United States Senate elections, 2012: Difference between revisions

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{{UShouse2012toc}}{{tnr}}Elections to the [[U.S. Senate]] will be held on [[United States Congress elections, 2012|November 6, 2012]]. A total of '''33 of the 100 seats''' will be up for election. Additionally, there could be special elections to fill vacancies that occur in the [[112th United States Congress]].
{{UShouse2012toc}}{{tnr}}Elections to the [[U.S. Senate]] will be held on [[United States Congress elections, 2012|November 6, 2012]]. A total of '''33 of the 100 seats''' will be up for election. Additionally, there could be special elections to fill vacancies that occur in the [[112th United States Congress]].


Nate Silver of the ''New York Times'' called the Senate battle a tossup for partisan control.<ref>[http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/15/in-senate-races-politics-are-local-again/ ''New York Times'' "In Senate Races, Politics Are Local Again," August 15, 2012]</ref>
==Partisan breakdown==
==Partisan breakdown==
{{USSenatepartisan12}}
{{USSenatepartisan12}}

Revision as of 11:24, 15 October 2012

2014



CongressLogo.png

2012 U.S. House Elections

Election Date
November 6, 2012

Election Results

U.S. Senate Elections by State
Arizona • California • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Hawaii • Indiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Dakota • Ohio • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming

U.S. House Elections by State
Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming

Elections Information
Election DatesVoting in Primaries
Voting on November 6, 2012
Poll Opening and Closing Times

Elections to the U.S. Senate will be held on November 6, 2012. A total of 33 of the 100 seats will be up for election. Additionally, there could be special elections to fill vacancies that occur in the 112th United States Congress.

Nate Silver of the New York Times called the Senate battle a tossup for partisan control.[1]

Partisan breakdown

U.S. Senate Partisan Breakdown
Party As of November 2012 After the 2012 Election
     Democratic Party 51 53
     Republican Party 47 45
     Independent 2 2
Total 100 100

The 33 Class 1 U.S. Senate seats will be up for election. Of those 33 seats, 23 are currently held by Democrats and 10 by Republican senators. Thus, Democrats need to win 21 seats to retain their majority while the GOP needs to win 14 seats to win back the chamber.

Overall, Republicans need a net gain of four seats on election night to rest control of the chamber. According to Guy Cecil, executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, "When the cycle started no one gave Democrats a shot a holding the majority." Rob Jesmer, executive director of the Republican Senatorial Committee was hopeful about Republican chances: "There's very good movement across the board," he said.[2]

Retiring incumbents

As of Friday, October 3, 2025, Ballotpedia staff have counted 10 total current incumbents who are not running for re-election in the 2012 elections.

  • Democratic Party 5 Democrats
  • Republican Party 4 Republicans
  • Grey.png 1 Independents
Name Party State
Jon Kyl Ends.png Republican Arizona
Joe Lieberman Grey.png Nonpartisan Connecticut
Daniel Akaka Electiondot.png Democratic Hawaii
Olympia Snowe Ends.png Republican Maine
Ben Nelson Electiondot.png Democratic Nebraska
Jeff Bingaman Electiondot.png Democratic New Mexico
Kent Conrad Electiondot.png Democratic North Dakota
Kay Bailey Hutchison Ends.png Republican Texas
Jim Webb Electiondot.png Democratic Virginia
Herb Kohl Electiondot.png Democratic Wisconsin

Primary

This map displays the month of each
Congressional primary in 2012
NevadaMassachusettsColoradoNew MexicoWyomingArizonaMontanaCaliforniaOregonWashingtonIdahoTexasOklahomaKansasNebraskaSouth DakotaNorth DakotaMinnesotaIowaMissouriArkansasLouisianaMississippiAlabamaGeorgiaFloridaSouth CarolinaIllinoisWisconsinTennesseeNorth CarolinaIndianaOhioKentuckyPennsylvaniaNew JerseyNewVermontVermontNew HampshireMaineWest VirginiaVirginiaMarylandMarylandConnecticutConnecticutDelawareDelawareRhode IslandRhode IslandMassachusettsNew HampshireMichiganMichiganAlaskaCong primaries colored by month12.png

March

  • Ohio, March 6
  • Alabama, March 13
  • Mississippi, March 13
  • Illinois, March 20

