Georgia State Senate elections, 2012

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Georgia State Senate elections, 2012

Majority control • Campaign contributions

Qualifications • Impact of Redistricting

State Legislative Election Results

List of candidates District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12 • District 13 • District 14 • District 15 • District 16 • District 17 • District 18 • District 19 • District 20 • District 21 • District 22• District 23 • District 24 • District 25 • District 26 • District 27 • District 28 • District 29 • District 30 • District 31 • District 32• District 33 • District 34 • District 35 • District 36 • District 37 • District 38 • District 39 • District 40 • District 41 • District 42• District 43 • District 44 • District 45 • District 46 • District 47 • District 48 • District 49 • District 50 • District 51 • District 52• District 53 • District 54 • District 55 • District 56

Georgia State Senate • 2012 Georgia House Elections

State legislative elections in 2012

Elections for the office of Georgia State Senate were held in Georgia on November 6, 2012. A total of 56 seats were up for election.

The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was May 25, 2012. The primary Election Day was July 31, 2012. The primary runoff took place on August 21, 2012.

See also: Georgia House of Representatives elections, 2012 and State legislative elections, 2012

Majority control

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Heading into the November 6 election, the Republican Party held the majority in the Georgia State Senate:

Georgia State Senate
Party		As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	20	18
	Republican Party	36	38
Total		56	56

Incumbents retiring

A total of two incumbents did not run for re-election in 2012. Those incumbents were:

Name	Party	Current Office
Greg Goggans	Republican	Senate District 7
George Hooks	Democratic	Senate District 14

Campaign contributions

See also: State-by-state comparison of donations to state senate campaigns

This chart shows how many candidates ran for state senate in Georgia in past years and the cumulative amount of campaign contributions in state house races, including contributions in both primary and general election contests. All figures come from Follow The Money.

Year	Number of candidates	Total contributions
2010	110	$8,052,144
2008	96	$6,636,658
2006	96	$9,986,678
2004	154	$14,444,473
2002	119	$11,060,487

In 2010, the total amount of contributions raised in senate campaigns was $8,052,144. The top 10 donors were:

Donor	Amount
Sibold, James	$156,212
Miller, Butch	$120,000
Albers, John	$103,701
Georgia Trial Lawyers Association	$88,350
Georgia Dental Association	$65,950
Georgia Association of Realtors	$64,550
Blank (Uncoded)	$50,514
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia	$49,550
Independend Insurance Agents of Georgia	$48,350
Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals	$46,000

Map of Georgia Senate Districts with less than 10% party registration differential before and after the 2010 redistricting. A total of 5 legislative districts meet the criteria before and after 2010.

Impact of redistricting

See also: Redistricting in Georgia

The Georgia General Assembly is responsible for redistricting in the state, with the Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Committee responsible for redistricting in the House and Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee responsible for redistricting in the Senate. Georgia must submit its plans to the federal government for Voting Rights Act approval.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Georgia's population increased from 8.19 million in 2000 to 9.69 million in 2010. Most of the population in 2010 was in the northern portion of the state, centered around the Atlanta metropolitan area. The population represented by each Georgia State Senator rose to 173,000, and the population represented by each House member rose to 53,800.

Both chambers of the General Assembly passed their respective maps on August 18, 2012, and concurred with each other's on August 23. Governor Nathan Deal signed the maps into law on August 24, and—as required by the Voting Rights Act—the U.S. Department of Justice pre-cleared them on December 23.

In Georgia, there were five state senate districts where the partisan registration of Democratic and Republican voters was less than 10 percentage points apart. These districts would be considered "competitive" when looked at strictly with respect to vote party affiliation. The five districts in Georgia were districts 5, 7, 13, 20, and 23.

Qualifications

Paragraph 3 of Section 2 of Article 3 of the Georgia Constitution states, "At the time of their election, the members of the Senate shall be citizens of the United States, shall be at least 25 years of age, shall have been citizens of this state for at least two years, and shall have been legal residents of the territory embraced within the district from which elected for at least one year."

