- Source: 2012 United States House of Representatives elections
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 6, 2012. It coincided with the reelection of President Barack Obama. Elections were held for all 435 seats representing the 50 U.S. states and also for the delegates from the District of Columbia and five major U.S. territories. The winners of this election cycle served in the 113th United States Congress. This was the first congressional election using districts drawn up based on the 2010 United States census.
Although Democratic candidates received a nationwide plurality of more than 1.4 million votes (1.1%) in the aggregated vote totals from all House elections, the Republican Party won a 33-seat advantage in seats, thus retaining its House majority by 17 seats. Democrats picked up 27 previously Republican-held seats, but most of these gains were canceled out due to Republican pick-ups of Democratic-held seats, and reapportionment gains that benefited Republicans, leaving the Democrats with a net gain of just eight seats.
This disparity — common in close elections involving single-member district (especially plurality) voting — has sometimes been attributed to targeted Republican gerrymandering in the congressional redistricting process following the 2010 United States Census. "Unintentional gerrymandering," — the high concentration of Democrats in urban centers—leading to "wasted votes" in districts that easily elected Democratic candidates, has also been cited as causing some of the efficiency gap. The GOP also benefited from having a greater number of incumbents, who tend to have an advantage in elections which may have helped Republicans win close elections for individual seats.
In the 20th century, the party with a plurality of the popular vote was unable to receive a majority in the House on four occasions- 1952 and 1996, in which the Republicans held a majority in the House. Meanwhile, the 1914 and 1942 elections were the last time that the Democrats won a majority in the House without winning the popular vote.
As of 2024, this is the last congressional election in which Democrats won a House seat in West Virginia.
Results summary
= Federal
== Per state
== Maps
=Retiring incumbents
Forty-one Representatives retired. Thirty-four of those seats were held by the same party, six seats changed party.
= Democrats
=Twenty-two Democrats retired. Fourteen of those seats were held by Democrats, five were won by Republicans, and three seats were eliminated in redistricting.
Democratic held
California 6: Lynn Woolsey, was succeeded by Jared Huffman (with district being renumbered as California 2).
California 51: Bob Filner, to run for mayor of San Diego, was succeeded by Juan Vargas.
Connecticut 5: Chris Murphy, to run for U.S. Senate, was succeeded by Elizabeth Esty.
Hawaii 2: Mazie Hirono, to run for U.S. Senate, was succeeded by Tulsi Gabbard.
Illinois 12: Jerry Costello, was succeeded by William Enyart.
Massachusetts 4: Barney Frank, was succeeded by Joseph P. Kennedy III.
Michigan 5: Dale Kildee, was succeeded by Dan Kildee.
Nevada 1: Shelley Berkley, to run for U.S. Senate, was succeeded by Dina Titus.
New Mexico 1: Martin Heinrich, to run for U.S. Senate, was succeeded by Michelle Lujan Grisham.
New York 5: Gary Ackerman, was succeeded by Grace Meng (with district being renumbered as New York 6).
New York 10: Edolphus Towns, was succeeded by Hakeem Jeffries (with district being renumbered as New York 8).
Texas 20: Charlie Gonzalez, was succeeded by Joaquín Castro.
Washington 6: Norm Dicks, was succeeded by Derek Kilmer.
Wisconsin 2: Tammy Baldwin, to run for U.S. Senate, was succeeded by Mark Pocan.
Republican gain
Arkansas 4: Mike Ross, was succeeded by Tom Cotton.
Indiana 2: Joe Donnelly, to run for U.S. Senate, was succeeded by Jackie Walorski.
North Carolina 11: Heath Shuler, was succeeded by Mark Meadows.
North Carolina 13: Brad Miller, was succeeded by George Holding.
Oklahoma 2: Dan Boren, was succeeded by Markwayne Mullin.
Seats eliminated in redistricting
California 18: Dennis Cardoza.
Massachusetts 1: John Olver.
New York 22: Maurice Hinchey.
= Republicans
=Nineteen Republicans retired. Fifteen of those seats were held by Republicans, one was won by a Democrat, and three seats were eliminated in redistricting.
Republican held
Arizona 6: Jeff Flake, to run for U.S. Senate, was succeeded by Matt Salmon (with district being renumbered as Arizona 5).
California 2: Wally Herger, was succeeded by Doug LaMalfa (with district being renumbered as California 1).
California 41: Jerry Lewis, was succeeded by Paul Cook (with district being renumbered as California 8).
Florida 14: Connie Mack IV, to run for U.S. Senate, was succeeded by Trey Radel (with district being renumbered as Florida 19).
Illinois 15: Tim Johnson, was succeeded by Rodney L. Davis (with district being renumbered as Illinois 13).
Indiana 5: Dan Burton, was succeeded by Susan Brooks.
Indiana 6: Mike Pence, to run for Governor of Indiana, was succeeded by Luke Messer.
Missouri 2: Todd Akin, to run for U.S. Senate, was succeeded by Ann Wagner.
