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West Virginia's 3rd Congressional District elections, 2012
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November 6, 2012 |
May 8, 2012 |
Nick Rahall  |
Nick Rahall |
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The 3rd Congressional District of West Virginia held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012.
Nick Rahall was re-elected on November 6, 2012.[1]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: West Virginia has a mostly closed primary system, in which the selection of a party's candidates in an election is limited to registered party members, although unaffiliated voters may pick which party's primary to vote in.
Voter registration: Voters had to register to vote in the primary by April 17, 2012. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 16, 2012.[2]
- See also: West Virginia elections, 2012
Incumbent: Heading into the election was incumbent Nick Rahall (D), who was first elected to the House in 1976 representing West Virginia's then-existing 4th Congressional District; when the 4th was eliminated, he ran for and won the 3rd District in 1992.
This was the first election which used new district maps based on 2010 Census data. West Virginia's 3rd Congressional District is located in the southern portion of the state, and includes Pocahontas, Webster, Nicholas, Fayette, Greenbrier, Monroe, Summers, Raleigh, Mercer, McDowell, Wyoming, Mingo, Logan, Boone, Lincoln, Wayne, Cabell, and Mason counties.[3]
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 |  Nick Rahall Incumbent |
53.5% | 102,519 | |
| Republican | Rick Snuffer | 46.5% | 88,999 | |
| Total Votes | 191,518 | |||
| Source: West Virginia Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Democratic Primary
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Rick Snuffer |
53.4% | 12,359 |
| Lee Bias | 28.8% | 6,671 |
| Bill Lester | 17.7% | 4,104 |
| Total Votes | 23,134 | |
Race background
West Virginia's 3rd was considered to be Leaning Democratic according to the New York Times race ratings. Democratic incumbent Nick Rahall, who managed to hold his seat for 18 terms, was challenged by Rick Snuffer (R). Rahall was a conservative Democrat who has frustrated his party with his advocacy for the coal industry.[5]
Republican challenger Rick Snuffer was included in the National Republican Congressional Committee's Young Guns program. The program highlighted challengers who represented the GOP's best chances to pick up congressional seats in the general election.[6]
Impact of redistricting
- See also: Redistricting in West Virginia
West Virginia did not gain or lose a congressional seat following the 2010 Census. The state produced a map that involved minimal changes, but did shift Mason County from the 2nd to 3rd Congressional District.
A three-judge panel ruled West Virginia's redistricting plan unconstitutional for its unequal distribution of population among its three congressional districts. The court gave the West Virginia Legislature until January 17, 2012, to come up with a new map.[7]
Registration statistics
As of October 30, 2012, District 3 had the following partisan registration breakdown according to the West Virginia Secretary of State:
| West Virginia Congressional District 3[8] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Congressional District | District Total | Democrats | Republicans | Other & Unaffiliated | Advantage | Party Advantage | Change in Advantage from 2010 |
| District 3 | 420,689 | 260,549 | 93,546 | 66,594 | Democratic | 178.53% | 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. West Virginia's 3rd District became more Republican because of redistricting.[9]
- 2012: 40D / 60R
- 2010: 39D / 61R
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. West Virginia's 3rd Congressional District had a PVI of R+6, which was the 154th most Republican district in the country. In 2008, this district was won by John McCain (R), 57-43 percent over Barack Obama (D). In 2004, George W. Bush (R) won the district 54-46 percent over John Kerry (D).[10]
District history
| Candidate ballot access |
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2010
On November 2, 2010, Nick Rahall won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating Elliott E. "Spike" Maynard (R).[11]
| U.S. House of Representatives General Election, West Virginia, Congressional District 3, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Nick J. Rahall II Incumbent |
56% | 83,636 | |
| Republican | Elliott E. "Spike" Maynard | 44% | 65,611 | |
| Total Votes | 149,247 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia, 2012
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
- United States Senate elections in West Virginia, 2012
Footnotes
- ↑ Virginia ABC News, "2012 General Election Results," accessed November 6, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Voter Registration FAQ," accessed July 27, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ West Virginia Redistricting Map, "Map" accessed July 24, 2012
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 West Virginia Secretary of State "Candidate Search," accessed January 29, 2012
- ↑ New York Times, "House Race Ratings," accessed August 10, 2012
- ↑ NRCC "Young Guns 2012"
- ↑ West Virginia Watchdog, "Three-judge panel rules West Virginia congressional redistricting plan unconstitutional," accessed January 3, 2012
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Voter Registration Totals, 2012," April, 2012
- ↑ "2011 Redistricting and 2012 Elections in West Virginia," September 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Partisan Voting Index Districts of the 113th Congress: 2004 & 2008" accessed October 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