Noteworthy events

Department of Justice sues over voting deadlines

On June 29, 2012, the Department of Justice filed a suit in federal court against the state of Georgia, alleging that service members, their family members and overseas civilian voters wouldn't have time to vote by absentee ballot in runoff elections, if they were required. According to the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (dead link) (UOCAVA), states must transmit all validly requested ballots to UOCAVA voters at least 45 days before an election, unless a hardship exemption is obtained, for which Georgia failed to file. However, this conflicts with the timeline for runoff elections, in which the primary runoff, by law, must be held 21 days after the regular or special primary election, and if a runoff is required after the Nov. 6 general election, it would be held 28 days later, on December 4, which also wouldn’t provide the required 45 days.

As part of the lawsuit, the Department of Justice asked Georgia to "extend the ballot receipt deadline to Aug. 31 for these voters, to send ballots by express delivery as soon as possible before the Aug. 21 runoff election, and inform UOCAVA voters no later than July 7 of their right to request a state write-in absentee ballot or their official absentee ballot for any runoff election by downloading it from the Internet, by email, or by fax."

List of candidates

District 1

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Earl "Buddy" Carter: 10,631 a Incumbent Carter first assumed office in 2009.

November 6 General election candidates:

Earl "Buddy" Carter: 51,329

District 2

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Lester Jackson: 12,101 a Incumbent Jackson first assumed office in 2009.

July 31 GOP primary:

• No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Lester Jackson: 51,329

District 3

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• William Ligon: 19,854 a Incumbent Ligon first assumed office in 2011.

November 6 General election candidates:

William Ligon: 50,088

District 4

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Jack Hill: 14,619 a Incumbent Hill first assumed office in 1991.

November 6 General election candidates:

Jack Hill: 48,118

District 5

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Curt Thompson: 2,977 a Incumbent Thompson first assumed office in 2005.

July 31 GOP primary:

Note: Garry Guan withdrew from the race in July of 2012. His name appeared on the official list of general election candidates.

November 6 General election candidates:

Curt Thompson: 31,256

Note: Guan's name appeared on the official list of candidates, but did not appear on the ballot.

District 6

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Doug Stoner: 5,694 a Incumbent Stoner first assumed office in 2005.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Josh Belinfante: 4,909
• Drew Ellenburg: 3,201
• Hunter Hill: 8,987 a

November 6 General election candidates:

Doug Stoner: 33,607

Hunter Hill: 37,628

District 7

Note: Incumbent Greg Goggans (R) did not run for re-election.

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Gene Mitchell: 4,544 a

July 31 GOP primary:

• Tyler Harper: 14,862 a
• Mark Hatfield: 6,875
• Rodney Vickers: 1,852

November 6 General election candidates:

Gene Mitchell: 15,961

Tyler Harper: 40,111

District 8

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Bikram Mohanty: 5,361 a

July 31 GOP primary:

• Tim Golden: 13,175 a Incumbent Golden first assumed office in 1999.

November 6 General election candidates:

Bikram Mohanty: 22,320

Tim Golden: 36,479

District 9

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Scott Drake: 4,124 a

July 31 GOP primary:

• Travis Bowden: 3,951
• Steve Ramey: 4,404
• Don Balfour: 14,083 a Incumbent Balfour first assumed office in 1993.

November 6 General election candidates:

Scott Drake: 28,713

Don Balfour: 46,464

District 10

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Emanuel Jones: 17,929 a Incumbent Jones first assumed office in 2005.

July 31 GOP primary:

• No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Emanuel Jones: 69,386

District 11

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• John Bulloch: 10,117 a Incumbent Bulloch first assumed office in 2003.

November 6 General election candidates:

John Bulloch: 46,900

Note: John Bulloch represented the 11th District from 2003 until his resignation on December 6, 2012. Bulloch had been re-elected just a month prior.

District 12

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Freddie Sims: 18,844 a Incumbent Sims first assumed office in 2009.

July 31 GOP primary:

• No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Freddie Sims: 53,093

District 13

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• John Crosby: 17,916 a Incumbent Crosby first assumed office in 2009.

November 6 General election candidates:

John Crosby: 45,848

District 14

Note: Incumbent George Hooks did not run for re-election.

