2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine

2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine

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All 2 Maine seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Last election 2 0 Seats won 2 0 Seat change Popular vote 427,819 265,982 Percentage 61.66% 38.34%
District results County results Democratic   50–60%   60–70% Republican   60–70%

The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the two U.S. representatives from the state of Maine, one from each of the state's two congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election and an election to the U.S. Senate. Democrats would not win both of Maine's congressional districts again until 2018.

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in Maine, 2012 [1]
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats before	Seats after	+/–
	Democratic	427,819	61.66%	2	2	-
	Republican	265,982	38.34%	0	0	-
Totals		693,801	100%	2	2	-

Redistricting

Unlike most states, which will pass or have passed redistricting laws to redraw the boundaries of their congressional districts based on the 2010 United States census in advance of the 2012 elections, Maine law requires that redistricting be done in 2013. In March 2011, a lawsuit was filed asking a U.S. district judge to ensure redistricting is completed in time for the 2012 elections. According to the Census, the 1st district had a population of 8,669 greater than that of the 2nd district. ^[2] The Maine Democratic Party, which opposes the lawsuit, was granted intervenor status, and argues that the lawsuit constitutes an attempt by the Maine Republican Party to force Representatives Chellie Pingree and Mike Michaud, both of whom are Democrats, to run in the same district. ^[3] On June 9, 2011, a panel of three federal judges agreed that failing to redistrict would be unconstitutional, and that the state should redraw the boundaries of its districts immediately. ^[4]

Governor Paul LePage will call a special session of the Maine Legislature on September 27 to consider a redistricting plan. ^[5] On August 15, both Republicans and Democrats released redistricting proposals. The Republican plan would move Lincoln County, Knox County (including Pingree's hometown of North Haven) and Sagadahoc County from the 1st district to the 2nd, and move Oxford County and Androscoggin County from the 2nd district to the 1st, thereby making the 2nd district more favorable to Republicans. The Democratic plan, meanwhile, would not significantly change the current districts: only Vassalboro would be moved from the 1st district to the 2nd. ^[6]

District 1

See also: Maine's 1st congressional district

Democrat Chellie Pingree, who had represented Maine's 1st congressional district since 2009, was gathering signatures to run for the U.S. Senate, but she decided not to run. ^{[7] [8]} State senator Cynthia Dill and state representative Jon Hinck, both of whom are Democrats, picked up petitions to run in the 1st district. However, after Pingree stepped out of the Senate race, Dill and Hinck returned, campaigning for U.S. Senate.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Chellie Pingree, incumbent U.S. Representative

Withdrawn

• Cynthia Dill, state senator
• Jon Hinck, state representative

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chellie Pingree (incumbent)	31,965	100.0
Total votes			31,965	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jon Courtney, State Senate majority leader ^[9]

Eliminated in primary

• Patrick Calder, merchant marine ^[10]

Declined

• Markham Gartley, former Secretary of State of Maine
• Shawn Moody, independent candidate for Governor in 2010 ^[10]
• Richard Snow, businessman ^[10]

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jonathan Courtney	14,558	50.4
	Republican	Patrick Calder	14,330	49.6
Total votes			28,888	100.0

Independents

Declined

• Shawn Moody, independent candidate for Governor in 2010 ^[10]

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Chellie Pingree (D)	Jon Courtney (R)	Undecided
MPRC/Maine People's Alliance (D) [11]	November 1–3, 2012	469	± 3.3%	62%	34%	4%
Pan Atlantic SMS Group [12]	September 24–28, 2012	198	± 7.0%	57%	24%	19%
MPRC/Maine People's Alliance (D) [13]	September 15–17, 2012	444	± 4.3%	60%	32%	8%
Critical Insights (Portland Press Herald) [14]	June 20–25, 2012	615	± 4.0%	57%	31%	12%
Maine People's Resource Center (D) [15]	March 31–April 2, 2012	522	± 4.3%	61%	28%	11%

Results

Maine's 1st congressional district, 2012 ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chellie Pingree (incumbent)	236,363	64.8
	Republican	Jonathan Courtney	128,440	35.2
Total votes			364,803	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 2

See also: Maine's 2nd congressional district

Democrat Mike Michaud, who had represented Maine's 2nd congressional district since 2003, decided not to run for the U.S. Senate, and was running for a sixth term in the United States House of Representatives. ^[16] David Costa, a concierge at the Portland Harbor Hotel; Wellington Lyons, a lawyer; and David Lemoine, a former state treasurer, had taken out papers to seek the Democratic nomination to succeed Michaud had he run for Senate. ^[9] Emily Cain, the minority leader of the Maine House of Representatives, had also planned to seek the Democratic nomination in the 2nd district if Michaud decided to run for the Senate seat. ^[17]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Mike Michaud, incumbent U.S. Representative

Declined

• Emily Cain, minority leader of the Maine House of Representatives ^[17]
• David Costa, concierge at the Portland Harbor Hotel
• David Lemoine, former State Treasurer ^[9]
• Wellington Lyons, lawyer

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mike Michaud (incumbent)	21,895	100.0
Total votes			21,895	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Kevin Raye, Maine Senate president ^{[17] [18]}

Eliminated in primary

• Blaine Richardson, retired naval veteran

Declined

• Jason Levesque, businessman and nominee for this seat in 2010 ^[19]

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kevin Raye	18,703	60.0
	Republican	Blaine R. Richardson	12,465	40.0
Total votes			31,168	100.0

General election

Endorsements

Mike Michaud (D)

