2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Oregon

2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Oregon

←  2010 November 6, 2012 (2012-11-06) 2014  →
All 5 Oregon seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Last election 4 1 Seats won 4 1 Seat change Popular vote 949,660 687,839 Percentage 55.60% 40.27% Swing 4.29% 5.70%
District results County results Democratic   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% Republican   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%

The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Oregon were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the five U.S. representatives from the state of Oregon, apportioned according to the 2010 United States census. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election. All five incumbents, four Democrats and one Republican, were re-elected to another term.

Primary elections for Democrats and Republicans were held on May 15, 2012; other parties had other nominating procedures. ^[1] Several candidates received nominations for multiple parties, as permitted by Oregon law.

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in Oregon, 2012 [2] [3]
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Democratic	949,660	55.60%	4	-
	Republican	687,839	40.27%	1	-
	Libertarian	34,879	2.04%		-
	Pacific Green	20,675	1.21%		-
	Constitution	12,518	0.73%		-
	write-ins	2,597	0.15%		-
Totals		1,708,168	100.00%	5	-

Redistricting

On June 29, 2011, members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly reached an agreement on redistricting all five of Oregon's congressional districts, as required by population changes from the 2010 census. Among other changes, Downtown Portland was moved from District 1 to District 3; District 2 ceded more of the Grants Pass area to District 4; and District 5 was changed to include more of Clackamas County and only small parts of Multnomah County. ^[4]

District 1

See also: Oregon's 1st congressional district

Oregon's 1st congressional district is represented by Democrat Suzanne Bonamici, the winner of a January 2012 special election held after Representative David Wu resigned following allegations of an unwanted sexual encounter following the resolution of the 2011 U.S. debt ceiling crisis. ^{[5] [6]} The district has a PVI of D+6.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Suzanne Bonamici, incumbent U.S. Representative ^[7]

Declined

• Brad Avakian, state Commissioner of Labor and Industries and candidate for this seat in 2012 (special) ^[8]
• Ryan Deckert, former state senator ^[9]
• Elizabeth Furse, former U.S. Representative ^[10]
• Greg Macpherson, former state representative ^[11]
• Dan Saltzman, Portland city commissioner ^[12]
• Brad Witt, state representative and candidate for this seat in 2012 (special) ^[13]

Primary results

Democratic primary results ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Suzanne Bonamici (incumbent)	57,146	98.9
	Democratic	Write-ins	608	1.1
Total votes			57,754	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Delinda Morgan, vineyard owner ^[7]

Eliminated in primary

• Lisa Michaels, activist, cable host and candidate for this seat in 2012 (special) ^[7]

Declined

• Rob Cornilles, sports marketing consultant and nominee for this seat in 2010 & 2012 (special) ^{[15] [16]}
• Rob Miller, businessman ^[17]
• Bruce Starr state senator ^[18]

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Delinda Morgan	18,996	56.4
	Republican	Lisa Michaels	14,274	42.3
	Republican	Write-ins	447	1.3
Total votes			33,717	100.0

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [19]	Safe D	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg [20]	Safe D	November 2, 2012
Roll Call [21]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball [22]	Safe D	November 5, 2012
NY Times [23]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
RCP [24]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
The Hill [25]	Safe D	November 4, 2012

Results

Oregon's 1st congressional district, 2012 ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Suzanne Bonamici (incumbent)	197,845	59.6
	Republican	Delinda Morgan	109,699	33.0
	Progressive	Steven Reynolds	15,009	4.5
	Constitution	Bob Ekstrom	8,918	2.7
	n/a	Write-ins	509	0.2
Total votes			331,980	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 2

See also: Oregon's 2nd congressional district

Republican Greg Walden has represented Oregon's 2nd congressional district since 1998 and is seeking re-election. ^[7] The district has a PVI of R+10.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Greg Walden, incumbent U.S. Representative ^[7]

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Greg Walden (incumbent)	77,498	99.3
	Republican	Write-ins	581	0.7
Total votes			78,079	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Joyce Segers, businesswoman, writer and nominee for this seat in 2010 ^{[26] [7]}

Eliminated in primary

• John Sweeney, activist ^[7]

Results

Democratic primary results ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joyce Segers	31,157	76.5
	Democratic	John Sweeney	8,825	21.7
	Democratic	Write-ins	751	1.8
Total votes			40,733	100.0

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report	Safe R	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg [20]	Safe R	November 2, 2012
Roll Call [21]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball [22]	Safe R	November 5, 2012
NY Times [23]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
RCP [24]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
The Hill [25]	Safe R	November 4, 2012

