2012 Arizona elections

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2012 Arizona elections
Flag of Arizona.svg
  2010 November 6, 2012 2014  

A general election was held in the U.S. state of Arizona on November 6, 2012. Along with the presidential election, a Class I U.S. Senate seat, nine seats in the United States House of Representatives and several statewide and local offices were up for election. Primary elections were held on August 28, 2012. [1]

Contents

President of the United States

Republican nominee Mitt Romney won Arizona by defeating Democratic incumbent Barack Obama and gained eleven electoral votes.

United States Senate

Incumbent Republican senator and Senate minority whip Jon Kyl decided not to seek a fourth term, thus creating an open seat. Republican U.S. representative Jeff Flake won the election by narrowly defeating Democratic nominee and former surgeon general of the United States Richard Carmona.

United States House of Representatives

June special election

A special election was held in the 8th congressional district to replace Gabby Giffords. Democrat Ron Barber won the election by defeating Republican Jesse Kelly.

November general election

Following the 2010 United States census, Arizona gained one electoral vote, thus bringing the total number of congressional districts in the state to nine.

PartyCandidatesVotesSeats
No.%No.+/–%
Republican 81,131,66352.074Decrease2.svg 144.44
Democratic 9946,99443.575Increase2.svg 255.56
Libertarian 782,2823.790Steady2.svg0.0
Americans Elect 26,7400.310Steady2.svg0.0
Green 15,6370.260Steady2.svg0.0
Write-in 110.000Steady2.svg0.0
Total282,173,317100.09Increase2.svg 1100.0
Popular vote
Republican
52.07%
Democratic
43.57%
Libertarian
3.79%
Americans Elect
0.31%
Green
0.26%
Other
0.00%
House seats
Democratic
55.56%
Republican
44.44%

Corporation Commission

2012 Arizona Corporation Commission election
Flag of Arizona.svg
 2008November 6, 2012 2016  
  Bob Stump by Gage Skidmore.jpg Bob Burns.jpg Susan Bitter Smith by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Nominee Bob Stump Bob Burns Susan Bitter Smith
Party Republican Republican Republican
Popular vote979,034943,157935,573
Percentage17.47%16.83%16.69%

  Commissioner PaulNewman.jpg Sandra Kennedy by Gage Skidmore.jpg 3x4.svg
Nominee Paul Newman Sandra Kennedy Marcia Busching
Party Democratic Democratic Democratic
Popular vote868,726862,876776,472
Percentage15.50%15.39%13.85%

Commissioners before election

Paul Newman (D)
Sandra Kennedy (D)

Bob Stump (R)

Elected Commissioners

Bob Stump (R)
Bob Burns (R)

Susan Bitter Smith (R)

Three of the five seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission were up for election. Democratic incumbents Paul Newman and Sandra Kennedy and Republican incumbent Bob Stump all ran for re-election. Both Newman and Kennedy were ousted as Republicans swept all three seats. [2]

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Bob Stump (incumbent) 349,966 35.02%
Republican Susan Bitter Smith 330,147 33.04%
Republican Bob Burns 319,151 31.94%
Total votes999,264 100%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Sandra Kennedy (incumbent) 232,403 36.57%
Democratic Paul Newman (incumbent) 209,094 32.91%
Democratic Marcia Busching 193,947 30.52%
Total votes635,444 100%

Third party candidates

General election

Debate

2012 Arizona Corporation Commission election debate
DateHostModerator
October 2, 2012 Arizona PBS Ted Simons
Key:
 P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited  W  Withdrawn
Republican Democratic Green Libertarian
Bob Stump Bob Burns Susan Bitter Smith Paul Newman Sandra Kennedy Marcia BuschingThomas MeadowsDaniel PoutChristopher Gohl
PPPPPPPPP
Link: YouTube

Results

Arizona Corporation Commission election, 2012 [6]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Bob Stump (incumbent) 979,034 17.47%
Republican Bob Burns 943,157 16.83%
Republican Susan Bitter Smith 935,573 16.69%
Democratic Paul Newman (incumbent)868,72615.50%
Democratic Sandra Kennedy (incumbent)862,87615.39%
Democratic Marcia Busching776,47213.85%
Libertarian Christopher Gohl112,4902.01%
Green Thomas Meadows67,9501.21%
Green Daniel Pout58,6071.05%
Total votes5,604,885 100%
Republican hold
Republican gain from Democratic
Republican gain from Democratic

State Legislature

All 30 members of the Arizona Senate and all 60 members of the Arizona House of Representatives were up for election. Democrats flipped multiple seats in both chambers.

