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  Tomblin: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Maloney: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in West Virginia |
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The 2012 West Virginia gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2012, to elect the governor of West Virginia. Democratic incumbent Earl Ray Tomblin, who was elected governor in a special election in 2011, was elected to a full four-year term. The election was a rematch of the 2011 special election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Earl Ray Tomblin (incumbent) | 170,481 | 84.4% | |
| Democratic | Arne Moltis | 31,587 | 15.6% | |
| Total votes | 202,068 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bill Maloney | 86,925 | 83.5% | |
| Republican | Ralph William Clark | 17,165 | 16.5% | |
| Total votes | 104,090 | 100.0% | ||
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report [9] | Lean D | November 1, 2012 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball [10] | Lean D | November 5, 2012 |
| Rothenberg Political Report [11] | Lean D | November 2, 2012 |
| Real Clear Politics [12] | Likely D | November 5, 2012 |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Earl Ray Tomblin (D) | Bill Maloney (R) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R.L. Repass | August 22–25, 2012 | 401 | ± 4.9% | 56% | 35% | 9% |
| R.L. Repass | April 25–28, 2012 | 410 | ± 4.8% | 60% | 32% | 8% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Earl Ray Tomblin (incumbent) | 335,468 | 50.49% | +0.94% | |
| Republican | Bill Maloney | 303,291 | 45.65% | -1.40% | |
| Mountain | Jesse Johnson | 16,787 | 2.53% | +0.51% | |
| Libertarian | David Moran | 8,909 | 1.34% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 664,455 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Democratic hold | |||||
Tomblin won 2 of 3 congressional districts, including one that elected a Republican. [14]
| District | Tomblin | Maloney | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 47.99% | 48.21% | David McKinley |
| 2nd | 49.4% | 46.19% | Shelley Moore Capito |
| 3rd | 54.43% | 42.25% | Nick Rahall |
Betty Ireland was the 28th Secretary of State of West Virginia from 2005 to 2009, as the first woman elected to the executive branch of West Virginia state government. She was also the first Republican elected to that position since 1972. Ireland did not seek a second term in 2008 due to her parents' health. On December 30, 2010, Ireland announced she would run in the 2011 West Virginia gubernatorial special election, where she came in second place in the Republican primary.
Earl Ray Tomblin is an American politician who served as the 35th governor of West Virginia from 2011 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the West Virginia Senate from 1980 to 2011 and as president of the West Virginia Senate from 1995 to 2011. Tomblin became acting governor in November 2010 following Joe Manchin's election to the U.S. Senate. He won a special election in October 2011 to fill the unexpired term ending on January 14, 2013, and was elected to a full term as governor in November 2012.
The 2004 West Virginia gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2004 for the post of Governor of West Virginia. Democratic Secretary of State of West Virginia Joe Manchin defeated Republican Monty Warner. Manchin won all but 3 counties. Despite Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry losing the state to George W. Bush by double digits in the concurrent presidential election, Manchin won by nearly 30 points.
West Virginia's 2012 general elections were held on November 6, 2012. Primary elections were held on May 8, 2012.
Natalie E. Tennant is an American politician who served as the Secretary of State of West Virginia from 2009 to 2017. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Tennant was the 2014 Democratic Party nominee for West Virginia's open U.S. Senate seat, which she lost to Republican Shelley Moore Capito. In 2016 she was defeated for re-election by Republican Mac Warner, and left office on January 16, 2017.
United States gubernatorial elections were held in four states in October and November 2011, with regularly scheduled elections in Kentucky, Mississippi, and Louisiana; and a special election in West Virginia. None of these four governorships changed party hands, with Democratic incumbents Steve Beshear and Earl Ray Tomblin winning in Kentucky and West Virginia, respectively; and Republicans re-electing Bobby Jindal in Louisiana and holding the open seat in Mississippi.
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The 2012 United States Senate election in West Virginia was held on November 6, 2012, to elect one of West Virginia's two members of the U.S. Senate for a six-year term. In a rematch of the 2010 special election, incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Manchin won re-election to a first full term against the Republican nominee, John Raese. Notably, Manchin outperformed Barack Obama in the concurrent presidential election by 25.06 percentage points in vote share, and by 50.86 percentage points on margin.
The 2011 West Virginia gubernatorial special election was a special election held on October 4, 2011 to fill the office of the West Virginia Governor, which became vacant upon the resignation of Joe Manchin, who resigned after he won a U.S. Senate special election. Lieutenant Governor and Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, first in the line of succession to the Governorship, subsequently became acting governor. On January 18, 2011, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ruled that a special election for the Governorship must be held so a new governor can be in place by November 15, 2011, exactly one year after Manchin resigned. The primary election was held on May 14. Tomblin and Republican Bill Maloney won their respective primaries.
Bill Maloney is an American businessman and politician. He was a two-time candidate for the governorship of West Virginia. He was the Republican nominee in the 2011 West Virginia gubernatorial special election, in which he lost by 7,546 votes, and again for the regular election in 2012, which he lost by 31,434 votes.
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the three U.S. representatives from West Virginia, one from each of the state's three congressional districts. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected will serve in the 113th Congress from January 2013 until January 2015. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election. A Senate election was also held on that date, during which incumbent Joe Manchin won re-election. As of 2023, this is the last time that a Democrat won a U.S. House seat in West Virginia.
The 2014 United States Senate election in West Virginia was held on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of West Virginia, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. This election was the fifth consecutive even-number year in which a senate election was held in West Virginia after elections in 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012.
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 8, 2016, in 12 states and two territories. The last regular gubernatorial elections for nine of the 12 states took place in 2012. The last gubernatorial elections for New Hampshire, Oregon, and Vermont took place in 2014, as Oregon held a special election due to the resignation of Governor John Kitzhaber, while the governors of New Hampshire and Vermont both serve two-year terms. The 2016 gubernatorial elections took place concurrently with several other federal, state, and local elections, including the presidential election, Senate, and House elections.
Anna Border Sheppard is an American politician and a Republican member of the West Virginia House of Delegates representing District 9 since her appointment by West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin June 21, 2011, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of her husband, Representative Larry Border.
Samuel Joseph Cann, Sr. is an American politician and a former Democratic member of the West Virginia Senate representing District 12 from his January 16, 2013 appointment by West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator Joseph M. Minard to 2014. Cann served consecutively in the West Virginia Legislature from December 1, 1994 until January 16, 2013 in the West Virginia House of Delegates in the District 41 and District 48 seats.
Mitchell Carmichael is an American politician. He is a former Republican member of the West Virginia Senate representing District 4 from 2012 until his defeat in 2020. Prior to his service in the Senate, Carmichael served in the West Virginia House of Delegates representing District 12 from 2000 through 2012. Carmichael was also a candidate for Governor of West Virginia in the 2011 West Virginia gubernatorial special election. As President of the state Senate from January 2017 to January 2021, he held the title Lieutenant Governor of West Virginia. After his defeat in 2020, Governor Jim Justice appointed Carmichael as West Virginia's economic development director.
The 2016 West Virginia gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2016, to elect the Governor of West Virginia, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on May 10.
The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia were held on November 8, 2016, to elect the three U.S. representatives from the state of West Virginia, one from each of the state's three congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.
The 2020 West Virginia gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the governor of West Virginia, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Amy Shuler Goodwin is an American journalist and politician from the state of West Virginia. She is the first female mayor of Charleston, West Virginia, serving since January 2019.
