United States Senate elections in North Dakota, 2012
 North Dakota's 2012 elections: • U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • Other executive offices • State Senate • State House • Ballot measures |
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Heidi Heitkamp  |
Kent Conrad |
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Tossup (prior to election) |
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Contents |
Heidi Heitkamp (D) won election on November 6, 2012.[1]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
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Primary: North Dakota has an open primary system, in which any registered voter can choose which party's primary to vote in, without having to be a member of that party.
Voter registration: North Dakota has no voter registration. North Dakota precincts maintain lists of qualified voters.[2]
- See also: North Dakota elections, 2012
Incumbent: The election will fill the Class 1 Senate seat, which is currently held by Kent Conrad (D). First elected in 1986, Conrad is not running for re-election in 2012.
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 12, 2012 primary results
Democratic Primary
- Heidi Heitkamp:57,246
[3]
Withdrawn
- Tom Potter: Pastor, former finance professor[4]
Republican primary
- Rick Berg: 67,860 U.S. Representative[5]
- Duane Sand:34,213 Navy commander[6]
Election results
General election
| U.S. Senate, North Dakota, General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Heidi Heitkamp |
50.5% | 161,337 | |
| Republican | Rick Berg | 49.5% | 158,401 | |
| Total Votes | 319,738 | |||
| Source: North Dakota Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Republican primary
| U.S. Senate-North Dakota Republican Primary, 2012 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|
Rick Berg |
66.5% | 67,860 |
| Duane Sand | 33.5% | 34,213 |
| Total Votes | 102,073 | |
Race background
North Dakota has only one U.S. Senate seat on the ballot in 2012. Incumbent Kent Conrad (D), who was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, decided not to seek re-election this year. Vying for his open seat in the general election are Democrat Heidi Heitkamp and Republican U.S. House incumbent Rick Berg. Heitkamp ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Berg defeated Navy Commander Duane Sand to win the Republican nomination.
Competitiveness
The New York Times' analysis of the 2012 North Dakota Senate race rated it as leaning Republican; the seat is currently held by a Democrat, but could switch to Republican.[7]
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: [8]
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Solid Democratic
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Tossup |
Lean Republican
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| Cook Political Report Race Rating -- North Dakota Senate | |
|---|---|
| Month | Rating |
| October 4, 2012[9] | |
| September 13, 2012[10] | |
| July 12, 2012[11] | |
| May 31, 2012[12] | |
| May 10, 2012[13] | |
| March 22, 2012[14] | |
| March 1, 2012[15] | |
| January 26, 2012[16] | |
| December 22, 2011[17] | |
| December 1, 2011[18] | |
Polls
| US Senate in North Dakota, General election candidates | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response | Valley News Live/ Mason-Dixon Poll (October 3-5, 2012) | Forum Communications (October 12-15, 2012) | Rassmussen Reports (October 23, 2012) | Pharos Research Group (October 26-28, 2012) | NBC North Dakota News/ Mason-Dixon (October 26-28,2012) | Average | ||||||||
| Rick Berg | 47% | 50% | 50% | 47.7% | 47% | 48.34% | ||||||||
| Heidi Heitkamp | 47% | 40% | 45% | 49.9% | 45% | 45.38% | ||||||||
| Other | 0% | 5% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% | ||||||||
| Undecided | 6% | 5% | 5% | 2.4% | 0% | 3.68% | ||||||||
| Number polled | 625 | 500 | 600 | 752 | 625 | 620.4 | ||||||||
| Margin of error | +/-4 | +/-4.3% | +/-4% | +/-3.5% | +/-4% | 3.96% | ||||||||
| 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 finance
Rick Berg
| Rick Berg Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[19] | April 15, 2012 | $138,973.60 | $942,968.29 | $(747,592.77) | $1,585,106.12 | ||||
| Pre-primary[20] | May 28, 2012 | $1,585,106.12 | $443,304.57 | $(389,229.28) | $1,639,181.41 | ||||
| July Quarterly[21] | July 15, 2012 | $1,639,181.41 | $799,380.31 | $(243,588.57) | $2,194,973.15 | ||||
| October Quarterly[22] | October 15, 2012 | $2,194,973.15 | $1,576,410.75 | $(2,255,820.53) | $1,515,563.37 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $3,762,063.92 | $(3,636,231.15) | ||||||||
Heidi Heitkamp
| Heidi Heitkamp Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[23] | April 15, 2012 | $411,891.95 | $712,039.90 | $(280,105.92) | $843,825.93 | ||||
| Pre-primary[24] | May 31, 2012 | $843,825.93 | $499,935.12 | $(585,449.36) | $758,312.49 | ||||
| July Quarterly[25] | July 15, 2012 | $758,312.49 | $477,261.75 | $(556,343.55) | $679,230.69 | ||||
| October Quarterly[26] | October 15, 2012 | $679,230.69 | $1,590,645.71 | $(1,651,465.40) | $618,411.00 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $3,279,882.48 | $(3,073,364.23) | ||||||||
Election history
2010
On November 2, 2010, John Hoeven won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated Tracy Potter and Keith J. Hanson in the general election.[27]
| U.S. Senate, North Dakota General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | John Hoeven |
76.2% | 181,689 | |
| Democratic-Nonpartisan League | Tracy Potter | 22.2% | 52,955 | |
| Libertarian | Keith J. Hanson | 1.6% | 3,890 | |
| Total Votes | 238,534 | |||
2006
On November 7, 2006, Kent Conrad won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated Dwight Grotberg, Roland Riemers, and James Germalic in the general election.[28]
| U.S. Senate, North Dakota General Election, 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Kent Conrad Incumbent |
68.8% | 150,146 | |
| Republican | Dwight Grotberg | 29.5% | 64,417 | |
| Independent | Roland Riemers | 1% | 2,194 | |
| Independent | James Germalic | 0.6% | 1,395 | |
| Total Votes | 218,152 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in North Dakota, 2012
- United States Senate elections, 2012
References
- ↑ Politico "2012 Election Map, North Dakota"
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State "Voter Registration," Accessed July 26, 2012
- ↑ Hedi Heitkamp Official Campaign Website "Home Page," Accessed December 13, 2011
- ↑ North Decoder "Tom Potter" I'm running for Senate," Accessed January 6, 2012
- ↑ Hotline On Call "Berg Enters N.D. Senate Race," Accessed January 6, 2012
- ↑ Standard Newswire "Sand Announces Entry into North Dakota Senate Race," Accessed January 6, 2012
- ↑ The New York Times, "2012 Ratings Senate," accessed September 17, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report "Our Accuracy," Accessed December 12, 2011
- ↑ Cook Political Report "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," October 23, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," October 23, 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
- ↑ Federal Election Commission "Rick Berg April Quarterly" Accessed October 11, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission "Rick Berg Pre-primary" Accessed October 11, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission "Rick Berg July Quarterly" Accessed October 11, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission "Rick Berg October Quarterly" Accessed October 23, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission "Heidi Heitkamp April Quarterly" Accessed October 11, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission "Heidi Heitkamp Pre-primary" Accessed October 11, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission "Heidi Heitkamp July Quarterly" Accessed October 11, 2012
- ↑ ''Federal Election Commission "Heidi Heitkamp October Quarterly" Accessed October 23, 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"
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