Michigan's 12th Congressional District elections, 2014
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November 4, 2014 |
August 5, 2014 |
Debbie Dingell  |
John D. Dingell |
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Cook Political Report: Solid D[1] Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe D[2] |
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The 12th Congressional District of Michigan held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Rep. John Dingell (D), the longest serving representative in congressional history, announced that he would retire at the end of his term. Following the announcement, there was speculation as to who would run. Debbie Dingell, his wife, announced that she would run.
Debbie Dingell became the first woman to succeed a living spouse in Congress, having defeated challengers Terry Bowman (R), Bhagwan Dashairya (L) and Gary Walkowicz (I) in the general election.[3] Although 47 wives have "inherited" their husband's seats after death, the Dingells would be the first instance in which the husband was still alive.[4] Debbie Dingell won the Democratic primary against Raymond Mullins. Republican nominee Terry Bowman ran against Dingell in the general election.
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
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Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Michigan utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary. All candidates appear on the same ballot and a voter may only vote for candidates of one party at any primary.[5][6]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Voter registration: To vote in the primary, voters must have registered by June 7, 2014. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 6, 2014.[7]
- See also: Michigan elections, 2014
Incumbent: John D. Dingell, Jr. (D), who was first elected in 1955, announced that he will retire at the end of his term, leaving the seat open.
As of the 2010 redistricting cycle, Michigan's 12th Congressional District was located in the southeastern region of the lower peninsula. It included portions of Washtenaw and Wayne counties.[8]
Candidates
General election candidates
August 5, 2014, primary results
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Elections
General election results
The 12th Congressional District of Michigan held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Debbie Dingell (D) defeated challengers Terry Bowman (R), Bhagwan Dashairya (L) and Gary Walkowicz (I) in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Debbie Dingell |
65% | 134,346 | |
| Republican | Terry Bowman | 31.3% | 64,716 | |
| Libertarian | Bhagwan Dashairya | 1.2% | 2,559 | |
| Independent | Gary Walkowicz | 2.4% | 5,039 | |
| Total Votes | 206,660 | |||
| Source: Michigan Secretary of State | ||||
Primary results
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Debbie Dingell |
70.6% | 45,162 | ||
| Raymond Mullins | 29.4% | 18,793 | ||
| Total Votes | 63,955 | |||
| Source: Michigan Secretary of State |
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Endorsements
Debbie Dingell was endorsed by the following organizations:
Issues
Government shutdown
- See also: United States budget debate, 2013
On September 30, 2013, the House passed a final stopgap spending bill before the shutdown went into effect. The bill included a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and would have also stripped the bill of federal subsidies for congressional members and staff. It passed through the House with a vote of 228-201.[10] At 1 a.m. on October 1, 2013, one hour after the shutdown officially began, the House voted to move forward with going to a conference. In short order, Sen. Harry Reid rejected the call to conference.[11] John Dingell voted against the stopgap spending bill that would have delayed the individual mandate.[12]
The shutdown ended on October 16, 2013, when the House took a vote on HR 2775 after it was approved by the Senate. The bill to reopen the government lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funded the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies.[13] The House passed the legislation shortly after the Senate, by a vote of 285-144, with all 144 votes against the legislation coming from Republican members. John Dingell voted for HR 2775.[14]
Campaign contributions
Debbie Dingell
| Debbie Dingell (2014) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[15] | April 15, 2014 | $0.00 | $529,806.58 | $(11,543.38) | $518,263.20 | ||||
| July Quarterly | July 15,2014 | $518,263.00 | $404,695.00 | $(191,095.00) | $731,989.00 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $934,501.58 | $(202,638.38) | ||||||||
Terry Bowman
| Terry Bowman (2014) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly | April 15, 2014 | $0.00 | $11,720.00 | $(188.00) | $11,532.00 | ||||
| July Quarterly | July 15, 2014 | $11,532.00 | $6,939.00 | $(4,579.00) | $13,892.00 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $18,659 | $(4,767) | ||||||||
John Dingell
Below are the FEC reports filed by Rep. Dingell's campaign before he announced he would not seek re-election.
| John Dingell (2014) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[16] | April 15, 2013 | $387,065.14 | $39,370.07 | $(100,383.65) | $326,051 | ||||
| July Quarterly[17] | July 16, 2013 | $326,051.56 | $16,615.49 | $(90,851.58) | $402,015.46 | ||||
| October Quarterly[18] | October 15, 2013 | $402,015.46 | $83,433.39 | $(148,046.62) | $337,402.23 | ||||
| Year-End[19] | January 31, 2014 | $337,402.23 | $108,624.67 | $(114,660.00) | $331,366.90 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $248,043.62 | $(453,941.85) | ||||||||
District history
| Candidate ballot access |
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2012
The 12th Congressional District of Michigan held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Incumbent from the 15th District, John D. Dingell, Jr., won the election in the district.[20]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John D. Dingell Incumbent |
67.9% | 216,884 | |
| Republican | Cynthia Kallgren | 29% | 92,472 | |
| Libertarian | Richard Secula | 3.1% | 9,867 | |
| Total Votes | 319,223 | |||
| Source: Michigan Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
2010
On November 2, 2010, Sander Levin won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Don Volaric (R), Julia Williams (G), Leonard Schwartz (L), Les Townsend (U.S. Taxpayers) and Alan Jacquemotte (Natural Law) in the general election.[21]
| U.S. House, Michigan District 12 General Election, 2010 | ||||
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Sander Levin incumbent |
61.1% | 124,671 | |
| Republican | Don Volaric | 35% | 71,372 | |
| Green | Julia Williams | 1.5% | 3,038 | |
| Libertarian | Leonard Schwartz | 1.1% | 2,342 | |
| U.S. Taxpayers | Les Townsend | 1.1% | 2,285 | |
| Natural Law | Alan Jacquemotte | 0.2% | 409 | |
| Total Votes | 204,117 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan, 2014
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2014
- List of U.S. Congress incumbents not running for re-election in 2014
- Debbie Dingell
- Terry Bowman
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2014 HOUSE RACE RATINGS FOR JULY 26, 2014," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2014 House Races," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ Politico, "House Elections Results," accessed November 11, 2014
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Interactive: When women inherit their husbands’ Congressional seats," July 23, 2014
- ↑ Michigan Legislature, "MCL - Section 168.531," accessed October 21, 2025
- ↑ Michigan Legislature, "MCL - Section 168.576," accessed October 21, 2025
- ↑ Michigan Department of State Website, "Registering to Vote: Step 2," accessed January 3, 2014
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Counties by Congressional Districts," accessed June 8, 2016
- ↑ Roll Call, "EMILY’s List Endorses Debbie Dingell," accessed March 17, 2014
- ↑ Clerk of the U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 504," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ Buzzfeed, "Government Shutdown: How We Got Here," accessed October 1, 2013
- ↑ Clerk of the U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 504," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Reid, McConnell propose bipartisan Senate bill to end shutdown, extend borrowing," accessed October 16, 2013
- ↑ U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 550," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Debbie Dingell April Quarterly," accessed April 21, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "John Dingell April Quarterly," accessed July 30, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "John Dingell July Quarterly," accessed July 30, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "John Dingell October Quarterly," accessed October 22, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "John Dingell Year-End," accessed February 10, 2014
- ↑ Politico, "2012 Election Map, Michigan," November 6, 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