April

  • Maryland, April 3
  • Pennsylvania, April 24

May

  • Indiana, May 8
  • North Carolina, May 8
  • West Virginia, May 8
  • Idaho, May 15
  • Nebraska, May 15
  • Oregon, May 15
  • Arkansas, May 22
  • Kentucky, May 22
  • Texas, May 29

June

  • California, June 5
  • Iowa, June 5
  • Montana, June 5
  • New Jersey, June 5
  • New Mexico, June 5
  • South Dakota, June 5
  • Maine, June 12
  • Nevada, June 12
  • North Dakota, June 12
  • South Carolina, June 12
  • Virginia, June 12
  • Oklahoma, June 26
  • New York, June 26
  • Utah, June 26
  • Colorado, June 26

July

  • Georgia, July 31

August

  • Tennessee, August 2
  • Kansas, August 7
  • Michigan, August 7
  • Missouri, August 7
  • Washington, August 7
  • Hawaii, August 11
  • Connecticut, August 14
  • Florida, August 14
  • Minnesota, August 14
  • Wyoming, August 21
  • Alaska, August 28
  • Arizona, August 28
  • Vermont, August 28

September

  • Massachusetts, September 6
  • Delaware, September 11
  • New Hampshire, September 11
  • Rhode Island, September 11

State-by-state breakdown

The following table displays the 33 seats up for election, and will include the eventual November winner.

United States Senate Elections Results in 2012
State Incumbent Incumbent Party Incumbent Running? 2012 Winner Partisan switch?
Arizona Jon Kyl Ends.png Republican No Republican Party Jeff Flake No
California Dianne Feinstein Electiondot.png Democratic Yes Democratic Party Dianne Feinstein No
Connecticut Joe Lieberman Grey.png Nonpartisan No Democratic Party Chris Murphy Yes
Delaware Tom Carper Electiondot.png Democratic Yes Democratic Party Tom Carper No
Florida Bill Nelson Electiondot.png Democratic Yes Democratic Party Bill Nelson No
Hawaii Daniel Akaka Electiondot.png Democratic No Democratic Party Mazie Hirono No
Indiana Richard Lugar Ends.png Republican Yes Democratic Party Joe Donnelly Yes
Maine Olympia Snowe Ends.png Republican Yes Grey.png Angus King (I) Yes
Maryland Ben Cardin Electiondot.png Democratic Yes Democratic Party Ben Cardin No
Massachusetts Scott Brown Ends.png Republican Yes Democratic Party Elizabeth Warren Yes
Michigan Debbie Stabenow Electiondot.png Democratic Yes Democratic Party Debbie Stabenow No
Minnesota Amy Klobuchar Electiondot.png Democratic Yes Democratic Party Amy Klobuchar No
Mississippi Roger Wicker Ends.png Republican Yes Republican Party Roger Wicker No
Missouri Claire McCaskill Electiondot.png Democratic Yes Democratic Party Claire McCaskill No
Montana Jon Tester Electiondot.png Democratic Yes Democratic Party Jon Tester No
Nebraska Ben Nelson Electiondot.png Democratic No Republican Party Deb Fischer Yes
Nevada Dean Heller Ends.png Republican Yes Republican Party Dean Heller No
New Jersey Bob Menendez Electiondot.png Democratic Yes Democratic Party Bob Menendez No
New Mexico Jeff Bingaman Electiondot.png Democratic No Democratic Party Martin Heinrich No
New York Kirsten Gillibrand Electiondot.png Democratic Yes Democratic Party Kirsten Gillibrand No
North Dakota Kent Conrad Electiondot.png Democratic No Democratic Party Heidi Heitkamp No
Ohio Sherrod Brown Electiondot.png Democratic Yes Democratic Party Sherrod Brown No
Pennsylvania Bob Casey Jr. Electiondot.png Democratic Yes Democratic Party Bob Casey Jr. No
Rhode Island Sheldon Whitehouse Electiondot.png Democratic Yes Democratic Party Sheldon Whitehouse No
Tennessee Bob Corker Ends.png Republican Yes Republican Party Bob Corker No
Texas Kay Bailey Hutchison Ends.png Republican No Republican Party Ted Cruz No
Utah Orrin Hatch Ends.png Republican Yes Republican Party Orrin Hatch No
Vermont Bernie Sanders Grey.png Nonpartisan Yes Grey.png Bernie Sanders No
Virginia Jim Webb Electiondot.png Democratic No Democratic Party Tim Kaine No
Washington Maria Cantwell Electiondot.png Democratic Yes Democratic Party Maria Cantwell No
West Virginia Joe Manchin Electiondot.png Democratic Yes Democratic Party Joe Manchin No
Wisconsin Herb Kohl Electiondot.png Democratic No Democratic Party Tammy Baldwin No
Wyoming John Barrasso Ends.png Republican Yes Republican Party John Barrasso No

The table will be updated once election results have been reported on November 6.