Results

Oregon's 2nd congressional district, 2012 ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Greg Walden (incumbent)	228,043	68.7
	Democratic	Joyce B. Segers	96,741	29.1
	Libertarian	Joe Tabor	7,025	2.1
	n/a	Write-ins	446	0.1
Total votes			332,255	100.0
	Republican hold

District 3

See also: Oregon's 3rd congressional district

Democrat Earl Blumenauer has represented Oregon's 3rd congressional district since 1996 and is seeking re-election. ^[7] The district is the most Democratic-leaning district in the state, with a PVI of D+21.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Earl Blumenauer, incumbent U.S. Representative ^[7]

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Earl Blumenauer (incumbent)	84,628	98.9
	Democratic	Write-ins	969	1.1
Total votes			85,597	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Ronald Green, bus operator ^[7]

Eliminated in primary

• Delia Lopez, real estate investor ^[7]

Results

Republican primary results ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ronald Green	14,844	63.2
	Republican	Delia Lopez	8,237	35.0
	Republican	Write-ins	424	1.8
Total votes			23,505	100

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [19]	Safe D	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg [20]	Safe D	November 2, 2012
Roll Call [21]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball [22]	Safe D	November 5, 2012
NY Times [23]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
RCP [24]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
The Hill [25]	Safe D	November 4, 2012

Results

Oregon's 3rd congressional district, 2012 ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Earl Blumenauer (incumbent)	264,979	74.4
	Republican	Ronald Green	70,325	19.8
	Pacific Green	Woodrow Broadnax	13,159	3.7
	Libertarian	Michael Cline	6,640	1.9
	n/a	Write-ins	772	0.2
Total votes			355,875	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 4

See also: Oregon's 4th congressional district

Oregon's 4th congressional district has been represented by Democrat Peter DeFazio since 1987 and he is seeking re-election. ^[7] The district has a PVI of D+2.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Peter DeFazio, incumbent U.S. Representative ^[7]

Eliminated in primary

• Matthew Robinson, nuclear engineering graduate student and son of Arthur B. Robinson ^[7]

Results

Democratic primary results ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Peter DeFazio (incumbent)	69,864	89.9
	Democratic	Matthew Robinson	7,665	9.8
	Democratic	Write-ins	212	0.3
Total votes			77,741	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Arthur B. Robinson, chemist and nominee for this seat in 2010 ^{[27] [7]}

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Art Robinson	50,090	97.3
	Republican	Write-ins	1,414	2.7
Total votes			51,504	100.0

General election

Endorsements

Arthur Robinson (R)

Organizations

• National Republican Congressional Committee "On the Radar" Program ^[28]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [19]	Safe D	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg [20]	Safe D	November 2, 2012
Roll Call [21]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball [22]	Safe D	November 5, 2012
NY Times [23]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
RCP [24]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
The Hill [25]	Safe D	November 4, 2012

Results

Oregon's 4th congressional district, 2012 ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Peter A. DeFazio (incumbent)	212,866	59.2
	Republican	Arthur B. Robinson	140,549	39.0
	Libertarian	Chuck Huntting	6,205	1.7
	n/a	Write-ins	468	0.1
Total votes			360,088	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 5

See also: Oregon's 5th congressional district

Democratic incumbent Kurt Schrader has represented Oregon's 5th congressional district since 2008 and is running for re-election in what is often considered to be the most competitive district in the state. ^{[4] [7]} In fact, the district has an even PVI.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Kurt Schrader, incumbent U.S. Representative ^[7]

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kurt Schrader (incumbent)	51,652	98.5
	Democratic	Write-ins	805	1.5
Total votes			52,457	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Fred Thompson, retired timber executive and candidate for this seat in 2010 ^{[29] [7]}

Eliminated in primary

• Karen Bowerman, business consultant and retired college administrator ^{[7] [30]}

Declined

• Scott Bruun, former state representative and nominee for this seat in 2010
• Chris Dudley, former professional basketball player and nominee for governor in 2010 ^[31]

Results

Republican primary results ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Fred Thompson	33,448	67.0
	Republican	Karen Bowerman	16,174	32.4
	Republican	Write-ins	320	0.6
Total votes			49,942	100.0

General election

Endorsements

Kurt Schrader (D)

Organizations

• Blue Dog Coalition ^[32]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [33]	Safe D	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg [20]	Safe D	November 2, 2012
Roll Call [21]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball [22]	Safe D	November 5, 2012
NY Times [23]	Lean D	November 4, 2012
RCP [24]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
The Hill [25]	Likely D	November 4, 2012

