2012 elections review: North Dakota voters select winners in congressional, legislative primaries
June 13, 2012
By Ballotpedia's Congressional and State legislative teams
In North Dakota, Tuesday's primary was marked by the defeat of four legislative incumbents. According to the unofficial tally, two senators and two representatives fell to a primary opponent. Also of note, all of District 40's incumbents managed to qualify by write-in vote--all three had failed to file the proper paperwork in time for the primary. At least one House race appears headed for a recount since only 13 votes separate incumbent and challenger.
| Contested Primaries in North Dakota -- June 12, 2012 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Congress (2 seats) |
State Legislature (50 districts) | ||||
| Total Democratic Contested Primaries | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | |||
| Total Republican Contested Primaries | 2 (100.0%) | 7 (14.0%) | |||
Congress
U.S. Senate
North Dakota has only one U.S. Senate seat on the ballot in 2012. Incumbent Kent Conrad (D) is not running for re-election. Heidi Heitkamp ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. U.S. House incumbent Rick Berg defeated Navy Commander Duane Sand to win the Republican nomination.
U.S. House
North Dakota has only one at-large seat on the ballot in 2012. Incumbent Rick Berg (R) is running for U.S. Senate, leaving the at-large House seat open. Kevin Cramer defeated Brian Kalk to win the Republican nomination. Democrat Pam Gulleson ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. During the Republican primary contest, Cramer outraised Kalk, bringing in $311,239. Kalk raised $294,355 for his campaign. Both Cramer and Kalk are members of the North Dakota Public Service Commission.[1]
| Members of the U.S. House from North Dakota -- Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2012 | After the 2012 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 0 | 0 | |
| Republican Party | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 1 | 1 | |
State legislatures
- Of the state's 75 incumbents, 60 (80.0%) are running for re-election and 15 (20.0%) are retiring.
- Five incumbents (8.3% of those running) are running for re-election in a new district due to redistricting.
- Only seven incumbents (11.7% of those running) faced a primary opponent--seven Republicans and no Democrats.
- In total, four North Dakota incumbents (6.7% of those running) were defeated in Tuesday's primary election. A breakdown of those races is as follows.
- In Senate District 10, incumbent Curtis Olafson was defeated by former District 16 incumbent Joe Miller in the Republican primary. Miller was moved into District 10 by redistricting. Miller will face Daryl Passa (D) in November.
- In Senate District 19, incumbent Gerald Uglem was defeated by challenger Tom Campbell in the Republican primary. Campbell will face Julius M. Wangler (D) in November.
- In House District 14, incumbent Duane Lee DeKrey was defeated by fellow incumbent Robin Weisz and former District 7 incumbent Jon Nelson in the Republican primary. Nelson was moved into District 14 by redistricting. The winners will be unopposed in November.
- In House District 34, incumbent Rae Ann Kelsch was defeated by incumbent Todd Porter and challenger Nathan P. Toman in the Republican primary. The winners will face Lori Furaus (D) and Sid Kadrmas (D) in November.
- In House District 28, incumbents Michael Don Brandenburg and William Kretschmar tentatively defeated challengers Jeffery J. Magrum and Barton Schott. According to unofficial election night results, Kretschmar leads Magrum by 13 votes. This slim lead could trigger an automatic recount.[2] The winners will face Joan Hoffman (D) and Austin Wald (D) in November.
- All of the House District 40 incumbents managed to qualify for the general election ballot by each receiving at least 143 write-in votes. Neither Sen. Karen Krebsbach, Rep. Robert Frantsvog, nor Rep. Matthew Klein filed the proper paperwork in time for the primary election.
| North Dakota State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 5, 2012 | After the 2012 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 12 | 13 | |
| Republican Party | 35 | 33 | |
| Vacancy | 1 | ||
| Total | 47 | 47 | |
| North Dakota House of Representatives | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 5, 2012 | After the 2012 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 25 | 23 | |
| Republican Party | 69 | 71 | |
| Total | 94 | 94 | |
See also
|
- United States House of Representatives elections in North Dakota, 2012
- North Dakota State Senate elections, 2012
- North Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2012
External links
Footnotes
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