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Barry Loudermilk: 20,458 a Incumbent Loudermilk first assumed office in 2011.

November 6 General election candidates:

Barry Loudermilk: 54,871

District 15

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Ed Harbison: 13,449 a Incumbent Harbison first assumed office in 1993.
• Reginald Pugh: 4,874

July 31 GOP primary:

• David Brown: 2,678 a

November 6 General election candidates:

Ed Harbison: 40,245

David Brown: 13,637

District 16

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Ronnie Chance: 23,877 a Incumbent Chance first assumed office in 2005.

November 6 General election candidates:

Ronnie Chance: 62,365

District 17

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Nelva Lee: 5,308 a

July 31 GOP primary:

• Rick Jeffares: 18,691 a Incumbent Jeffares first assumed office in 2011.

November 6 General election candidates:

Nelva Lee: 27,929

Rick Jeffares: 47,069

District 18

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Spencer Price: 10,324
• Cecil Staton: 10,527 a - Incumbent Staton first assumed office in 2005.

November 6 General election candidates:

Cecil Staton: 57,470

District 19

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Tommie Williams: 14,148 a Incumbent Williams first assumed office in 1999.

November 6 General election candidates:

Tommie Williams: 41,457

District 20

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Ross Tolleson: 13,969 a Incumbent Tolleson first assumed office in 2005.

November 6 General election candidates:

Ross Tolleson: 54,196

District 21

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Brandon Beach: 12,269
• Chip Rogers: 17,659 a Incumbent Rogers first assumed office in 2005.

November 6 General election candidates:

Chip Rogers: 66,429

Note: Chip Rogers resigned on December 5, 2012 in order to take a job with Georgia Public Broadcasting.

District 22

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Hardie Davis: 17,310 a Incumbent Davis first assumed office in 2010.

July 31 GOP primary:

• No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Hardie Davis: 54,024

District 23

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Robert Ingham: 12,891 a

July 31 GOP primary:

• Jesse Stone: 10,037 a Incumbent Stone first assumed office in 2011.

November 6 General election candidates:

Robert Ingham: 26,922

Jesse Stone: 39,516

District 24

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• William Jackson: 21,916 a Incumbent Jackson first assumed office in 2007.

November 6 General election candidates:

William Jackson: 61,439

District 25

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Darrell Black: 5,981 a

July 31 GOP primary:

• Johnny Grant: 11,216 - Incumbent Grant first assumed office in 2005.
• Burt Jones: 12,487 a

Note:Robert Kent did not appear on the final candidate list.

November 6 General election candidates:

Darrell Black: 25,542

Burt Jones: 44,825

District 26

July 31 Democratic primary:

• David E. Lucas, Sr.: 12,589 a (advanced to runoff)
• Irvin Martinez: 1,327
• Miriam Paris: 11,655 a (advanced to runoff) Incumbent Paris first assumed office in 2011.

August 21 Democratic primary runoff:

• David E. Lucas, Sr.a
• Miriam Paris

July 31 GOP primary:

• Bobby Gale: 3,645 a

November 6 General election candidates:

David E. Lucas: 42,670

Bobby Gale: 19,809

District 27

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Steve Voshall: 13,177
• Jack Murphy: 13,290 a Incumbent Murphy first assumed office in 2007.

November 6 General election candidates:

Jack Murphy: 69,154

District 28

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Mike Crane: 19,989 a Incumbent Crane first assumed office in 2011.

November 6 General election candidates:

Mike Crane: 60,129

District 29

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Joshua McKoon: 15,157 a Incumbent McKoon first assumed office in 2011.

November 6 General election candidates:

Joshua McKoon: 56,560

District 30

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Bill Hamrick: 17,437 a Incumbent Hamrick first assumed office in 2000.

November 6 General election candidates: Note: Incumbent Bill Hamrick resigned from his seat after the primary election in order to serve as a Superior Court Judge. A special Republican primary election was held on November 6, 2012 for District 30.

