2012 United States Senate elections

The 2012 United States Senate elections were held on November 6, 2012, with 33 of the 100 seats in the Senate being contested in regular elections whose winners would serve six-year terms beginning January 3, 2013, with the 113th Congress. Democrats had 21 seats up for election, plus 1 Independent and 1 Independent Democrat, while the Republicans had only 10 seats up for election. The Democrats gained Republican-held seats in Massachusetts and Indiana and one from an Independent Democrat in Connecticut, leaving them with a total of 53 seats. Additionally, they held open seats in Hawaii, New Mexico, North Dakota, Virginia and Wisconsin. The Republicans, despite losing two of their seats, picked up an open seat in Nebraska and retained open seats in Arizona and Texas, ending with a total of 45 seats. The Independents retained a seat in Vermont and gained an additional seat from the Republicans in Maine, bringing their total to 2 seats. Both Independents would caucus with the Democrats, forming a majority caucus with a combined total of 55 seats.

2012 United States Senate elections

November 6, 2012

33 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate
51 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Harry Reid Mitch McConnell
Party Democratic Republican
Leader's seat Nevada Kentucky
Seats before 51 47
Seats after 53 45
Seat change 2 2
Popular vote 49,988,282[1] 39,128,301[1]
Percentage 53.4% 41.8%
Swing 8.3% 6.4%
Seats up 21 10
Races won 23 8

  Third party
 
Party Independent
Seats before 2[lower-alpha 1]
Seats after 2[lower-alpha 2]
Seat change
Popular vote 961,284[1]
Percentage 1.0%
Swing 0.8%
Seats up 2
Races won 2

Results of the elections:
     Democratic gain      Republican gain      Independent gain
     Democratic hold      Republican hold      Independent hold
     No election

Majority Leader before election

Harry Reid
Democratic

Elected Majority Leader

Harry Reid
Democratic

As of 2021, this is the last time the Democrats won an outright majority in the Senate, as well as the last time they won seats in Florida, Indiana, Missouri, and North Dakota, and the last time the Republican Party won a seat in Nevada. The Democrats would not win control of the Senate again until 2020.

The presidential election, elections to the House of Representatives, elections for governors in 14 states and territories, and many state and local elections were also held on the same day.

Milestones

  • This was the third consecutive election of Class 1 senators where Democrats gained seats.
  • This was the third consecutive Senate election held in a presidential election year where the party belonging to the winning presidential candidate gained seats.
  • This was the first time since 1936 where a Democratic presidential candidate who won a second term also had Senate coattails in both occasions (although Franklin Roosevelt won a third and fourth term in 1940 and 1944 respectively, he lost Senate seats on both occasions).
  • This was the first time since 1964 in which either party had to defend more than two-thirds of the Senate seats up for grabs, but managed to make net gains.[2][3]
  • As of 2021 this was the last election who an incumbent lost renomination.
  • As of 2021 these are the last elections in a presidential year where a senate seat flipped to a party that failed to carry the state in the presidential election.

Results summary

53 2 45
Democratic Independent Republican

Shading indicates party with largest share of that line.

Parties Total
Democratic Republican Independent Libertarian Independence Green Others
Before these elections 51 47 2 100
Not up 30 37 67
Class 2 (20082014) 20 13 33
Class 3 (20102016) 10 24 34
Up 21 10 2 33
Class 1 21 10 2 33
Incumbent retired 6 3 1 10
Held by same party 5 2 7
Replaced by other party 1 Independent replaced by 1 Democrat
1 Republican replaced by 1 Independent
1 Democrat replaced by 1 Republican
3
Result 6 3 1 10
Incumbent ran 15 7 1 23
Won re-election 15 5 1 21
Lost re-election 1 Republican replaced by 1 Democrat 1
Lost renomination
but held by same party
Lost renomination
and party lost
1 Republican replaced by 1 Democrat 1
Result 17 5 1 23
Total elected 23 8 2 33
Net gain/loss 2 2 2
Nationwide vote 49,988,282 39,128,301 961,284 956,745 211,794 195,200 2,119,714 93,561,320[1]
Share 53.43% 41.82% 1.03% 1.02% 0.23% 0.21% 2.27% 100%
Result 53 45 2 100
End of this Congress 51 47 2 100

Change in composition

Before the elections

D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9 D10
D20 D19 D18 D17 D16 D15 D14 D13 D12 D11
D21 D22 D23 D24 D25 D26 D27 D28 D29 D30
D40
Neb.
Retired
D39
Mont.
Ran
D38
Mo.
Ran
D37
Minn.
Ran
D36
Mich.
Ran
D35
Md.
Ran
D34
Hawaii
Retired
D33
Fla.
Ran
D32
Del.
Ran
D31
Calif.
Ran
D41
N.J.
Ran
D42
N.M.
Retired
D43
N.Y.
Ran
D44
N.D.
Retired
D45
Ohio
Ran
D46
Pa.
Ran
D47
R.I.
Ran
D48
Va.
Retired
D49
Wash.
Ran
D50
W.Va.
Ran
Majority → D51
Wis.
Retired
R41
Mass.
Ran
R42
Miss.
Ran
R43
Nev.
Ran
R44
Tenn.
Ran
R45
Texas
Retired
R46
Utah
Ran
R47
Wyo.
Ran
I2
Vt.
Ran
I1
Conn.
Retired
R40
Maine
Retired
R39
Ind.
Ran
R38
Ariz.
Retired
R37 R36 R35 R34 R33 R32 R31
R21 R22 R23 R24 R25 R26 R27 R28 R29 R30
R20 R19 R18 R17 R16 R15 R14 R13 R12 R11
R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10

After the elections

D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9 D10
D20 D19 D18 D17 D16 D15 D14 D13 D12 D11
D21 D22 D23 D24 D25 D26 D27 D28 D29 D30
D40
N.J.
Re-elected
D39
Mont.
Re-elected
D38
Mo.
Re-elected
D37
Minn.
Re-elected
D36
Mich.
Re-elected
D35
Md.
Re-elected
D34
Hawaii
Hold
D33
Fla.
Re-elected
D32
Del.
Re-elected
D31
Calif.
Re-elected
D41
N.M.
Hold
D42
N.Y.
Re-elected
D43
N.D.
Hold
D44
Ohio
Re-elected
D45
Pa.
Re-elected
D46
R.I.
Re-elected
D47
Va.
Hold
D48
Wash.
Re-elected
D49
W.Va.
Re-elected
D50
Wis.
Hold
Majority → D51
Conn.
Gain
R41
Tenn.
Re-elected
R42
Texas
Hold
R43
Utah
Re-elected
R44
Wyo.
Re-elected
R45
Neb.
Gain
I2
Maine
Gain
I1
Vt.
Re-elected
D53
Mass.
Gain
D52
Ind.
Gain
R40
Nev.
Elected[lower-alpha 3]
R39
Miss.
Re-elected
R38
Ariz.
Hold
R37 R36 R35 R34 R33 R32 R31
R21 R22 R23 R24 R25 R26 R27 R28 R29 R30
R20 R19 R18 R17 R16 R15 R14 R13 R12 R11
R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10
Key:
D# Democratic
I# Independent
R# Republican

Race summary

Special elections during the 112th Congress

There were no special elections during the 112th Congress.

Elections leading to the next Congress

In these elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 2013; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.

Sources:

  • "U.S. Elections - Detailed Results". The Wall Street Journal. November 25, 2012. Archived from the original on November 24, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  • "Senate Map - Election 2012". The New York Times. November 25, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  • "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
State
(linked to summaries below)
Incumbent Results Candidates
Senator Party Electoral history
Arizona Jon Kyl Republican 1994
2000
2006
Incumbent retired.[4]
New senator elected.
Republican hold.
California Dianne Feinstein Democratic 1992 (Special)
1994
2000
2006
Incumbent re-elected.
Connecticut Joe Lieberman Independent Democratic 1988
1994
2000
2006
Incumbent retired.[9]
New senator elected.
Democratic gain.
Delaware Tom Carper Democratic 2000
2006
Incumbent re-elected.
Florida Bill Nelson Democratic 2000
2006
Incumbent re-elected.
Hawaii Daniel Akaka Democratic 1990 (Appointed)
1990 (Special)
1994
2000
2006
Incumbent retired.[19]
New senator elected.
Democratic hold.
Indiana Richard Lugar Republican 1976
1982
1988
1994
2000
2006
Incumbent lost renomination[20]
New senator elected.
Democratic gain.
Maine Olympia Snowe Republican 1994
2000
2006
Incumbent retired.[22]
New senator elected.
Independent gain.
Maryland Ben Cardin Democratic 2006 Incumbent re-elected.
Massachusetts Scott Brown Republican 2010 (Special) Incumbent lost re-election.
New senator elected.
Democratic gain.
Michigan Debbie Stabenow Democratic 2000
2006
Incumbent re-elected.
Minnesota Amy Klobuchar Democratic 2006 Incumbent re-elected.
Mississippi Roger Wicker Republican 2007 (Appointed)
2008 (Special)
Incumbent re-elected.
Missouri Claire McCaskill Democratic 2006 Incumbent re-elected.
Montana Jon Tester Democratic 2006 Incumbent re-elected.
Nebraska Ben Nelson Democratic 2000
2006
Incumbent retired.[33]
New senator elected.
Republican gain.
Nevada Dean Heller Republican 2011 (Appointed) Interim appointee elected.
New Jersey Bob Menendez Democratic 2006 (Appointed)
2006
Incumbent re-elected.
New Mexico Jeff Bingaman Democratic 1982
1988
1994
2000
2006
Incumbent retired.[37]
New senator elected.
Democratic hold.
New York Kirsten Gillibrand Democratic 2009 (Appointed)
2010 (Special)
Incumbent re-elected.
North Dakota Kent Conrad Democratic 1986
1992 (Retired)
1992 (Special)
1994
2000
2006
Incumbent retired.[40]
New senator elected.
Democratic hold.
Ohio Sherrod Brown Democratic 2006 Incumbent re-elected.
Pennsylvania Bob Casey Jr. Democratic 2006 Incumbent re-elected.
Rhode Island Sheldon Whitehouse Democratic 2006 Incumbent re-elected.
Tennessee Bob Corker Republican 2006 Incumbent re-elected.
  • Y Bob Corker (Republican) 64.9%
  • Mark Clayton (Democratic) 30.4%
  • Martin Pleasant (Green) 1.7%
  • Dr. Shaun Crowell (Libertarian) 0.9%
  • Kermit Steck (Constitution) 0.8%
Texas Kay Bailey Hutchison Republican 1993 (Special)
1994
2000
2006
Incumbent retired.[45]
New senator elected.
Republican hold.
Utah Orrin Hatch Republican 1976
1982
1988
1994
2000
2006
Incumbent re-elected.
  • Y Orrin Hatch (Republican) 65.3%
  • Scott Howell (Democratic) 30.0%
  • Shaun Lynn McCausland 3.2%
  • Daniel Geery (UT Justice) 0.83%
Vermont Bernie Sanders Independent 2006 Incumbent re-elected.
Virginia Jim Webb Democratic 2006 Incumbent retired.[50]
New senator elected.
Democratic hold.
Washington Maria Cantwell Democratic 2000
2006
Incumbent re-elected.
West Virginia Joe Manchin Democratic 2010 (Special) Incumbent re-elected.
Wisconsin Herb Kohl Democratic 1988
1994
2000
2006
Incumbent retired.[54]
New senator elected.
Democratic hold.
  • Y Tammy Baldwin (Democratic) 51.4%
  • Tommy Thompson (Republican) 45.9%
  • Joseph Kexel (Libertarian) 2.1%
  • Nimrod Y U Allen III (IDEA) 0.6%
  • Write-ins 0.1%
Wyoming John Barrasso Republican 2007 (Appointed)
2008 (Special)
Incumbent re-elected.
  • Y John Barrasso (Republican) 75.7%
  • Tim Chesnut (Democratic) 21.7%
  • Joel Otto (Country) 2.5%
  • Write-ins 2%

Close races

Elections with a margin less than 10.0%.

