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United States House of Representatives elections in North Dakota, 2012
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North Dakota's 2012 elections U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • Other executive offices • State Senate • State House • State ballot measures • Candidate ballot access |
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See the full article here: North Dakota's At-Large Congressional District elections, 2012
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June 12, 2012 |
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November 6, 2012 |
June 12, 2012 |
Kevin Cramer  |
Rick Berg |
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The 2012 U.S. House of Representatives elections in North Dakota took place on November 6, 2012. Voters elected one candidate to serve in the U.S. House from the state's At-Large Congressional District.
Republican Kevin Cramer won the election.[1]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: North Dakota 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.
Voter registration: North Dakota has no voter registration. North Dakota precincts maintain lists of qualified voters.[2]
- See also: North Dakota elections, 2012
Incumbent: The incumbent heading into the election was Rick Berg (R), who was first elected in 2010. Berg did not run for re-election. Instead, he is sought election to the U.S. Senate, and was defeated.
North Dakota has a single At-Large Congressional District, which is made up of the entire state.
According to the Washington Post, North Dakota was a battleground district in 2012, with incumbent Rick Berg running for Senate and Republicans duking it out in the primary. Democrat Pam Gulleson vastly outraised the Republican candidates, and had a "fighting chance" in a conservative state.[3]
Heading into the November 6 election, the Republican Party held the one Congressional seat from North Dakota.
| Members of the U.S. House from North Dakota -- Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2012 | After the 2012 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 0 | 0 | |
| Republican Party | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 1 | 1 | |
The Center for Voting and Democracy (Fairvote) did not make a projection about who would win this seat.[4]
Primary competitiveness
North Dakota is tied with Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Delaware, Oregon, South Dakota, and West Virginia for having the 22nd most competitive congressional primaries in 2012, with 50% of major party primaries having been contested (1 out of 2). The national average was 54.31%.
North Dakota's one U.S. House incumbent did not seek re-election in 2012. Nationwide, 200 out of the 386 incumbents seeking re-election faced a primary challenger (51.81%).
Margin of victory for winners
There was a total of 1 seat up for election in 2012 in North Dakota. The following table shows the margin of victory for each district winner, which is calculated by examining the percentage difference between the top-two vote getters. If the race was uncontested, the margin of victory is listed as 100%.
| District | Winner | Margin of Victory | Total Vote | Top Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota, At-Large, District | Kevin Cramer |
13.2% | 316,224 | Pam Gulleson |
General election candidates
| District | General Election Candidates | Incumbent | 2012 Winner | Partisan Switch? |
| At-large |  Pam Gulleson Kevin Cramer Eric Olson |
Rick Berg | Kevin Cramer |
No |
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 12, 2012, primary results
Democratic Primary
- Pam Gulleson:51,750
Former state rep[5]
- Pam Gulleson:51,750
Republican Primary
- The following candidates initially expressed interest but did not appear on primary ballot
- Shane Goettle Former state commissioner[8]
- Bette Grande state representative[9]
- Kim Koppelman state representative[10]
Libertarian Candidate
- Eric Olson:655 [11]
- Eric Olson:655
Primary Results
Republican Primary
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
 Kevin Cramer |
54.5% | 54,405 |
| Brian Kalk | 45.5% | 45,415 |
| Total Votes | 99,820 | |
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Politico, "2012 Election Map, North Dakota," accessed November 7, 2012
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "Voter Registration," accessed July 26, 2012
- ↑ Washington Post blog, "The 10 House districts that might surprise you," May 11, 2012
- ↑ , "2011 Redistricting and 2012 Elections in North Dakota," September 2012
- ↑ Forum of Fargo-Moorhead "Democrat Pam Gulleson running for North Dakota's U.S. House seat," September 21, 2011
- ↑ The Republic "ND's Cramer uses Web video to open US House campaign; running for Congress for fourth time," November 3, 2011
- ↑ Roll Call "Kalk to Run for House Instead of Senate in North Dakota," May 20, 2011
- ↑ Flickertales from the Hill "VIDEO: Goettle declares as 4th GOP contender in U.S. House race," November 29, 2011
- ↑ Flickertales from the Hill "UPDATED: Fargo legislator Bette Grande entering U.S. House race" October 3, 2011
- ↑ Flickertales from the Hill "West Fargo legislator seeks GOP nod in packed U.S. House race," December 5, 2011
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State "Primary Candidate List"
