut, 2012

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 Connecticut's 2012 elections
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2012 U.S. Senate Elections in Connecticut
November 6 Election Winner:
Chris Murphy Democratic Party
Incumbent prior to election:
Joe Lieberman Grey.png
Joe Lieberman.jpg
Cook Political Report Race Rating
     Tossup (Prior to election)
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Voters in Connecticut elected one member to the U.S. Senate in the November 6, 2012 elections. Chris Murphy won on November 6, 2012.[1]

Candidate Filing Deadline Primary Election General Election
June 12, 2012
August 14, 2012
November 6, 2012

Primary: Connecticut was of 19 states to use an open primary system. However, there was a three month waiting period if voters switched parties.[2]

Voter registration: Voters could register in person to vote in the primary up until noon the day before the primary.[2] (Information about registering to vote)

See also: Connecticut elections, 2012

Incumbent: The election filled the Class 1 Senate seat, which was previously held by Joe Lieberman (I). First elected in 1988, Lieberman did not run for re-election in 2012.

Candidates

General election candidates

Democratic Party Working Families Party Chris Murphy Green check mark transparent.png
Republican Party Grey.png Linda McMahon
Libertarian Party Paul Passarelli


Democratic Party Democratic Primary

Republican Party Republican primary

Working Families Party Working Families Party

Libertarian Party Libertarian Party

Grey.png Independent candidate

Election results

U.S. Senate, Connecticut General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngChristopher Murphy 54.8% 828,761
     Republican Linda McMahon 43.1% 651,089
     Libertarian Paul Passarelli 1.7% 25,045
     N/A Write-ins 0.5% 6,869
Total Votes 1,511,764
Source: U.S. House Clerk "2012 Election Statistics"
U.S. Senate, Connecticut Democratic Primary, 2012
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngChris Murphy 67.5% 93,634
Susan Bysiewicz 32.5% 45,065
Total Votes 138,699
U.S. Senate, Connecticut Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngLinda McMahon 72.7% 83,747
Christopher Shays 27.3% 31,445
Total Votes 115,192

Race background

Race rating

Cook Political Report

Each month the Cook Political Report released race ratings for President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House (competitive only) and Governors. There were seven possible designations:[10]

     Solid Democratic
     Likely Democratic
     Lean Democratic

     Tossup

     Lean Republican
     Likely Republican
     Solid Republican

Cook Political Report Race Rating -- Connecticut Senate
Month Rating
November 1, 2012[11]     
October 4, 2012[12]     
September 13, 2012[13]     
August 21, 2012[14]     
July 12, 2012[15]     
May 31, 2012[16]     
May 10, 2012[17]     
March 22, 2012[18]     
March 1, 2012[19]     
January 26, 2012[20]     
December 22, 2011[21]     
December 1, 2011[22]     

Polls

Christopher Murphy V. Linda McMahon

Christopher Murphy v. Linda McMahon
Poll Christopher S. Murphy Linda McMahonUndecided/Other candidateMargin of errorSample size
Rasmussen Reports
(October 29, 2012)
 51%45%4%
Qunnipiac University
(October 24, 2012)
 49%43%8%+/-4.5500
RealClearPolitics
(October 15-17, 2012)
 44%44%12%+/-4625
Siena Research Institute (dead link)
(October 17, 2012)
 46%44%8%+/-4.2552
Rasmussen Reports
(October 9, 2012)
 51%46%3%+/-4.5500
Quinnipiac University
(August 22-26, 2012)
 49%46%4%+/-2.61,472
Rasmussen Reports
(August 21, 2012)
 46%49%6%+/-4.5500
Public Policy Polling
(July 26-29, 2012)
 50%42%8%+/-3.5771
AVERAGES 48.25% 44.88% 6.63% +/-3.48 615
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Democratic Primary

Connecticut's Democratic Senate Primary Candidates
Poll Christopher S. Murphy Susan BysiewiczMargin of errorSample size
Public Policy Polling
(July 26-29, 2012)
 49%32%+/-4.9771
Quinnipiac University Poll
(May 29-June 3, 2012)
 50%20%+/-2.61,408
AVERAGES 49.5% 26% +/-3.75 1,089.5
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Republican Primary