District Winner Margin
North Dakota Democratic 0.9%
Nevada Republican 1.2%
Arizona Republican 3.0%
Montana Democratic 4.0%
Wisconsin Democratic 5.5%
New Mexico Democratic 5.7%
Indiana Democratic (flip) 5.7%
Virginia Democratic 5.9%[lower-alpha 5]
Ohio Democratic 6.0%
Massachusetts Democratic (flip) 7.5%
Pennsylvania Democratic 9.1%

Final predictions before the election

The table below gives an overview of some final predictions of the November general elections by several well-known institutes and people. While there were very few mistakes (predictions in the wrong direction; essentially only Montana and North Dakota, by both Sabato's Crystal Ball and FiveThirtyEight), FiveThirtyEight and Princeton Election Consortium had 2-4 races in the Lean categories and no tossups, whereas all other sources had at least eleven races in the middle three categories, and in particular many Tossup races.

Source Safe Democratic Likely Democratic Leans Democratic Tossup Leans Republican Likely Republican Safe Republican
Consensus among
all predictions
California
Delaware
Maryland
Minnesota
New York
Rhode Island
Vermont[lower-alpha 6]
          Mississippi
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Wyoming
Roll Call
(updates)
New Jersey
Washington
West Virginia
Hawaii
Maine[lower-alpha 7]
Michigan
New Mexico
Connecticut[lower-alpha 6]
Florida
Massachusetts
Missouri
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Arizona
Indiana
Montana
North Dakota
Nevada
Virginia
Wisconsin
  Nebraska  
Sabato's Crystal Ball
as of November 5, 2012
(updates)
Washington
West Virginia
Florida
Hawaii
Maine[lower-alpha 7]
Michigan
New Jersey
New Mexico
Connecticut[lower-alpha 6]
Indiana
Massachusetts
Missouri
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Virginia
Wisconsin
  Arizona
Montana
North Dakota
Nevada
Nebraska  
Cook Political
Report

as of November 1, 2012
(updates)
Washington Michigan
Missouri
New Jersey
West Virginia
Florida
Hawaii
New Mexico
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Arizona
Connecticut[lower-alpha 6]
Indiana
Maine[lower-alpha 7]
Massachusetts
Montana
North Dakota
Nevada
Virginia
Wisconsin
Nebraska    
Rothenberg Political
Report

as of November 2, 2012
(updates)
Michigan
New Jersey
Washington
West Virginia
Florida
Hawaii
Maine
Missouri
Pennsylvania
Connecticut[lower-alpha 6]
New Mexico
Ohio
Arizona
Indiana
Massachusetts
Montana
North Dakota
Nevada
Virginia
Wisconsin
  Nebraska  
RealClearPolitics
as of November 5, 2012
(updates)
Hawaii
Maine[lower-alpha 7]
Michigan
New Jersey
New Mexico
Washington
West Virginia
Connecticut[lower-alpha 6]
Florida
Missouri
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Indiana
Massachusetts
Montana
Nevada
North Dakota
Virginia
Wisconsin
Arizona
Nebraska
FiveThirtyEight
as of November 6, 2012
(updates)
Connecticut[lower-alpha 6]
Florida
Hawaii
Massachusetts
Maine[lower-alpha 7]
Michigan
New Jersey
New Mexico
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Washington
West Virginia
Missouri
Virginia
Wisconsin
Indiana   Montana Arizona
Nevada
North Dakota
Nebraska
Princeton Election Consortium
as of November 6, 2012
Connecticut[lower-alpha 6]
Florida
Hawaii
Massachusetts
Maine[lower-alpha 7]
Michigan
Missouri
New Jersey
New Mexico
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Indiana Wisconsin
Montana
North Dakota
  Nevada Arizona Nebraska

Gains and losses

Senate seats up for election in 2012
     Democrat ran
     Democrat retired
     Republican ran
     Republican retired
     Independent ran
     Independent retired
     No Senate election
Results by county in 2012
     30%+ Democratic
     40%+ Democratic
     50%+ Democratic
     60%+ Democratic
     70%+ Democratic
     80%+ Democratic
     30%+ Republican
     40%+ Republican
     50%+ Republican
     60%+ Republican
     70%+ Republican
     80%+ Republican
     90%+ Republican
     40%+ Independent
     50%+ Independent
     60%+ Independent
     70%+ Independent

Thirty-three seats were up for election.

Democratic incumbents

21 Democratic seats were up for election in 2012.

  • 6 Democrats retired.
    • 5 were replaced by a Democrat.
    • 1 was replaced by a Republican.
  • 15 Democrats ran for re-election.
    • All 15 were re-elected.

Independent incumbents

2 Independent seats were up for election in 2012.

  • 1 Independent Democrat who caucused with the Democrats retired.
    • He was replaced by a Democrat.
  • 1 Independent who caucused with the Democrats ran for re-election.
    • He was re-elected.

Republican incumbents

10 Republican seats were up for election in 2012.

  • 3 incumbent Republicans retired.
    • 2 were replaced by Republicans.
    • 1 was replaced by an Independent who caucuses with the Democrats.
  • 7 Republicans ran for re-election
    • 5 were re-elected.
    • 1 lost to a Democrat.
    • 1 lost renomination and was replaced by a Democrat.

Arizona

Arizona election

Turnout52.9% (voting eligible)[55]
 
Nominee Jeff Flake Richard Carmona
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,104,457 1,036,542
Percentage 49.2% 46.2%

Election results
Red denotes counties/districts won by Flake. Blue denotes those won by Carmona.

U.S. senator before election

Jon Kyl
Republican

Elected U.S. senator

Jeff Flake
Republican

Three-term incumbent and Senate Minority Whip Republican Jon Kyl, who was re-elected in 2006 with 53% of the vote, announced he would not seek a fourth term in 2012.[4][56] Republican Representative Jeff Flake[57] won the August 28 primary with 69.1% of the vote, against three contenders, including real estate investor Wil Cardon[58] who polled 21.2%. On the Democratic side, former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona[59] won the primary election, which was held August 28, 2012.

Arizona Democratic primary[60]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Richard Carmona 289,881 100.00
Total votes 289,881 100.00
Arizona Republican primary[60]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jeff Flake 357,360 69.25
Republican Wil Cardon 110,150 21.35
Republican Clair Van Steenwyk 29,159 5.65
Republican Bryan Hackbarth 19,174 3.72
Republican John Lyon (Write-in) 126 0.02
Republican Luis Acle (Write-in) 56 0.01
Total votes 516,025 100.00

Preliminary general election results showed Flake leading 49.7%-45.7%, but 439,961 early votes had yet to be counted.[61] The official results, as tabulated by the Secretary of State, showed a slightly smaller win for Flake. Flake won the election with 49.7% of the vote against Carmona's 46.2% and Victor's 4.6%.[62]

Arizona General election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Jeff Flake 1,104,457 49.23 -4.11%
Democratic Richard Carmona 1,036,542 46.20 +2.70%
Libertarian Marc Victor 102,109 4.55 +1.39%
N/A write-in 2,501 0.11 +0.02%
Majority 67,915 3.03 -6.81%
Turnout 2,245,609 100.00

California

California election

Turnout55.2% (voting eligible)[55]
 
Nominee Dianne Feinstein Elizabeth Emken
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 7,864,624 4,713,887
Percentage 62.5% 37.5%

U.S. senator before election

Dianne Feinstein
Democratic

Elected U.S. senator

Dianne Feinstein
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Dianne Feinstein was re-elected. The primary election on June 5 took place under California's new blanket primary, where all candidates appear on the same ballot, regardless of party. In the primary, voters voted for any candidate listed, or write-in any other candidate. The top two finishers — regardless of party — advanced to the general election in November, even if a candidate managed to receive a majority of the votes cast in the June primary. In the primary, less than 15% of the total 2010 census population voted. Incumbent Democrat Dianne Feinstein finished first in the blanket primary with 49.5% of the vote. The second-place finisher was Republican candidate and autism activist Elizabeth Emken, who won 12.7% of the vote.

California primary election[63]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dianne Feinstein (Incumbent) 2,392,822 49.3
Republican Elizabeth Emken 613,613 12.6
Republican Dan Hughes 323,840 6.7
Republican Rick Williams 157,946 3.3
Republican Orly Taitz 154,781 3.2
Republican Dennis Jackson 137,120 2.8
Republican Greg Conlon 135,421 2.8
Republican Al Ramirez 109,399 2.3
Libertarian Gail Lightfoot 101,648 2.1
Democratic Diane Stewart 97,782 2.0
Democratic Mike Strimling 97,024 2.0
Democratic David Levitt 76,482 1.6
Republican Oscar Braun 75,842 1.6
Republican Robert Lauten 57,720 1.2
Peace and Freedom Marsha Feinland 54,129 1.2
Democratic Colleen Shea Fernald 51,623 1.1
Republican Donald Krampe 39,035 0.8
American Independent Don J. Grundmann 33,037 0.7
Republican Dirk Allen Konopik 29,997 0.6
Republican John Boruff 29,357 0.6
Democratic Nak Shah 27,203 0.6
Republican Rogelio T. Gloria 22,529 0.5
Republican Nachum Shifren 21,762 0.4
Peace and Freedom Kabiruddin Karim Ali 12,269 0.3
Republican Linda R. Price (write-in) 25 0.0
Total votes 4,852,406 100.0

Feinstein and Emken contested the general election on November 6, with Feinstein winning re-election in a landslide, by 62.5% to 37.5%. Feinstein's 7.86 million votes set the all-time record for the most votes cast for one candidate in one state in one election, beating senator Barbara Boxer's 6.96 million votes in 2004. This record was held until the 2016 presidential election in California, when Hillary Clinton won 8.75 million votes in the state.