Organizations

• Blue Dog Coalition ^[20]

Kevin Raye (R)

Organizations

• National Republican Congressional Committee "Young Guns" Program ^[21]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Mike Michaud (D)	Kevin Raye (R)	Undecided
MPRC/Maine People's Alliance (D) [11]	November 1–3, 2012	469	± 3.3%	50%	46%	4%
Eaton River Strategies/Scientific Marketing & Analysis (R-Raye) [22]	October 10–11, 2012	1,200	± 2.8%	47%	40%	13%
Normington, Petts & Associates (D-Michaud) [23]	October 8–9, 2012	400	± 4.9%	58%	33%	9%
Pan Atlantic SMS Group [12]	September 24–28, 2012	202	± 6.9%	52%	32%	16%
MPRC/Maine People's Alliance (D) [24]	September 15–17, 2012	410	± 4.3%	56%	37%	7%
Normington, Petts & Associates (D-Michaud) [25]	June 25–27, 2012	400	± 4.9%	62%	30%	8%
Critical Insights (Portland Press Herald) [14]	June 20–25, 2012	615	± 4.0%	47%	35%	18%
Maine People's Resource Center (D) [15]	March 31–April 2, 2012	471	± 4.5%	53%	37%	10%
Normington, Petts & Associates (D-Michaud) [26]	January 23–25, 2012	400	± 4.9%	55%	32%	13%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [27]	Safe D	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg [28]	Safe D	November 2, 2012
Roll Call [29]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball [30]	Safe D	November 5, 2012
NY Times [31]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
RCP [32]	Lean D	November 4, 2012
The Hill [33]	Likely D	November 4, 2012

Results

Maine's 2nd congressional district, 2012 ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mike Michaud (incumbent)	191,456	58.2
	Republican	Kevin Raye	137,542	41.8
Total votes			328,998	100.0
	Democratic hold

References

1. "Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions, Elections Division". Main Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commission, Elections. Archived from the original on August 1, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
2. "Lawsuit aims to speed Maine redistricting". Bangor Daily News . March 29, 2011. Archived from the original on April 7, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
3. Hench, David (April 27, 2011). "Federal judges to review redistricting lawsuit". Kennebec Journal . Archived from the original on May 3, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
4. Canfield, Clarke (June 9, 2011). "Maine's congressional districts must be redrawn". RealClearPolitics . Retrieved June 10, 2011.
5. Miller, Joshua (August 4, 2011). "Maine Legislature Will Hold Special Session on Redistricting Plan". Roll Call . Retrieved August 5, 2011.
6. Russell, Eric (August 15, 2011). "Republicans' redistricting plan would add more GOP voters to 2nd District". Bangor Daily News . Retrieved August 16, 2011.
7. Russell, Eric (February 29, 2012). "Michaud, Pingree and Baldacci may seek Olympia Snowe's seat; King, Raye and Cutler also considering". Bangor Daily News . Retrieved February 29, 2012.
8. Riskind, Jonathan (March 7, 2012). "Pingree won't run for U.S. Senate".
9. Murphy, Edward D. (February 29, 2012). "Baldacci, Michaud, Pingree take out papers for Senate seat". Kennebec Journal . Retrieved March 1, 2012.
10. Gagnon, Matthew (June 30, 2011). "The Next David To Pingree's Goliath". Bangor Daily News . Retrieved July 8, 2011.
11. MPRC/Maine People's Alliance (D)
12. Pan Atlantic SMS Group
13. MPRC/Maine People's Alliance (D)
14. Critical Insights (Portland Press Herald)
15. Maine People's Resource Center (D)
16. Russell, Eric (March 1, 2012). "Michaud to stay in House race; Republicans cautiously considering Senate seat". Bangor Daily News . Retrieved March 1, 2012.
17. Higgins, A.J. (February 29, 2012). "Maine Lawmakers Stampede to Qualify for Ballot in Wake of Snowe's Departure". Maine Public Broadcasting Network . Retrieved February 29, 2012.
18. Mistler, Steve (January 5, 2012). "Raye will challenge Michaud for congressional seat". Lewiston Sun Journal . Retrieved January 5, 2012.
19. Miller, Joshua (July 13, 2011). "GOP Sees Opportunity With Maine House Seat". Roll Call . Retrieved July 14, 2011.
20. "Blue Dog Membership". bluedogdems.ngpvanhost.com. Blue Dog Coalition. Archived from the original on October 28, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
21. "CANDIDATES". gopyoungguns.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
22. Eaton River Strategies/Scientific Marketing & Analysis (R-Raye)
23. Normington, Petts & Associates (D-Michaud)
24. MPRC/Maine People's Alliance (D)
25. Normington, Petts & Associates (D-Michaud)
26. Normington, Petts & Associates (D-Michaud)
27. "The Cook Political Report — Charts – 2012 House Competitive Races". Cookpolitical.com. November 5, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
28. "House Ratings". Rothenbergpoliticalreport.com. November 2, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
29. , as of November 4,2012 [update]
30. Crystal Ball, as of November 5,2012 ^[update]
31. House Race Ratings, The New York Times, as of November 4,2012 ^[update]
32. , as of November 4,2012 [update]
33. "House Ratings". The Hill. November 3, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.

External links

• Elections from the Maine Secretary of State
• United States House of Representatives elections in Maine, 2012 at Ballotpedia
• Maine U.S. House at OurCampaigns.com
• Campaign contributions for U.S. Congressional races in Maine at OpenSecrets
• Outside spending at the Sunlight Foundation