Connecticut's Republican Senate Primary Candidates
Poll Linda McMahon Chris ShaysMargin of errorSample size
Public Policy Polling
(July 26-29, 2012)
 68%20%+/-4.9771
Quinnipiac University Poll
(May 29-June 3, 2012)
 59%30%+/-2.61,408
AVERAGES 63.5% 25% +/-3.75 1,089.5
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Campaign donors

As of June 30, 2012, McMahon had contributed $13.1 million of her own money on the race and raised another $1 million from individual donors, allowing her to close the polling gap between her and her opponent.[23]

Murphy on the other hand, had raised $5.6 million by the end of June. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee had spent over $900,000 to support Murphy and attack McMahon.[23]

McMahon had spent more than $100 million of her own money in trying to win a Senate seat in 2010 and 2012. That sum was the most anyone has ever spent of their own funds in trying to win a federal race. The previous leader was Ross Perot, who spent $72 million of his money in the 1992 and 1996 presidential elections.[24]

Linda McMahon

Linda McMahon (2012)[25] Campaign Finance Reports
ReportDate FiledBeginning BalanceTotal Contributions
for Reporting Period		ExpendituresCash on Hand
April Quarterly[26]April 14, 2012$2,271,124.63$139,368.84$(1,545,506.52)$75,306.95
Pre-Convention[27]May 3, 2012$75,306.95$479,152.71$(511,490.17)$42,969.49
July Quarterly[28]July 14, 2012$42,969.49$6,110,023.27$(4,689,923.52)$1,463,069.24
Pre-Primary[29]July 30, 2012$1,463,069.24$4,301,478.78$(3,326,787.71)$2,437,760.31
Running totals
$11,030,023.6$(10,073,707.92)

As of July 16, 2012, McMahon reported making $5.9 million in loans to her campaign since late April and received $115,500 in new donations during the second quarter cycle.[30]

Christopher S. Murphy

Christopher S. Murphy (2012)[31] Campaign Finance Reports
ReportDate FiledBeginning BalanceTotal Contributions
for Reporting Period		ExpendituresCash on Hand
April Quarterly[32]April 13, 2012$2,486,080.24$855,486.06$(274,049.48)$2,967,516.82
Pre-Convention[33]April 30, 2012$2,967,516.82$130,037.78$(94,974.14)$3,002,580.46
July Quarterly[34]July 14, 2012$3,002,580.45$1,078,302.67$(946,794.18)$3,134,088.94
Pre-Primary[35]August 2, 2012$3,134,088.94$180,617.37$(786,673.18)$2,528,033.13
Running totals
$2,244,443.88$(2,102,490.98)

In a July 10, 2012, press release from his campaign, Murphy's campaign for U.S. Senate raised more than $1.2 million in the 2nd fundraising quarter of 2012, bringing the campaign's fundraising total to over $5.45 million since the beginning of the year.[36] The campaign also reported over $3.1 million cash on hand and over 1,700 new contributors from just the 2nd quarter.[36]

Election history

2010

On November 2, 2010, Richard Blumenthal won election to the United States Senate. He defeated Linda E. McMahon (R), Warren B. Mosler (I), John Mertens (I), Brian K. Hill (I), Jeff Russel (I), Rodd Vachon (I), Jay J. Giles (I), John Traceski (I), Matthew Coleman( (I), Working Families (I) and Dave Olszta (I) in the general election.[37]

U.S. Senate, Connecticut General Election, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngRichard Blumenthal Incumbent 52.5% 605,204
     Republican Linda E. McMahon 43.2% 498,341
     Independent Working Families 2.7% 30,836
     Independent Warren B. Mosler 1% 11,275
     Ct. for Lieberman John Mertens 0.6% 6,735
     Independent Brian K. Hill 0% 559
     Independent Jeff Russell 0% 45
     Independent Todd Vachon 0% 45
     Independent Carl E. Vassar 0% 31
     Independent Jay J. Giles 0% 17
     Independent John Traceski 0% 15
     Independent Matthew Coleman 0% 7
     Independent Dave Olszta 0% 5
Total Votes 1,153,115

