Judicial elections, 2012

Overview

The 2012 Judicial Elections page is your destination for information on judicial elections in 2012. On this page, you can find links to every state's 2012 elections page on Ballotpedia, archives of our JP Election Brief weekly, state Supreme Court races, and general information on judicial elections in the states.

Collective wisdom says that voters are uninterested in judicial elections. We believe that anyone has the potential to join in the democratic process. For that reason, we strive to provide comprehensive, unbiased coverage of candidates running for judicial offices.

Our coverage

• In thirteen states, we made it a goal to provide coverage from the filing deadline to the oath of office. Those states are: Wisconsin, Ohio, Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina, Idaho, Oregon, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Tennessee, Michigan, and Florida.
• The Supreme Court elections were covered from start to finish.
• In the seven states with only retention elections, we enhanced our pages with biographical information and campaign updates.
• We covered appellate races and general jurisdiction trial court races in all thirty-nine states with judicial elections in 2012.

2012 election pages

Alabama

• Main page: Alabama judicial elections, 2012

Alabama judicial elections, 2012 - Circuit Courts

Alabama judicial elections, 2012 - Races by County

• General information about elections in the state: Alabama judicial elections

Alaska

• Main page: Alaska judicial elections, 2012
• General information about elections in the state: Alaska judicial elections

Arizona

• Main page: Arizona judicial elections, 2012

Arizona judicial elections, 2012 - Superior Courts

• General information about elections in the state: Arizona judicial elections

Arkansas

• Main page: Arkansas judicial elections, 2012

Arkansas judicial elections, 2012 - Circuit Courts

• General information about elections in the state: Arkansas judicial elections

California

• Main page: California judicial elections, 2012

California judicial elections, 2012 - Superior Courts (A-P)

California judicial elections, 2012 - Superior Courts (R-Y)

• General information about elections in the state: California judicial elections

Colorado

• Main page: Colorado judicial elections, 2012
• General information about elections in the state: Colorado judicial elections

Florida

• Main page: Florida judicial elections, 2012

Florida judicial elections, 2012 - Circuit Court

Florida judicial elections, 2012 - County Court

• General information about elections in the state: Florida judicial elections

Georgia

• Main page: Georgia judicial elections, 2012

Georgia judicial elections, 2012 - Superior Courts

• General information about elections in the state: Georgia judicial elections

Idaho

• Main page: Idaho judicial elections, 2012
• General information about elections in the state: Idaho judicial elections

Illinois

• Main page: Illinois judicial elections, 2012

Illinois judicial elections, 2012 - Circuit Courts

• General information about elections in the state: Illinois judicial elections

Indiana

• Main page: Indiana judicial elections, 2012

Indiana judicial elections, 2012 - Circuit Courts

Indiana judicial elections, 2012 - Superior Courts

• General information about elections in the state: Indiana judicial elections

Iowa

• Main page: Iowa judicial elections, 2012
• General information about elections in the state: Iowa judicial elections

Kansas

• Main page: Kansas judicial elections, 2012
• General information about elections in the state: Kansas judicial elections

Kentucky

• Main page: Kentucky judicial elections, 2012
• General information about elections in the state: Kentucky judicial elections

Louisiana

• Main page: Louisiana judicial elections, 2012

Louisiana judicial elections, 2012 - March 24th election

• General information about elections in the state: Louisiana judicial elections

Maryland

• Main page: Maryland judicial elections, 2012

Michigan

• Main page: Michigan judicial elections, 2012

Michigan judicial elections, 2012 - Circuit Courts

Michigan judicial elections, 2012 - District Courts

Michigan judicial elections, 2012 - Probate Courts

• General information about elections in the state: Michigan judicial elections

Minnesota

• Main page: Minnesota judicial elections, 2012
• General information about elections in the state: Minnesota judicial elections

Mississippi

• Main page: Mississippi judicial elections, 2012
• General information about elections in the state: Mississippi judicial elections

Missouri

• Main page: Missouri judicial elections, 2012
• General information about elections in the state: Missouri judicial elections

