Nebraska 2012 legislative election results

The tabs below contain analysis of election results in the 2012 legislative elections for Nebraska.

Senate

2012 Legislative Election Results
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Other 2012 Election information
State legislative elections • State legislative election results • Statewide elections, 2012 • State Senate elections • State House elections

Nebraska State Senate Election Results

This page contains macro-level election results and analysis for the Nebraska State Senate 2012 elections. For results in individual contests see our Nebraska State Senate elections, 2012 page. Nebraska is a nonpartisan legislature -- elected officials do not run with a party designation.

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 25 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:

1. Beau McCoy
2. Brenda Council
3. Charlie Janssen
4. Colby Coash
5. Dave Bloomfield
6. Galen Hadley
7. Kate Sullivan
8. Heath Mello
9. Jeremy Nordquist
10. Ken Haar
11. Kathy Campbell (Nebraska)
12. Ken Schilz
13. Scott Price (Nebraska)
14. Tanya Cook (Nebraska)
15. Mike Gloor
16. Les Seiler
17. Paul Lambert (Nebraska)

Incumbents defeated

The following is a list of incumbents defeated in 2012:

General election

• Brenda Council
• Paul Lambert (Nebraska)

Primary election

No candidates have this category yet.

Challengers who beat an incumbent

The following is a list of challengers who defeated an incumbent in 2012:

General election

• Bill Kintner
• Ernie Chambers

Primary election

Results will display after the election on November 6.

New State Senators and General Election Winners

Newly elected senators

The following list displays newly-elected members of the Nebraska State Senate:

1. John Murante
2. Kate Bolz
3. Dan Watermeier
4. Bill Kintner
5. Al Davis (Nebraska)
6. Sara Howard
7. Ernie Chambers
8. Jerry Johnson (Nebraska)
9. Rick Kolowski
10. Sue Crawford
11. Jim Scheer

Open Seat Winners

The following displays a list of candidates who won election in seats where there was no incumbent:

1. John Murante
2. Kate Bolz
3. Dan Watermeier
4. Al Davis (Nebraska)
5. Sara Howard
6. Jerry Johnson (Nebraska)
7. Rick Kolowski
8. Sue Crawford
9. Jim Scheer

Candidates who won election

The following is a list of all candidates elected to the Nebraska State Senate:

1. Beau McCoy
2. Charlie Janssen
3. Colby Coash
4. Dave Bloomfield
5. Galen Hadley
6. Kate Sullivan
7. Heath Mello
8. Jeremy Nordquist
9. Ken Haar
10. Kathy Campbell (Nebraska)
11. Ken Schilz
12. Scott Price (Nebraska)
13. Tanya Cook (Nebraska)
14. Mike Gloor
15. John Murante
16. Kate Bolz
17. Dan Watermeier
18. Bill Kintner
19. Al Davis (Nebraska)
20. Sara Howard
21. Ernie Chambers
22. Jerry Johnson (Nebraska)
23. Rick Kolowski
24. Les Seiler
25. Sue Crawford
26. Jim Scheer

Competitiveness

Unopposed candidates in general election

The following candidates did not face major party competition:

1. Beau McCoy
2. Brenda Council
3. Charlie Janssen
4. Colby Coash
5. Kate Sullivan
6. Heath Mello
7. Kathy Campbell (Nebraska)
8. Ken Schilz
9. Scott Price (Nebraska)
10. Tanya Cook (Nebraska)
11. Mike Gloor
12. John Murante
13. Suzanne McNamara
14. Brook Curtiss
15. Mike Petersen (Nebraska)
16. Kyle Michaelis
17. Marvin Butch Hughes
18. Rick Kolowski
19. Acela Turco
20. Les Seiler
21. Judy Domina
22. Sue Crawford
23. Richard Carter
24. Frank Wellenstein
25. Jim Scheer
26. William Goodpasture
27. Timothy Ashford

Ballot Access

Nebraska has nonpartisan elections. Thus, all candidates run without a party designation.

National Partisan Trends

2012 Legislative Election Results
State-by-State Analysis
Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Maine Massachusetts • Michigan• Minnesota • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming
Other 2012 Election information
State legislative elections • State legislative election results • Statewide elections, 2012 • State Senate elections • State House elections

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
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
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