South Carolina's 7th Congressional District elections, 2012
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November 6, 2012 |
June 12, 2012 |
Tom Rice  |
Newly created district |
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The 7th Congressional District of South Carolina held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Tom Rice was re-elected on November 6, 2012.[1]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: South Carolina has an open primary system, in which any registered voter can choose which party's primary to vote in, without having to be a member of that party. In South Carolina's June 26, 2012 primary runoffs, however, voters had to vote in the same party whose primary they voted in.
Voter registration: Voters had to register to vote in the primary by May 12, 2012. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 6, 2012.[2]
- See also: South Carolina elections, 2012
Incumbent: This seventh district was newly created after the 2010 Census showed significant population growth in the state of South Carolina.
This was the first election using district maps based on data from the 2010 Census. South Carolina's 7th Congressional District is located in the eastern portion of the state and includes Marlboro, Darlington, Florence, Dillion, Marion, Horry, and Georgetown counties.[3][4] South Carolina had not had a 7th Congressional District since 1932.
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
June 26, 2012, Run-off election candidates
June 12, 2012, primary results
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Election results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Tom Rice |
55.5% | 153,068 | |
| Democratic | Gloria Bromell Tinubu | 44.4% | 122,389 | |
| N/A | Write-In | 0.1% | 281 | |
| Total Votes | 275,738 | |||
| Source: South Carolina State Election Commission "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Tom Rice Incumbent |
56.1% | 16,844 |
| Andre Bauer | 43.9% | 13,173 |
| Total Votes | 30,017 | |
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Gloria Bromell Tinubu Incumbent |
72.7% | 17,930 |
| Preston Brittain | 27.3% | 6,733 |
| Total Votes | 24,663 | |
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.
Tom Rice
| Tom Rice (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[13] | March 31, 2012 | $177,436.78 | $205,736.28 | $(51,420.32) | $90,552.09 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $205,736.28 | $(51,420.32) | ||||||||
Gloria Bromell Tinubu
| Gloria Bromell Tinubu (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[14] | March 31, 2012 | $22,730.00 | $123,500.00 | $(101,605.90) | $44,624.10 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $123,500 | $(101,605.9) | ||||||||
Race background
Competitiveness
South Carolina's 7th Congressional District was one of 24 seats nationwide rated "Likely Republican" by the Cook Political Report.[15]
The Sabato Crystal Ball had rated the 7th District race "Safe Republican."[16]
Impact of Redistricting
- See also Redistricting in South Carolina
The 7th District was added following the results of the 2010 census. According to the Washington Post, despite Republican-controlled redistricting decisions, this district was a battleground for Democrats and Republicans seeking control of the U.S. House. With Republican front-runner Thad Viers deciding not to run and Democrat Ted Vick showing some appeal to conservatives, South Carolina's 7th was a swing district year.[17]
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. South Carolina's 7th District was newly created as a result of redistricting.[18]
- 2012: 42D / 58R
- 2010: N/A
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. South Carolina's 7th Congressional District had a PVI of R+7, which was the 153rd most Republican district in the country. In 2008, this district was won by John McCain (R), 54-46 percent over Barack Obama (D). In 2004, George W. Bush (R) won the district 56-44 percent over John Kerry (D).[19]
DCCC Ads
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the official campaign arm of the Democratic Party in the United States House of Representatives, had reserved $150,000 worth of TV media buys in the Florence-Myrtle Beach market leading up to the general election in November. The proposed media buys did not necessarily mean the DCCC would run ads in the district, it just reserved the time if the committee decided to become active in the district during the campaign. The DCCC had reserved media time in 40 different congressional districts nationwide.[20]
On June 6, 2012, the DCCC reserved another $224,000 worth of media buys in the 7th District.[21]
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 2012
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
External links
- Andre Bauer campaign website
- Jay Jordan campaign website
- Thad Viers campaign website
- Randal Wallace campaign website
- Dick Withington campaign website
- Parnell Diggs website
Footnotes
- ↑ Carolina ABC News, "2012 General Election Results," accessed November 6, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ South Carolina Votes, "2012 Election Calendar," accessed July 27, 2012
- ↑ South Carolina Redistricting Map, "Map" accessed July 30, 2012
- ↑ The State Feds approve S.C.'s plans for 7th District December 28, 2011
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 SC Now "Tinubu wins Democratic runoff; Rice beats Bauer for GOP spot," June 26, 2012
- ↑ scnow.com "Brittain announces candidacy for S.C.'s new 7th Congressional District" accessed February 2, 2012
- ↑ scnow.com "Rep. Ted Vick drops out of 7th Congressional race" accessed June 2, 2012
- ↑ The Sun News Who's the frontrunner for the 7th Congressional District? December 28, 2011
- ↑ wistv'.com "7th Congressional district candidates answer questions" accessed February 2, 2012
- ↑ fitsnews.com "Chad Prosser announces congressional campaign" accessed February 2, 2012
- ↑ fitsnews.com "GOP Releases List Of Congressional Candidates" accessed June 4, 2012
- ↑ CarolinaLive "Wilkes withdraws, endorses Bauer for 7th Congressional race" accessed April 9, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Tom Rice April Quarterly," accessed July 7, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Gloria Bromell Tinubu April Quarterly," accessed July 7, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 Competitive House Race Chart" accessed May 31, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ Sabato Crystal Ball accessed May 31, 2012
- ↑ Washington Post blog, "The 10 House districts that might surprise you," May 11, 2012
- ↑ "2011 Redistricting and 2012 Elections in South Carolina," September 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Partisan Voting Index Districts of the 113th Congress: 2004 & 2008" accessed October 2012
- ↑ scnow.com, "National Democrats reserve $150,000 in TV ads for 7th Congressional race" accessed May 31, 2012
- ↑ Roll Call, "DCCC Reserves $19M Worth of Airtime" accessed June 10, 2012