November 6 Special Republican Primary election

Mike Dugan 13,862

Bill Hembree: 27,591

Jim Naughton: 7,055

Glenn Richardson: 8,487

December 4 Special Republican Primary runoff election

Mike Dugan

Bill Hembree

January 8 Special election candidates

Mike Dugan

James Camp

District 31

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Bill Carruth: 9,158 a (advanced to runoff)
• J.K. Rogers: 3,028
• Bill Heath: 10,071 a (advanced to runoff) Incumbent Heath first assumed office in 2005.

August 21 Republican primary runoff:

• Bill Carruth
• Bill Heatha

November 6 General election candidates:

Bill Heath: 51,950

District 32

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Judson Hill: 26,114 a Incumbent Hill first assumed office in 2005.

November 6 General election candidates:

Judson Hill: 73,560

District 33

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Steve Thompson: 6,773 a Incumbent Thompson first assumed office in 1991.

July 31 GOP primary:

• No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Steve Thompson: 50,384

District 34

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Valencia Seay: 13,575 a Incumbent Seay first assumed office in 2003.

July 31 GOP primary:

• No candidates filed.

Independent candidates:

• Sherry Mallory

Note: Mallory did not appear on the official list of general election candidates.

November 6 General election candidates:

Valencia Seay: 54,012

District 35

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Donzella James: 10,293 a Incumbent James first assumed office in 2009.
• Detrius Hill Jones: 1,661
• Cory J. Lynch: 1,811

July 31 GOP primary:

Note: Benjamin Brooks was disqualified on the morning of the primary for not meeting residency requirements.

November 6 General election candidates:

Donzella James: 59,430

District 36

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Nan Orrock: 13,960 a Incumbent Orrock first assumed office in 2007.

July 31 GOP primary:

• No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Nan Orrock: 56,998

District 37

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Lindsey Tippins: 19,921 a Incumbent Tippins first assumed office in 2011.

November 6 General election candidates:

Lindsey Tippins: 64,107

District 38

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Reginald Crossley: 4,445
• Horacena Tate: 15,029 a Incumbent Tate first assumed office in 1999.

July 31 GOP primary:

• No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Horacena Tate: 61,738

District 39

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Vincent Fort: 16,508 a Incumbent Fort first assumed office in 1997.

July 31 GOP primary:

• No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Vincent Fort: 60,843

District 40

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Fran Millar: 15,576 a Incumbent Millar first assumed office in 2011.

November 6 General election candidates:

Fran Millar: 51,614

District 41

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Steve Henson: 10,372 a Incumbent Henson first assumed office in 2003.

July 31 GOP primary:

• No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Steve Henson: 49,740

District 42

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Jason Carter: 17,186 a Incumbent Carter first assumed office in 2010.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Kenneth Brett Quarterman: 5,763 a

November 6 General election candidates:

Jason Carter: 52,643

Kenneth Brett Quarterman: 18,505

District 43

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Ronald Ramsey: 13,638 a Incumbent Ramsey first assumed office in 2007.

July 31 GOP primary:

• No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Ronald Ramsey: 59,411

District 44

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Gail Buckner: 10,454(Advance to runoff)
• Marcus E. Davis: 2,285
• Gail Davenport: 11,979 - Incumbent Davenport first assumed office in 2011.(Advance to runoff)

August 21 Democratic primary runoff:

• Gail Buckner
• Gail Davenporta

July 31 GOP primary:

• No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Gail Davenport: 65,135

District 45

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Renee Unterman: 15,273 a Incumbent Unterman first assumed office in 2003.

November 6 General election candidates:

Renee Unterman: 56,285

District 46

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Bill Cowsert: 21,414 a Incumbent Cowsert first assumed office in 2007.

November 6 General election candidates:

Bill Cowsert: 53,998

District 47

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Tim Riley: 3,217 a

July 31 GOP primary:

• Daniel "Danny" Yearwood: 6,414
• Frank Ginn: 13,680 a Incumbent Ginn first assumed office in 2011.

November 6 General election candidates:

Tim Riley: 20,073

Frank Ginn: 41,549

District 48

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• David Shafer: 10,101 a Incumbent Shafer first assumed office in 2002.

