2012 United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia

2012 United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia

←  2010 November 6, 2012 (2012-11-06) 2014  →
All 3 West Virginia seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Republican Democratic Last election 2 1 Seats won 2 1 Seat change Popular vote 384,253 257,101 Percentage 59.91% 40.09% Swing 4.88% 4.21%
Election results by district Election results by county Republican   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90% Democratic   50–60%   60–70%

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 ^[update] , this is the last time that a Democrat won a congressional district in West Virginia.

Overview

District	Republican		Democratic		Total		Result
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
District 1	133,809	62.48%	80,342	37.52%	214,151	100.0%	Republican hold
District 2	158,206	69.77%	68,560	30.23%	226,766	100.0%	Republican hold
District 3	92,238	46.02%	108,199	53.98%	200,437	100.0%	Democratic hold
Total	384,253	59.91%	257,101	40.09%	641,354	100.0%

Popular vote Republican   59.91% Democratic   40.09%

House seats Republican   66.67% Democratic   33.33%

Redistricting

In August 2011, the West Virginia Legislature passed a redistricting plan which would make only minor changes to the state's congressional districts. Under the new map, Mason County is moved from the 2nd district to the 3rd district, while the 1st district is unchanged. ^[1] Governor Earl Ray Tomblin signed the map into law on August 18. ^[2]

District 1

Republican David McKinley, who has represented West Virginia's 1st congressional district since January 2011, ran for re-election. ^[3]

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• David McKinley, incumbent U.S. Representative

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David McKinley (incumbent)	36,107	100.0
Total votes			36,107	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Sue Thorn, former community organizer ^{[4] [5]}

Declined

• Tim Manchin, state delegate and cousin of U.S. Senator Joe Manchin ^[6]
• Alan Mollohan, former U.S. Representative ^[7]
• Mike Oliverio, former state senator and nominee for this seat in 2010 ^[8]

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sue Thorn	49,203	100.0
Total votes			49,203	100.0

General election

Results

West Virginia's 1st congressional district, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David McKinley (incumbent)	133,809	62.5
	Democratic	Sue Thorn	80,342	37.5
Total votes			214,151	100.0
	Republican hold

District 2

Republican Shelley Moore Capito, who has represented West Virginia's 2nd congressional district since 2001, ran for reelection. ^{[9] [3]}

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Shelley Moore Capito, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Michael Davis, retired school teacher ^[5]
• Jonathan Miller, state delegate ^[10]

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Shelley Moore Capito (incumbent)	35,088	83.0
	Republican	Jonathan Miller	4,711	11.1
	Republican	Michael Davis	2,495	5.9
Total votes			42,294	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Howard Swint, commercial property leasing manager and opinion writer

Eliminated in primary

• Dugald Brown, IT specialist
• William McCann, slot machine technician ^[3]

Declined

• Thornton Cooper, lawyer ^[11]

Primary results

Democratic primary results ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Howard Swint	22,563	48.3
	Democratic	William McCann	13,668	29.2
	Democratic	Dugald Brown	10,514	22.5
Total votes			46,745	100.0

General election

Results

West Virginia's 2nd congressional district, 2012 ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Shelley Moore Capito (incumbent)	158,206	69.8
	Democratic	Howard Swint	68,560	30.2
Total votes			226,766	100.0
	Republican hold

District 3

2012 West Virginia's 3rd congressional district election

←  2010 2014  →

Nominee Nick Rahall Rick Snuffer Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 108,223 92,214 Percentage 53.9% 46.0%

County results Rahall:     50–60%     60–70% Snuffer:     50–60%

U.S. Representative before election Nick Rahall Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Nick Rahall Democratic

Democrat Nick Rahall, who had represented West Virginia's 3rd congressional district since 1993, ran for reelection. ^[5]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Nick Rahall, incumbent U.S. Representative

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Nick Rahall (incumbent)	66,745	100.0
Total votes			66,745	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Rick Snuffer, state delegate and nominee for this seat in 2004 ^[14]

Eliminated in primary

• Lee Bias
• Bill Lester ^[3]

Primary results

Republican primary results ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rick Snuffer	12,359	53.4
	Republican	Lee Bias	6,671	28.8
	Republican	Bill Lester	4,104	17.8
Total votes			23,134	100.0

General election

Endorsements

Rick Snuffer (R)

Organizations

• National Republican Congressional Committee "Young Guns" Program ^[15]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [16]	Likely D	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg [17]	Safe D	November 2, 2012
Roll Call [18]	Likely D	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball [19]	Likely D	November 5, 2012
NY Times [20]	Lean D	November 4, 2012
RCP [21]	Likely D	November 4, 2012
The Hill [22]	Likely D	November 4, 2012

Results

West Virginia's 3rd congressional district, 2012 ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Nick Rahall (incumbent)	108,199	54.0
	Republican	Rick Snuffer	92,238	46.0
Total votes			200,437	100.0
	Democratic hold

References

1. Miller, Joshua (August 8, 2011). "Only Minor Tweaks Made to New West Virginia Map". Roll Call . Retrieved August 10, 2011.
2. Miller, Joshua (August 18, 2011). "Governor Signs New West Virginia Map". Roll Call . Retrieved August 18, 2011.
3. "Filing For Congress". West Virginia MetroNews . January 27, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
4. "Thorn announces bid to unseat McKinley". The Parkersburg News and Sentinel . December 2, 2011. Retrieved December 15, 2011.
5. Messina, Lawrence (January 28, 2012). "W.Va. candidates file for Congress, state offices". The Washington Examiner . Associated Press . Retrieved January 29, 2012.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
6. Wilson, Katie (January 10, 2012). "Candidates begin filing for 2012 ballot". Times West Virginian . Retrieved January 10, 2012.
7. Isenstadt, Alex (December 7, 2010). "Alan Mollohan weighs 2012 comeback". Politico . Retrieved July 19, 2011.
8. Knezevich, Alison (September 6, 2011). "Oliverio to try again". The Charleston Gazette . Archived from the original on September 24, 2011. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
9. "WVa US Rep Shelley Moore Capito overcomes rare GOP primary challenge in bid for 7th term". Associated Press. 8 May 2012. Archived from the original on 16 May 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
10. Vincent, Jenni (May 11, 2011). "Miller announces congressional bid". The Journal . Archived from the original on August 25, 2011. Retrieved July 19, 2011.
11. Kabler, Phil (January 14, 2012). "Phil Kabler: Perfect plan revisited". The Charleston Gazette . Retrieved January 17, 2012.
12. "Statewide Results". Secretary of State of West Virginia . Retrieved May 27, 2012.
13. "WV SOS - Election Results Center - State And County Election Results". West Virginia Secretary of State Elections Results Center.
14. Miller, Joshua; Livingston, Abby (January 30, 2012). "West Virginia: Nick Rahall's 2004 GOP Foe Is Running Again". Roll Call . Archived from the original on February 2, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2012.
15. "CANDIDATES". gopyoungguns.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
16. "The Cook Political Report — Charts – 2012 House Competitive Races". Cookpolitical.com. November 5, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
17. "House Ratings". Rothenbergpoliticalreport.com. November 2, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
18. , as of November 4,2012 [update]
19. Crystal Ball, as of November 5,2012 ^[update]
20. House Race Ratings, The New York Times, as of November 4,2012 ^[update]
21. , as of November 4,2012 [update]
22. "House Ratings". The Hill. November 3, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.

External links

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