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Michigan's 3rd Congressional District elections, 2012
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November 6, 2012 |
August 7, 2012 |
Justin Amash  |
Justin Amash |
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The 3rd Congressional District of Michigan held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012.
Incumbent Justin Amash won the election.[1]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: Michigan has an open primary system, meaning any registered voter can vote in any party's primary.
Voter registration: Voters were required to register to vote in the primary by July 9. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 9.[2]
- See also: Michigan elections, 2012
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Justin Amash (R), who was first elected in 2010.
This was the first election using district maps based on data from the 2010 Census. Michigan's 3rd Congressional District was located in the western region of the lower peninsula of Michigan and included the city of Grand Rapids. It included Kent, Ionia, Barry, Montcolm, and Calhoun counties.[3]
Candidates
General election candidates
August 7, 2012, primary results
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Race background
Michigan's 3rd was considered Leaning Republican according to the New York Times race ratings. Republican incumbent Justin Amash was challenged by Democrat Steve Pestka.[6]
Impact of Redistricting
- See also Redistricting in Michigan
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. Michigan's 3rd District became less Republican because of redistricting.[7]
- 2012: 47D / 53R
- 2010: 46D / 54R
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. Michigan's 3rd Congressional District had a PVI of R+5, which was the 183rd most Republican district in the country. In 2008, this district was won by Barack Obama (D), 50-50 percent (rounded the figures are even, but Obama garnered more votes) over John McCain (R). In 2004, George W. Bush (R) won the district 58-42 percent over John Kerry (D).[8]
Election results
General Election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Steve Pestka | 44.2% | 144,108 | |
| Republican |  Justin Amash Incumbent |
52.6% | 171,675 | |
| Libertarian | Bill Gelineau | 3.2% | 10,498 | |
| Write-in | Steven Butler | 0% | 2 | |
| Total Votes | 326,283 | |||
| Source: Michigan Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Democratic Primary
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Steve Petska |
58.9% | 13,408 |
| Trevor Thomas | 41.1% | 9,373 |
| Total Votes | 22,781 | |
District history
2010
On November 2, 2010, Amash won election to the United States House of Representatives. He defeated Pat Miles (D), James Rogers (L), Ted Gerrard (U.S. Taxpayers'), and Charlie Shick (G) in the general election.[9]
| U.S. House of Representatives, Michigan's 3rd Congressional District, General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Justin Amash |
59.7% | 133,714 | |
| Democratic | Pat Miles | 37.5% | 83,953 | |
| Libertarian | James Rogers | 1.2% | 2,677 | |
| U.S. Taxpayers' | Ted Gerrard | 1% | 2,144 | |
| Green | Charlie Shick | 0.7% | 1,575 | |
| Total Votes | 224,063 | |||
Campaign donors
Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2012 elections season. Below are Amash and Pestka's reports.
Justin Amash
| Justin Amash (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[10] | March 31, 2012 | $162,899.89 | $139,451.92 | $(101,800.03) | $200,551.78 | ||||
| July Quarterly[11] | June 30, 2012 | $200,551.78 | $299,376.17 | $(80,882.08) | $419,045.87 | ||||
| Pre-Primary[12] | July 26, 2012 | $419,045.87 | $11,059.69 | $(21,529.67) | $408,575.89 | ||||
| October Quarterly[13] | October 15, 2012 | $408,575.89 | $201,813.71 | $(127,497.55) | $482,892.05 | ||||
| Pre-General[14] | October 25, 2012 | $482,892.05 | $80,179.62 | $(125,131.12) | $437,940.55 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $731,881.11 | $(456,840.45) | ||||||||
Steve Pestka
| Steve Pestka (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[15] | March 31, 2012 | $0.00 | $218,186.74 | $(22,677.65) | $195,509.09 | ||||
| July Quarterly[16] | June 30, 2012 | $195,509.09 | $576,171.32 | $(112,619.23) | $659,061.18 | ||||
| Pre-Primary[17] | September 30, 2012 | $659,061.18 | $4,164.33 | $(211,634.81) | $451,590.70 | ||||
| October Quarterly[18] | October 15, 2012 | $451,590.70 | $613,658.51 | $(902,962.16) | $162,287.05 | ||||
| Pre-General[19] | October 25, 2012 | $162,287.05 | $59,084.61 | $(130,594.52) | $90,777.14 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $1,471,265.51 | $(1,380,488.37) | ||||||||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan, 2012
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
- United States Senate elections in Michigan, 2012
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Politico, "2012 Election Map, Michigan"
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "2012 Registration Deadlines and Election Dates," accessed June 29, 2012
- ↑ Michigan Redistricting Map, "Map" accessed August 31, 2012
- ↑ Miami Herald "Gay activist Trevor Thomas runs for Congress in Michigan; 'Time to return to values of Jerry Ford'" March 31, 2012
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State "Candidate Filing List" May 17, 2012
- ↑ New York Times, "House Race Ratings," accessed August 10, 2012
- ↑ "2011 Redistricting and 2012 Elections in Michigan," 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 accessed December 11, 2011
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "April Quarterly," accessed August 1, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "July Quarterly," accessed August 1, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Pre-Primary," accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "October Quarterly," accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Pre-General," accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "April Quarterly," accessed August 1, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "July Quarterly," accessed August 1, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Pre-Primary," accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "October Quarterly," accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Pre-General," accessed November 6, 2012