California general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Dianne Feinstein (Incumbent) 7,864,624 62.5 +3.1%
Republican Elizabeth Emken 4,713,887 37.5 +2.5%
Majority 3,150,737 25.0 +0.6%
Turnout 12,578,511 100.00

Connecticut

Connecticut election

Turnout60.9% (voting eligible)[55]
 
Nominee Chris Murphy Linda McMahon
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 815,077 637,857
Percentage 55.1% 43.3%

U.S. senator before election

Joe Lieberman
Independent

Elected U.S. senator

Chris Murphy
Democratic

Incumbent Joe Lieberman, an independent who caucused with the Democratic Party, retired instead of running for re-election to a fifth term.[64] Republican businesswoman Linda McMahon faced Democratic Representative Chris Murphy in the general election and lost, marking two defeats in as many years.[65]

In the 2006 election, incumbent Joe Lieberman was defeated in the Democratic primary by businessman Ned Lamont and formed his own party, Connecticut for Lieberman, winning re-election. Lieberman promised to remain in the Senate Democratic Caucus, but had clashed with Democrats on many significant issues, including his endorsement of Republican 2008 presidential nominee John McCain over Barack Obama.[66] As a result, Lieberman's poll numbers among Democrats had dropped significantly.[67][68]

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal was reportedly considering a run against Lieberman,[69] but instead ran for and won Connecticut's other Senate seat in 2010 after U.S. senator Christopher Dodd announced his retirement.[70]

Lieberman had publicly floated the possibility of running as a Democrat,[71] Republican,[72] or an independent.[73] However, he announced on January 19, 2011, that he would not run for another term.[64]

Connecticut Democratic primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Chris Murphy 89,283 67.4
Democratic Susan Bysiewicz 43,135 32.6
Total votes 132,418 100.0
Connecticut Republican primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Linda McMahon 83,413 72.7
Republican Chris Shays 31,305 27.3
Total votes 114,718 100.0

Susan Bysiewicz was the first to declare herself as a candidate.[74] However, by March 2011 Chris Murphy had raised over $1 million, while Bysiewicz had raised only $500,000. Murphy represented Connecticut's 5th congressional district, which was considered Republican-leaning, and he promoted himself as the most electable candidate against a Republican challenger. Bysiewicz, the former Secretary of the State of Connecticut, enjoyed high name recognition while a statewide officeholder, and had a formidable face-off with Murphy. William Tong, a state representative, joined the race touting his biography as the son of Chinese immigrants working at a Chinese restaurant.[75] In January East Hartford resident Matthew John Oakes announced his candidacy. Oakes pointed to his real life experience being a disabled American, victim of crime, civil rights activist, growing up in the inner-city and being a political outsider for his candidacy.[76]

Wide speculation continued on Linda McMahon, who had a widely publicized race for senator in 2010. She lost the election decisively, but had strong finances and a well-established political organization.[75] McMahon met with her former campaign consultant to review her 2010 results, and said she was leaning towards running. She planned to make a decision regarding another run after the start of 2012. Congressman Chris Shays joined in August 2011, promoting his involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan's military contracting.[77] Shays campaign also gained traction from a series of independent polls showing him beating or in dead heat with the top Democratic contenders in the general election, while those same polls showed McMahon losing handily to each of the top Democratic contenders.[78] The Shays campaign has quickly capitalized on these polls, arguing for the former Congressman's electability while questioning McMahon's electability due to her loss in an open Senate seat contest in 2010 by a large margin despite spending $50 million of her own money, and also citing both her high unfavorable numbers among voters and her poor fundraising.[79]

In July 2012, Shays declared that he would not support McMahon if she won the primary. He said that he had "never run against an opponent that I have respected less—ever—and there are a lot of candidates I have run against," adding that "I do not believe that Linda McMahon has spent the time, the energy to determine what [being] a senator really means." He also said that during the last debate he had with McMahon, "I thought she was embarrassingly clueless" and that "I think she is a terrible candidate and I think she would make a terrible senator." Although he said he would not support Chris Murphy, he expected him to win the Democratic nomination and the general election.[80]

In September 2012, the records of the McMahons' 1976 bankruptcy and specifics of nearly $1 million unpaid debts from the proceeding were published.[81] In days the candidate and her husband announced the "intention to reimburse all private individual creditors that can be located".[82]

Connecticut general election[83]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Chris Murphy 828,761 55.1 +15.4%
Republican Linda McMahon 651,089 43.3 +33.7%
Libertarian Paul Passarelli 25,045 1.6 +1.6%
Majority 177,672 11.8
Total votes 1,504,895 100.0 -
Turnout
Democratic gain from Independent Swing

Note: Murphy also appeared on the line of the Connecticut Working Families Party and received 37,553 votes on it. His Working Families and Democratic votes have been aggregated together on this table.

Delaware

Delaware election

Turnout62.7% (voting eligible)[55]
 
Nominee Tom Carper Kevin Wade
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 265,374 115,694
Percentage 66.4% 29.0%

U.S. senator before election

Tom Carper
Democratic

Elected U.S. senator

Tom Carper
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Tom Carper won re-election to a third term.

Delaware Democratic primary[84]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tom Carper (Incumbent) 43,866 87.8
Democratic Keith Spanarelli 6,074 12.2
Total votes 49,940 100.0
2012 United States Senate election in Delaware[85]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Tom Carper (Incumbent) 265,374 66.42 -0.71%
Republican Kevin Wade 115,694 28.96 +1.52%
Delaware Independent Alex Pires 15,300 3.83
Green Andrew Groff 3,191 0.80
Margin of victory 149,680 37.46 -2.22%
Turnout 399,559 63.14 +17.58%
Democratic hold

Note: The ±% column reflects the change in total number of votes won by each party from the previous election. Neither the vote shares nor the turnout figures account for write-ins. Turnout percentage is the portion of registered voters (632,805 as of January 11, 2012)[86] who voted.

Florida

Florida election

Turnout63.5% (voting eligible)[55]
 
Nominee Bill Nelson Connie Mack IV
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 4,523,451 3,458,267
Percentage 55.2% 42.2%

U.S. senator before election

Bill Nelson
Democratic

Elected U.S. senator

Bill Nelson[87]
Democratic

The primary election was held August 14, 2012. Incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson won re-election to a third term, defeating Republican U.S. Representative Connie Mack IV by 13%, winning 55% to 42%. Nelson defeated Mack by over 1 million votes.

Florida Democratic primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Bill Nelson (Incumbent) 684,804 78.7
Democratic Glenn Burkett 184,815 21.3
Total votes 869,619 100.0
Florida Republican primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Connie Mack IV 657,331 58.7
Republican Dave Weldon 226,083 20.2
Republican Mike McCalister 155,421 13.9
Republican Marielena Stuart 81,808 7.3
Total votes 1,120,643 100.0

From a long way out Nelson appeared to be vulnerable, with some earlier polls showing Mack leading. However, in the last few weeks with new polls conducted it appeared as though Nelson was headed for a victory. The last poll place him 5 percentage points ahead of Mack. In fact Nelson would win easily by 13 percentage points. Nelson performed well in Southeast Florida (the Miami area), Tampa, Gainesville, typically Democratic areas. Nelson however managed to win in areas that lean Republican. For example, Nelson won in Duval County home of Jacksonville, and Volusia County home of Daytona Beach. Nelson's ability to outperform President Obama led to him winning the Election easily. President Obama would still win Florida, but by just about 74,000 votes, and less than a percentage point. Nelson began his third term in the Senate on January 3, 2013.

General election results
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Bill Nelson (Incumbent) 4,523,451 55.2 -5.1%
Republican Connie Mack IV 3,458,267 42.2 +4.1%
Independent Bill Gaylor 126,079 1.5 n/a
Independent Chris Borgia 82,089 1.0 n/a
Write-ins 60 0.0 n/a
Majority 1,065,184 13.0 -9.2%
Turnout 8,189,946
Democratic hold Swing

Hawaii

Hawaii election

Turnout44.2% (voting eligible)[55]
 
Nominee Mazie Hirono Linda Lingle
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 269,489 160,994
Percentage 62.6% 37.4%

U.S. senator before election

Daniel Akaka
Democratic

Elected U.S. senator

Mazie Hirono
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Daniel Akaka retired instead of running for re-election to a fourth term. Democratic Congresswoman Mazie Hirono defeated former Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle in a rematch of the 2002 Hawaii gubernatorial election.

Hawaii Democratic primary[88]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mazie Hirono 134,745 57
Democratic Ed Case 95,553 40
Blank Votes 3,331 1
Democratic Arturo Reyes 1,720 1
Democratic Michael Gillespie 1,104 1
Democratic Antonio Gimbernat 517 0.2
Over Votes 110 0
Total votes 237,080 100
Hawaii Republican primary[88]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Linda Lingle 44,252 90
Republican John Carroll 2,900 6
Blank Votes 749 2
Republican John Roco 545 1
Republican Charles Collins 366 1
Republican Eddie Pirkowski 232 0.5
Over Votes 25 0.1
Total votes 49,069 100
Hawaii general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Mazie Hirono 269,489 62.6
Republican Linda Lingle 160,994 37.4
Majority 108,495 25.20
Turnout 430,483 44.2

Indiana

2012 United States Senate election in Indiana

Turnout58.5%[89]
 
Nominee Joe Donnelly Richard Mourdock Andrew Horning
Party Democratic Republican Libertarian
Popular vote 1,281,181 1,133,621 145,282
Percentage 50.0% 44.3% 5.7%

U.S. senator before election

Richard Lugar
Republican

Elected U.S. senator

Joe Donnelly
Democratic

Incumbent Republican Richard Lugar ran for re-election to a seventh term, but was defeated in the primary by Tea Party-backed Richard Mourdock. Congressman Joe Donnelly, a moderate Democrat from Indiana's 2nd Congressional District, received his party's nomination after running unopposed in the primary contest, and then defeated both Mourdock and Libertarian Andrew Horning in the general election.

Due to Lugar's unpopularity among some Tea Party voters on his positions regarding illegal immigration, voting to confirm then-U.S. Supreme Court nominees Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, the DREAM Act, the START Treaty, some gun control bills, and congressional earmarks, he was challenged by a Tea Party-backed candidate.[90][91]

The Indiana Debate Commission's GOP primary debate with Sen. Richard Lugar and State Treasurer Richard Mourdock was set to air at 7 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 11.[92] In a widely published poll taken March 26 to 28, Lugar was still in the lead, but by the time of a second published poll from April 30 to May 1, Mourdock was leading 48% to 38% for Lugar.

Mourdock defeated senator Lugar in the Republican primary on May 8, 2012.[93][94]

According to Indiana law, Lugar's defeat meant that he would not be permitted to run in the election either as a third party or an independent candidate after he lost the primary.[95]

Indiana Republican primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Richard Mourdock 400,321 60.5
Republican Richard Lugar (Incumbent) 261,285 39.5
Total votes 661,606 100.0
Indiana Democratic primary[96]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joe Donnelly 207,715 100.0
Total votes 207,715 100.0

Mourdock became embroiled in a controversy after stating that pregnancy from rape is "something that God intended". His remarks were made during a debate on October 23, 2012, while explaining his opposition to abortion even in the case of rape. At the debate Mourdock, when asked what his position on abortion was, responded:

"I know there are some who disagree and I respect their point of view but I believe that life begins at conception. The only exception I have to have an abortion is in that case of the life of the mother. I just struggled with it myself for a long time but I came to realize: "Life is that gift from God that I think even if life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen"."[97]

Media speculated that this could affect the outcome of the Senate race and Presidential race[98] and multiple sources noted the similarities with the rape and pregnancy statement controversies in the 2012 United States elections.[99][100]

Responding to the criticism, Mourdock issued a statement saying: "God creates life, and that was my point. God does not want rape, and by no means was I suggesting that he does. Rape is a horrible thing, and for anyone to twist my words otherwise is absurd and sick."[101] He was later quoted at a press conference also saying: "I believe God controls the universe. I don't believe biology works in an uncontrolled fashion."[102] He however refused to issue an apology, even while prominent Republicans, including Sen. John McCain, called for him to do so.[103]

On election night Donnelly won by about six percent. Donnelly performed well in Marion County, home of Indianapolis. Donnelly also won areas with major college campuses, such as Indiana University in Bloomington, Purdue University in Lafayette. Mourdock performed well, as expected in the Indianapolis suburbs, such as Hamilton County. Mourdock conceded defeat to Donnelly at around 11:30 P.M. EST.

Indiana general election[104]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Joe Donnelly 1,281,181 50.04 +50.04%
Republican Richard Mourdock 1,133,621 44.28 -43.08%
Libertarian Andy Horning 145,282 5.67 -6.92%
No party Write-Ins 18 0.00 n/a
Majority 147,560 5.76 -69.49%
Turnout 2,560,102 56.20 +26.98%
Democratic gain from Republican Swing

Maine

2012 United States Senate election in Maine

 
Nominee Angus King Charlie Summers
Party Independent Republican
Popular vote 368,724 214,114
Percentage 52.9% 30.7%

 
Nominee Cynthia Dill
Party Democratic
Popular vote 91,635
Percentage 13.2%

U.S. senator before election

Olympia Snowe
Republican

Elected U.S. senator

Angus King
Independent

Despite initially being in the race early on and poised to easily win, popular Republican Olympia Snowe suddenly retired instead of running for re-election to a fourth term. Former Independent Governor Angus King won the open seat. Following senator Joe Lieberman's retirement from the Senate in 2013, King became the second Independent incumbent senator, after Vermont's Bernie Sanders.

