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Massachusetts 2012 legislative election results
The tabs below contain analysis of election results in the 2012 legislative elections for Massachusetts.
Senate
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| Other 2012 Election information |
Massachusetts State Senate Election Results
This page contains macro-level election results and analysis for the Massachusetts State Senate 2012 elections. For results in individual contests see our Massachusetts State Senate elections, 2012 page. The following is a breakdown of the state Senate before and after the election:
| Massachusetts State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 5, 2012 | After the 2012 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 35 | 36 | |
| Republican Party | 4 | 4 | |
| Vacancy | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 40 | 40 | |
What You'll See on This Page
This page displays the following lists of candidates:
- Incumbents who ran on November 6
- Newly elected senators
- List of all winners
- Unopposed candidates
- Third party candidates
State Senate Overview:
- A total of 40 of the state's Senate seats were up for election in 2012.
Incumbents
Incumbents who ran on November 6
The following is a list of all of the incumbents who were on the November 6 general election ballot:
New State Senators and General Election Winners
Newly elected senators
The following list displays newly-elected members of the Massachusetts State Senate:
Democratic
Results will display after the election on November 6.
Open Seat Winners
The following displays a list of candidates who won election in seats where there was no incumbent:
Democratic
Results will display after the election on November 6.
Candidates who won election
The following is a list of all candidates elected to the Massachusetts State Senate:
Democratic
Republican
Competitiveness
Unopposed candidates in general election
The following candidates did not face major party competition:
Democratic
Republican
Ballot Access
Third party candidates
The following is a list of third party and independent candidates who ran in 2012:
No candidates have been added to this category yet.
House
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| Other 2012 Election information |
Massachusetts State House Election Results
This page contains macro-level election results and analysis for the Massachusetts House of Representatives elections in 2012. For results in individual contests, see our Massachusetts House of Representatives elections, 2012. The following is a breakdown of the state House before and after the election:
| Massachusetts House of Representatives | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 5, 2012 | After the 2012 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 127 | 131 | |
| Republican Party | 33 | 29 | |
| Total | 160 | 160 | |
What You'll See on This Page
This page displays the following lists of candidates:
- Incumbents who ran on November 6
- Newly elected representatives
- List of all winners
- Unopposed candidates
- Third party candidates
State House Overview
- All 160 of the state's House seats were up for election in 2012.
Incumbency Analysis
Incumbents who ran on November 6
The following is a list of all of the incumbents who were on the November 6 general election ballot:
- Sarah Peake
- David Sullivan (Massachusetts)
- Joyce Spiliotis
- Steven Walsh
- Linda Dean Campbell
- Tom Sannicandro
- Kate Hogan
- Kevin Murphy (Massachusetts)
- Stephen Smith (Massachusetts)
- Carl Sciortino
- Carlos Henriquez
- Eugene O'Flaherty
- Carlo Basile
- Kathi-Anne Reinstein
- Martin Walsh (Massachusetts)
- Russell Holmes
- Martha Walz
- Anne Gobi
- Robert DeLeo
- John Fresolo
- George Ross
- Elizabeth Poirier
- Steven Levy
- Daniel Winslow
- Richard Bastien
- Marcos Devers
- Cheryl Coakley-Rivera
- Paul Frost
- Kimberly Ferguson
New Representatives and General Election Winners
Newly elected representatives
The following lists the newly-elected members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives:
Democratic
Republican
Results will display after the election on November 6.
Candidates who won election
The following lists all candidates elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 2012:
Democratic
- Sarah Peake
- David Sullivan (Massachusetts)
- Steven Walsh
- Joyce Spiliotis
- Linda Dean Campbell
- Marcos Devers
- Frank Moran
- Cheryl Coakley-Rivera
- Kate Hogan
- Tom Sannicandro
- Stephen Smith (Massachusetts)
- Kevin Murphy (Massachusetts)
- Carlo Basile
- Eugene O'Flaherty
- Carlos Henriquez
- Russell Holmes
- Martha Walz
- Martin Walsh (Massachusetts)
- Kathi-Anne Reinstein
- Robert DeLeo
- Anne Gobi
- Mary Keefe
- John Fresolo
- Carl Sciortino
Republican
Competitiveness
Unopposed candidates in general election
The following candidates did not face major party competition:
Democratic
- Kevin Murphy (Massachusetts)
- Linda Dean Campbell
- Joyce Spiliotis
- Sarah Peake
- David Sullivan (Massachusetts)
- Frank Moran
- Cheryl Coakley-Rivera
- Marcos Devers
- Steven Walsh
- Martha Walz
- Russell Holmes
- Carlo Basile
- Stephen Smith (Massachusetts)
- Carlos Henriquez
- Kathi-Anne Reinstein
- Martin Walsh (Massachusetts)
Republican
Ballot Access
Third party candidates
The following is a list of third party and independent candidates who ran in 2012:
- Robert Montgomery Thomas
- Chuck Kuniewich
- Genevieve Fraser
- Thomas Vasconcelos
- Lee Scott Laugenour
- Jose L. Santiago (Massachusetts)
- Kevin M. Cuff
- Richard F. Schober, Jr.
- Jerome T. Hobert
- Lincoln A. Blackie
- Norman W. Oliver
- James O'Donnell Jr. (Massachusetts)
- James F. Gammill
- Winthrop E. Handy
- William J. Callahan
National Partisan Trends
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| Other 2012 Election information |
National Partisan Trends
The following tables detail the partisan breakdown of national election results.
Incumbents who were defeated in the general election
In the 44 states with elections, there were 4,534 incumbents who ran in the general election. The following is a breakdown of incumbents defeated in the 2012 general election:
| Incumbents defeated in 2012 legislative general election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Senate | House | Total |
| Democratic | 21 | 49 | 70 |
| Republican | 37 | 182 | 219 |
| Third Party | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| TOTALS | 60 | 234 | 294 |
Total new legislators elected
In total, 1,707 (28.4%) new legislators were elected in 2012. Of these 1,707, 849 (50.0%) were Republicans and 854 (50.0%) were Democrats.
The following is the breakdown of new legislators.
| New Legislators after the 2012 legislative elections | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Senate | House | Total |
| Democratic | 165 | 684 | 849 |
| Republican | 202 | 652 | 854 |
| Independent | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| TOTALS | 367 | 1,340 | 1,707 |
Winners of Open Seats
Open seats contests made up 705 (11.7%) of the 6,015 seats in 2012. Of these 705 open seats, Republicans won 401 (56.9%) while Democrats won 304 (43.1%). Going into the election, the number of open seats formerly held by each party was quite similar. Estimates prior to the election suggested that approximately 52% of the open seats were previously held by Republicans and 48% were held by Democrats.
The following is the breakdown of open seat winners.
| Open Seat Winners in 2012 legislative elections | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Senate | House | Total |
| Democratic | 82 | 220 | 302 |
| Republican | 105 | 296 | 401 |
| Third Party | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 187 | 516 | 703 |
Impact on legislative majorities
- See also: Partisan balance of state legislatures
| Partisan Balance of Chambers with 2012 Elections | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-election | Post-election | |||||||
| Legislative chamber | 
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| State senates | 17 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 24 | 0 | 1 |
| State houses | 15 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 24 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals: | 32 | 51 | 2 | 1 | 37 | 48 | 0 | 1 |
| Partisan Balance of All 99 Chambers Before and After 2012 Elections | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-election | Post-election | |||||||
| Legislative chamber |
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| State senates | 19 | 28 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 28 | 1 | 1 |
| State houses | 17 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals: | 36 | 59 | 3 | 1 | 41 | 56 | 1 | 1 |