Supreme Court

One seat on the Arizona Supreme Court was up for retention. Justice John Pelander was appointed by Governor Jan Brewer in 2009 to succeed retiring justice Ruth McGregor. [7]

Justice Pelander retention, 2012
ChoiceVotes%
Check-71-128-204-brightblue.svg Yes1,070,83873.95
No377,25926.05
Total votes1,448,097100.00
Source: Arizona Secretary of State [6]

Ballot propositions

Arizona had nine statewide propositions on the ballot in 2012. [8]

2012 Arizona ballot propositions
No.DescriptionVotesType
Yes%No%
114Prohibits felony crime victims from having to pay damages. [9] 1,664,47379.95417,43120.05Legislatively referred constitutional amendment
115Increases term lengths and retirement age for the judiciary and requires superior courts to publish decisions online. [10] 553,13227.661,446,97072.34
116Establishes the tax exemption amount for business equipment to be equal to the combined earnings of 50 workers. [11] 852,98143.921,089,29456.08
117Sets a 5% annual cap on increases in property values used to determine property taxes and establish a single limited property value as the basis for calculating all property taxes on real property. [12] 1,132,76656.67866,24943.33
118Adjusts the distribution formula for the State Land Trust Permanent Endowment Fund. [13] 950,93850.52931,23849.48
119Authorizes the exchange of state trust lands for protecting military facilities or improving land management. [14] 1,194,59461.94733,90738.06
120Declares Arizona's sovereignty over public lands and all natural resources within its boundaries, excluding Indian reservations, federal property, or land ceded by the state. [15] 623,46132.271,308,29967.73
121Establishes a top-two system for primary elections. [16] 662,36633.071,340,28666.93Citizen-initiated constitutional amendment
204Permanently increases the state sales tax by one cent per dollar. [17] 768,42236.221,353,21263.78Citizen-initiated state statute
Source: Arizona Secretary of State [6]

References

  1. "Arizona elections, 2012". Ballotpedia . Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  2. Randazzo, Ryan (November 7, 2012). "Democrats ousted from utilities commission as GOP wins 3 seats". The Arizona Republic . Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 O'Grady, Patrick (January 10, 2012). "Campaign season starts early for Arizona Corporation Commission". Phoenix Business Journal . Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Primary Election Results" (PDF). Arizona Secretary of State. September 10, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 Bevis, Mark; Fischer, Howard (October 5, 2012). "A Primer and a Debate on the Corporation Commission". KNAU . Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 "Official Election Canvass of Results" (PDF). Arizona Secretary of State. December 3, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  7. Fischer, Howard; Smith, Kim (July 29, 2009). "Longtime Tucsonan named to state's high court". Arizona Daily Star . Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  8. "Arizona 2012 ballot measures". Ballotpedia . Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  9. "Arizona Proposition 114, Crime Victim Protection Amendment (2012)". Ballotpedia . Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  10. "Arizona Proposition 115, Judicial Terms, Retirement Age, Commission Membership, and Court Decisions Amendment (2012)". Ballotpedia . Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  11. "Arizona Proposition 116, Tax Exemptions for Business Equipment Amendment (2012)". Ballotpedia . Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  12. "Arizona Proposition 117, Property Tax Increase Cap Amendment (2012)". Ballotpedia . Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  13. "Arizona Proposition 118, State Land Trust Permanent Endowment Fund Amendment (2012)". Ballotpedia . Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  14. "Arizona Proposition 119, State Trust Land Amendment (2012)". Ballotpedia . Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  15. "Arizona Proposition 120, Declare State's Sovereignty Over Public Lands and Natural Resources Amendment (2012)". Ballotpedia . Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  16. "Arizona Proposition 121, Top-Two Primary Elections Initiative (2012)". Ballotpedia . Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  17. "Arizona Proposition 204, Sales Tax Increase Initiative (2012)". Ballotpedia . Retrieved December 7, 2025.