Michigan 11: Thaddeus McCotter: failed to make the ballot for renomination due to fraudulent signatures, was succeeded by Kerry Bentivolio.
Montana at-large: Denny Rehberg, to run for U.S. Senate, was succeeded by Steve Daines.
North Carolina 9: Sue Myrick, was succeeded by Robert Pittenger.
North Dakota at-large: Rick Berg, to run for U.S. Senate, was succeeded by Kevin Cramer.
Ohio 14: Steve LaTourette, was succeeded by David Joyce.
Pennsylvania 19: Todd Russell Platts, was succeeded by Scott Perry (with district being renumbered as Pennsylvania 4).
Texas 14: Ron Paul, to run for U.S. President, was succeeded by Randy Weber.
Democratic gain
California 24: Elton Gallegly, was succeeded by Julia Brownley (with district being renumbered as California 26).
Seats eliminated in redistricting
California 26: David Dreier.
New York 9: Bob Turner, who ran for U.S. Senate.
Ohio 7: Steve Austria.
Incumbents defeated
As a result of redistricting, many incumbents were forced to compete against each other in the same district, which resulted in a larger number of incumbents being defeated in primaries.
= In primary elections
=Thirteen representatives lost renomination: Eight were lost in redistricting battles pitting incumbents against each other, and five incumbents lost nomination to non-incumbent challengers.
Democrats
Seven Democrats lost renomination: five in redistricting and two to a non-incumbent challenger.
= Seat held by a Democrat =
These primary winners later won the general election.
Michigan 14: Hansen Clarke lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent Gary Peters
Missouri 1: Russ Carnahan lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent Lacy Clay
New Jersey 9: Steve Rothman lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent Bill Pascrell
Ohio 9: Dennis Kucinich lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent Marcy Kaptur
Pennsylvania 17: Tim Holden lost to challenger Matt Cartwright
Texas 16: Silvestre Reyes lost to challenger Beto O'Rourke
= Seat lost to a Republican =
Pennsylvania 12: Jason Altmire lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent Mark Critz, who later lost the general election
Republicans
Six Republicans lost renomination: three in redistricting races and three to a non-incumbent challenger. All the seats were held by Republicans.
Arizona 6: Ben Quayle lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent David Schweikert
Florida 3: Cliff Stearns lost to challenger Ted Yoho
Florida 7: Sandy Adams lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent John Mica
Illinois 16: Don Manzullo lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent Adam Kinzinger
Ohio 2: Jean Schmidt lost to challenger Brad Wenstrup
Oklahoma 1: John Sullivan lost to challenger Jim Bridenstine
= In general elections
=Democrats
Ten incumbent Democrats lost re-election; four to fellow Democrats and six to Republicans. Four losses were in California: two due to redistricting putting two incumbents together (resulting in a net loss of two for the Democrats) and two due to the state's top two primary. Two incumbents outside of California lost to Republican incumbents after being redistricted to the same district.
= Seat held by a Democrat =
California 15: Pete Stark lost to Eric Swalwell
California 30: Howard Berman lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent Brad Sherman
California 35: Joe Baca lost to Gloria Negrete McLeod
California 44: Laura Richardson lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent Janice Hahn
= Seat lost to a Republican incumbent =
Iowa 3: Leonard Boswell lost a redistricting race to Tom Latham
Ohio 16: Betty Sutton lost a redistricting race to Jim Renacci
= Seat lost to a Republican challenger =
Kentucky 6: Ben Chandler lost to Andy Barr.
New York 27: Kathy Hochul lost to Chris Collins.
North Carolina 8: Larry Kissell lost to Richard Hudson.
Pennsylvania 12: Mark Critz lost to Keith Rothfus.
Republicans
Seventeen incumbent Republicans lost re-election.
= Seat held by a Republican =
One incumbent Republican lost re-election to a fellow incumbent Republican.
Louisiana 3: Jeff Landry lost to Charles Boustany
= Seat lost to a Democratic challenger =
Sixteen incumbent Republicans, ten of whom were first elected in 2010, lost re-election to Democrats.
California 7: Dan Lungren lost to Ami Bera.
California 36: Mary Bono Mack lost to Raul Ruiz.
California 52: Brian Bilbray lost to Scott Peters.
Florida 18: Allen West lost to Patrick Murphy.
Florida 26: David Rivera lost to Joe Garcia.
Illinois 8: Joe Walsh lost to Tammy Duckworth.
Illinois 10: Robert Dold lost to Brad Schneider.
Illinois 11: Judy Biggert lost to Bill Foster.
Illinois 17: Bobby Schilling lost to Cheri Bustos.
Maryland 6: Roscoe Bartlett lost to John K. Delaney.
Minnesota 8: Chip Cravaack lost to Rick Nolan.
New Hampshire 1: Frank Guinta lost to Carol Shea-Porter.
New Hampshire 2: Charles Bass lost to Ann Kuster.
New York 18: Nan Hayworth lost to Sean Patrick Maloney.
New York 24: Ann Marie Buerkle lost to Dan Maffei.
