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West Virginia gubernatorial election, 2012
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| West Virginia gubernatorial election |
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May 8, 2012 |
November 6, 2012 |
| State executive official elections in 2012 |
The West Virginia gubernatorial election took place November 6, 2012. The primary election was held on May 8th.
Incumbent Earl Ray Tomblin won a special election in October 2011 to fill the remainder of Joe Manchin's unexpired term when Manchin won election to the U.S. Senate. In 2012, Tomblin ran for election to a four-year term of his own.
Heading into the May 8th primary election, he faced a familiar field: all four candidates in the race were also candidates in 2011. In the primary election, both Tomblin and Bill Maloney (R) won their respective primaries and faced off in the November 6th general election.[1]
Tomblin was favored, but Republican nominee Bill Maloney and the Republican Governors Association tried to link the incumbent to President Barack Obama (D) and the national Democratic party.[2]
Heading into the general election, the major candidates spent approximately $1.8 million on campaign spending between September 24, 2012, and October 21, 2012.[3]
Republican candidate Bill Maloney accounted for $1 million of that spending, with most of Maloney's money going towards toward TV ads.[3] Incumbent Earl Ray Tomblin spent $780,619 during the reporting period but reported raising more than $501,000, with just over half that coming from fundraising events.[3] Maloney raised $131,000 during the same period, and also loaned his campaign another $750,000, bringing his self-funding total to $1 million.[3]
Tomblin reported a $330,000 cash on hand two weeks before the election, while Maloney had under $90,000 in cash on hand.[3]
Background
Key dates
- Administrative deadlines were at close of business (5:00) unless otherwise noted.
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| Jan. 9 - Jan. 28 | Candidate filing period |
| Apr. 18 | Voter registration for primary election |
| May 8 | Primary election |
| Oct. 24 | Voter registration for general election |
| Nov. 6 | General election |
Race tracking
| 2011 Race Rankings - West Virginia Governor | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race Tracker | Race Rating | |||
| The Cook Political Report[4] | Lean Democratic | |||
| Governing Politics[5] | Leans Democrat | |||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball[6] | Leans Democrat | |||
| Rasmussen Reports Gubernatorial Scorecard[7] | No prediction yet | |||
| The Rothenberg Political Report[8] | Lean Democrat | |||
| Overall Call | Democrat | |||
Candidates
General election
Earl Ray Tomblin Incumbent
Bill Maloney
David Moran
Barbara Lynn Spurlock (Write-in)
Frankie Rocchetti (Write-in)
Phil Hudok (Write-in)
Jesse Johnson (Mountain Party)
| Governor of West Virginia General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Earl Ray Tomblin Incumbent |
50.4% | 284,758 | |
| Republican | Bill Maloney | 45.7% | 258,376 | |
| Mountain | Jesse Johnson | 2.6% | 14,614 | |
| Libertarian | David Moran | 1.4% | 7,653 | |
| Total Votes | 565,401 | |||
| Election results via West Virginia Secretary of State Election Results Center | ||||
Primary election
Democratic candidates
| Governor of West Virginia Democratic Primary, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| Earl Ray Tomblin |
84.4% | 170,481 | ||
| Arne Moltis | 15.6% | 31,587 | ||
| Total Votes | 202,068 | |||
| Election results via The West Virginia Secretary of State. | ||||
Republican candidates
| Governor of West Virginia Republican Primary, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| Bill Maloney |
83.5% | 86,925 | ||
| Ralph William Clark | 16.5% | 17,165 | ||
| Total Votes | 104,090 | |||
| Election results via The West Virginia Secretary of State. | ||||
Campaign finance
Due dates for reports
The Secretary of State administers campaign finance law and maintains all records online.
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For the primary election:
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For the general election:
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The year-end annual report for 2012 is due by April 5, 2013.
Candidates
Democrats
Earl Ray Tomblin
| Earl Ray Tomblin Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Cash Contributions | In-kind Contributions | (Expenditures) | ||||
| Primary - First Report[9] | April 6, 2012 | $0.00 | $1,044,664.00 | $815.40 | $(168,322.49) | ||||
| General-First Report[10] | September 28, 2012 | $1,237,004.69 | $312,633.69 | $7,677.66 | $(1,857,732.63) | ||||
| Pre-general report[11] | October 26, 2012 | $608,918.20 | $222,183.12 | $942.00 | $(780,618.67) | ||||
Arne Moltis
Arne Moltis submitted a Statement of Waiver for the First-Primary Reporting Period. To qualify for a waiver, a candidate must meet the following requirements:
- To waive the Annual Report or the Primary– First Report during an election year, the total of all financial transactions relating to an election may not exceed $500 during the reporting period. (West Virginia Code §3-8-5(b)(1))
- To waive the General- First Report, the total of all financial transactions relating to an election may not exceed $500 during the reporting period AND may not have any outstanding loans. (West Virginia Code §3-8-5(b)(4))[12]
Republicans
Bill Maloney
| Bill Maloney Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Cash Contributions | In-kind Contributions | (Expenditures) | ||||
| Primary - First Report[13]] | April 6, 2012 | $0.00 | $303,037.99 | $2,032.60 | $(37,418.14) | ||||
| General - First Report[14] | September 28, 2012 | $264,498.48 | $9,602.00 | $0.00 | $(1,045,614.93) | ||||
| Pre-general Report[15] | October 26, 2012 | $375,223.24 | $75,291.67 | $5,279.70 | $(829,588.43) | ||||
Ralph William Clark
| Ralph William Clark Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Cash Contributions | In-kind Contributions | (Expenditures) | ||||
| Primary - First Report[16]] | April 6, 2012 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $(4,736.81) | ||||
News
- West Virginia Democratic resolution puts Tomblin in awkward position June 15
- Tomblin, Maloney, Helmick and Hall advance to the general election in West Virginia May 8
- State executive primary preview: Five of West Virginia's six incumbents seek re-election May 7
- Tomblin leads fundraising efforts in race for West Virginia governor April 30
- By the numbers: Comparing West Virginia's gubernatorial candidates April 14
- Field is set for West Virginia's state executive primary elections January 31
Campaign sites and media
Campaign sites
See also
- Governor of West Virginia
- West Virginia state executive official elections, 2012
- West Virginia down ballot state executive elections, 2012
- State executive official elections, 2012
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ WDTV.com, "Tomblin, Maloney to face off again in November," May 8, 2012
- ↑ Huffington Post, " 2012 Governors' Races: Republicans Poised For Gains" accessed October 30, 2012
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 The State Journal, "Another $1.8M poured into WV governor's race" accessed October 30, 2012
- ↑ The Cook Political Report, “Governors: Race Ratings”
- ↑ Governing Politics, “The Final Handicapping of the 2012 Governors’ Races”, October 29, 2012
- ↑ Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball', “2011 Governor Ratings”
- ↑ Rasmussen Reports', “Election 2010: Scorecard Ratings”
- ↑ Rothenberg Political Report, “Governor Ratings”
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Primary - First report," accessed April 9, 2012
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "General First Report" accessed October 30, 2012
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Pre-general report" accessed October 30, 2012
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statement of Waiver - Arne Moltis," accessed April 9, 2012
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Primary - First report," accessed April 9, 2012
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "General-First Report" accessed October 30, 2012
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Pre-general" accessed October 30, 2012
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Primary - First report," accessed April 9, 2012
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