Montana

• Main page: Montana judicial elections, 2012
• General information about elections in the state: Montana judicial elections

Nebraska

• Main page: Nebraska judicial elections, 2012
• General information about elections in the state: Nebraska judicial elections

Nevada

• Main page: Nevada judicial elections, 2012

Nevada judicial elections, 2012 - Justice Courts

• General information about elections in the state: Nevada judicial elections

New Mexico

• Main page: New Mexico judicial elections, 2012
• General information about elections in the state: New Mexico judicial elections

New York

• Main page: New York judicial elections, 2012

New York judicial elections, 2012 - County Courts

New York judicial elections, 2012 - Town and Village Courts

• General information about elections in the state: New York judicial elections

North Carolina

• Main page: North Carolina judicial elections, 2012
• General information about elections in the state: North Carolina judicial elections

North Dakota

• Main page: North Dakota judicial elections, 2012
• General information about elections in the state: North Dakota judicial elections

Ohio

• Main page: Ohio judicial elections, 2012

Ohio judicial elections, 2012 - Courts of Common Pleas

• General information about elections in the state: Ohio judicial elections

Oklahoma

• Main page: Oklahoma judicial elections, 2012
• General information about elections in the state: Oklahoma judicial elections

Oregon

• Main page: Oregon judicial elections, 2012

Oregon judicial elections, 2012 - Circuit Courts

• General information about elections in the state: Oregon judicial elections

South Dakota

• Main page: South Dakota judicial elections, 2012
• General information about elections in the state: South Dakota judicial elections

Tennessee

• Main page: Tennessee judicial elections, 2012
• General information about elections in the state: Tennessee judicial elections

Texas

• Main page: Texas judicial elections, 2012

Texas judicial elections, 2012 - District Courts

• General information about elections in the state: Texas judicial elections

Utah

• Main page: Utah judicial elections, 2012
• General information about elections in the state: Utah judicial elections

Washington

• Main page: Washington judicial elections, 2012
• General information about elections in the state: Washington judicial elections

West Virginia

Candidate	Court	Retention vote:	Retention Vote %
WinfreeDaniel Winfree   A	Supreme Court	165,777	64.93%A

Arizona

Judge	Incumbency	Retention vote	Retention Vote %
PelanderJohn Pelander   A	Yes	1,070,838	73.94%A

Arkansas

Candidate	Incumbency	Position	Primary Vote	Election Vote
HartJosephine Hart   A	No		65.4%A	A
AbramsonRaymond Abramson	No	District 1, Position 1	34.6%

Colorado

Candidate	Incumbent	Retention vote:	Retention Vote %
CoatsNathan Coats   A	Yes	1,399,326	71.39%A

Florida

Judge	Incumbency	Retention vote	Retention Vote %
ParienteBarbara Pariente   A	Yes	4,934,296	68.0%A
LewisFred Lewis   A	Yes	4,899,667	67.5%A
QuincePeggy Quince   A	Yes	4,894,677	67.7%A

Georgia

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
HunsteinCarol Hunstein   A	Yes		99%   A
MeltonHarold Melton (Georgia)   A	Yes		99%   A
ThompsonHugh Thompson   A	Yes		99%   A

Illinois

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Predecessor	Primary Vote	Election Vote
PucinskiAurelia Marie Pucinski	No	Democratic	Vacancy of Thomas Fitzgerald	21%
RileyJames G. Riley	No	Republican	Vacancy of Thomas Fitzgerald		25.3%   A
CunninghamJoy Cunningham	No	Democratic	Vacancy of Thomas Fitzgerald	23%
TheisMary Jane Theis   A	Yes	Democratic	Vacancy of Thomas Fitzgerald	48%A	74.7%   A
GarmanRita Garman   A	Yes	Republican			A
FlanniganThomas W. Flannigan	No	Republican	Vacancy of Thomas Fitzgerald	7%

Indiana

Judge	Incumbency	Retention vote	Retention Vote %
RuckerRobert Rucker   A	Yes		71.4%A
DavidSteven David (Indiana)   A	Yes		68.9%A

