Pennsylvania's 17th Congressional District elections, 2012
2014 →
|
 |
November 6, 2012 |
April 24, 2012 |
Matt Cartwright  |
Tim Holden |
 |
 |
The 17th Congressional District of Pennsylvania held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Democratic candidate Matt Cartwright won the election.[1]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: Pennsylvania 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 March 25. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 7.[2]
- See also: Pennsylvania elections, 2012
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Tim Holden, (D), who assumed office in 2003. Holden lost in the primary to Matt Cartwright.
This was the first election using district maps based on data from the 2010 Census. Pennsylvania's 17th Congressional District is located in the eastern region of Pennsylvania and includes Schuylkill, Carbon, Monroe, Luzerne, and Lackawanna counties.[3]
Candidates
General election candidates
April 24, 2012, primary results
|
|
|
Election results
General Election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Matt Cartwright |
60.3% | 161,393 | |
| Republican | Laureen Cummings | 39.7% | 106,208 | |
| Total Votes | 267,601 | |||
| Source: Pennsylvania Department of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Democratic Primary
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Matt Cartwright |
57.1% | 33,255 |
| Tim Holden Incumbent | 42.9% | 24,953 |
| Total Votes | 58,208 | |
Race background
The Washington Post listed the House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania in 2012 as one of the 10 states that could determine whether Democrats would retake the House or Republicans would hold their majority in 2013.[5] Ohio tied with Pennsylvania for 9th on the list.[5]
Impact of Redistricting
- See also Redistricting in Pennsylvania
The 17th District was re-drawn after the 2010 Census. The new district is composed of the following percentages of voters of the old congressional districts.[6][7]
- 67 percent from the 10th Congressional District
- 8 percent from the 11th Congressional District
- 25 percent from the 15th Congressional District
- 8 percent from the 17th Congressional District
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. Pennsylvania's 17th District's became more Democratic because of redistricting.[8]
- 2012: 54D / 46R
- 2010: 45D / 55R
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. Pennsylvania's 17th Congressional District has a PVI of D+4, which is the 154th most Democratic district in the country. In 2008, this district was won by Barack Obama (D), 58-48 percent over John McCain (R). In 2004, John Kerry (D) won the district 53-47 percent over George W. Bush (R).[9]
Targeting
Incumbent Tim Holden was targeted for defeat by three PACs: The Campaign for Primary Accountability, Blue America PAC,[10] and the League of Conservation Voters.[11]
The Campaign for Primary Accountability launched a $70,000 ad buy with a negative ad tying Holden to Wall Street.[12] A Holden spokesman said the Campaign for Primary Accountability, which spent $200,000 in the race, contributed to Holden's loss to Matt Cartwright in the primary.[13]
| "Who Does Congressman Tim Holden Look out for?" |
Media
The following is a selection of audio and video for some of the District 2 candidates. Some were released by candidates, others by local media.
|
Tim Holden
|
Matt Cartwright
|
Laureen Cummings
|
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.
Matt Cartwright
| Matt Cartwright (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| July Quarterly[17] | July 15, 2012 | $279,195.41 | $244,130.79 | $(433,090.47) | $90,235.73 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $244,130.79 | $(433,090.47) | ||||||||
Laureen Cummings
| Laureen Cummings (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[18] | April 15, 2012 | $0.00 | $100.00 | $(17.25) | $82.75 | ||||
| July Quarterly[19] | July 15, 2012 | $82.75 | $6,093.85 | $(1,581.98) | $4,594.62 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $6,193.85 | $(1,599.23) | ||||||||
District history
2010
On November 2, 2010, Holden won re-election to the United States House of Representatives. He defeated Dave Argall in the general election.[20]
| U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 17 General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Dave Argall | 44.5% | 95,000 | |
| Democratic | Tim Holden Incumbent |
55.5% | 118,486 | |
| Total Votes | 213,486 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Holden won re-election to the United States House of Representatives. He defeated Toni Gilhooley in the general election.[21]
| U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 17 General Election, 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Toni Gilhooley | 36.3% | 109,909 | |
| Democratic | Tim Holden Incumbent |
63.7% | 192,699 | |
| Total Votes | 302,608 | |||
2006
On November 7, 2006, Holden won re-election to the United States House of Representatives. He defeated Matthew A. Wertz in the general election.[22]
| U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 17 General Election, 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Matthew A. Wertz | 35.5% | 75,455 | |
| Democratic | Tim Holden Incumbent |
64.5% | 137,253 | |
| Total Votes | 212,708 | |||
2004
On November 2, 2004, Holden won re-election to the United States House of Representatives. He defeated Scott Paterno and Russ Diamond in the general election.[23]
| U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 17 General Election, 2004 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Scott Paterno | 38.9% | 113,592 | |
| Democratic | Tim Holden Incumbent |
59.1% | 172,412 | |
| Libertarian | Russ Diamond | 2% | 5,782 | |
| Total Votes | 291,786 | |||
2002
On November 5, 2002, Holden won re-election to the United States House of Representatives. He defeated Scott Paterno and Russ Diamond in the general election.[24]
| U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 17 General Election, 2002 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | George W. Gekas | 48.6% | 97,802 | |
| Democratic | Tim Holden Incumbent |
51.4% | 103,483 | |
| Total Votes | 201,285 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania, 2012
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
- United States Senate elections in Pennsylvania, 2012
External links
- Official Tim Holden campaign website
- Pennsylvania General Primary Election Results
- Pennsylvania General Election Results
Footnotes
- ↑ Politico, "2012 House Race Results," accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Registration Deadlines," accessed June 28, 2012
- ↑ Pennsylvania Redistricting Map, "Map" accessed July 30, 2012
- ↑ Scranton Times Tribune "Cartwright getting into congressional race
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Washington Post, "The 10 states that will determine control of the House in 2012," accessed April 25, 2012
- ↑ Moonshadow Mobile's CensusViewer, "Pennsylvania's congressional districts 2001-2011 comparison"
- ↑ Labels & Lists, "VoterMapping software voter counts"
- ↑ "2011 Redistricting and 2012 Elections in Pennsylvania," September 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Partisan Voting Index Districts of the 113th Congress: 2004 & 2008" accessed October 2012
- ↑ The Borys Blog accessed April 7, 2012
- ↑ Lehigh Morning Call, "League of Conservation Voters targets Congressman Tim Holden" accessed April 21, 2012
- ↑ PoliticsPA "Super PAC Launches Anti-Holden Ad" accessed April 7, 2012
- ↑ Wall Street Journal blog, "Anti-Incumbent Super PAC Claims a Win in Pennsylvania," April 25, 2012
- ↑ House floor debate
- ↑ Matt Cartwright announces his candidacy
- ↑ Laureen Cummings speaks to Tea Party rally
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Matt Cartwright July Quarterly," accessed August 3, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Laureen Cummings April Quarterly," accessed August 3, 2012
- ↑ Federal Elections Commission, "Laureen Cummings July Quarterly," accessed August 3, 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2004"
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002"
