2012 Indiana gubernatorial election

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2012 Indiana gubernatorial election
Flag of Indiana.svg
  2008 November 6, 2012 (2012-11-6) 2016  
  Mike Pence in November 2013.jpg John R. Gregg.jpg
Nominee Mike Pence John R. Gregg
Party Republican Democratic
Running mate Sue Ellspermann Vi Simpson
Popular vote1,275,4241,200,016
Percentage49.49%46.56%

2012 Indiana gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
2012 Indiana gubernatorial election by Congressional District.svg

Pence:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

Gregg:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

Governor before election

Mitch Daniels
Republican

Elected Governor

Mike Pence
Republican

The 2012 Indiana gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2012. Incumbent governor Mitch Daniels was term-limited and unable to seek a third term. The Republican candidate, Congressman Mike Pence; the Democratic candidate, former Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives John R. Gregg; and the Libertarian candidate, youth mentor, small business owner and reality TV personality, Rupert Boneham, were all unopposed in their respective primaries or conventions and contested the general election. This is the first open Indiana gubernatorial election since 1996 and the first gubernatorial election since 1972 without the incumbent governor or lieutenant governor as a nominee.

Contents

When the polls closed, the election was very close, and continued to stay close throughout the night. Gregg performed well in Marion County (Indianapolis) and Lake County (Gary), which were Democratic strongholds. Pence performed well in the Indianapolis suburbs and the Fort Wayne area. At 12:34 am EST, the Associated Press called the race for Pence. At 1:06 am, Gregg called Pence to concede, realizing there were not enough votes left to overtake him. Pence ultimately won the election and took office on January 14, 2013. This was the closest race for governor since 1960.

Primaries

Democratic

Results

Democratic Indiana gubernatorial election primary in Indiana, 2012 [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic John R. Gregg 207,365 100
Total votes207,365 100

Libertarian

General election

Candidates

  • Running mate: George Fish [8]

Debates

The Indiana Debate Commission organized three televised debates between Indiana Gubernatorial candidates Republican Mike Pence, Democrat John R. Gregg and Libertarian Rupert Boneham. Debate schedule
The first debate was held on Wednesday, October 10, 2012, at the Zionsville Performing Arts Center in Zionsville, Indiana and was moderated by former Indianapolis Star editor Dennis Ryerson.

The second debate was held on Wednesday, October 17, 2012, at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center in South Bend, Indiana and was moderated by Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute president John Ketzenberger.

The third debate was held on Thursday, October 25, 2012, at the WFWA PBS 39 studio in Fort Wayne, Indiana and was moderated by DePauw University Executive Director of Media Relations Ken Owen.

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [9] Likely RNovember 1, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball [10] Likely RNovember 5, 2012
Rothenberg Political Report [11] Likely RNovember 2, 2012
Real Clear Politics [12] Likely RNovember 5, 2012

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Mike
Pence (R)
John R.
Gregg (D)
Rupert
Boneham (L)
OtherUndecided
Howey Politics/DePauw [13] October 28–30, 2012800± 3.5%47%40%5%
Benenson Strategy Group [14] October 18–21, 2012701± 3.7%44%38%6%12%
YouGov [15] October 4–11, 2012470± 5.6%49%38%13%
Howey Politics/DePauw University [16] September 19–23, 2012800± 3.5%47%34%5%14%
Market Research Insight [17] August 6–9, 2012600± 4%50%32%3%15%
Market Research Insight [18] March 26–27, 2012503± 4.5%44%31%5%20%

Results

State Senate district results 2012 Indiana gubernatorial election by state senate district.svg
State Senate district results
Indiana gubernatorial election, 2012 [19]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Mike Pence/Sue Ellspermann 1,275,424 49.49% −8.35%
Democratic John R. Gregg/Vi Simpson 1,200,01646.56%+6.52%
Libertarian Rupert Boneham 101,8683.95%+1.83%
Independent Donnie Harold Harris (write-in)210.00%N/A
Total votes2,577,329 100.0% N/A
Republican hold

By county

Source [20]

