United States Senate elections in West Virginia, 2012
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Joe Manchin |
Joe Manchin |
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Voters in West Virginia elected one member to the U.S. Senate in the November 6, 2012 elections.
Incumbent Joe Manchin (D) won re-election on November 6, 2012.[1]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: West Virginia has a mostly closed primary system, in which the selection of a party's candidates in an election is limited to registered party members, although unaffiliated voters may pick which party's primary to vote in.
Voter registration: Voters had to register to vote in the primary by April 17, 2012. For the general election, the voter registration deadline are October 16, 2012.[2]
- See also: West Virginia elections, 2012
Incumbent: The election filled the Class 1 Senate seat, which was held by Joe Manchin (D). First elected in a special election in 2010, Manchin ran for re-election in 2012.
Election results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Joe Manchin III Incumbent |
60.6% | 399,898 | |
| Republican | John R. Raese | 36.5% | 240,787 | |
| Mountain | Bob Henry Baber | 3% | 19,517 | |
| Total Votes | 660,202 | |||
| Source: U.S. House Clerk "2012 Election Statistics" | ||||
Candidates
Note: Election results were added on election night as races were called. Vote totals were added after official election results had been certified. Click here for more information about Ballotpedia's election coverage plan. Please contact us about errors in this list.
General election candidates
May 8, 2012, primary results
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Primary Results
Democratic Primary
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Joe Manchin III Incumbent |
79.9% | 163,891 |
| Sheirl Fletcher | 20.1% | 41,118 |
| Total Votes | 205,009 | |
Race background
Democratic incumbent Joe Manchin was first elected to the U.S. Senate in a 2010 special election. Manchin ran for re-election in 2012.
Manchin defeated former Republican Sheirl Fletcher 80-20 for the Democratic nomination in the May 8th, 2012 primary contest.[4] He faced Republican John Raese, who ran unopposed in his party's primary, in the general election on November 6th.
The November contest presented a rematch between Manchin and John Raese (R), who first faced off in the 2010 special election to fill the vacancy left by the death of Sen. Robert Byrd- the election that won Manchin his current seat.[5]
Competitiveness
According to The New York Times analysis of the 2012 Senate elections, West Virginia's Senate race was rated as solid Democratic.[6]
Race rating
Cook Political Report
Each month the Cook Political Report released race ratings for President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House (competitive only) and Governors. There were seven possible designations:[7]
|
Solid Democratic
|
Tossup |
Lean Republican
|
| Cook Political Report Race Rating -- West Virginia Senate | |
|---|---|
| Month | Rating |
| October 4, 2012[8] | |
| September 13, 2012[9] | |
| August 21, 2012[10] | |
| July 12, 2012[11] | |
| May 31, 2012[12] | |
| May 10, 2012[13] | |
| March 22, 2012[14] | |
| March 1, 2012[15] | |
| January 26, 2012[16] | |
| December 22, 2011[17] | |
| December 1, 2011[18] | |
Polls
Joe Manchin vs. John Raese
| Joe Manchin vs. John Raese | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Joe Manchin | John Raese | Unsure | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| Daily Mail (August 31, 2012) | 66% | 27% | 7% | +/-4.9 | 401 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Election history
2010
Manchin was elected to the senate by a special election on November 2, 2010, to fill the late Robert Byrd's seat.[19] Between Byrd's death in July and the special election, Byrd's seat was temporarily held by his chief counsel, Carte Goodwin.[20] Manchin defeated John R. Raese (R), Jesse Johnson (Mountain Party), and Jeff Becker (Constitution).[21]
| U.S. Senate, West Virginia, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Joe Manchin III |
53.5% | 283,358 | |
| Republican | John R. Raese | 43.4% | 230,013 | |
| Mountain | Jesse Johnson | 1.9% | 10,152 | |
| Constitution | Jeff Becker | 1.2% | 6,425 | |
| Total Votes | 529,948 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Jay Rockefeller won re-election to the U.S. Senate, defeating Jay Wolfe (R), John R. "Rick" Bartlett (Write-in), and Chad Shaffer (Write-in).[22]
| U.S. Senate, West Virginia, 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | John D. Rockefeller IV Incumbent |
63.7% | 447,560 | |
| Republican | Jay Wolfe | 36.3% | 254,629 | |
| Write-in | John R. "Rick" Bartlett | 0% | 83 | |
| Write-in | Chad Shaffer | 0% | 36 | |
| Total Votes | 702,308 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia, 2012
- United States Senate elections, 2012
Footnotes
- ↑ ABC News, "2012 General Election Results," accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Voter Registration FAQ," accessed July 27, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidate Search," accessed January 29, 2012
- ↑ West Virginia Metro News, "2012 Primary Results," May 8, 2012
- ↑ WDTV, “WV Sen Manchin wins, sets up rematch with Raese,” May 8, 2012
- ↑ The New York Times, "2012 Senate race ratings," accessed September 17, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Our Accuracy," accessed December 12, 2011
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," October 4, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," September 13, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," August 21, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," July 12, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," May 31, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," May 10, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," March 22, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," March 1, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," January 26, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," December 27, 2011
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," December 1, 2011
- ↑ Official Senate website, "Joe Manchin," accessed October 14, 2011
- ↑ The Hill, "Byrd's successor to take oath Tuesday," accessed October 14, 2011
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008," accessed March 28, 2013
