Rhode Island's 2nd Congressional District elections, 2012
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November 6, 2012 |
September 11, 2012 |
James R. Langevin  |
James R. Langevin |
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The 2nd Congressional District of Rhode Island held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012.
Incumbent Jim Langevin won re-election.[1]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: Rhode Island has a closed primary system, meaning only registered members of a particular party may vote in that party's primary.
Voter registration: Voters were required to register to vote in the primary by August 12. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 7.[2]
- See also: Rhode Island elections, 2012
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was James R. Langevin (D), who has served since 2001.
This was the first election using district maps based on data from the 2010 Census. Rhode Island's 2nd Congressional District is located in the western and southern portions of the state and includes Westerly, Charlestown, New Shoreham, Richmond, South Kingstown, West Greenwich, Coventry, West Warwick, Warwick, East Greenwich, Scituate, Johnston, Craigston and Glockster counties.[3]
Candidates
General election candidates
September 11, 2012, primary results
Democratic Primary
- James R. Langevin: Incumbent
- John Matson[4]
- James R. Langevin: Incumbent
Republican Primary
- Michael J. Gardiner Lawyer
- Michael G. Riley: Businessman[5]
- Donald F. Robbio[4]
- Kara D. Russo[4]
Independent candidates
Election results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  James R. Langevin Incumbent |
55.7% | 124,067 | |
| Republican | Michael G. Riley | 35.1% | 78,189 | |
| Independent | Abel G. Collins | 9.1% | 20,212 | |
| Write-In | N/A | 0.1% | 192 | |
| Total Votes | 222,660 | |||
| Source: Rhode Island Board of Elections "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
James Langevin Incumbent |
74.1% | 22,161 |
| John Matson | 25.9% | 7,748 |
| Total Votes | 29,909 | |
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Michael G. Riley Incumbent |
65.6% | 5,283 |
| Kara D. Russo | 18.5% | 1,488 |
| Michael J. Gardiner | 10.2% | 825 |
| Donald F. Robbio | 5.6% | 454 |
| Total Votes | 8,050 | |
Impact of Redistricting
- See also Redistricting in Rhode Island
Registration statistics
As of October 30, 2012, District 2 had the following partisan registration breakdown according to the Rhode Island State Board of Elections:
| Rhode Island Congressional District 2[6] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Congressional District | District Total | Democrats | Republicans | Other & Unaffiliated | Advantage | Party Advantage | Change in Advantage from 2010 |
| District 2 | 369,905 | 128,906 | 32,092 | 198,907 | Democratic | 206.25% | N/A |
| "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. Rhode Island's 2nd District became less Democratic because of redistricting.[7]
- 2012: 57D / 43R
- 2010: 58D / 42R
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. Rhode Island's 2nd Congressional District has a PVI of D+8, which is the 118th most Democratic district in the country. In 2008, this district was won by Barack Obama (D), 61-39 percent over John McCain (R). In 2004, John Kerry (D) won the district 58-42 percent over George W. Bush (R).[8]
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.
Jim Langevin
| Jim Langevin (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[9] | April 15, 2012 | $233,949.18 | $140,886.01 | $(98,584.49) | $276,250.70 | ||||
| July Quarterly[10] | July 15, 2012 | $276,250.70 | $176,843.15 | $(96,516.16) | $356,577.69 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $317,729.16 | $(195,100.65) | ||||||||
John Matson
| John Matson (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[11] | April 18, 2012 | $0 | $50,004.04 | $(2,094.99) | $47,909.05 | ||||
| July Quarterly[12] | July 17, 2012 | $47,909.05 | $0 | $(1,012.17) | $46,896.88 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $50,004.04 | $(3,107.16) | ||||||||
Michael Riley
| Michael Riley (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[13] | April 14, 2012 | $81,605.74 | $88,497.03 | $(58,621.36) | $111,481.41 | ||||
| July Quarterly[14] | July 15, 2012 | $111,481.41 | $213,878.73 | $(200,287.67) | $125,072.47 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $302,375.76 | $(258,909.03) | ||||||||
District history
2010
On November 2, 2010, Langevin won re-election to the United States House of Representatives. He defeated Mark S. Zaccaria and John O. Matson in the general election.[15]
| U.S. House, Rhode Island District 2 General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | James R. Langevin Incumbent |
59.9% | 104,442 | |
| Republican | Mark S. Zaccaria | 31.8% | 55,409 | |
| Independent | John O. Matson | 8.4% | 14,584 | |
| Total Votes | 174,435 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island, 2012
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
- United States Senate elections in Rhode Island, 2012
Footnotes
- ↑ Politico, "2012 Election Map, Rhode Island"
- ↑ Rhode Island Board of Elections, "Elections and Voting," accessed July 27, 2012
- ↑ Rhode Island Redistricting Map, "Map" accessed July 30, 2012
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Rhode Island Secretary of State "Candidate Search Page," accessed June 30, 2012
- ↑ Providence Journal Narragansett businessman to challenge Langevin December 23, 2011
- ↑ Rhode Island State Board of Elections, "Voter Registration Reports, 2012," July, 2012
- ↑ "2011 Redistricting and 2012 Elections in Rhode Island," September 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Partisan Voting Index Districts of the 113th Congress: 2004 & 2008" accessed October 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Jim Langevin's April Quarterly report
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Jim Langevin's July Quarterly report
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "John Matson's April Quarterly report," accessed August 30, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "John Matson's July Quarterly report," accessed August 30, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Michael Riley's April Quarterly report," accessed August 30, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Michael Riley's July Quarterly report," accessed August 30, 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