2006

On November 7, 2006, Joe Lieberman won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated Ned Lamont (D), Alan Schlesinger (R), Ralph A. Ferrucci (G), Timothy A. Knibbs (I) and Carl E. Vassar (I)in the general election.[38]

U.S. Senate, Connecticut General Election, 2006
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Ct. for Lieberman Green check mark transparent.pngJoe Lieberman Incumbent 49.7% 564,095
     Democratic Ned Lamont 39.7% 450,844
     Republican Alan Schlesinger 9.6% 109,198
     Green Ralph A. Ferrucci 0.5% 5,922
     Independent Timothy A. Knibbs 0.4% 4,638
     Independent Carl E. Vassar 0% 80
Total Votes 1,134,777

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ ABC News, "2012 General Election Results," accessed November 6, 2012
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Connecticut Secretary of State Elections Division, "Registration Deadlines" accessed April 17, 2012
  3. ↑ Roll Call, "EMILY's list backs Susan Bysiewicz," accessed January 4, 2012
  4. ↑ Huffington post, "Rep. Chris Murphy announces Connecticut Senate candidacy," accessed January 4, 2012
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 AP Results, "U.S. Senate Elections Results" accessed August 14, 2012
  6. ↑ Danbury Patch, "Boughton endorses McMahon for Senate," accessed January 4, 2012
  7. ↑ Governing, "Ex-Wrestling Exec Running for Connecticut Senate Seat" accessed March 12, 2012
  8. ↑ Connecticut Post, "Poll: Chris Murphy leads Chris Shays in Connecticut Senate race," accessed January 4, 2012
  9. ↑ Connecticut Secretary of State Candidate List Accessed September 5, 2012
  10. ↑ Cook Political Report, "Our Accuracy," accessed December 12, 2011 (dead link)
  11. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," November 1, 2012
  12. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," October 4, 2012
  13. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," September 13, 2012
  14. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," August 21, 2012
  15. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," July 12, 2012
  16. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," May 31, 2012
  17. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," May 10, 2012
  18. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," March 22, 2012
  19. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," March 1, 2012
  20. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," January 26, 2012
  21. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," December 22, 2011
  22. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," December 1, 2011
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 OpenSecrets, "Hot Race for Connecticut Senate Seat: Chris Murphy vs. Linda McMahon," October 3, 2012
  24. ↑ New York Times, "Personal Cost for 2 Senate Bids: $100 Million," November 2, 2012
  25. ↑ FEC Reports, "Linda McMahon Summary Reports" accessed July 18, 2012
  26. ↑ FEC Reports, "April Quarterly" accessed July 18, 2012
  27. ↑ FEC Reports, "Pre-Convention" accessed July 18, 2012
  28. ↑ FEC Reports, "July Quarterly" accessed August 23, 2012
  29. ↑ FEC Reports, "Pre-Primary" accessed August 23, 2012
  30. ↑ The Day Connecticut.com, "Courtney, McMahon pad leads in campaign fundraising" accessed July 18, 2012
  31. ↑ FEC Reports, "Chris Murphy Summary Reports" accessed July 11, 2012
  32. ↑ FEC Reports, "April Quarterly" accessed July 11, 2012
  33. ↑ FEC Reports, "Pre-Convention" accessed July 11, 2012
  34. ↑ FEC Reports, "July Quarterly" accessed August 23, 2012
  35. ↑ FEC Reports, "Pre-Primary" accessed August 23, 2012
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Christopher Murphy for Senate, "Post-Convention Momentum Swells for Murphy, $1.2 Million Raised for 2nd Quarter" accessed July 11, 2012
  37. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
  38. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006"
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Connecticut's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Richard Blumenthal (D)
Christopher Murphy (D)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
Jim Himes (D)
District 5
Democratic Party (7)

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