United States House of Representatives elections in Arkansas, 2012
 |
Arkansas's 2012 elections U.S. House • State Senate • State House • State ballot measures • Candidate ballot access |
 |
2014 →
|
 |
May 22, 2012 |
 |
The 2012 U.S. House of Representatives elections in Arkansas took place on November 6, 2012. Voters elected four candidates to serve in the U.S. House, one from each of the state's four congressional districts.
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: Arkansas has an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.
Voter registration: Voters had to register to vote in the primary by April 23. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 8.[1]
- See also: Arkansas elections, 2012
The Center for Voting and Democracy (Fairvote) projected that Democrats would win 0 districts while Republicans would win all four seats.[2]
Primary competitiveness
Arkansas was tied with Iowa for having the 36th most competitive congressional primaries in 2012, with 37.5% of major party primaries having been contested (3 out of 8). The national average was 54.31%.
Three U.S. House incumbents sought re-election in Arkansas in 2012. None of the three (0%) faced a primary challenger. Nationwide, 200 out of the 386 incumbents seeking re-election faced a primary challenger (51.81%).
Partisan breakdown
Heading into the November 6 election, the Republican Party held three of the four Congressional seats from Arkansas.
| Members of the U.S. House from Arkansas -- Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2012 | After the 2012 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 1 | 0 | |
| Republican Party | 3 | 4 | |
| Total | 4 | 4 | |
Incumbents
Heading into the 2012 election, the incumbents for the four congressional districts were:
| Name | Party | District |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Ross | 4 | |
| Rick Crawford | 1 | |
| Steve Womack | 3 | |
| Tim Griffin | 2 |
Margin of victory for winners
There were a total of 4 seats up for election in 2012 in Arkansas. The following table shows the margin of victory for each district winner, which is calculated by examining the percentage difference between the top-two vote getters. If the race was uncontested, the margin of victory is listed as 100%.
| District | Winner | Margin of Victory | Total Vote | Top Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas, District 1 | 17.1% | 246,843 | Scott Ellington | |
| Arkansas, District 2 | 15.7% | 286,598 | Herb Rule | |
| Arkansas, District 3 | 59.9% | 245,660 | Rebekah Kennedy | |
| Arkansas, District 4 | 22.8% | 258,953 | Gene Jeffress |
General election candidates
| District | General Election Candidates | Incumbent | 2012 Winner | Partisan Switch? |
| 1st | Rick Crawford | No | ||
| 2nd | Tim Griffin | No | ||
| 3rd | Steve Womack | No | ||
| 4th | Mike Ross | Yes |
Candidates
1st Congressional District
General election candidates
June 12, 2012, Democratic primary runoff
May 22, 2012, primary results
|
|
|
2nd Congressional District
General election candidates
May 22, 2012, primary results
|
|
|
3rd Congressional District
General election candidates
Steve Womack
Rebekah Kennedy
David Pangrac
- Note:
Ken Aden withdrew from the race.
May 22, 2012, primary results
Democratic Primary
|
|
4th Congressional District
General election candidates
June 12, 2012, Democratic primary runoff
May 22, 2012, primary results
|
|
|
Impact of redistricting
Congressman Mike Ross co-sponsored legislation which would require states to redraw boundaries by using an independent commission. Ross, the only Democratic Arkansas congressman, did not seek re-election in 2012. He said, "It used to be that we only did politics on even years and we'd actually make policy on odd years. Now we never make policy. It's politics 24-7 the entire two year term."[11]
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "2012 Election Calendar," accessed July 20, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ , "2011 Redistricting and 2012 Elections in Arkansas," September 2012
- ↑ "Rep. Clark Hall To Enter First District Congressional Race," TalkBusiness.net, October 16, 2011
- ↑ "First District Democrats Have Contested Primary," TalkBusiness.net, November 1, 2011
- ↑ "Rankin, Jeffress launch congressional bids in Ark.," RealClearPolitics.com, August 29, 2011
- ↑ Talkbusiness.net, "Greg Hale's Name Surfaces In Fourth District Congressional Race," January 18, 2012
- ↑ "In Ross's wake," ArkTimes.com, July 27, 2011
- ↑ Arkansas Times, " Another (armed)candidate for 4th District Congress," December 12, 2011
- ↑ "Rankin, Jeffress launch congressional bids in Ark.," RealClearPolitics.com, August 29, 2011
- ↑ "Rankin, Jeffress launch congressional bids in Ark.," RealClearPolitics.com, August 29, 2011
- ↑ The Republic, "Ross: Redistricting making Congress more partisan by creating fewer swing districts," August 10, 2012