Mike Pence
Republican
John R. Gregg
Democratic
Rupert Boneham
Libertarian
MarginTotal
CountyVotes %Votes %Votes %Votes %Votes
Adams 8,10862.60%4,51534.86%3292.54%3,59327.74%12,952
Allen 78,65754.69%61,36542.67%3,7902.64%17,29212.02%143,812
Bartholomew 17,41459.74%10,60736.39%1,1303.88%6,80723.35%29,151
Benton 1,94454.81%1,37438.74%2296.46%57016.07%3,547
Blackford 2,43252.23%2,01243.21%2124.55%4209.02%4,656
Boone 17,41556.43%8,70931.59%1,0193.70%8,70631.58%27,565
Brown 3,77340.30%3,40744.52%4555.95%3664.78%7,653
Carroll 4,16453.62%3,13240.33%4706.05%1,03213.29%7,766
Cass 7,10450.19%6,24644.13%8035.67%8586.06%14,153
Clark 24,32252.90%20,10843.73%1,5483.37%4,2149.17%45,978
Clay 5,52550.98%4,74743.80%5655.21%7787.18%10,837
Clinton 5,41154.93%3,87539.34%5655.74%1,53615.59%9,851
Crawford 2,09646.63%2,26650.41%1332.96%-170-3.78%4,495
Daviess 5,38653.52%4,39643.68%2812.79%9909.84%10,063
Dearborn 14,35366.64%6,21028.83%9744.52%8,14337.81%21,537
Decatur 6,47963.04%3,18230.96%6165.99%3,29732.08%10,277
DeKalb 9,58359.89%5,84736.54%5713.57%3,73623.35%16,001
Delaware 19,97845.56%21,90149.95%1,9674.49%-1,923-4.39%43,846
Dubois 10,93159.64%6,95837.97%4382.39%3,97321.68%18,327
Elkhart 38,96957.91%26,34039.15%1,9782.94%12,62918.77%67,287
Fayette 4,57352.64%3,66242.15%4525.20%91110.49%8,687
Floyd 18,98254.74%14,73842.50%9542.75%4,24412.24%34,674
Fountain 3,76053.27%2,88440.86%4145.87%87612.41%7,058
Franklin 6,96767.89%2,85827.84%4394.28%4,10940.03%10,264
Fulton 4,53256.03%3,19439.49%3624.48%1,33816.54%8,088
Gibson 7,73152.86%6,50844.50%3872.65%1,2238.36%14,626
Grant 13,82455.15%10,31341.14%9313.71%3,51114.01%25,068
Greene 5,48641.74%7,30755.60%3502.66%-1,821-13.86%13,143
Hamilton 88,06265.19%41,76130.91%5,2653.90%46,30134.27%135,088
Hancock 20,28862.17%10,46432.07%1,8795.76%9,82430.11%32,631
Harrison 9,98757.07%6,95939.77%5543.17%3,02817.30%17,500
Hendricks 40,24261.33%22,11533.70%3,2574.96%18,12727.63%65,614
Henry 9,43749.63%8,27743.53%1,3016.84%1,1606.10%19,015
Howard 17,76849.24%16,51545.77%1,8024.99%1,2533.47%36,085
Huntington 9,62362.68%5,21233.95%5173.37%4,41128.73%15,352
Jackson 9,61357.78%6,37738.33%6483.89%3,23619.45%16,638
Jasper 6,98756.10%5,05540.59%4123.31%1,93215.51%12,454
Jay 4,32455.05%3,18340.52%3484.43%1,14114.53%7,855
Jefferson 6,71552.76%5,61044.08%4033.17%1,1058.68%12,728
Jennings 5,64855.76%4,02339.72%4584.52%1,62516.04%10,129
Johnson 35,80562.67%18,09731.68%3,2315.66%17,70830.99%57,133
Knox 5,03133.11%9,91165.23%2531.67%-4,880-32.12%15,195
Kosciusko 20,52769.01%8,30027.90%9193.09%12,22741.10%29,746
LaGrange 5,65361.01%3,25735.15%3553.83%2,39625.86%9,265
Lake 55,75030.70%122,25167.32%3,5841.97%-66,501-36.62%181,585
LaPorte 16,15938.48%24,18657.59%1,6533.94%-8,027-19.11%41,998
Lawrence 10,09457.14%6,83038.67%7404.19%3,26418.48%17,664
Madison 24,04846.06%25,39248.64%2,7655.30%-1,344-2.57%52,205
Marion 129,12536.27%209,32558.80%17,5184.92%-80,200-22.53%355,968
Marshall 9,90056.22%7,11240.39%5983.40%2,78815.83%17,610
Martin 2,47152.36%2,05043.44%1984.20%4218.92%4,719
Miami 6,88254.48%4,98239.28%7676.07%1,90015.04%12,631
Monroe 14,53036.76%22,98158.14%2,0195.11%-8,451-21.38%39,530
Montgomery 8,10556.41%5,48238.16%7805.43%2,62318.26%14,367
Morgan 17,07960.81%9,29533.10%1,7116.09%7,78427.72%28,085
Newton 3,01554.28%2,28741.17%2534.55%72813.11%5,555
Noble 9,40558.78%6,04737.80%5473.42%3,35820.99%15,999
Ohio 1,55456.57%1,08439.46%1093.97%47017.11%2,747
Orange 4,11253.85%3,27342.86%2513.29%83910.99%7,636
Owen 4,16451.43%3,45642.69%4765.88%7088.75%8,096
Parke 3,36651.78%2,81843.35%3164.86%5488.43%6,500
Perry 3,13240.04%4,52357.82%1682.15%-1,391-17.78%7,823
Pike 2,66145.18%3,06652.05%1632.77%-405-6.88%5,890
Porter 29,32141.06%39,89355.86%2,1983.08%-10,572-14.80%71,412
Posey 6,45553.30%5,34044.10%3152.60%1,1159.21%12,110
Pulaski 2,80953.88%2,18941.99%2154.12%62011.89%5,213
Putnam 7,55055.03%5,30738.68%8646.30%2,24316.35%13,721
Randolph 5,70856.51%3,93939.00%4544.49%1,76917.51%10,101
Ripley 7,01864.99%3,22429.85%5575.16%3,79435.13%10,799
Rush 4,12059.20%2,37034.05%4706.75%1,75025.14%6,960
St. Joseph 47,20843.11%59,41054.25%2,8972.65%-12,202-11.14%109,515
Scott 4,06947.26%4,28749.79%2542.95%-218-2.53%8,610
Shelby 9,64357.70%5,99435.87%1,0846.49%3,64921.83%16,712
Spencer 5,05952.38%4,38545.40%2152.23%6746.98%9,659
Starke 3,82845.27%4,29150.75%3373.99%-463-5.48%8,456
Steuben 7,77257.19%5,30839.06%5093.75%2,46418.13%13,589
Sullivan 2,94835.33%5,17962.06%2182.61%-2,231-26.73%8,345
Switzerland 1,66650.73%1,48945.34%1293.93%1775.39%3,284
Tippecanoe 25,70945.70%27,61549.09%2,9295.21%-1,906-3.39%56,253
Tipton 4,13656.74%2,57235.29%4015.50%1,56421.46%7,289
Union 1,96364.40%94030.84%1454.76%1,02333.56%3,048
Vanderburgh 36,45951.16%32,83046.07%1,9692.76%3,6295.09%71,258
Vermillion 2,61739.76%3,63955.29%3264.95%-1,022-15.53%6,582
Vigo 15,01337.98%22,98858.15%1,5283.87%-7,975-20.18%39,529
Wabash 7,52460.41%4,45935.80%4713.78%3,06524.61%12,454
Warren 2,01353.25%1,57941.77%1884.97%43411.48%3,780
Warrick 13,65456.25%10,03041.32%5882.42%3,62414.93%24,272
Washington 6,12957.71%4,10838.68%3833.61%2,02119.03%10,620
Wayne 13,89154.66%10,26140.38%1,2624.97%3,63014.28%25,414
Wells 8,51766.18%3,99731.06%3552.76%4,52035.12%12,869
White 5,03250.93%4,27943.31%5705.77%7537.62%9,881
Whitley 9,08461.44%5,20935.23%4933.33%3,87526.21%14,786
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