Iowa

Candidate	Incumbent	Retention vote:	Retention Vote %
ZagerBruce B. Zager   A	Yes		74.1%A
WigginsDavid Wiggins   A	Yes		54.5%A
MansfieldEdward Mansfield   A	Yes		74.3%A
WatermanThomas Waterman   A	Yes		74.8%A

Kansas

Judge	Incumbency	Division	Retention vote	Retention Vote %
MoritzNancy Moritz   A	Yes		666,228	70.9%A

Kentucky

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
StumboJanet Stumbo	No		41.9%   A
Will T. Scott

Louisiana

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Place	Primary Vote	Election Vote
HughesJefferson Hughes   A	No	Republican	Fifth District	21.2%A	52.8%   A
SanfordJeffry L. Sanford	No	Libertarian	5th District	1.0%
WelchJewel Welch	No	Republican	5th District	11.1%
GuidryJohn Guidry	No	Democratic	2nd District	27.5%A	47.2%   A
WeimerJohn L. Weimer   A	Yes	Democratic	Sixth District		A
PiersonMary Olive Pierson	No	Democratic	5th District	14.8%
KelleyTim Kelley	No	Republican	5th District	3.1%
HigginbothamToni M. Higginbotham	No	Republican	5th District	10.8%
MorvantWilliam Morvant	No	Republican	5th District	10.7%

Michigan

Candidates competed for two seats.

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
RoddisBob Roddis	No		2.79%   A
McCormackBridget Mary McCormack   A	No		23.59%   A
O'BrienColleen O'Brien	No		21.42%   A
KelleyConnie Marie Kelley	No		21.61%   A
DernDoug Dern	No		3.38%   A
MorganKerry L. Morgan	No		4.07%   A
MarkmanStephen Markman   A	Yes		23.1%   A

Candidates competed for one seat.

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
ZahraBrian Zahra   A	Yes		49.54%   A
BarryMindy Barry	No		8.73%   A
JohnsonShelia Johnson	No		41.72%   A

Minnesota

Candidate	Incumbency	Place	Primary Vote	Election Vote
GriffithDan Griffith	No	Chief Justice	29.4%A	39.59%   A
ClarkJill Clark (Minnesota)	No	Chief Justice	21%
GildeaLorie Gildea   A	Yes		49.7%A	60.0%   A

Candidate	Incumbency	Place	Primary Vote	Election Vote
AndersonBarry Anderson (Minnesota)   A	Yes	Seat 1		58.94%   A
BarkleyDean Barkley	No	Place 1		40.65%   A

Candidate	Incumbency	Place	Primary Vote	Election Vote
NelsonAlan Nelson	No	Place 4	21.7%
StrasDavid Stras   A	Yes		48.8%A	55.95%   A
TingelstadTim Tingelstad	No	Place 4	29.4%A	43.62%   A

Mississippi

Candidate	Incumbency	Office	Election Vote
Earle Banks
ColemanJosiah Coleman   A	No	District 3, Position 3	58%   A
KingLeslie King   A	Yes	District 1, Position 2	100%   A
RandolphMike Randolph   A	Yes	District 2, Position 3	77%   A
PhillipsRichard T. Phillips	No	District 3, Position 3	42%   A
BraddockTalmadge Braddock	No	District 2, Position 3	23%   A
WallerWilliam Waller   A	Yes	District 1, Position 1	55%   A

Montana

Candidate	Incumbency	Department	Primary Vote	Election Vote
Morris[[Brian Morris|Brian Morris]]   A	Yes		72.29%A	A
SheehyEd Sheehy	No	Number 5	34.20%A	43.88%   A
BestElizabeth Best	No	Department 2	32%
McKinnonLaurie McKinnon   A	No	Number 5	33.49%A	56.11%   A

Nebraska

Candidate	Incumbent	Retention vote:	Retention Vote %
StephanKenneth Stephan   A	Yes		77.57%A
McCormackMichael McCormack   A	Yes		70.36%A

