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Washington's 2nd congressional district elections, 2012
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| November 6, 2012 |
| August 7, 2012 |
Rick Larsen  |
Rick Larsen |
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Incumbent Rick Larsen (D) won re-election.[1]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
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Primary: Washington has a top-two primary system, in which the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, go on to the general election.[2]
Voter registration: Voters were required to register to vote in the primary by July 9, or July 30 in-person for first-time voters.[3] For the general election, voter registration deadlines were October 9, and October 28 for first-time voters.[3]
- See also: Washington elections, 2012
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Rick Larsen (D), who was first elected to the House in 2000. He ran for re-election in 2012.
This was the first election which used new district maps based on 2010 Census data. Washington's 2nd congressional district is located in the northwestern portion of the state, and includes San Juan, Island, Snohomish, Skagit, and Whatcom counties.[4]
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
August 7, 2012 primary results
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Election results
General election
| U.S. House, Washington, District 2 General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Rick Larsen Incumbent |
61.1% | 184,826 | |
| Republican | Dan Matthews | 38.9% | 117,465 | |
| Total Votes | 302,291 | |||
| Source: Washington Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Race background
In the 2nd district, Republican Dan Matthews was seen by some as presenting a serious threat to Democratic incumbent Rick Larsen.[8] An analyst, however, said, "There is no way a candidate like Larsen is going to lose in 2012."[9]
Impact of redistricting
- See also: Redistricting in Washington
Washington gained a congressional seat following the 2010 Census. The newly redrawn 2nd district runs along the eastern side of Puget Sound, from the north end of Lake Washington up to Bellingham, and including the San Juan islands.[10]
The 2nd district was re-drawn after the 2010 Census. The new district is composed of the following percentages of voters of the old congressional districts.[11][12]
- 27 percent from the 1st congressional district
- 73 percent from the 2nd 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. Washington's 2nd District became more Democratic because of redistricting.[13]
- 2012: 58D / 42R
- 2010: 53D / 47R
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. Washington's 2nd congressional district has a PVI of D+8, which is the 124th most Democratic district in the country. In 2008, this district was won by Barack Obama (D), 62-38 percent over John McCain (R). In 2004, John Kerry (D) won the district 54-44 percent over George W. Bush (R).[14]
District history
2010
On November 2, 2010, Rick Larsen won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating John Koster (R).[15]
| U.S. House of Representatives General Election, Washington, Congressional District 2, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Rick Larsen Incumbent |
51.1% | 155,241 | |
| Republican | John Koster | 48.9% | 148,722 | |
| Total Votes | 303,963 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, 2012
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
- United States Senate elections in Washington, 2012
References
- ↑ CNN "Washington Districts Race - 2012 Election Center"
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State "Top 2 Primary: FAQ," Accessed May 17, 2012
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Washington Secretary of State "Dates and Deadlines," Accessed May 25, 2012
- ↑ Washington Redistricting Map "Map" Accessed July 24, 2012
- ↑ Bellingham Herald "2012 election field takes shape," Accessed December 6, 2011
- ↑ Bellingham Herald "Greg Anders, Bellingham Heritage Flight Museum director, to run for Congress," Accessed December 6, 2011
- ↑ Greg Anders campaign website Accessed May 18, 2012
- ↑ Seattle Times "Republican Matthews can give incumbent Democrat Larsen a challenge in 2nd Congressional District," July 17, 2012
- ↑ MSNBC "Larsen faces 5 challengers in 2nd District race," July 20, 2012
- ↑ Washington Redistricting Commission "Final Statewide," Accessed May 15, 2012
- ↑ Moonshadow Mobile's CensusViewer "Washington's congressional districts 2001-2011 comparison"
- ↑ Labels & Lists "VoterMapping software voter counts"
- ↑ "2011 Redistricting and 2012 Elections in Washington," September 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report "Partisan Voting Index Districts of the 113th Congress: 2004 & 2008" Accessed October 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
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