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2012 United States Senate election in California

The 2012 United States Senate election in California took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

The primary election on June 5 took place under California's new blanket primary law, 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 Democratic U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein announced her intention to run for a fourth full term in April 2011[2] and 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.

Feinstein ultimately defeated Emken in the general election on November 6, winning 62.5% of the vote to Emken's 37.5%. Feinstein's total of 7.86 million popular votes is the most ever received by a candidate for U.S. Senate in American history.[3] For a full decade, Emken was the only Republican candidate to have advanced to a general U.S. Senate election in California, as only Democratic candidates advanced to the general election in 2016 and 2018; however, this streak was broken in 2022.

Primary

Candidates

Democratic Party

Republican Party

Libertarian

Peace and Freedom

American Independent

Despite Don J. Grundmann running, the American Independent Party gave their party endorsement to Republican Robert Lauten.[14]

Polling

Open Primary

Results

Primary results by county:
  Feinstein >= 20%
  Feinstein >= 30%
  Feinstein >= 40%
  Feinstein >= 50%
  Feinstein >= 60%
  Feinstein >= 70%

Election contest

In July 2012, Taitz sued to block the certification of the primary election results, alleging "rampant election fraud", but her suit was denied.[16][17]

General election

Fundraising

Top contributors

Top industries

Candidates

Debates

No debates were scheduled. Senator Feinstein decided to focus on her own campaign rather than debate her challenger.[23][24]

Predictions

Polling

Results

Results by county

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

By congressional district

Feinstein won 41 of the 53 congressional districts, including three held by Republicans.[30]

See also

References

  1. ^ Dr. Michael McDonald (February 9, 2013). "2012 General Election Turnout Rates". George Mason University. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  2. ^ Marinucci, Carla (April 30, 2011). "US Sen. Dianne Feinstein on nuclear energy and her 2012 re-election: "My plan is to run"". San Francisco Chronicle Politics Blog. Archived from the original on January 22, 2012.
  3. ^ Mahtesian, Charles (November 26, 2012). "Feinstein's record: 7.3 million votes". POLITICO. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  4. ^ Reston, Maeve (October 25, 2010). "Feinstein hints she'll run again in 2012". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 13, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  5. ^ Milhalcik, Carrie. "Citizen candidate to challenge Dianne Feinstein in Senate race". Current TV. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  6. ^ Walker, Mark (December 1, 2011). "REGION: Ramona man running against Feinstein in 2012". North County Times. Archived from the original on September 7, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  7. ^ Van Oot, Torey (November 28, 2011). "Republican Elizabeth Emken to run against Sen. Dianne Feinstein". The Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on November 30, 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  8. ^ a b Richman, Josh (November 29, 2011). "Danville woman seeks GOP nod to take on Feinstein". Oakland Tribune. Contra Costa Times. Archived from the original on December 31, 2011. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  9. ^ Merl, Jean (February 6, 2012). "GOP businessman joins field challenging Sen. Dianne Feinstein". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  10. ^ Archibald, Ashley (January 28, 2012). "Santa Monican hopes to unseat Feinstein". Santa Monica Daily Press. Retrieved February 12, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ Surowski, Peter (May 18, 2011). "Rabbi Who Denounced Temecula Mosque Runs for Senate". Temecula Patch. Archived from the original on May 22, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  12. ^ "Orly Taitz Senate Campaign: 'Birther Queen' Running As GOP Candidate For U.S. Senate Seat In California". The Huffington Post. November 4, 2011. Archived from the original on November 7, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  13. ^ "Rick Williams for Senate". Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  14. ^ "Voter Information Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 28, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  15. ^ "Statement of Vote (June 5, 2012, Presidential Primary Election)" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 7, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  16. ^ Wisckol, Martin (July 12, 2012). "O.C. 'birther' sues to block primary election results". The Orange County Register. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012.
  17. ^ Wisckol, Martin (July 13, 2012). "O.C. 'birther' suit to block election results denied". The Orange County Register. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012.
  18. ^ Federal Election Commission. "2012 House and Senate Campaign Finance for California FEINSTEIN, DIANNE". fec.gov. Archived from the original on July 21, 2013.
  19. ^ Federal Election Commission. "2012 House and Senate Campaign Finance for California EMKEN, ELIZABETH". fec.gov. Archived from the original on July 21, 2013.
  20. ^ "Top Contributors 2012 Race: California Senate". OpenSecrets. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014.
  21. ^ "Top Industries 2012 Race: California Senate". OpenSecrets. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014.
  22. ^ "Elizabeth Emken". ElizabethEmken.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  23. ^ PaoloPhotoFilms (September 8, 2012). ""Feinstein Walks Out On Reporter", California US Senate debate". Archived from the original on January 12, 2018 – via YouTube.
  24. ^ "Sen. Feinstein explains decision not to debate". ocregister.com. November 1, 2012. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012.
  25. ^ "2012 Senate Race Ratings for November 1, 2012". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  26. ^ "2012 Senate". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  27. ^ "2012 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  28. ^ "2012 Elections Map - Battle for the Senate 2012". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  29. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on December 24, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  30. ^ "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts". Daily Kos. Retrieved August 11, 2020.

External links

Official campaign sites (Archived)