United States Senate elections in Virginia, 2012
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Virginia's 2012 elections U.S. Senate • U.S. House • State ballot measures • Candidate ballot access |
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Tim Kaine  |
Jim Webb |
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Tossup (Prior to election) |
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Voters in Virginia elected one member to the U.S. Senate in the November 6, 2012 elections.
Tim Kaine (D) won election on November 6, 2012.[1]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: Virginia has an open primary system, in which any registered voter may choose which party's primary to vote in.
Voter registration: Voters had to register to vote in the primary by May 21, 2012. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 15, 2012.[2]
- See also: Virginia elections, 2012
Incumbent: The election filled the Class 1 Senate seat, which was held by Jim Webb (D). First elected in 2006, Webb did not seek re-election in 2012.
Election results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Timothy M. Kaine |
52.9% | 2,010,067 | |
| Republican | George F. Allen | 47% | 1,785,542 | |
| Write-In | N/A | 0.2% | 6,587 | |
| Total Votes | 3,802,196 | |||
| Source: Virginia State Board of Elections "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Candidates
Note: Election results were added on election night as races were called. Vote totals were added after official election results had been certified. Click here for more information about Ballotpedia's election coverage plan. Please contact us about errors in this list.
General election candidates
May 8, 2012, primary results
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Race background
Democratic incumbent Jim Webb, first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006, did not seek re-election in 2012. Nine candidates filed for the open seat and five appeared on the June 12th primary ballot. Former Senator George Allen, who was defeated by Webb in the 2006 election, was the Republican nominee in his party's primary. He faced Democratic National Convention chair Tim Kaine in the general election contest on November 6, 2012.
Competitiveness
According to The New York Times 2012 Senate elections analysis, the Virginia Senate race was rated as a toss-up; the seat was held by a Democrat, but could have switched to Republican.[7]
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:[8]
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Solid Democratic
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Tossup |
Lean Republican
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| Cook Political Report Race Rating -- Virginia Senate | |
|---|---|
| Month | Rating |
| October 4, 2012[9] | |
| September 13, 2012[10] | |
| August 21, 2012[11] | |
| July 12, 2012[12] | |
| May 31, 2012[13] | |
| May 10, 2012[14] | |
| March 22, 2012[15] | |
| March 1, 2012[16] | |
| January 26, 2012[17] | |
| December 22, 2011[18] | |
| December 1, 2011[19] | |
Sabato's Crystal Ball
The University of Virginia's Center for Politics published an article called Sabato's Crystal Ball on March 22, 2012, detailing the eight races in the Senate in 2012 that would decide the political fate of which party ended up with control in 2013.[20] The seat rated a toss-up that Sabato's Crystal Ball believed was most likely to depend on the outcome of the Presidential election in November was the Senate seat in Virginia.[20] According to the article, "outcome of this race will largely be determined by which party claims Virginia’s 13 electoral votes in November."[20]
Polls
| George Allen vs. Tim Kaine | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | George Allen | Tim Kaine | Some Other Candidate | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | |||||||||||||
| Washington Post Poll (October 26,2012) | 43% | 51% | 3% | 4% | +/-2.5 | 1,504 | |||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports (September 17,2012) | 45% | 47% | 2% | 6% | +/-4.5 | 500 | |||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports (August 23,2012) | 45% | 45% | 2% | 8% | +/-4.5 | 500 | |||||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 44.33% | 47.67% | 2.33% | 6% | +/-3.83 | 834.67 | |||||||||||||
| 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
Democrat Tim Kaine outraised Republican opponent George Allen by roughly $1 million in the third quarter, taking in approximately $4.5 million to Allen's $3.5 million. Kaine's campaign noted that he raised nearly $15 million total from over 40,000 donors.[21]
Tim Kaine
| Tim Kaine Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[22] | April 17, 2012 | $3,336,915.89 | $2,230,284 | $(1,037,232.09) | $4,529,967.80 | ||||
| July Quarterly[23] | July 17, 2012 | $2,514,786.67 | $1,732,847.37 | $(1,523,157.31) | $2,724,476.73 | ||||
| October Quarterly[24] | October 15, 2012 | $2,724,476.73 | $4,430,679.72 | $(6,172,547.28) | $982,609.17 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $8,393,811.09 | $(8,732,936.68) | ||||||||
George Allen
| George Allen Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[25] | April 17, 2012 | $2,036,405.24 | $1,401,883.46 | $(794,114.82) | $2,644,173.88 | ||||
| July Quarterly[26] | July 17, 2012 | $2,754,352.97 | $1,282,122.70 | $(698,533.22) | $3,337,942.45 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $2,684,006.16 | $(1,492,648.04) | ||||||||
Election history
2008
On November 4, 2008, Mark Warner (D) won election to the U.S. Senate, defeating James S. "Jim" Gilmore III (R), William B. Redpath (L), Glenda Gail Parker (Independent Green), and a write-in.[27]
| U.S. Senate, Virginia, 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Mark R. Warner |
65% | 2,369,327 | |
| Republican | James S. "Jim" Gilmore III | 33.7% | 1,228,830 | |
| Libertarian | William B. Redpath | 0.6% | 20,269 | |
| Independent | Glenda Gail Parker | 0.6% | 21,690 | |
| Write-in | Unnamed | 0.1% | 3,178 | |
| Total Votes | 3,643,294 | |||
2006
On November 7, 2006, Jim Webb (D) won election to the U.S. Senate, defeating incumbent George Allen (R), Glenda Gail Parker (Independent Green), and a write-in.[28]
| U.S. Senate, Virginia, 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | James H. "Jim" Webb |
49.6% | 1,175,606 | |
| Republican | George Allen Incumbent | 49.2% | 1,166,277 | |
| Independent | Glenda Gail Parker | 1.1% | 26,102 | |
| Write-in | Unnamed | 0.1% | 2,460 | |
| Total Votes | 2,370,445 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia, 2012
- United States Senate elections, 2012
Footnotes
- ↑ ABC News, "2012 General Election Results," accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "2012 November Election Calendar," accessed July 7, 2012
- ↑ The Hill, "Kaine announcement launches premier Senate race of 2012," accessed January 6, 2012
- ↑ Politico, "An idealistic, long shot alternative to Kaine," accessed January 6, 2012
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Washington Examiner, "Va. Senate race all about Kaine and Allen," accessed January 6, 2012
- ↑ Virginia Election Board, "Election Results" accessed June 12, 2012
- ↑ The New York Times, "2012 Senate race ratings," accessed September 17, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Our Accuracy," accessed December 12, 2011 (dead link)
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Center for Politics, "Tilting the Toss Ups – the Eight Races That Will Decide the Senate" accessed April 9, 2012
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Tim Kaine maintains fundraising edge over George Allen," October 4, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Tim Kaine's April Quarterly Report," accessed October 17, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Tim Kaine's July Quarterly Report," accessed October 17, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Tim Kaine's October Quarterly Report," accessed October 17, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "George Allen's April Quarterly Report," accessed October 17, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "George Allen's July Quarterly Report," accessed October 17, 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006," accessed March 28, 2013