Incumbent Olympia Snowe won re-election to a third term in 2006 with 74.01% of the vote over Democrat Jean Hay Bright and independent Bill Slavick. Due to the unpopularity of some of Snowe's votes among conservative voters, namely for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and initial support of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, there was speculation that she would face competition in the 2012 Republican primary from more conservative challengers.[105] The Tea Party Express had promised to aid in a primary against Snowe.[106] There had also been speculation that Snowe would switch parties, though she has always denied this.[107][108][109] By June 2011, Snowe had officially entered her name with signatures to run in the Republican primary, saying, she "would never switch parties".

However, on February 28, 2012, Snowe announced that she would be retiring from the U.S. Senate at the end of her term, citing the "atmosphere of polarization and 'my way or the highway' ideologies has become pervasive in campaigns and in our governing institutions" as the reason for her retirement.[110] Her announcement opened the door for candidates from all parties and creating a much more contested 2012 election.[111]

The primary election was held June 12.[112]

Maine Republican primary[113]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Charlie Summers 20,578 29.46
Republican Bruce Poliquin 15,973 22.86
Republican Rick Bennett 12,544 17.96
Republican Scott D'Amboise 7,735 11.07
Republican William Schneider 6,784 9.71
Republican Deborah Plowman 6,244 8.94
Total votes 69,098 100.00
Maine Democratic primary[113]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Cynthia Dill 22,629 44.31
Democratic Matt Dunlap 18,202 35.64
Democratic Jon Hinck 6,302 12.34
Democratic Benjamin Pollard 3,945 7.72
Total votes 51,078 100.00
Maine general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Angus King 368,724 52.92 +47.55%
Republican Charlie Summers 211,114 30.73 -43.28%
Democratic Cynthia Dill 91,635 13.15 -7.44%
Independent Steve Woods 10,321 1.48 n/a
Independent Danny Dalton 6,450 0.93 n/a
Libertarian Andrew Ian Dodge 5,543 0.80 n/a
Independent gain from Republican Swing

Maryland

Maryland election

 
Nominee Ben Cardin Dan Bongino
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,402,092 674,649
Percentage 55.4% 26.7%

 
Nominee Rob Sobhani
Party Independent
Popular vote 420,554
Percentage 16.6%

U.S. senator before election

Ben Cardin
Democratic

Elected U.S. senator

Ben Cardin
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Ben Cardin won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican nominee Dan Bongino and independent Rob Sobhani.

Maryland Democratic primary[114][115][116]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ben Cardin (Incumbent) 240,704 74.2
Democratic C. Anthony Muse 50,807 15.7
Democratic Chris Garner 9,274 2.9
Democratic Raymond Levi Blagmon 5,909 1.8
Democratic J. P. Cusick 4,778 1.5
Democratic Blaine Taylor 4,376 1.3
Democratic Lih Young 3,993 1.2
Democratic Ralph Jaffe 3,313 1.0
Democratic Ed Tinus 1,064 0.3
Total votes 324,218 100.0
Maryland Republican primary[115][116]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Daniel Bongino 68,597 33.6
Republican Richard J. Douglas 57,776 28.3
Republican Joseph Alexander 18,171 8.9
Republican Bro Broadus 11,020 5.4
Republican Rick Hoover 10,787 5.3
Republican John B. Kimble 10,506 5.1
Republican David Jones 8,380 4.1
Republican Corrogan R. Vaughn 8,158 4.0
Republican William Thomas Capps, Jr. 7,092 3.5
Republican Brian Vaeth 3,781 1.9
Total votes 204,268 100.0

In both 2010 and 2009, National Journal magazine rated Cardin as tied for most liberal senator, based on his voting record. As of June 30, Cardin had $1.8 million in his campaign account.[117]

Maryland general election[118]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Ben Cardin (Incumbent) 1,402,092 55.41 +1.20%
Republican Daniel Bongino 674,649 26.66 -17.53%
Independent S. Rob Sobhani 420,554 16.62 N/A
Libertarian Dean Ahmad 30,672 1.21 +1.21%
N/A Others (write-in) 2,583 0.10 +0.05%
Majority 727,443 100.00
Turnout 2,530,550 68.23
Democratic hold Swing

Massachusetts

2012 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

 
Nominee Elizabeth Warren Scott Brown
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,696,346 1,458,048
Percentage 53.7% 46.2%

U.S. senator before election

Scott Brown
Republican

Elected U.S. senator

Elizabeth Warren
Democratic

Incumbent Republican Scott Brown ran for re-election to a first full term. He had been elected in a special election in 2010 following the death of incumbent Democrat Ted Kennedy. Brown faced no challengers from his own party. For the Democrats, an initial wide field of prospective candidates narrowed after the entry of Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Warren, the architect of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Warren clinched near-unanimous party support, with all but one of the other Democratic candidates withdrawing following her entrance. After winning her party's nomination, eliminating any need for a primary, she faced Brown in the general election.

The election was one of the most-followed races in 2012 and cost approximately $82 million, which made it the most expensive election in Massachusetts history and the second-most expensive in the entire 2012 election cycle, next to that year's presidential election. This was despite the two candidates' having agreed not to allow outside money to influence the race. Opinion polling indicated a close race for much of the campaign, though Warren opened up a small but consistent lead in the final few weeks. She went on to defeat Brown by over 236,000 votes, 54% to 46%.

Democratic U.S. senator Ted Kennedy was re-elected in 2006, and died on August 25, 2009, from a malignant brain tumor.[119] On September 24, 2009, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick appointed longtime friend of Kennedy and former Democratic National Committee Chairman Paul G. Kirk to succeed Kennedy until a special election could be held.[120] Kirk's appointment was especially controversial, as the Governor's ability to appoint an interim senator was removed during the Romney administration by the Democratic-controlled legislature, as a precaution if senator and presidential nominee John Kerry was elected President in 2004. Laws surrounding Senate appointment were quickly changed following Kennedy's death.[121] The Massachusetts Republican Party sued in an attempt to halt Kirk's appointment, but it was rejected by Suffolk Superior Court Judge Thomas Connolly.[122]

In the special election held January 19, 2010, Republican State senator Scott Brown defeated Democratic State Attorney General Martha Coakley in an upset victory.[123] Brown thus became the first Republican to be elected from Massachusetts to the United States Senate since Edward Brooke in 1972 and he began serving the remainder of Kennedy's term on February 4, 2010.[124][125]

Incumbent Scott Brown faced no challenges from within his party. The political action committee National Republican Trust, a group integral to Brown's election in 2010, vowed to draft a challenger for Brown but were unable to find one.[126]

Massachusetts Republican primary[127]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Scott Brown 133,860 99.46
Republican Write-ins 733 0.54
Total votes 134,593 100.00

The Massachusetts Democratic Convention was held June 2, 2012, where Warren received 95.77% of delegate votes.[128] As the only candidate with 15% of delegate votes necessary to qualify for the primary ballot, Warren eliminated her challenger Marisa DeFranco, becoming the de facto nominee. The Democratic primary was held September 6, 2012, with Warren running unopposed.[129]

Democratic primary vote[130]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Elizabeth Warren 308,979 97.59
Democratic Write-ins 7,638 2.41
Total votes 316,617 100.00

Brown ran as a moderate, stressing his ability to cross party lines and highlighting his votes for the Dodd-Frank financial reform law and to repeal "don't ask, don't tell".[131] Warren campaigned on a platform championing the middle class, and supporting Wall Street regulation. Warren criticized Brown for continually voting with Republican leadership, and argued that he was not the bipartisan moderate he claimed to be.[132][133] A staple of Brown's attack tactics against Warren was his consistent reference to her as "Professor Warren", in attempt to portray her as an elitist academic.[134] Brown faced blowback after the second debate, during which he claimed conservative Antonin Scalia was a "model" Supreme Court Justice, prompting boos from the debate audience.[135]

Warren spoke at the 2012 Democratic National Convention immediately before Bill Clinton on the penultimate night of the convention. Warren contrasted President Obama's economic plan with Mitt Romney's in the 2012 election and rebuked the Republican Party's economic policy stating: "Their vision is clear: 'I've got mine, and the rest of you are on your own.'" Warren positioned herself as a champion of a beleaguered middle class that, as she said, "has been chipped, squeezed and hammered."[136][137][138] Brown attended the 2012 Republican National Convention, but was not a speaker there. According to Brown, he had rejected an offer to play a larger role, and limited his attendance to a single day because of scheduling demands.[139][140]

Following Todd Akin's controversial "legitimate rape" comments, Brown was the first sitting senator to demand he drop out of the Missouri U.S. Senate race.[141] He also called on his Party to "recognize in its platform that you can be pro-choice and still be a good Republican."[141] Brown's campaign had been endorsed by many Massachusetts Democrats, many of whom were prominently featured in his campaign ads.[142]

In September 2011, a video of Warren explaining her approach to economic policy gained popularity on the internet.[143] In the video, Warren rebuts the charge that asking the rich to pay more taxes is "class warfare", pointing out that no one grew rich in America without depending on infrastructure paid for by the rest of society, stating:[144][145]

There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. ... You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for; you hired workers the rest of us paid to educate; you were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn't have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory, and hire someone to protect against this, because of the work the rest of us did. Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific, or a great idea. God bless. Keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is, you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.

On July 13, 2012, President Obama sparked a controversy when he echoed her thoughts[146][147] in a campaign speech saying, "Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business—you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."[148][149]

Warren encountered significant opposition from business interests. In August 2012, Rob Engstrom, political director for the United States Chamber of Commerce, claimed that "no other candidate in 2012 represents a greater threat to free enterprise than Professor Warren."[150] She nonetheless raised $39 million for her campaign, the most of any Senate candidate in 2012.[151]

Despite President Obama's winning the state easily, and winning all of the state's counties, this race was fairly close. As expected, Warren performed very well in Suffolk County, which is home to the state's largest city and its capital Boston. Brown performed well in the southern part of the state near Cape Cod. Warren made history by becoming the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate in the state of Massachusetts.

Massachusetts general election[152]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Elizabeth Warren 1,696,346 53.74% 6.6%
Republican Scott Brown (Incumbent) 1,458,048 46.19% 4.9%
All others 2,159 0.07% 0.9%
Majority 236,139 7.48%
Turnout 3,156,553
Democratic gain from Republican Swing 6.2%

Michigan

Michigan election

 
Nominee Debbie Stabenow Pete Hoekstra
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 2,735,826 1,767,386
Percentage 58.8% 38.0%

U.S. senator before election

Debbie Stabenow
Democratic

Elected U.S. senator

Debbie Stabenow
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Debbie Stabenow was re-elected to a third term after being unopposed in the Democratic primary. The Republican nominee was former Congressman Pete Hoekstra. Stabenow defeated Hoekstra by a landslide 21% margin and by almost one million votes.