Results

Oregon's 5th congressional district, 2012 ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kurt Schrader (incumbent)	177,229	54.0
	Republican	Fred Thompson	139,223	42.5
	Pacific Green	Christina Jean Lugo	7,516	2.3
	Constitution	Raymond Baldwin	3,600	1.1
	n/a	Write-ins	402	0.1
Total votes			327,970	100.0
	Democratic hold

See also

• Oregon's 1st congressional district special election, 2012
• United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
• United States presidential election in Oregon, 2012
• Oregon state elections, 2012

References

1. "Elections Division History". Oregon Secretary of State. 2010. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
2. Karen L. Haas (February 28, 2013). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 6, 2012" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives . Retrieved November 21, 2016.
3. "Official Results - November 6, 2012 General Election". Oregon Secretary of State . Retrieved November 21, 2016.
4. Mapes, Jeff (June 29, 2011). "Oregon legislators reach agreement on congressional redistricting". The Oregonian . Retrieved June 29, 2011.
5. Pope, Charles; Janie Har; Beth Slovic (July 26, 2011). "Rep. David Wu boxed in by ethics investigation, forced to resign after pressure from colleagues". The Oregonian . Retrieved July 27, 2011.
6. Shear, Michael D. (July 26, 2011). "Wu to Resign From Congress". New York Times . Retrieved July 26, 2011.
7. "Candidate Filings, Representative in Congress". Oregon Secretary of State . Retrieved March 7, 2012.
8. Mapes, Jeff (April 18, 2011). "Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian will run in Democratic primary against Rep. David Wu". The Oregonian . Retrieved June 24, 2011.
9. Mapes, Jeff (May 23, 2011). "Ryan Deckert decides not to run for David Wu's congressional seat". The Oregonian . Retrieved June 24, 2011.
10. Mapes, Jeff (May 4, 2011). "Elizabeth Furse ponders return to old congressional seat". The Oregonian . Retrieved June 24, 2011.
11. Slovic, Beth (April 1, 2011). "Greg Macpherson Weighs Race Against David Wu". Willamette Week . Retrieved June 24, 2011.
12. Slovic, Beth (April 12, 2011). "One Local Politician Who Says David Wu Should Step Aside". Willamette Week . Retrieved June 24, 2011.
13. Mapes, Jeff (July 7, 2011). "Brad Witt formally announces congressional candidacy in Rep. David Wu's district". The Oregonian . Retrieved July 7, 2011.
14. "Official Results - May 15, 2012 Primary Election". Oregon Secretary of State . Retrieved November 21, 2016.
15. Miller, Sean J. (March 3, 2011). "Republicans see 2012 race against Rep. David Wu as 'highly competitive'". The Hill . Retrieved June 24, 2011.
16. Cooper, Jonathan J. (February 1, 2012). "Ore. Democrat wins special election to replace Wu". Seattle Post-Intelligencer . Retrieved February 4, 2012.
17. Mapes, Jeff (July 18, 2011). "GOP businessman Rob Miller considering run for Rep. David Wu's seat". The Oregonian . Retrieved July 20, 2011.
18. Mapes, Jeff (March 18, 2011). "Oregon Sen. Bruce Starr decides against run for Congressman David Wu's seat". The Oregonian . Retrieved June 24, 2011.
19. "The Cook Political Report — Charts – 2012 House Competitive Races". Cookpolitical.com. November 5, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
20. "House Ratings". Rothenbergpoliticalreport.com. November 2, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
21. , as of November 4,2012 [update]
22. Crystal Ball, as of November 5,2012 ^[update]
23. House Race Ratings, The New York Times, as of November 4,2012 ^[update]
24. , as of November 4,2012 [update]
25. "House Ratings". The Hill. November 3, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
26. Darling, John (October 25, 2011). "Democrat Segers will take on Rep. Walden again". Mail Tribune . Retrieved October 30, 2011.
27. Mapes, Jeff (March 8, 2011). "GOP congressional candidate Art Robinson goes nuclear over his children at Oregon State". The Oregonian . Retrieved June 24, 2011.
28. "CANDIDATES". gopyoungguns.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
29. Rendleman, Raymond (October 26, 2011). "Thompson announces another run for 5th Congressional District seat". Clackamas Review. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
30. Mapes, Jeff (January 16, 2012). "Second Republican joins race to take on Rep. Kurt Schrader". The Oregonian . Retrieved January 20, 2012.
31. Mapes, Jeff (July 14, 2011). "Chris Dudley says he won't run against Oregon Rep. Kurt Schrader". The Oregonian . Retrieved July 18, 2011.
32. "Blue Dog Membership". bluedogdems.ngpvanhost.com. Blue Dog Coalition. Archived from the original on October 28, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
33. "The Cook Political Report — Charts – 2012 House Competitive Races". Cookpolitical.com. November 5, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2012.

External links

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