Nevada

Candidate	Incumbency	Position	Primary Vote	Election Vote
CherryMichael Cherry (Nevada)   A	Yes	Seat C		73.25%   A
DouglasMichael Douglas   A	Yes	Seat F		74.26%   A
SaittaNancy Saitta   A	Yes	Seat G		73.32%   A

New Mexico

Candidate	Incumbency	Division	Primary Vote	Election Vote
VigilBarbara J. Vigil   A	No			54.81%   A
KennedyPaul Kennedy (New Mexico)	No			45.19%   A
BossonRichard Bosson   A	Yes			75.31%   A

North Carolina

Candidate	Incumbency	Office	Primary Vote	Election Vote
NewbyPaul Martin Newby   A	Yes	Seat 3		51.90%   A
ErvinSam Ervin	No	Seat 7		48.10%   A

North Dakota

Candidate	Incumbency	Office	Primary Vote	Election Vote
CrothersDaniel Crothers   A	Yes			99.15%   A

Ohio

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Term	Primary Vote	Election Vote
SkindellMike Skindell	No	Democratic	Term commencing 1/1/2013		30.87%   A
CuppRobert Cupp	Yes	Republican	Term commencing 1/2/2013		47.48%   A
KennedySharon L. Kennedy   A	No	Republican			57.02%   A
O'DonnellTerrence O'Donnell (Ohio)   A	Yes	Republican			69.12%   A
O'NeillWilliam O'Neill (Ohio)   A	No	Democratic		71.3%A	52.51%   A
McGee BrownYvette McGee Brown	Yes	Democratic			42.97%   A

Oklahoma

Supreme Court:

Judge	Incumbency	Retention vote	Retention Vote %
CombDouglas L. Combs   A	Yes	783,955	66.4%A
EdmondsonJames Edmondson   A	Yes	792,216	66.9%A
GurichNoma D. Gurich   A	Yes	789,777	66.5%A
KaugerYvonne Kauger   A	Yes	775,016	65.7%A

Court of Criminal Appeals:

Judge	Incumbency	Retention vote	Retention Vote %
Clancy SmithCarlene Clancy Smith   A	Yes	772,328	65.8%A

South Dakota

Judge	Incumbency	Retention vote	Retention Vote %
SeversonGlen A. Severson   A	Yes	239,067	80.20%A

Texas

Supreme Court:

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Place	Primary Vote	Election Vote
MedinaDavid Medina	Yes	Republican	Place 4	46.7%
WillettDon Willett   A	Yes	Republican		57.7%A	78.8%   A
ChisholmJim Chisholm	No	Green	Place 9		1.3%   A
DevineJohn Devine (Texas)   A	No	Republican	Place 4	53.3%A	75.1%   A
AshMark Ash	No	Libertarian	Place 2		3.0%   A
PettyMichele Petty	No	Democratic		100%A	41.9%   A
HechtNathan Hecht   A	Yes	Republican	Place 1	100%A	53.7%   A
KoelschRobert Stuart Koelsch	No	Libertarian	Place 2		21.2%   A
SmithSteven W. Smith	No			42.2%
OxfordTom Oxford	No	Libertarian	Place 5		16.9%   A

Court of Criminal Appeals:

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Place	Primary Vote	Election Vote
HerveyBarbara Hervey   A	Yes	Republican	Place 7	100%A	77.9%   A
AlcalaElsa Alcala   A	Yes	Republican	Place 8	100%A	78.1%   A
HamptonKeith Hampton	No	Democratic	Presiding Judge	100%A	41.2%   A
StottLance Stott	No	Libertarian	Presiding Judge		3.3%   A
BennettMark Bennett (Texas)	No	Libertarian	Place 6		22.1%   A
KellerSharon Keller   A	Yes	Republican		100%A	55.5%   A
StrangeWilliam Bryan Strange	No	Libertarian	Place 5		21.9%   A

