Wisconsin's 8th congressional district elections, 2012
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| August 14, 2012 |
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Primary: Wisconsin 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: Voter registration requirements may vary by municipality, although voters with valid ID must be granted a provisional ballot at the polls.[2]
- See also: Wisconsin elections, 2012
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Reid Ribble (R), who was first elected to the House in 1992.
This was the first election using new district maps based on 2010 Census data. Wisconsin's 8th congressional district includes Door, Kewaunee, Brown, Outagamie, Waupaca, Shawano, Menomnee, Oconto, Marinette, Florence, Forest, Oneida, and Vilas counties.[3]
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 14, 2012 primary results
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Election Results
General Election
| U.S. House, Wisconsin, District 8 General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Jamie Wall | 44% | 156,287 | |
| Republican |  Reid Ribble Incumbent |
55.9% | 198,874 | |
| Miscellaneous | N/A | 0.1% | 303 | |
| Total Votes | 355,464 | |||
| Source: Wisconsin Government Accountability Board "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Race background
Wisconsin's 8th was considered to be Leaning Republican according to the New York Times race ratings. Republican incumbent Reid Ribble was challenged by Jamie Wall (D) in a district known to swing. Democrats thought the seat was up for grabs after the tumultuous partisan conflicts in the state in the previous two years.[6]
Wisconsin's 8th District was included in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's "Red to Blue List," which identified districts that the organization specifically targeted to flip from Republican to Democratic control.[7]
Incumbent Reid Ribble was a part of the National Republican Congressional Committee's Patriot Program, a program to help House Republicans stay on offense and increase their majority in 2012.[8]
After the election, the Sunlight Foundation listed four races where outside spending likely pushed the winner over the top. Ribble was listed as one of the four, spurred on by a 4-to-1 advantage over his opponent in spending by independent groups, including the National Republican Campaign Committee.[9] [10]
Impact of redistricting
- See also: Redistricting in Wisconsin
Following the 2010 Census, Wisconsin kept its 8 congressional seats. In redistricting, the Wisconsin Legislature sought to even out the districts, which due to the census information, required making the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd districts smaller, and making the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th larger. The new district map was signed into law on August 9, 2011.
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. Wisconsin's 8th District became more balanced because of redistricting.[11]
- 2012: 51D / 49R
- 2010: 51D / 49R
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. Wisconsin's 8th congressional district has a PVI of R+2, which is the 216th most Republican district in the country. In 2008, this district was won by Barack Obama (D), 54-46 percent over John McCain (R). In 2004, George W. Bush (R) won the district 56-44 percent over John Kerry (D).[12]
District history
2010
On November 2, 2010, Reid Ribble won election to the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating incumbent Steve Kagen (D).[13]
| U.S. House of Representatives General Election, Wisconsin, Congressional District 8, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Reid J. Ribble |
54.8% | 143,998 | |
| Democratic | Steve Kagen Incumbent | 45.2% | 118,646 | |
| Total Votes | 262,644 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin, 2012
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
- United States Senate elections in Wisconsin, 2012
References
- ↑ Politico "2012 House Race Results"
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board "Registration and Voting," Accessed July 27, 2012
- ↑ Wisconsin Redistricting Map "Map" Accessed July 24, 2012
- ↑ NBC 26 "Jamie Wall is running for 8th Congressional seat," Accessed December 9, 2011
- ↑ Appleton Post Crescent "PACs help U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble, R-De Pere, amass campaign war chest," Accessed December 9, 2011
- ↑ New York Times "House Race Ratings," Accessed August 10, 2012
- ↑ DCCC, "Red to Blue 2012"
- ↑ NRCC "Patriot Program 2012"
- ↑ Sunlight Foundation "Four House races where outside money may have pushed the needle" November 7, 2012
- ↑ http://www.nvsos.gov/SilverState2012pri/congressional.aspx#AllRace1011
- ↑ "2011 Redistricting and 2012 Elections in Wisconsin," 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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