Michigan Democratic primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Debbie Stabenow (Incumbent) 702,773 100.00
Total votes 702,773 100.00%

The GOP primary campaign was mainly a battle between Hoekstra and Durant as they were the most visible in running campaign ads. Despite Durant's attack ads, Hoekstra was leading in the polls for the Republican nomination.[153]

Republican Primary Results[154]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Pete Hoekstra 398,793 54.2
Republican Clark Durant 246,584 33.5
Republican Randy Hekman 49,080 6.7
Republican Gary Glenn 40,726 5.5
Total votes 735,183 100.0
Michigan general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Debbie Stabenow (Incumbent) 2,735,826 58.8 +1.9%
Republican Pete Hoekstra 1,767,386 38.0 -3.3%
Libertarian Scotty Boman 84,480 1.8 +1.1%
Green Harley Mikkelson 27,890 0.6 -
Constitution Richard Matkin 26,038 0.6 +0.1%
Natural Law John Litle 11,229 0.2 +0.1%
Others Write-in 69 0.0 -
Majority 968,440 20.8
Turnout 4,652,918
Democratic hold Swing 2.6%

Minnesota

Minnesota election

 
Nominee Amy Klobuchar Kurt Bills
Party Democratic (DFL) Republican
Popular vote 1,854,595 867,874
Percentage 65.2% 30.5%

U.S. senator before election

Amy Klobuchar
Democratic (DFL)

Elected U.S. senator

Amy Klobuchar
Democratic (DFL)

Incumbent Democrat Amy Klobuchar was re-elected to a second term in a landslide, defeating the Republican nominee, State Representative Kurt Bills by almost one million votes, and carrying all but two of the state's counties.

Incumbent Amy Klobuchar was first elected in 2006 to succeed the retiring DFL incumbent Mark Dayton.

Democratic-Farmer-Labor primary results[155]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic (DFL) Amy Klobuchar 183,702 90.79
Democratic (DFL) Dick Franson 6,832 3.38
Democratic (DFL) Jack Shepard 6,638 3.28
Democratic (DFL) Darryl Stanton 5,160 2.55
Total votes 202,332 100.00
Minnesota Republican primary[155]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Kurt Bills 63,380 51.12
Republican David Carlson 43,847 35.37
Republican Bob Carney, Jr. 16,755 13.51
Total votes 123,982 100.00

The Independence Party of Minnesota did not plan to run a candidate in the general election. Party chairman Mark Jenkins said in November 2011 that he saw the Senate election as "a distraction from having our best and brightest engaged in state legislative races".[156] At the party's convention in June 2012, neither candidate was endorsed although Williams won a majority of the votes and came within two votes of the required 60% needed for the party's endorsement. He proceeded with his run for the Senate but the party focused its attention on state legislative races.[157]

Minnesota general election[158]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic (DFL) Amy Klobuchar (Incumbent) 1,852,526 65.2 +7.1%
Republican Kurt Bills 869,089 30.6 -7.3%
Independence Stephen Williams 73,559 2.6 -0.6%
Grassroots Tim Davis 30,465 1.1 n/a
Open Progressive Michael Cavlan 13,933 0.5 n/a
Majority 983,437 34.6 +14.4%
Democratic (DFL) hold Swing

Mississippi

Mississippi election

Turnout59.7% (voting eligible)[55]
 
Nominee Roger Wicker Albert N. Gore
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 709,626 503,467
Percentage 57.2% 40.6%

U.S. senator before election

Roger Wicker
Republican

Elected U.S. senator

Roger Wicker
Republican

Incumbent Republican Roger Wicker won re-election to his first full term over Democrat Albert N. Gore. Former U.S. representative Roger Wicker was appointed by Governor Haley Barbour after then-incumbent Trent Lott retired at the end of 2007. A 2008 special election was later scheduled to determine who would serve the remainder of the term. Then-U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker defeated former Mississippi Governor Ronnie Musgrove with 54.96% of the vote in the special election and will be up for re-election in 2012. This would've been Trent Lott's fifth term as senator had he remained in office.

Mississippi Republican primary[159]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Roger Wicker 254,936 89.17
Republican Robert Maloney 18,857 6.60
Republican Allen Hathcock 12,106 4.23
Total votes 285,899 100.00
Mississippi Democratic primary[160]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Albert Gore 49,157 56.77
Democratic Roger Weiner 21,131 24.40
Democratic Will Oatis 16,300 18.83
Total votes 86,588 100.00
Mississippi general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Roger Wicker (Incumbent) 709,626 57.16
Democratic Albert Gore 503,467 40.55
Constitution Thomas Cramer 15,281 1.23
Reform Shawn O'Hara 13,194 1.06
Majority 206,159 16.6
Turnout 1,241,568

Missouri

2012 United States Senate election in Missouri

 
Nominee Claire McCaskill Todd Akin
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,484,683 1,063,698
Percentage 54.8% 39.1%

 
Nominee Jonathan Dine
Party Libertarian
Popular vote 164,991
Percentage 6.1%

U.S. senator before election

Claire McCaskill
Democratic

Elected U.S. senator

Claire McCaskill
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill was unopposed in her primary and U.S. Representative Todd Akin won the Republican nomination with a plurality in a close three-way race. McCaskill was re-elected to a second term.

Time featured the race in their Senate article. Similar to other races, the article mentioned how McCaskill was fading in pre-election polls, and she was considered the most vulnerable/endangered Democratic incumbent that year. But Akin's comments about a woman's body preventing pregnancy if it was "legitimate rape" quickly shot McCaskill back up, winning her the election.[161][162][163]

Missouri Democratic primary[164]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Claire McCaskill (Incumbent) 289,481 100.00
Total votes 289,481 100.00

The Republican primary, held August 7, 2012, was one of the three most anticipated of summer 2012. This was due to the projected closeness of the Federal races in the 'Show-Me State' in November 2012, and the potential to change the control of the Senate in January 2013.[165] Democrats believed that Todd Akin would be the weakest among the likely challengers for the Senate seat, and ads attacking him as "too conservative" were largely viewed as a veiled support for his nomination.[166][167][168]

Missouri Republican primary[164]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Todd Akin 217,404 36.05
Republican John Brunner 180,788 29.98
Republican Sarah Steelman 176,127 29.20
Republican Jerry Beck 9,801 1.62
Republican Hector Maldonado 7,410 1.23
Republican Robert Poole 6,100 1.01
Republican Mark Memoly 3,205 0.53
Republican Mark Lodes 2,285 0.38
Total votes 603,120 100.00
Libertarian primary results[164]
Party Candidate Votes %
Libertarian Jonathan Dine 2,470 100.00
Total votes 2,470 100.00

While making remarks on rape and abortion on August 19, 2012, Akin made the claim that women victims of what he described as "legitimate rape" rarely experience pregnancy from rape. In an interview aired on St. Louis television station KTVI-TV, Aiken was asked his views on whether women who became pregnant due to rape should have the option of abortion. He replied:

Well you know, people always want to try to make that as one of those things, well how do you, how do you slice this particularly tough sort of ethical question. First of all, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something. I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.[169]

The comments from Akin almost immediately led to uproar, with the term "legitimate rape" being taken to imply belief in a view that some kinds of rape are "legitimate", or alternatively that the many victims who do become pregnant from rape are likely to be lying about their claim. His claims about the likelihood of pregnancy resulting from rape were widely seen as being based on long-discredited pseudoscience with experts seeing the claims as lacking any basis of medical validity.[170][171][172] Akin was not the first to make such claims, but was perhaps one of the most prominent.[173] While some voices such as Iowa congressman Steve King supported Akin,[174] senior figures in both parties condemned his remarks and some Republicans called for him to resign.[175][176][177] In the resulting furor, Akin received widespread calls to drop out of his Senate race from both Republicans and Democrats.[178] Akin apologized after making the comment, saying he "misspoke", and he stated he planned to remain in the Senate race. This response was itself attacked by many commentators who saw the initial comments as representative of his long-held views, rather than an accidental gaffe.

The comment was widely characterized as misogynistic and recklessly inaccurate, with many commentators remarking on the use of the words "legitimate rape".[179][180][181] Related news articles cited a 1996 article in an obstetrics and gynecology journal, which found that 5% of women who were raped became pregnant, which equaled about 32,000 pregnancies each year in the US alone.[182] A separate 2003 article in the journal Human Nature estimated that rapes are twice as likely to result in pregnancies as consensual sex.[183] (See also pregnancy from rape.)

The incident was seen as having an impact on Akin's senate race and the Republicans' chances of gaining a majority in the U.S. Senate,[184] by making news in the week before the 2012 Republican National Convention and by "shift[ing] the national discussion to divisive social issues that could repel swing voters rather than economic issues that could attract them".[185] Akin, along with other Republican candidates with controversial positions on rape, lost due to backlash from women voters.[186]

On October 20, at a fundraiser, Akin compared McCaskill to a dog. After being criticized, Akin's campaign aide wrote on his official Twitter page that if Claire McCaskill "were a dog, she'd be a ‘Bullshitsu.’" The aide later said that he was joking.[187] Akin was caught on tape commenting that "Sen. Claire McCaskill goes to Washington, D.C., to ‘fetch' higher taxes and regulations."[188]

Even though the last poll before the election showed Akin only losing by four percentage points, McCaskill defeated him handily, by a 15.5% margin of victory and a vote margin of 420,985. Both McCaskill and incumbent Governor Jay Nixon, running at the same time, were able to get a large number of votes from rural parts of the state, something President Barack Obama was not able to do. McCaskill and Nixon were declared the winners of their respective races even before the known big Democratic strongholds of St. Louis and Kansas City came in. Akin conceded defeat to McCaskill at 10:38 P.M. Central Time.

Missouri general election[189]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Claire McCaskill (Incumbent) 1,484,683 54.71 +5.13%
Republican Todd Akin 1,063,698 39.20 -8.11%
Libertarian Jonathan Dine 164,991 6.08 +3.83%
Write-ins 251 0.01 n/a
Margin of victory 420,985 15.51 +13.24%
Turnout 2,713,623 64.75

Note: The ±% column reflects the change in total number of votes won by each party from the previous election. Turnout percentage is the portion of registered voters (4,190,936 as of October 24, 2012)[190] who voted.

Montana

2012 United States Senate election in Montana

 
Nominee Jon Tester Denny Rehberg
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 236,123 218,051
Percentage 48.6% 44.6%

 
Nominee Dan Cox
Party Libertarian
Popular vote 31,892
Percentage 6.6%

U.S. senator before election

Jon Tester
Democratic

Elected U.S. senator

Jon Tester
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Jon Tester successfully ran for re-election to a second term.[191][192]

Montana Republican primary[193]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Denny Rehberg 105,632 76.2
Republican Dennis Teske 33,079 23.8
Total votes 138,711 100.00

Former president of the Montana Senate and farmer Jon Tester was elected with 49.2% of the vote in 2006, defeating incumbent Conrad Burns.

As of June 30, 2011, Jon Tester had saved $2.34 million in campaign funds. Tester has been accused by Republican Denny Rehberg's senate campaign of depending on financial contributions from Wall Street banking executives and movie stars.[194]

On February 5, 2011, U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg announced his intention to run for the U.S. Senate.[195] Steve Daines had announced he would seek the Republican nomination on November 13, 2010,[196] but just before Rehberg's announcement he dropped out of the primary and announced he would instead seek the Republican nomination for Montana's at-large congressional district in 2012.[197]

As of early July 2010, Denny Rehberg had saved $1.5 million of an original $2 million in campaign funds. Rehberg accused Democrat Jon Tester's senate campaign of depending on financial contributions from Wall Street banking executives and Hollywood while Rehberg's campaign relies primarily on in state donations. Tester's campaign countered that Rehberg has been funded by petroleum special interests and Wall Street.[194]

The National Republican Senatorial Committee aired an attack ad against Jon Tester that mistakenly included a digitally manipulated photo of Tester (who has only two fingers on his left hand) with full sets of fingers.[198] Another ad against Tester, from the Karl Rove group Crossroads GPS, falsely asserted that Tester had voted in favor of Environmental Protection Agency regulation of farm dust.[199] In fact, Tester had praised the EPA for not attempting such a regulation.[200] The vote cited in the anti-Tester ad concerned currency exchange rates.[201]

In early October 2012, Crossroads GPS announced it would launch a $16 million advertising buy in national races, of which four were this and three other Senate elections.[202]

Montana general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Jon Tester (Incumbent) 236,123 48.58 -0.58%
Republican Denny Rehberg 218,051 44.86 -3.43%
Libertarian Dan Cox 31,892 6.56 +4.01%
Margin of victory 18,072 3.72 +2.84%
Turnout 486,066
Democratic hold Swing

*Note: The ±% column reflects the change in the percent of the votes won by each party from the 2006 Senate election. Neither the vote shares nor turnout figure account for write-ins.

