Connecticut's 4th Congressional District elections, 2012
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November 6, 2012 |
August 14, 2012 |
James A. Himes  |
James A. Himes |
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The 4th Congressional District of Connecticut held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012.
Incumbent Jim Himes won re-election.[1]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: Connecticut was one of 16 states to use an open primary system. However, there was a three month waiting period if voters switched parties.[2]
Voter registration: Voters could register in person to vote in the primary up until noon the day before the primary.[2] (Information about registering to vote)
- See also: Connecticut elections, 2012
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Jim Himes (D), who was first elected in 2008.
This was the first election using district maps based on data from the 2010 Census. Connecticut's 4th Congressional District was located in the southwestern portion of the state. Oxford, Shelton, Monroe, Trumbull, Fairfield, Redding, Ridgefield, Wilton, Stramford, Norwalk, Easton, Westport, Greenwich, and Darien Counties are included in the new district boundaries.[3]
Candidates
General election candidates
August 14, 2012, primary results
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Election results
General Election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Jim Himes Incumbent |
60% | 175,929 | |
| Republican | Steve Obsitnik | 40% | 117,503 | |
| Total Votes | 293,432 | |||
| Source: Connecticut Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Race background
Republican challenger Steve Obsitnik's raised at least $43,000 in the second quarter but refunded the money because he did not have a primary contest.[6][6] Himes raised $553,000 in the second quarter.[6]
Republican challenger Steve Obsitnik was included in the National Republican Congressional Committee's Young Guns program. The program highlighted challengers who represented the GOP's best chances to pick up congressional seats in the general election.[7]
Blue vs. Red
Possible race ratings are:
Solid Democratic
Likely Democratic
Lean DemocraticTossup
Lean Republican
Likely Republican
Solid Republican
Connecticut's 4th District was a solidly Democratic district.
In June 2012, Sabato's Crystal Ball rated Connecticut's 4th as solidly Democratic.[8]
Campaign donors
2012
| Steve Obsitnik (2012)[9] Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[10] | April 15, 2012 | $43,231.06 | $367,330.88 | $(43,231.06) | $558,445.17 | ||||
| Pre-Convention[11] | May 6, 2012 | $558,445.17 | $15,000.00 | $(58,482.70) | $514,962.47 | ||||
| July Quarterly[12] | July 15, 2012 | $514,962.47 | $224,367.04 | $(85,088.75) | $654,240.76 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $606,697.92 | $(186,802.51) | ||||||||
| Jim Himes (2012)[13] Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[14] | April 15, 2012 | $1,022,847.34 | $389,483.16 | $(100,732.76) | $1,311,597.74 | ||||
| Pre-Convention[15] | May 2, 2012 | $1,311,597.74 | $92,753.67 | $(45,979.21) | $1,358,372.20 | ||||
| July Quarterly[16] | July 15, 2012 | $1,358,372.20 | $461,469.08 | $(122,121.77) | $1,697,719.51 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $943,705.91 | $(268,833.74) | ||||||||
Impact of redistricting
- See also: Redistricting in Connecticut
The Connecticut Supreme Court completed the redistricting of the state’s five congressional districts. The new districts closely resembled the configuration adopted 10 years ago when Connecticut lost one district due to declining population.[17] Under the new map, less than 30,000 residents statewide are affected by the changes.[17]
Democrats held a 5-4 advantage on the bipartisan Reapportionment Commission and the commission honored the long-standing tradition of unanimous agreement.[17]
The district was composed of the following percentages of voters of the old congressional districts.[18][19]
- 1 percent from the 3rd Congressional District
- 99 percent from the 4th 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. Connecticut's 4th District's partisanship was unaffected by redistricting.[20]
- 2012: 56D / 44R
- 2010: 56D / 44R
Cook Political Report's PVI
In 2012, Cook Political Report released its updated figures on the Partisan Voter Index, which measured each congressional district's partisanship relative to the rest of the country. Connecticut's 4th Congressional District had a PVI of D+5, which was the 143rd most Democratic district in the country. In 2008, this district was won by Barack Obama (D), 60-40 percent over John McCain (R). In 2004, John Kerry (D) won the district 53-47 percent over George W. Bush (R).[21]
District history
| Candidate ballot access |
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2010
On November 2, 2010, Jim Himes won re-election to the United States House of Representatives. He defeated Dan Debicella (R) and Eugene Flanagan (I) in the general election.[22]
| U.S. House, Connecticut District 4, General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Jim Himes Incumbent |
52% | 110,746 | |
| Republican | Dan Debicella | 47.9% | 102,030 | |
| Independent | Eugene Flanagan | 0% | 10 | |
| Total Votes | 212,786 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Connecticut, 2012
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
- United States Senate elections in Connecticut, 2012
External links
- Jim Himes Campaign Website
- Chris Meek's Campaign Website
- David Orner's Campaign Website
- Steve Obsitnik's Campaign Website
Footnotes
- ↑ ABC News, "2012 General Election Results," accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Connecticut Secretary of State Elections Division, "Registration Deadlines" accessed April 17, 2012
- ↑ Connecticut Redistricting, "Map" accessed July 7, 2012
- ↑ CT Post.com "Westport businessman running for Congress" accessed December 2, 2011
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedlist - ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Connecticut Post, "Obsitnik plans to refund some campaign funds" accessed July 19, 2012
- ↑ NRCC "Young Guns 2012"
- ↑ Center for Politics, "2012 House Ratings," Updated June 27, 2012
- ↑ FEC Reports, "Steve Obsitnik Summary Report" accessed July 18, 2012
- ↑ FEC Reports, "April Quarterly" accessed July 19, 2012
- ↑ FEC Reports, "Pre-Convention" accessed July 19, 2012
- ↑ FEC Reports, "July Quarterly" accessed July 19, 2012
- ↑ FEC Reports, "Jim Himes Summary Report" accessed July 19, 2012
- ↑ FEC Reports, "April Quarterly" accessed July 19, 2012
- ↑ FEC Reports, "Pre-Convention" accessed July 19, 2012
- ↑ FEC Reports, "July Quarterly" accessed July 19, 2012
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Norwich Bulletin, "Our View: Redistricting map has minimal changes" accessed February 16, 2012
- ↑ Moonshadow Mobile's CensusViewer, "Connecticut's congressional districts 2001-2011 comparison"
- ↑ Labels & Lists, "VoterMapping software voter counts"
- ↑ "2011 Redistricting and 2012 Elections in Connecticut," 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," accessed March 28, 2013
