Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District elections, 2012
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November 6, 2012 |
August 14, 2012 |
Sean Duffy  |
Sean Duffy |
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The 7th Congressional District of Wisconsin held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Sean Duffy won the election.[1]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: Wisconsin 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: Voter registration requirements may vary by municipality, although voters with valid ID must be granted a provisional ballot at the polls.[2]
- See also: Wisconsin elections, 2012
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Sean Duffy (R), who was first elected to the House in 2010. In redistricting, The Hill published a list of the Top Ten House Members who were helped by redistricting.[3] Duffy ranked 7th on the list.[3]
This was the first election using district maps based on data from the 2010 Census. Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District includes Douglas, Bayfield, Ashland, Iron, Price, Oneida, Lincoln, Langlade, Marathon, Portage, Wood, Clark, Taylor, Chippewa, Rusk, Sawyer, Washburn, Barron, Polk and Burnett counties.[4]
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
August 14, 2012, primary results
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Election results
General Election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Pat Kreitlow | 43.8% | 157,524 | |
| Republican |  Sean Duffy Incumbent |
56.1% | 201,720 | |
| Independent | Dale Lehner | 0% | 20 | |
| Miscellaneous | N/A | 0.1% | 405 | |
| Total Votes | 359,669 | |||
| Source: Wisconsin Government Accountability Board "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" (dead link) | ||||
Race background
Wisconsin's 7th was considered to be Leaning Republican according to the New York Times race ratings. Republican incumbent Sean Duffy was challenged by Pat Kreitlow (D). Democrats said there was an opportunity to take back the seat from the freshman representative in 2012.[7]
Wisconsin's 7th District was included in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's "Red to Blue List," which identified districts that the organization specifically targeted to flip from Republican to Democratic control.[8]
Incumbent Sean Duffy was a part of the National Republican Congressional Committee's Patriot Program, a program to help House Republicans stay on offense and increase their majority in 2012.[9]
Impact of redistricting
- See also: Redistricting in Wisconsin
Following the 2010 Census, Wisconsin kept its 8 congressional seats. In redistricting, the Wisconsin Legislature sought to even out the districts, which due to the census information, required making the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Districts smaller, and making the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th larger. The new district map was signed into law on August 9, 2011.
Under the new map, the 7th District was more solidly Republican. Incumbent Sean Duffy said he requested that the redistricting keep his opponent Pat Kreitlow in the 7th District.[10]
In redistricting, The Hill published a list of the Top Ten House Members who were helped by redistricting.[3] Duffy ranked 7th on the list.[3] The article noted that Republican state legislators traded some of the Democratic leaning areas with Republican areas, "making the district a toss-up and giving him a better chance of holding on to the seat."[3]
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. Wisconsin's 7th District became more balanced because of redistricting.[11]
- 2012: 50D / 50R
- 2010: 53D / 47R
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. Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District had a PVI of even, which was the 236th most Republican district in the country. In 2008, this district was won by Barack Obama (D), 54-46 percent over John McCain (R). In 2004, George W. Bush (R) won the district 52-48 percent over John Kerry (D).[12]
District history
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2010
On November 2, 2010, Sean Duffy won election to the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating Julie M. Lassa (D) and Gary Kauther (Independent No War No Bailout).[13] Incumbent Dave Obey did not seek re-election.
| U.S. House of Representatives General Election, Wisconsin, Congressional District 7, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Sean Duffy |
52.2% | 132,551 | |
| Democratic | Julie M. Lassa | 44.5% | 113,018 | |
| Independent | Gary Kauther | 3.3% | 8,397 | |
| Total Votes | 253,966 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin, 2012
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
- United States Senate elections in Wisconsin, 2012
Footnotes
- ↑ Politico, "2012 House Race Results," accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Registration and Voting," accessed July 27, 2012
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 The Hill, "House members most helped by redistricting," accessed April 17, 2012
- ↑ Wisconsin Redistricting Map, "Map" accessed July 24, 2012
- ↑ Talking Points Memo "Sean Duffy gets first opponent of 2012 cycle," accessed December 8, 2011
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board "Candidates registered by office," accessed June 10, 2012
- ↑ New York Times, "House Race Ratings," accessed August 10, 2012
- ↑ DCCC, "Red to Blue 2012"
- ↑ NRCC "Patriot Program 2012"
- ↑ FOX 21 "Congressman Duffy Responds to Redistricting Issue," accessed December 8, 2011
- ↑ "2011 Redistricting and 2012 Elections in Wisconsin," 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