Nebraska

2012 United States Senate election in Nebraska

 
Nominee Deb Fischer Bob Kerrey
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 455,593 332,979
Percentage 57.8% 42.2%

U.S. senator before election

Ben Nelson
Democratic

Elected U.S. senator

Deb Fischer
Republican

Incumbent Democrat Ben Nelson retired instead of seeking a third term.[33] Former U.S. senator Bob Kerrey, a Democrat, and state senator Deb Fischer, a Republican, won their respective parties' primary elections on May 15, 2012. Fischer won the general election with 58% of the vote.

Nebraska Democratic primary[203]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Bob Kerrey 66,586 81.0
Democratic Chuck Hassebrook 9,886 12.0
Democratic Steven Lustgarten 2,177 2.6
Democratic Larry Marvin 2,076 2.5
Democratic Sherman Yates 1,500 1.9
Total votes 82,225 100.0
Nebraska Republican primary[203]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Deb Fischer 79,941 41.0
Republican Jon Bruning 70,067 35.9
Republican Don Stenberg 36,727 18.8
Republican Pat Flynn 5,413 2.8
Republican Spencer Zimmerman 1,601 0.8
Republican Sharyn Elander 1,294 0.7
Total votes 195,043 100.0
Nebraska general election[204]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Deb Fischer 455,593 57.8
Democratic Bob Kerrey 332,979 42.2
Total votes 788,572 100.0

Nevada

Nevada election

Turnout57.1% (voting eligible)[55]
 
Nominee Dean Heller Shelley Berkley
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 457,656 446,080
Percentage 45.9% 44.7%

U.S. senator before election

Dean Heller
Republican

Elected U.S. senator

Dean Heller
Republican

Incumbent Republican Dean Heller, who was recently appointed to this seat left vacant by resigning U.S. senator John Ensign, was narrowly elected to his first full term over Congresswoman Shelley Berkley.

Ensign had been re-elected in 2006 over Jack Carter, son of former president Jimmy Carter, by a margin of 55–41%. Ensign's re-election campaign was expected to be complicated after it was revealed in 2009 that he had been involved in an extramarital affair with the wife of one of his campaign staffers, allegedly made payments to the woman's family and arranged work for her husband to cover himself.[205][206]

Ensign faced an investigation from the Senate Ethics Committee and his poll numbers declined significantly.[207][208] There was speculation that Ensign might resign before the election, but he denied these charges and initially stated he would run.[209] However, he changed his mind and on March 7, 2011, Ensign announced that he would not seek re-election.[210] On April 22, Ensign announced that he was resigning effective May 3.[211] This is the only senate election in 2012 to vote Republican while Obama carried it on the presidential level.

Nevada Republican primary[212]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dean Heller (Incumbent) 88,958 86.3
Republican Sherry Brooks 5,356 5.2
None of These Candidates 3,358 3.3
Republican Eddie "In Liberty" Hamilton 2,628 2.6
Republican Richard Charles 2,295 2.2
Republican Carlo "Nakusa" Poliak 512 0.5
Total votes 103,107 100.0
Nevada Democratic primary[212]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Shelley Berkley 62,081 79.5
Democratic Nancy Price 4,210 5.4
Democratic Steve Brown 3,998 5.1
None of These Candidates 3,637 4.7
Democratic Barry Ellsworth 2,491 3.2
Democratic Louis Macias 1,714 2.2
Total votes 78,131 100.0
2012 United States Senate election in Nevada
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Dean Heller (Incumbent) 457,656 45.87 -9.53%
Democratic Shelley Berkley 446,080 44.71 +3.71%
Independent American David Lory VanDerBeek 48,792 4.89 +3.56%
None of These Candidates 44,277 4.54 +3.13%
Majority 12,034 1.20
Turnout 997,805
Republican hold

New Jersey

New Jersey election

 
Nominee Bob Menendez Joe Kyrillos
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,987,680 1,329,534
Percentage 58.9% 39.4%

U.S. senator before election

Bob Menendez
Democratic

Elected U.S. senator

Bob Menendez
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Bob Menendez won re-election to a second full term. This was the first time since 1976 that a candidate for this seat received over 55% of the vote. Bob Menendez became the first Hispanic-American U.S. senator to represent New Jersey in January 2006 when former U.S. senator Jon Corzine appointed him to the seat after having resigned to become governor of New Jersey, following his election in November 2005.[213] In November 2006, after a tough and painful election, Menendez defeated Republican state senator Thomas Kean, Jr. with 53.3% of the vote.

New Jersey Democratic primary[214]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Bob Menendez (Incumbent) 235,321 100.0
Total votes 235,321 100.0
New Jersey Republican primary[214]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Joseph Kyrillos 161,146 77.1
Republican David Brown 18,671 8.9
Republican Joseph Rullo 16,690 8.0
Republican Bader Qarmout 12,637 6.0
Total votes 209,144 100.0
New Jersey general election[215]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Bob Menendez (Incumbent) 1,987,680 58.87% +5.50%
Republican Joseph Kyrillos 1,329,534 39.37% -4.98%
Libertarian Kenneth R. Kaplan 16,803 0.50% -0.15%
Green Ken Wolski 15,801 0.47%
Independent Gwen Diakos 9,359 0.28%
Independent J. David Dranikoff 3,834 0.11%
Independent Inder "Andy" Soni 3,593 0.11%
Independent Robert "Turk" Turkavage 3,532 0.10%
Socialist Greg Pason 2,249 0.07%
Independent Eugene M. LaVergne 2,198 0.07%
Independent Daryl Brooks 2,066 0.06%
Majority 658,146 19.49
Turnout 3,376,649

New Mexico

New Mexico election

 
Nominee Martin Heinrich Heather Wilson
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 395,717 351,260
Percentage 51.0% 45.3%

U.S. senator before election

Jeff Bingaman
Democratic

Elected U.S. senator

Martin Heinrich
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Jeff Bingaman retired instead of running for re-election to a sixth term.[216] Democratic U.S. Representative Martin Heinrich won the open seat. Incumbent Jeff Bingaman won re-election to a fifth term with 70.61% of the vote against Allen McCulloch in the 2006 U.S. senatorial election in New Mexico.

New Mexico Democratic primary[217]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Martin Heinrich 83,432 58.9
Democratic Hector Balderas 58,128 41.1
Total votes 141,560 100.0
New Mexico Republican primary[217]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Heather Wilson 63,631 70.0
Republican Greg Sowards 27,214 30.0
Total votes 90,845 100.0
New Mexico general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Martin Heinrich 395,717 51.01 -19.81%
Republican Heather Wilson 351,295 45.28 +16.17%
American Independent Jon Barrie 27,649 3.6
Write-In Write-In 617 0.08%
Majority 44,458 6.1
Turnout 775,278

New York

2012 United States Senate election in New York

Turnout53.2% (voting eligible)[55]
 
Nominee Kirsten Gillibrand Wendy Long
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 4,822,330 1,758,702
Percentage 72.2% 26.3%

U.S. senator before election

Kirsten Gillibrand
Democratic

Elected U.S. senator

Kirsten Gillibrand
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand won re-election to her first full term. Gillibrand was opposed in the general election by Wendy Long (who ran on the Republican and Conservative Party tickets) and by three minor party candidates. Gillibrand was re-elected with 72% of the vote, by a margin of 46%, the highest margin for any statewide candidate in New York. Gillibrand performed 9 points better than President Barack Obama did in the presidential race in New York. She carried 60 out of 62 counties statewide. There was one debate, held in October 2012 where Gillibrand and Long debated various issues such as the economy, abortion rights, the debt and deficit, foreign policy, jobs, and tax and regulatory policy.

Governor David Paterson appointed then-U.S. Representative Kirsten Gillibrand to serve as U.S. senator from New York until the 2010 special election, succeeding former U.S. senator Hillary Clinton, who resigned to serve as U.S. Secretary of State in the Obama administration. Gillibrand won the special election in 2010 with 62.95% of the vote over former U.S. Representative Joseph DioGuardi.

According to preliminary results, Gillibrand won re-election by a landslide of over 70% of the vote on November 6, 2012.

New York general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand (Incumbent) 4,822,330 72.22 +9.22%
Republican Wendy Elizabeth Long 1,758,702 26.34
Green Colia Clark 36,547 0.60
Libertarian Chris Edes 28,315 0.50
Independent John Mangelli 20,223 0.30
Write-In Write-In 2,001 0.02
Majority 3,053,412
Turnout 6,677,666 100.00

North Dakota

2012 United States Senate election in North Dakota

Turnout60.6% (voting eligible)[55]
 
Nominee Heidi Heitkamp Rick Berg
Party Democratic-NPL Republican
Popular vote 161,337 158,401
Percentage 50.2% 49.3%

U.S. senator before election

Kent Conrad
Democratic-NPL

Elected U.S. senator

Heidi Heitkamp
Democratic-NPL

Incumbent Democrat Kent Conrad retired instead of running for re-election to a fifth term. Though each party endorses a single candidate in state political conventions in the spring, North Dakota determines actual ballot access for the general election in a statewide primary election that was held June 12, 2012.[218] Former Democratic-NPL Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp ran for and won the open seat in a close-fought victory.[219]

North Dakota Republican primary[220]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Rick Berg 67,849 66.41
Republican Duane Sand 34,209 33.48
Republican Write-Ins 111 0.41
Total votes 102,281 100.00
North Dakota general election[220]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic-NPL Heidi Heitkamp 161,337 50.24 -18.26%
Republican Rick Berg 158,401 49.32 +20.04%
Write-Ins 1,406 0.44
Majority 2,936 0.92 -
Turnout 322,509
Democratic-NPL hold Swing

Ohio

Ohio election

Turnout64.6% (voting eligible)[55]
 
Nominee Sherrod Brown Josh Mandel
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 2,762,757 2,435,740
Percentage 50.7% 44.7%

U.S. senator before election

Sherrod Brown
Democratic

Elected U.S. senator

Sherrod Brown
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown won re-election to a second term. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary and Ohio State Treasurer Josh Mandel won the Republican primary with 63% of the vote.[221][222]

Ohio Democratic primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sherrod Brown (Incumbent) 802,678 100.00
Total votes 802,678 100.00%
Ohio Republican primary[223]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Josh Mandel 580,525 63.00
Republican Michael Pryce 130,370 14.15
Republican Donna Glisman 114,183 12.39
Republican David Dodt 47,278 5.13
Republican Eric Gregory 47,123 5.11
Republican Russell Bliss 1,927 0.21
Total votes 921,406 100.00

In 2006, U.S. Representative Sherrod Brown had defeated two-term incumbent Republican Mike DeWine 56%-44% 2006 election. Over the past six years, he established a very liberal, progressive, and populist record. The National Journal named Brown the most liberal U.S. senator in the past two years.[224] The Washington Post called him a "modern-day Paul Wellstone." One article said "Brown is way to the left of Ohio in general, but probably the only person who could outwork Brown is Portman."[225] Brown was the only candidate the 60 Plus Association targeted in the 2012 election cycle.[226]

Mandel, 34, was elected state treasurer in 2010. Before that, he was a Lyndhurst City Councilman and Ohio State Representative. He was criticized as Ohio Treasurer for not fulfilling his pledge to serve a four-year term and for not attending any of the Board of Deposit monthly meetings.[227] However, Mandel raised a lot of money. He was called a rising star in the Republican Party and was called "the rock star of the party." He was also compared to Marco Rubio.[228]

Mandel's campaign was singled out by the independent fact-checking group Politifact for its "casual relationship with the truth" and its tendency to "double down" after inaccuracies were pointed out. The fact-checking group wrote: "For all the gifts Mandel has, from his compelling personal narrative as an Iraq war veteran to a well-oiled fundraising machine, whoppers are fast becoming a calling card of his candidacy."[229]

Mandel raised $7.2 million through the first quarter of 2012. He had $5.3 million cash on hand, trailing Brown's $6.3 million.[230] However, Mandel benefited from massive support from conservative out-of-state superPACs, which raise unlimited amounts of money from anonymous donors. These outside groups, including Crossroads GPS, aired over $60 million in TV advertising supporting Mandel and attacking Brown,[231] outspending Democratically aligned outside groups by more than five-to-one.[232] Mandel's campaign was aided by over $1 million spent primarily on attack ads by a 501(c)(4) organization called the Government Integrity Fund. The group was funded by anonymous donors and run by lobbyist Tom Norris of Columbus, Ohio-based Cap Square Solutions.[233]

Brown did better than polls right before the election suggested. Instead of winning by two points (which polls right before the election had suggested) Brown won by six points. Republicans could not come back from the huge margins for the Democrats of Cuyahoga County, Franklin County, Lucas County, and Hamilton County.