Texas 23: Quico Canseco lost to Pete Gallego.
Reapportionment
The 2010 United States census determined how many of the 435 congressional districts each state receives for the 2010 redistricting cycle. Due to population shifts, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania each lost one seat; and New York and Ohio each lost two seats. Conversely, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah, and Washington each gained one seat; Florida gained two seats; and Texas gained four seats.
Newly created seats
Of the 435 districts created in the 2010 redistricting, nineteen had no incumbent representative.
Closest races
Sixty-four races were decided by 10% or lower.
Election ratings
Special elections
There were six special elections in 2012. Winners would have a seniority advantage over other freshmen. Two elections were held separate from the November elections and four elections were held concurrent with the November elections.
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arizona gained one seat in reapportionment. A second open seat was created when a pair of Republicans were redistricted into the same district. Primary elections were August 28, 2012.
Arkansas
California
California retained its fifty-three seats: four new seats were created when four pairs of Representatives were redistricted to run against each other. An additional Republican incumbent, Gary Miller, won re-election in an entirely different district from the one he had previously represented. The election featured the first use of the top-two primary system in which primary elections list candidates from all parties on one ballot, and the top two vote-getters advance to the general election. Two elections (30th and 44th districts) featured two Democratic incumbents running against each other.
Colorado
Connecticut
Primary elections were held August 14, 2012.
Delaware
Florida
Florida gained two seats in reapportionment. As a result of the Fair Districts Amendment, approved by voters via referendum in 2010, the legislature could not take incumbency into account in drawing the lines. As a result, two incumbent Republicans, John Mica and Sandy Adams, were drawn into the same district, creating a third new seat.
Georgia
Georgia gained one seat in reapportionment.
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Illinois lost one seat in reapportionment, forcing a pair of incumbent Republicans into the same district.
Indiana
Iowa
Iowa lost one seat in reapportionment, forcing a pair of incumbents, a Democrat and a Republican, into the same district.
Kansas
Primary elections were held August 7, 2012.
Kentucky
Louisiana
Louisiana lost one seat in reapportionment, forcing a pair of incumbent Republicans into the same district.
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Massachusetts lost one seat in reapportionment, forcing a pair of incumbent Democrats into the same district, although one, John Olver, retired in advance of the legislature's approval of new maps. Primary elections were held September 6, 2012.
Michigan
Michigan lost one seat in reapportionment, forcing a pair of Democrats into the same district. Primary elections were held August 7, 2012.
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Missouri lost one seat in reapportionment; two Democrats were drawn into the same district as a result. Primary elections were held August 7, 2012.
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
Nevada gained one seat in reapportionment.
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Jersey lost one seat in reapportionment, forcing two incumbent Democrats into the same district.
New Mexico
New York
New York lost two seats in reapportionment. After the legislature failed to reach agreement, New York conducted its 2012 congressional elections under a map drawn by a federal magistrate judge. Two incumbent Representatives saw their districts eliminated; one, Maurice Hinchey, chose to retire, while the other, Bob Turner, chose to run for the U.S. Senate. A third incumbent impacted by redistricting, Gary Ackerman, chose to retire, creating an open seat.
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Ohio lost two seats in reapportionment. Three pairs of incumbents were redistricted together, and one new seat was created.
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania lost one seat in reapportionment, forcing two incumbent Democrats to run against each other, with the seat ultimately being won by a Republican challenger in November.
Rhode Island
The primary election was held September 11, 2012.
South Carolina
South Carolina gained one seat in reapportionment.
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Texas gained four seats in reapportionment. After the initial redistricting map drawn by the Texas Legislature was denied pre-clearance by a federal district court under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, Texas conducted its 2012 congressional elections under a court-ordered interim map.
Utah
Utah gained one seat in reapportionment.
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
Washington gained one seat in reapportionment. Primary elections were held August 7, 2012.
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Non-voting delegates
Puerto Rico's Resident Commissioner is elected to a four-year term during U.S. presidential election years. It is the only seat in the House elected for a four-year term.
See also
2012 United States elections
2012 United States gubernatorial elections
2012 United States presidential election
2012 United States Senate elections
112th United States Congress
113th United States Congress
Footnotes
References
Further reading
Foreman, Sean D., and Robert Dewhirst, eds. Roads to Congress, 2012 (Lexington Books; 2013) 326 pages; covers the 2012 Congressional races, as well as campaign finance, redistricting, and "voter suppression" laws.
External links
Candidates for U.S. Congress Archived November 25, 2010, at the Wayback Machine at Project Vote Smart
U.S. House of Representatives from OurCampaigns.com
Congressional Races in 2012 from Open Secrets (campaign contributions)
"Casualty List: 112th Congress (2011–2012)". Roll Call. Retrieved March 20, 2012.
U.S. House of Representatives Elections in 2012 from Ballotpedia
The Cook Political Report PVI Scores
Race ratings
Ratings from The Cook Political Report
Ratings at The New York Times
Ratings from Real Clear Politics
Ratings from Roll Call
Ratings at Sabato
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