By congressional district

Pence won six of nine congressional districts; while Gregg won three including one, the 8th district, that elected a Republican. [21]

DistrictPenceGreggRepresentative
1st 33.61%63.98% Pete Visclosky
2nd 50.63%46.15% Joe Donnelly (112th Congress)
Jackie Walorski (113th Congress)
3rd 58.24%38.77% Marlin Stutzman
4th 53.82%40.87% Todd Rokita
5th 55.34%40.44% Dan Burton (112th Congress)
Susan Brooks (113th Congress)
6th 56.56%38.49% Mike Pence (112th Congress)
Luke Messer (113th Congress)
7th 33.07%61.73% André Carson
8th 48.28%48.69% Larry Bucshon
9th 53.08%42.70% Todd Young

References

  1. Rader, Kevin (May 16, 2011). "Former speaker Gregg to run for Indiana governor". WTHR . Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  2. "Indiana Primary Election, May 8, 2012-United States Senator". Secretary of State of Indiana . June 5, 2012. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  3. "'Survivor's' Rupert Boneham Announces He'll Run for Governor of Indiana". The Hollywood Reporter . October 22, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  4. "Rupert Receives Libertarian Nomination" . Retrieved November 9, 2012.
  5. Kelly, Niki (May 21, 2012). "Pence names running mate". The Journal Gazette . Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  6. 1 2 "Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Pence chooses running mate". WXIN . May 21, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  7. Shella, Jim (May 21, 2012). "Gregg to name Sen. Simpson as running mate". WISH-TV . Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  8. Rodgers, Lauren (May 7, 2012). "State executive primary preview: No surprises in Indiana tomorrow". Ballotnews. Archived from the original on May 16, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  9. "2012 Governor Race Ratings for November 1, 2012". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  10. "PROJECTION: OBAMA WILL LIKELY WIN SECOND TERM". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  11. "2012 Gubernatorial Ratings". Gubernatorial Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  12. "2012 Elections Map - 2012 Governor Races". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  13. Howey Politics/DePauw
  14. Benenson Strategy Group
  15. YouGov
  16. Howey Politics/DePauw University
  17. Market Research Insight
  18. Market Research Insight Archived August 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  19. "Election Results". in.gov/apps/sos. November 28, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
  20. "2012 Indiana Governor Results". Politico . 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
  21. "Daily Kos".

Campaign websites (archived)