Ohio general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Sherrod Brown (Incumbent) 2,762,757 50.7 -5.90%
Republican Josh Mandel 2,435,740 44.7 +1.30%
Independent Scott Rupert 250,617 4.6 +4.58%
Majority 327,017 6.0
Turnout 5,449,414
Democratic hold Swing

Pennsylvania

2012 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

Turnout59.4% (voting eligible)[55]
 
Nominee Bob Casey, Jr. Tom Smith
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 3,021,364 2,509,132
Percentage 53.7% 44.6%

U.S. senator before election

Bob Casey, Jr.
Democratic

Elected U.S. senator

Bob Casey, Jr.
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Bob Casey, Jr. won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican nominee Tom Smith, and Libertarian nominee Rayburn Smith.

The primary elections occurred on April 24, 2012, during which the Republicans and Democrats selected nominees for the general election. The Republican primary was a five-way contest. Tom Smith, the eventual nominee, faced David A. Christian, Sam Rohrer, Marc Scaringi, and Steve Welch. The Democratic primary was not heavily contested. Incumbent Bob Casey, Jr., defeated Joseph Vodvarka by a wide margin. The Libertarian Party nominated Rayburn Smith.

Casey led most pre-election polls and eventually defeated his opponents to win re-election to a second term in the U.S. Senate. In so doing, Casey became the first Democratic senator from Pennsylvania elected to a second term in 50 years.

Pennsylvania was considered a battleground state; since the 1970 election of Governor Milton Shapp, partisan control of the governorship had alternated between Democratic and Republican. Additionally, Republicans had controlled the State Senate since 1995, while Democrats assumed control of the State House following the 2006 election, only to lose control in the 2010 election, though the Democrats had won the state in every presidential election from 1992 to 2012.

Pennsylvania Democratic primary[234]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Bob Casey, Jr. (Incumbent) 565,488 80.9
Democratic Joseph Vodvarka 133,683 19.1
Total votes 699,171 100.0

Despite many predictions of a close race, the election was not close. Casey, the incumbent, despite being seen as somewhat vulnerable, went into election night with most analysts thinking he would win. Casey would win by more than expected. This can be traced to several factors. Casey trounced Smith in Philadelphia County home of Philadelphia. Casey also won the surrounding collar counties of, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery, which are seen as vital in statewide elections in Pennsylvania. Casey also performed well in Allegheny County home of Pittsburgh. Casey also performed well in Erie. Casey also performed strongly in the Scranton area. Smith did well in rural counties, but it wasn't enough to overcome the lead Casey had built in the huge population centers. Casey was sworn in for his second term beginning at noon on January 3, 2013.

Pennsylvania general election[235]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Bob Casey, Jr. (Incumbent) 3,021,364 53.7 -4.9%
Republican Tom Smith 2,509,114 44.6 +3.3%
Libertarian Rayburn Smith 96,926 1.7 +1.7%
Majority 512,250 9.1 -
Turnout 5,627,404
Democratic hold Swing -4.9%

Rhode Island

Rhode Island election

Turnout58.0% (voting eligible)[55]
 
Nominee Sheldon Whitehouse Barry Hinckley
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 271,034 146,222
Percentage 65.0% 35.0%

U.S. senator before election

Sheldon Whitehouse
Democratic

Elected U.S. senator

Sheldon Whitehouse
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse was re-elected to a second term in a landslide by a 30% margin of 65% - 35%. Whitehouse won 53.52% of the vote in 2006.

Rhode Island Democratic primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sheldon Whitehouse 60,223 100.00
Total votes 60,223 100.00
Rhode Island Republican primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Barry Hinckley 6,890 100.00
Total votes 6,890 100.00
Rhode Island general election[236]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Sheldon Whitehouse 271,034 64.81 +11.29%
Republican Barry Hinckley 146,222 34.97 -11.51%
Other Write-ins 933 0.22 n/a
Majority 124,812 29.85 +22.81%
Total votes 418,189 100.00
Turnout 418,189 58
Democratic hold Swing

Tennessee

Tennessee election

Turnout52.2% (voting eligible)[55]
 
Nominee Bob Corker Mark E. Clayton
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,506,443 705,882
Percentage 64.9% 30.4%

U.S. senator before election

Bob Corker
Republican

Elected U.S. senator

Bob Corker
Republican

Incumbent Republican Bob Corker won a second term. Corker easily won the Republican primary with 85% of the vote. He faced Democratic Party nominee Mark E. Clayton[237] as well as several third-party candidates and several independents.

Clayton won the Democratic nomination with 30% of the vote, despite raising no money and having a website that was four years out of date.[238] The next day Tennessee's Democratic Party disavowed the candidate over his active role in the Public Advocate of the United States, which they described as a "known hate group". They blamed his victory among candidates for whom the TNDP provided little forums to become known on the fact that his name appeared first on the ballot, and said they would do nothing to help his campaign, urging Democrats to vote for "the write-in candidate of their choice" in November.[239] One of the Democratic candidates, Larry Crim, filed a petition seeking to offer the voters a new primary in which to select a Democratic Nominee among the remaining candidates the party had affirmed as bona fide and as a preliminary motion sought a temporary restraining order against certification of the results, but after a judge denied the temporary order Crim withdrew his petition[240]

Tennessee Republican primary[241]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bob Corker (Incumbent) 389,483 85.1
Republican Zach Poskevich 28,299 6.2
Republican Fred Anderson 15,942 3.6
Republican Mark Twain Clemens 11,788 2.6
Republican Brenda Lenard 11,378 2.5
Total votes 456,890 100.0
Tennessee Democratic primary[241]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mark E. Clayton 48,126 30.0
Democratic Gary Gene Davis 24,789 15.4
Democratic Park Overall 24,263 15.1
Democratic Larry Crim 17,383 11.0
Democratic Benjamin Roberts 16,369 10.2
Democratic David Hancock 16,167 10.0
Democratic Thomas Owens 13,366 8.3
Total votes 160,331 100.0
Tennessee general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Bob Corker (Incumbent) 1,506,443 64.9
Democratic Mark E. Clayton 700,753 30.4
Green Martin Pleasant 37,964 1.6
Libertarian Shaun Crowell 20,813 0.9
Constitution Kermit Steck 18,490 0.8
Independent James Higdon 8,036 0.3
Independent Michael Joseph Long 8,043 0.3
Independent Troy Stephen Scoggin 7,105 0.3
Independent David Gatchell 6,469 0.3
Majority 795,915 34.5
Turnout 2,304,341

Texas

Texas election

Turnout49.7% (voting eligible)[55]
 
Nominee Ted Cruz Paul Sadler
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 4,440,137 3,194,927
Percentage 56.6% 40.5%

U.S. senator before election

Kay Bailey Hutchison
Republican

Elected U.S. senator

Ted Cruz
Republican

Incumbent Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison retired instead of running for re-election to a fourth full term. Libertarian John Jay Myers was elected by nomination at the Texas Libertarian Party State Convention on June 8, 2012. After the first round of primary on May 29, 2012, a runoff was held July 31, 2012, for both the Democratic and Republican parties, with Paul Sadler and Ted Cruz winning, respectively. Cruz won the open seat.

Democratic runoff results[242]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Paul Sadler 148,940 63.03
Democratic Grady Yarbrough 87,365 36.97
Total votes 236,305 100.00
Texas Republican primary runoff[243]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ted Cruz 631,812 56.82
Republican David Dewhurst 480,126 43.18
Total votes 1,111,938 100.00
Texas general election[244]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Ted Cruz 4,440,137 56.46 -5.23%
Democratic Paul Lindsey Sadler 3,194,927 40.62 +4.58%
Libertarian John Jay Myers 162,354 2.06 -0.20%
Green David Collins 67,404 0.86 +0.86%
Majority 1,245,210 15.84
Turnout 7,864,822
Republican hold Swing

Utah

2012 United States Senate election in Utah

Turnout55.4% (voting eligible)[55]
 
Nominee Orrin Hatch Scott Howell
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 595,972 275,880
Percentage 65.2% 30.2%

U.S. senator before election

Orrin Hatch
Republican

Elected U.S. senator

Orrin Hatch
Republican

Incumbent Republican Orrin Hatch won re-election to a seventh term against former state senator and IBM executive, Scott Howell the Democratic candidate.[245]

In 2006, incumbent Orrin Hatch won re-election to a sixth term. In 2008, Jason Chaffetz defeated the incumbent Republican U.S. Representative, Chris Cannon, in the 2008 primary for Utah's 3rd congressional district. In 2010, Mike Lee defeated Bob Bennett in the 2010 Utah Senate election.[246] In March 2011, just-elected U.S. senator Mike Lee said he will not endorse Hatch in the primary.[247] In May 2011, Chaffetz told several Utah political insiders that he planned to run, but he would not make an official decision until after Labor Day of 2011.[248]

In June 2011, prominent conservative radio talk show host Mark Levin endorsed Hatch.[249] The fiscally conservative 501(c)4 organization Club for Growth encouraged Chaffetz to run. The group cited Hatch's support for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, State Children's Health Insurance Program, No Child Left Behind Act, Bridge to Nowhere, and other votes among the reasons why they opposed his re-election.[250] In an interview with Politico, Chaffetz stated, "After 34 years of service, I think most Utahans want a change. They want to thank him for his service, but it's time to move on. And for me personally, I think he's been on the wrong side of a host of major issues." The congressman cited Hatch's vote in favor of Equal Opportunity to Serve Act and the Health Equity and Access Reform Today Act of 1993.[251] However, Chaffetz ultimately decided against a run.