Washington

Candidate	Incumbency	Office	Primary Vote	Election Vote
HilyerBruce Hilyer	No	Position 9	25.6%
DanielsonBruce O. Danielson	No	Position 8	43.1%
McQuaidDouglas W. McQuaid	No	Position 2	24.14%
LadenburgJohn Ladenburg	No	Position 9	15.31%
SandersRichard Sanders	No	Position 9	27.48%A	44.76%   A
Scott Stafne
McCloudSheryl McCloud   A	No	Position 9	31.61%A	55.24%   A
GonzalezSteven Gonzalez   A	Yes	Position 8	56.9%A	100%   A
OwensSusan Owens   A	Yes	Position 2	63.5%A	100%   A

West Virginia

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Primary Vote	Election Vote
LoughryAllen Loughry   A	No	Republican		26.27%   A
H. John Rogers
BeaneJ.D. Beane	No	Democratic	11%
YoderJohn Yoder	No			23.92%   A
ChafinLetitia Chafin	No	Democratic	27%A	22.69%   A
PalmerLouis Palmer	No	Democratic	6%
DavisRobin Jean Davis   A	Yes	Democratic	28%A	27.11%   A

2012 JP Election Brief archives

• JP Election Brief: Nationwide statistics from the 2012 elections, Nov 29, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Highlights of the 2012 judicial elections, Nov 15, 2012
• JP Election Brief: 2012 State Supreme Court Results, Nov 07, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Costly campaigns and a 12-way race, Nov 01, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Campaign ads and voter education, Oct 25, 2012
• JP Election Brief: The Supreme Court Special, Oct 18, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Race mix-ups and a pledge of peace, Oct 11, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Alabama dollars to Washington lawsuits (and more!), Oct 04, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Money and controversies, Sep 27, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Retentions, retirements and ratings, Sep 20, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Judges seeking retention are judged, Sep 13, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Election preview for all thirty-six states, Sep 06, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Individual races and big picture questions, Aug 30, 2012
• JP Election Brief: High court races setting the tone, Aug 23, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Primary results from Michigan and Washington (and more!), Aug 09, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Results from Texas and Georgia (and more!), Aug 02, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Ready for the next round of primaries, Jul 26, 2012
• JP Election Brief: An indictment, legal challenges, and First Amendment questions, Jul 19, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Supreme Court races and controversy in Illinois, Jul 12, 2012
• JP Election Brief: 2012 Retention Elections, Jul 05, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Looking at Arizona, North Dakota and Texas, Jun 28, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Coast to coast coverage, Jun 21, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Primary results and voting lawsuits, Jun 14, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Super PACs, primary results, and judicial selection, Jun 07, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Results from Texas and more!, May 31, 2012
• JP Election Brief: All about appellate courts, May 24, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Focus on the Gulf States and Northwest, May 17, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Results from North Carolina and West Virginia (and more!), May 10, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Candidates filing in Michigan, Kentucky, Washington and more!, May 03, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Florida gets ready as Alabama wraps up (and more!), Apr 26, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Changing the rules in Florida and Nevada (and more!), Apr 19, 2012
• JP Election Brief: May primaries and alleged campaign violations, Apr 12, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Judicial primaries and candidates gearing up, Apr 05, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Spotlight on Wisconsin, Mar 29, 2012
• JP Election Brief: The Rainbow Connection, Mar 22, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Heading south with news from Louisiana, Alabama, Florida and Texas, Mar 15, 2012
• JP Election Brief: Three in the midwest and two in the south, Mar 08, 2012
• JP Election Brief: It's here!, Mar 01, 2012

2012 election news

2012 Election News JP Election Brief: Nationwide statistics from the 2012 elections JP Election Brief: 2012 State Supreme Court Results Alabama election recap, 2012 Arizona election recap, 2012 Idaho election recap, 2012 Kansas election recap, 2012 Louisiana election recap, 2012 Michigan election recap, 2012 Mississippi election recap, 2012 Missouri election recap, 2012 Montana election recap, 2012 New Mexico election recap, 2012 North Dakota election recap, 2012 Ohio election recap, 2012 Oregon election recap, 2012 South Dakota election recap, 2012 Washington election recap, 2012

...more election news

See also

• Portal:Judicial elections