November 6 General election candidates:

David Shafer: 45,004

District 49

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Butch Miller: 21,530 a Incumbent Miller first assumed office in 2010.

November 6 General election candidates:

Butch Miller: 50,628

District 50

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• John Wilkinson: 25,824 a Incumbent Wilkinson first assumed office in 2011.

November 6 General election candidates:

John Wilkinson: 52,667

District 51

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Steve Gooch: 26,493 a Incumbent Gooch first assumed office in 2011.

November 6 General election candidates:

Steve Gooch: 60,498

District 52

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Hayden Collins: 2,867
• S. David Doss: 5,520
• Chuck Hufstetler: 10,156 a

November 6 General election candidates:

Chuck Hufstetler: 46,825

District 53

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Jeff Mullis: 18,734 a Incumbent Mullis first assumed office in 2001.

November 6 General election candidates:

Jeff Mullis: 48,535

District 54

July 31 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

July 31 GOP primary:

• Charlie Bethel: 15,538 a Incumbent Bethel first assumed office in 2011.

November 6 General election candidates:

Charlie Bethel: 39,819

District 55

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Gloria Butler: 13,344 a Incumbent Butler first assumed office in 1999.
• Mark Williams: 3,573

July 31 GOP primary:

• No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Gloria Butler: 65,796

District 56

July 31 Democratic primary:

• Akhtar Sadiq: 3,739 a

July 31 GOP primary:

• John Albers: 13,581 a Incumbent Albers first assumed office in 2011.

November 6 General election candidates:

Akhtar Sadiq: 23,438

John Albers: 48,145

See also

• Georgia State Senate
• Georgia State Legislature
• State legislative elections, 2012

External links

• Georgia Secretary of State - Official Primary Results
• Georgia Secretary of State - List of 2012 General Election Candidates
• Georgia Secretary of State - Official General Election Results

Footnotes

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Current members of the Georgia State Senate

Leadership

Majority Leader:Jason Anavitarte

Minority Leader:Harold Jones

Senators

District 1

Ben Watson (R)

District 2

Derek Mallow (D)

District 3

Mike Hodges (R)

District 4

Billy Hickman (R)

District 5

Sheikh Rahman (D)

District 6

Matt Brass (R)

District 7

Nabilah Islam Parkes (D)

District 8

Russ Goodman (R)

District 9

Nikki Merritt (D)

District 10

Emanuel Jones (D)

District 11

Sam Watson (R)

District 12

Freddie Sims (D)

District 13

Carden Summers (R)

District 14

Josh McLaurin (D)

District 15

Ed Harbison (D)

District 16

Marty Harbin (R)

District 17

Gail Davenport (D)

District 18

John Kennedy (R)

District 19

Blake Tillery (R)

District 20

Larry Walker (R)

District 21

Vacant

District 22

Harold Jones (D)

District 23

Max Burns (R)

District 24

Lee Anderson (R)

District 25

Ricky Williams (R)

District 26

David Lucas (D)

District 27

Greg Dolezal (R)

District 28

Donzella James (D)

District 29

Randy Robertson (R)

District 30

Tim Bearden (R)

District 31

Jason Anavitarte (R)

District 32

Kay Kirkpatrick (R)

District 33

Michael Rhett (D)

District 34

Kenya Wicks (D)

District 35

Vacant

District 36

Nan Orrock (D)

District 37

Ed Setzler (R)

District 38

Rashaun Kemp (D)

District 39

Sonya Halpern (D)

District 40

Sally Harrell (D)

District 41

Kim Jackson (D)

District 42

Brian Strickland (R)

District 43

Tonya Anderson (D)

District 44

Elena Parent (D)

District 45

Clint Dixon (R)

District 46

Bill Cowsert (R)

District 47

Frank Ginn (R)

District 48

Shawn Still (R)

District 49

Drew Echols (R)

District 50

Bo Hatchett (R)

District 51

Steve Gooch (R)

District 52

Chuck Hufstetler (R)

District 53

Colton Moore (R)

District 54

Chuck Payne (R)

District 55

Randal Mangham (D)

District 56

John Albers (R)

Republican Party (32)

Democratic Party (22)

Vacancies (2)