Democratic convention results[252]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Scott Howell - 63.0
Democratic Pete Ashdown - 37.0
Total votes - 100.0
Utah Republican primary[253]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Orrin Hatch (Incumbent) 146,394 66.0
Republican Dan Liljenquist 73,668 34.0
Total votes 220,062 100.0
Utah general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Orrin Hatch (Incumbent) 595,972 65.21 +2.85%
Democratic Scott Howell 275,880 30.19 -0.87%
Constitution Shaun McCausland 28,367 3.10 -0.67%
Justice Daniel Geery 7,444 0.81
Independent (US) Bill Barron 6,261 0.69
Majority 320,092 35.02
Turnout 913,924 60.40
Republican hold Swing

Note: The ±% column reflects the change in total number of votes won by each party from the previous election. Neither the vote shares nor the turnout figure account for write-ins. Turnout percentage is the portion of registered voters who voted (1,513,241 as of June 11, 2012)[254]

Vermont

Vermont election

Turnout63.47% (voting eligible)[55]
 
Nominee Bernie Sanders John MacGovern
Party Independent Republican
Popular vote 207,848 72,898
Percentage 71.0% 24.9%

U.S. senator before election

Bernie Sanders
Independent

Elected U.S. senator

Bernie Sanders
Independent

Incumbent Independent Bernie Sanders won re-election to a second term in a landslide, capturing nearly three-quarters of the vote. Sanders also received the nomination of the Vermont Progressive Party, but declined both the Democratic and Progressive nominations after the primary.[255]

Vermont Republican primary[256]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican John MacGovern 6,343 75.4
Republican Brooke Paige 2,073 24.6
Total votes 8,416 100.0

[257]

Vermont general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Bernie Sanders (Incumbent)(a) 207,848 71.00 +5.59%
Republican John MacGovern 72,898 24.90 -7.46%
Marijuana Cris Ericson 5,924 2.02 +1.36%
Liberty Union Pete Diamondstone 2,511 0.86 +0.55%
Peace and Prosperity Peter Moss 2,452 0.84 +0.26%
VoteKISS Laurel LaFramboise 877 0.30
No party Write-ins 252 0.09
Margin of victory 134,950 46.10 +13.06%
Turnout 292,762 63.47(b) +2.95%
Independent hold Swing

Note: The ±% column reflects the change in total number of votes won by each party or independent candidate.

Virginia

Virginia election

Turnout66.4% (voting eligible)[55]
 
Nominee Tim Kaine George Allen
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 2,010,067 1,785,542
Percentage 52.9% 47.0%

U.S. senator before election

Jim Webb
Democratic

Elected U.S. senator

Tim Kaine
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Jim Webb retired instead of running for re-election to a second term.[258] Former Governor of Virginia Tim Kaine was unopposed for the Democratic nomination[259] and the Republican party nominated former senator and Governor George Allen through a primary on June 12, 2012.[260] Kaine won the open seat.

Virginia Republican primary[261]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican George Allen 167,607 65.5
Republican Jamie Radtke 59,005 23.0
Republican Bob Marshall 17,302 6.8
Republican E.W. Jackson 12,083 4.7
Total votes 255,997 100.0

Once Democrat Jim Webb retired, many Democratic candidates were speculated. These included U.S. Congressmen Rick Boucher,[262] Gerry Connolly,[263] Glenn Nye,[264] Tom Perriello[265] and Bobby Scott.[266] However, they all declined and encouraged Kaine to run for the seat, believing he would be by far the most electable candidate. Courtney Lynch, former Marine Corps Officer and Fairfax business consultant[267] and Julien Modica, former CEO of the Brain Trauma Recovery & Policy Institute,[267] eventually withdrew from the election, allowing Kaine to be unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Virginia general election[268]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Tim Kaine 2,010,067 52.87 +3.28%
Republican George Allen 1,785,542 46.96 -2.24%
Write-ins 6,587 0.17 +0.07%
Majority 224,525 5.91 +5.52%
Turnout 3,802,196
Democratic hold Swing

Washington

Washington election

Turnout64.1% (voting eligible)[55]
 
Nominee Maria Cantwell Michael Baumgartner
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,855,493 1,213,924
Percentage 60.45% 39.55%

U.S. senator before election

Maria Cantwell
Democratic

Elected U.S. senator

Maria Cantwell
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Maria Cantwell won re-election to a third term in a landslide.

Washington blanket primary[269]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Maria Cantwell (Incumbent) 626,360 55.42
Republican Michael Baumgartner 344,729 30.50
Republican Art Coday 59,255 5.24
Democratic Timothy Wilson 26,850 2.38
Republican Chuck Jackson 21,870 1.94
Republican Glenn R. Stockwell 21,731 1.92
Republican Mike the Mover 16,459 1.46
Reform Will Baker 12,865 1.14
Total votes 1,130,119 100.00
Washington general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Maria Cantwell (Incumbent)[270] 1,855,493 60.45 +3.6%
Republican Michael Baumgartner 1,213,924 39.55 -0.38%
Majority 641,569 20.9
Turnout 3,069,417 82.22

West Virginia

West Virginia election

Turnout46.3% (voting eligible)[55]
 
Nominee Joe Manchin John Raese
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 394,532 237,825
Percentage 60.6% 36.5%

U.S. senator before election

Joe Manchin
Democratic

Elected U.S. senator

Joe Manchin
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Joe Manchin won re-election to a first full term.

Robert Byrd held this seat in the U.S. Senate since 1959, after having served in the House of Representatives since 1953, making him the longest-serving person in Congress. Byrd led his party in the Senate from 1977 to 1989, as Majority Leader or Minority Leader. Afterward, as the most senior Democrat in the Senate, he served as President pro tempore of the Senate whenever his party was in the majority, including at the time of his death. After Byrd's death, West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant initially announced that a special election would be held the same day as the regular election for the six-year term. However, that special election was rescheduled to 2010 for it to coincide with the 2010 mid-term elections. Governor Joe Manchin made a temporary appointment of Carte Goodwin to the vacant seat. Goodwin was later replaced by Manchin who won the 2010 special election.

West Virginia Democratic primary[271]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joe Manchin (Incumbent) 163,891 79.9
Democratic Sheirl Fletcher 41,118 20.1
Total votes 205,009 100

Raese filed a rematch against Manchin, arguing that he now had more material to criticize Manchin for. One example is how Manchin lost his long-time endorsement from West Virginians for Life because of his vote against defunding Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider.[272] Another example is how he is undecided about whether or not to support Obama's re-election campaign.[273] Senior Obama campaign advisor David Axelrod commented in response, "His concern is about his own political well-being."[274] In addition, he voted against U.S. Congressman Paul Ryan's Republican budget.[275]

Raese wrote an op-ed in the Charleston Gazette saying about Manchin, "Yes, he'll talk like a conservative and act like he's fiscally responsible to appeal to more moderate voters, but under that outward appearance of a lovable rube is the heart of a tax-and-spend liberal."[273]

Raese continued to make controversial statements. In April 2012, he equated smoking bans with Adolf Hitler's yellow badge. He said "in Monongalia County now, I have to put a huge sticker on my buildings to say this is a smoke-free environment. This is brought to you by the government of Monongalia County. Okay? Remember Hitler used to put Star of David on everybody's lapel, remember that? Same thing." That same day, he referred to President Franklin D. Roosevelt as "Fidel Roosevelt."[276] Raese didn't apologize for his statements on Hitler saying "I am not going to be intimidated by a bunch of bullshit. I'm not apologizing to anybody or any organization. It's my perfect right to make a speech about meaningful subject matters in this country."[277] He also called rocker Ted Nugent a "patriot" for criticizing President Barack Obama.[278]

West Virginia general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Joe Manchin 394,532 60.55 +7.08%
Republican John Raese 237,825 36.50 -6.90%
Mountain Bob Henry Baber 19,231 2.95 +1.03%
Margin of victory 156,707 24.05 +13.98%
Turnout 651,588 52.79 +9.21%
Democratic hold Swing

Note: The ±% column reflects the change in total number of votes won by each party from the previous (special) election. Neither the vote shares nor the turnout figure account for write-ins. Turnout percentage is the portion of registered voters (1,234,367 as of January 10, 2012)[279] who voted.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin election

Turnout72.5% (voting eligible)[55]
 
Nominee Tammy Baldwin Tommy Thompson
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,547,104 1,380,126
Percentage 51.4% 45.9%

U.S. senator before election

Herb Kohl
Democratic

Elected U.S. senator

Tammy Baldwin
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Herb Kohl retired instead of running for re-election to a fifth term. Democratic Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district ran unopposed for her party's nomination. The Republican nominee was former Governor of Wisconsin and former Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, who won with a plurality in a four-way race. In the general election, Baldwin defeated Thompson and won the open seat. She became the first woman elected to represent Wisconsin in the Senate and the first openly gay U.S. senator in history. This is also the first time Thompson lost a statewide race.

Democratic primary results[280]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tammy Baldwin 185,265 99.77
Democratic Write ins 424 0.23
Total votes 185,689 100
Wisconsin Republican primary[280]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Tommy Thompson 197,928 34.0
Republican Eric Hovde 179,557 30.8
Republican Mark Neumann 132,786 22.8
Republican Jeff Fitzgerald 71,871 12.3
Republican Write ins 244 0.04
Total votes 582,630 100
Wisconsin general election[281]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Tammy Baldwin 1,547,104 51.41 -15.9
Republican Tommy Thompson 1,380,126 45.86 +16.4
Libertarian Joseph Kexel 62,240 2.07 +2.1
Independent Nimrod Allen, III 16,455 0.55 n/a
Other Scattered 3,486 0.12 +0.1
Majority 166,978 5.55
Turnout 3,009,411 72.5
Democratic hold Swing

Wyoming

Wyoming election

Turnout58.9% (voting eligible)[55]
 
Nominee John Barrasso Tim Chesnut
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 184,531 52,596
Percentage 75.9% 21.6%

U.S. senator before election

John Barrasso
Republican

Elected U.S. senator

John Barrasso
Republican

Incumbent Republican John Barrasso won re-election to a first full term.

Republican state senator John Barrasso was appointed to the U.S. Senate on June 22, 2007, by then-governor Dave Freudenthal after U.S. senator Craig Thomas died on June 4, 2007.[282] John Barrasso defeated Nick Carter with 73.4% of the vote in the 2008 special U.S. senatorial election to serve the remainder of the senatorial term. Barrasso remained highly popular in the state with 69% of voters approving of him.[283]

Wyoming Republican primary[284]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican John Barrasso (Incumbent) 73,516 89.9
Republican Thomas Bleming 5,080 6.2
Republican Emmett Mavy 2,873 3.5
Republican Write-in 279 0.3
Total votes 81,748 100
Wyoming Democratic primary[284]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tim Chesnut 9,173 53.7
Democratic Al Hamburg 4,630 27.1
Democratic William Bryk 3,047 17.8
Democratic Write-in 222 1.3
Total votes 17,072 100
2012 United States Senate election in Wyoming
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican John Barrasso (Incumbent) 184,531 75.90 +2.55%
Democratic Tim Chesnut 52,596 21.60 -4.93%
Wyoming Country Joel Otto 6,138 2.60
Majority 131,935 54.30 +7.47%
Turnout 243,265
Republican hold Swing

See also

Notes

    1. Although Joe Lieberman (CT) was elected in 2006 on the Connecticut for Lieberman ticket, most sources (including himself) refer to him as an independent Democrat and he is included here as an independent.
    2. Both independents caucused with the Democrats.
    3. Appointee elected
    4. Officially, United States Marijuana Party in Vermont, which is not an affiliate of the United States Marijuana Party
    5. Virginia was the "tipping point" state.
    6. The Democrats include Independent Democrat Joe Lieberman, who ran and won as an independent in 2006 after losing the Connecticut Democratic primary, and Independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont, both of whom caucus with the Democratic Party.
    7. In Maine, independent Angus King did not declare until after the election which party he would caucus with. Roll Call described the race as Likely Independent. Sabato's Crystal Ball marked it as Leans Independent/Democratic. The Cook Political Report notes King's frontrunner status but without knowing his party, treated the race as a Tossup. RealClearPolitics found that King would be likely to caucus with the Democrats, coloring the map for an independent but putting the race in the Likely Democratic column. FiveThirtyEight stated it was more likely that King caucuses with the Democrats, while officially classifying the race as Likely Independent.

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