Candidates by state

See also: List of candidates running in U.S. Congress elections, 2012

For a list of all candidates running for office by state, see this page.

Race ratings

Cook Political Report

Each month the Cook Political Report released race ratings for President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House (competitive only) and Governors. There were seven possible designations:[3]

     Solid Democratic
     Likely Democratic
     Lean Democratic

     Tossup

     Lean Republican
     Likely Republican
     Solid Republican

Cook Political Report Race Rating -- U.S. Senate
Month Solid D Likely D Lean D Tossup Lean R Likely R Solid R
November 1, 2012[4] 8 4 5 10 1 0 5
October 4, 2012[5] 8 4 5 10 0 1 5
September 13, 2012[6] 8 4 4 10 1 1 5
August 21, 2012[7] 8 5 3 9 1 2 5
July 12, 2012[8] 8 4 3 10 1 2 5
May 31, 2012[9] 8 4 3 10 1 2 5
May 10, 2012[10] 8 4 3 10 1 2 5
March 22, 2012[11] 8 4 3 10 0 3 5
March 1, 2012[12] 8 4 3 10 0 3 5
January 26, 2012[13] 8 4 3 9 0 4 5
December 22, 2011[14] 8 5 2 10 0 3 5
December 1, 2011[15] 8 5 2 10 0 4 4

Changes by month

October 2012

  • From September 13, 2012, to November 1, 2012, Cook's race ratings changed in the following states:
    • Pennsylvania went from Likely Democrat to Lean Democrat
    • Michigan went from Lean Democrat to Likely Democrat
    • Hawaii went from Tossup to Lean Democrat
    • Arizona went from Lean Republican to Tossup
    • Nebraska went from Likely Republican to Lean Republican

September 2012

  • From August 31, 2012, to September 13, 2012, Cook's race ratings changed in the following states:
    • New Mexico went from Tossup to Lean Democrat.
    • Connecticut went from Likely Democrat to Tossup
    • Indiana went from Lean Republican to Tossup
    • Arizona went from Likely Republican to Lean Republican

August 2012

  • From July 1, 2012, to August 31, 2012, Cook's race ratings changed in the following state:
    • Missouri went from Tossup to Likely Democrat.

July 2012

  • None

May 2012

  • From March 1, 2012, to May 31, 2012, Cook's race ratings changed in the following states:
    • Indiana went from Likely Republican to Lean Republican.
    • New Jersey went from Solid Democrat to Likely Democrat.
    • Washington went from Likely Democrat to Solid Democrat.

March 2012

  • From January 26, 2012, to March 1, 2012, Cook's race ratings changed in the following state:
    • Maine went from Likely Republican to Tossup.

January 2012

  • From December 22, 2011, to January 26, 2012, Cook's race ratings changed in the following states:
    • Michigan went from Likely Democratic to Lean Democratic.
    • Nebraska went from Tossup to Likely Republican.

December 2011

  • From December 1, 2011, to December 22, 2011, Cook's race ratings changed in the following state:
    • Texas went from Likely Republican to Strong Republican.

Sabato Crystal Ball

Each month the Crystal Ball releases race ratings for President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House (competitive only) and Governors. There are seven possible designations: [16]

     Solid Democratic
     Likely Democratic
     Lean Democratic

     Tossup

     Lean Republican
     Likely Republican
     Solid Republican

Sabato's Crystal Ball Race Rating -- U.S. Senate
Month Solid D Likely D Lean D Tossup Lean R Likely R Solid R
August 12, 2012[17] 9 5 3 5 5 1 5
April 5, 2012[18] 8 5 3 8 2 2 5
December 1, 2011[19] 8 5 2 8 2 3 5

See also

External links

References