North Carolina's 12th Congressional District elections, 2012
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November 6, 2012 |
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Melvin L. Watt  |
Melvin L. Watt |
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The 12th Congressional District of North Carolina held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012.
On March 30, 2012, the 12th District was included in a list released by the National Journal of the top ten most contorted congressional districts due to redistricting.[1]
Incumbent Melvin L. Watt (D) won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6th, 2012.[2]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: North Carolina has a closed primary system, meaning only registered members of a particular party may vote in that party's primary.
Voter registration: Voters had to register to vote in the primary by April 13. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 12.[3]
- See also: North Carolina elections, 2012
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Melvin Watt (D), who was first elected to the House in 1992. He won re-election on November 6, 2012.
This was the first election using district maps based on data from the 2010 Census. North Carolina's 12th Congressional District was located in the west-central portion of the state and included Mecklenburg, Cabbarus, Rowan, Davidson, Forsyth, and Guilford counties.[4]
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
May 8, 2012, primary results
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Election results
General Election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Melvin L. Watt Incumbent |
79.6% | 247,591 | |
| Republican | Jack Brosch | 20.4% | 63,317 | |
| Total Votes | 310,908 | |||
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Democratic Primary
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Mel Watt |
80.9% | 52,968 |
| Matt Newton | 19.1% | 12,495 |
| Total Votes | 65,463 | |
Race background
The Washington Post listed the House of Representatives elections in North Carolina in 2012 as one of the states that could have determined whether Democrats retook the House or Republicans held their majority in 2013.[6] North Carolina was rated 8th on the list.[6]
Impact of redistricting
- See also: Redistricting in North Carolina
Following the 2010 Census results, North Carolina did not gain or lose any congressional seats, maintaining its 13 representatives. Under the new map, the already Democratic district was more strongly so.[7]
On March 30, 2012, the 12th District was included in a list released by the National Journal of the top ten most contorted congressional districts due to redistricting.[1]
Registration statistics
As of May 11, 2012, District 12 had the following partisan registration breakdown according to the North Carolina Board of Elections:
| North Carolina Congressional District 12[8] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Congressional District | District Total | Democrats | Republicans | Other & Unaffiliated | Advantage | Party Advantage | Change in Advantage from 2010 |
| District 12 | 456,283 | 287,786 | 71,586 | 96,911 | Democratic | 302.01% | 129.09% |
| "Party advantage" is the percentage gap between the two major parties in registered voters. "Change in advantage" is the spread in difference of party advantage between 2010 and 2012 based on the congressional district number only. | |||||||
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. North Carolina's 12th District became more Democratic because of redistricting.[9]
- 2012: 75D / 25R
- 2010: 67D / 33R
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. North Carolina's 12th Congressional District has a PVI of D+23, which is the 33rd most Democratic district in the country. In 2008, this district was won by Barack Obama (D), 79-21 percent over John McCain (R). In 2004, John Kerry (D) won the district 70-30 percent over George W. Bush (R).[10]
Campaign contributions
Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2012 elections season. Below are candidate reports.
Melvin L. Watt
| Melvin Watt (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[11] | April 15, 2012 | $229,253.46 | $34,000.00 | $(35,336.87) | $227,916.59 | ||||
| July Quarterly[12] | July 15, 2012 | $240,004.96 | $217,714.05 | $(42,271.31) | $415,447.70 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $251,714.05 | $(77,608.18) | ||||||||
Jack Brosch
| Jack Brosch (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[13] | April 15, 2012 | $733.51 | $5,514.93 | $(5,874.88) | $378.56 | ||||
| July Quarterly[14] | July 15, 2012 | $378.56 | $4,064.63 | $(3,978.29) | $464.70 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $9,579.56 | $(9,853.17) | ||||||||
District history
| Candidate ballot access |
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2010
On November 2, 2010, Melvin L. Watt was re-elected to the United States House for a tenth term. He defeated Greg Dority (R) and Lon Cecil (Libertarian).[15]
| U.S. House, North Carolina Congressional District 12 General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Melvin L. Watt Incumbent |
63.9% | 103,495 | |
| Republican | Greg Dority | 34.1% | 55,315 | |
| Libertarian | Lon Cecil | 2% | 3,197 | |
| Total Votes | 162,007 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina, 2012
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 National Journal, "Modern Gerrymanders: 10 Most Contorted Congressional Districts—MAPS," accessed March 31, 2012
- ↑ Politico, "2012 Election Map, North Carolina," accessed November 7, 2012
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Registering to Vote in North Carolina," accessed July 26, 2012
- ↑ North Carolina Redistricting Map, "Map" accessed August 24, 2012
- ↑ opensecrets.org accessed February 5, 2012
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Washington Post, "The 10 states that will determine control of the House in 2012," accessed April 25, 2012
- ↑ Roll Call, "Race Ratings: GOP looks for major gains in North Carolina," accessed December 26, 2011
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "US Congressional Districts by County and Precinct," May 11, 2012
- ↑ "2011 Redistricting and 2012 Elections in North Carolina," September 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Partisan Voting Index Districts of the 113th Congress: 2004 & 2008" accessed October 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Melvin Watt April Quarterly," accessed August 20, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Melvin Watt July Quarterly," accessed August 20, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Jack Brosch April Quarterly," accessed August 20, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Jack Brosch July Quarterly," accessed August 20, 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
