Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District elections, 2012
2014 →
|
 |
November 6, 2012 |
August 14, 2012 |
John Kline  |
John Kline |
 |
 |
The 2nd Congressional District of Minnesota held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Incumbent
John Kline won re-election on November 6, 2012.[1]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: Minnesota has an open primary system, meaning any registered voter can vote in any party's primary.
Voter registration: Voters had to register to vote in the primary by July 24, 2012. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 16, 2012. Voters could also register at the polls on Election Day, provided they brought requisite proof of residency.[2]
- See also: Minnesota elections, 2012
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was John Kline (R), who assumed office in 2003.
This was the first election that used new district maps based on 2010 Census data. Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District covered the south Twin Cities metro area and includes Carver, Scott, Le Sueur, Goodhue and Rice counties.[3]
Candidates
Note: Election results were added on election night as races were called. Vote totals were added after official election results had been certified. Click here for more information about Ballotpedia's election coverage plan. Please contact us about errors in this list.
General election candidates
Democratic Primary
- Mike Obermueller: former state Representative
[4]
- Mike Obermueller: former state Representative
- Note: Dan Powers expressed an interest in running but did not file.[5]
Republican Primary
- John Kline: Incumbent [6]
- David Gerson
- John Kline: Incumbent
Election results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  John Kline Incumbent |
54% | 193,587 | |
| Democratic | Mike Obermueller | 45.8% | 164,338 | |
| NA | Write-in | 0.1% | 521 | |
| Total Votes | 358,446 | |||
| Source: Minnesota Secretary of State, "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" (dead link) | ||||
Race background
Minnesota's 2nd was considered to be Leaning Republican according to the New York Times race ratings. John Kline defeated former state representative Mike Obermueller (D) in the general election in a district that became more Democratic due to redistricting.[7]
Minnesota's 2nd District was included in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's "Red to Blue List," which identified districts that the organization specifically targeted to flip from Republican to Democratic control.[8]
Impact of Redistricting
- See also: Redistricting in Minnesota
According to the Washington Post, redistricting transformed the 2nd District from a safe seat into a swing district. While the 2nd formerly went safely for Republican John Kline, the newly drawn district was a battleground for Republicans and Democrats fighting for control of the House.[9]
Given the new district maps, Democrats in the state said they had better odds of defeating incumbent John Kline (R), who won his last election by a 30 percent margin. Democrats hoped that Kline's south suburban and rural district, which included a southeastern swath of Minnesota from Dakota County to Wabasha County and over to Scott and Rice counties, would turn in their favor.[4]
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. Minnesota's 2nd District became less Republican because of redistricting.[10]
- 2012: 48D / 52R
- 2010: 45D / 55R
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. Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District had a PVI of R+2, which was the 223rd most Republican district in the country. In 2008, this district was won by Barack Obama (D), 51-49 percent over John McCain (R). In 2004, George W. Bush (R) won the district 52-48 percent over John Kerry (D).[11]
District history
2010
On November 2, 2010, Kline won re-election to the United States House of Representatives. He defeated Shelley Madore (D) in the general election.[12]
| U.S. House of Representatives, Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District, General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | John Kline Incumbent |
63.3% | 181,341 | |
| Democratic | Shelley Moore | 36.6% | 104,809 | |
| Independent | Write-In | 0.1% | 303 | |
| Total Votes | 286,453 | |||
Campaign donor
Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2012 elections season. Below are Obermueller and Kline's reports.
Mike Obermueller
| Mike Obermueller (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[13] | March 31, 2012 | $0.00 | $253,102.21 | $(38,933.24) | $214,168.97 | ||||
| July Quarterly[14] | July 15, 2012 | $0.00 | $253,102.21 | $(38,933.24) | $214,168.97 | ||||
| October Quarterly[15] | October 15, 2012 | $227,283. | $276,547.76 | $(133,610.45) | $370,220.44 | ||||
| Pre-General[16] | October 25, 2012 | $370,220.44 | $79,024.02 | $(318,714.82) | $130,529.64 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $861,776.2 | $(530,191.75) | ||||||||
John Kline
| John Kline (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[17] | March 31, 2012 | $873,102.45 | $276,891.9 | $(89,819.57) | $1,060,174.78 | ||||
| July Quarterly[18] | June 30, 2012 | $1,060,174.78 | $428,280.24 | $(151,230.08) | $1,337,224.94 | ||||
| October Quarterly[19] | October 15, 2012 | $1,355,572.61 | $286,501.38 | $(272,466.92) | $1,369,607.07 | ||||
| Pre-General[20] | October 25, 2012 | $1,369,607.07 | $75,539.02 | $(306,474.09) | $1,138,672 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $1,067,212.54 | $(819,990.66) | ||||||||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, 2012
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
- United States Senate elections in Minnesota, 2012
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ ABC News, "General Election Results 2012-Minnesota," November 7, 2012
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "Registering to Vote," accessed July 25, 2012
- ↑ Minnesota Redistricting Map, "Map" accessed August 30, 2012
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Star Tribune "DFL has set its sights on Rep. John Kline's seat" April 6, 2012
- ↑ Secretary of State "2012 Election Filings" June 5, 2012
- ↑ CBS Minnesota "2012 Primary Results" August 14, 2012
- ↑ New York Times, "House Race Ratings," accessed August 10, 2012
- ↑ DCCC, "Red to Blue 2012"
- ↑ Washington Post blog, "The 10 House districts that might surprise you," May 11, 2012
- ↑ , "2011 Redistricting and 2012 Elections in Minnesota," 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 3, 2011
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "April Quarterly," accessed August 1, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "July Quarterly," accessed October 1, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "October Quarterly," accessed October 31, 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, "October Quarterly," accessed November 1, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Pre-General," accessed November 6, 2012
