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Washington's 8th congressional district elections, 2012
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| November 6, 2012 |
| August 7, 2012 |
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Incumbent Dave Reichert (R) won re-election.[1]
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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 Dave Reichert (R), who was first elected to the House in 2004. Reichert ran for re-election in 2012.[4]
This was the first election which used new district maps based on 2010 Census data. Washington's 8th congressional district is located in the central portion of the state, and includes Pierce, King, Kittitas, and Chelan counties.[5]
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
Democratic candidates
Republican candidates
- Dave Reichert: Incumbent[6]
- Ernest Huber: Retired military commander[7]
- Keith Swank: Former police officer[4]
- Dave Reichert: Incumbent[6]
Third party candidates
Election results
General election
| U.S. House, Washington, District 8 General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Dave Reichert Incumbent |
59.7% | 180,204 | |
| Democratic | Karen Porterfield | 40.3% | 121,886 | |
| Total Votes | 302,090 | |||
| Source: Washington Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Impact of redistricting
- See also: Redistricting in Washington
Washington gained a congressional seat following the 2010 Census, bringing its total up to 10. The newly redrawn 8th covers the center of the state, encompassing Chelan and Kittitas Counties, as well as the eastern part of Pierce County and the southeast part of King County.[8]
The 8th district is more strongly conservative than it was prior to redistricting.[9]
The 8th district was re-drawn after the 2010 Census. The new district is composed of the following percentages of voters of the old congressional districts.[10][11]
- 18 percent from the 4th congressional district
- 70 percent from the 8th congressional district
- 12 percent from the 9th 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 8th District became more balanced because of redistricting.[12]
- 2012: 49D / 51R
- 2010: 54D / 46R
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 8th congressional district has a PVI of R+2, which is the 205th most Democratic district in the country. In 2008, this district was won by Barack Obama (D), 52-48 percent over John McCain (R). In 2004, George W. Bush (R) won the district 53-47 percent over John Kerry (D).[13]
District history
2010
On November 2, 2010, Dave Reichert won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating Suzan DelBene (D).[14]
| U.S. House of Representatives General Election, Washington, Congressional District 8, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | David G. Reichert Incumbent |
52.1% | 161,296 | |
| Democrat | Suzan DelBene | 47.9% | 148,581 | |
| Total Votes | 309,877 | |||
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 Washington Secretary of State "Dates and Deadlines," Accessed May 25, 2012
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Seattle Times "Rep. Dave Reichert gets a challenge from the right," May 15, 2012
- ↑ Washington Redistricting Map "Map" Accessed July 24, 2012
- ↑ Reichert House website "Reichert Statement on New 8th Congressional District Map," Accessed January 14, 2012
- ↑ Ernest Huber for Congress Accessed May 17, 2012
- ↑ Washington Redistricting Commission "Final Statewide," Accessed May 15, 2012
- ↑ Seattle Times "Rep. Dave Reichert gets a challenge from the right," 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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