2012 United States Senate election in Mississippi

2012 United States Senate election in Mississippi

←  2008 (special) November 6, 2012 2018  →
Turnout	59.7% (voting eligible) [1]
Nominee Roger Wicker Albert N. Gore Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 709,626 503,467 Percentage 57.16% 40.55%
County results Wicker:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Gore:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
U.S. senator before election Roger Wicker Republican Elected U.S. Senator Roger Wicker Republican

The 2012 United States Senate election in Mississippi was held on November 6, 2012, alongside the 2012 U.S. presidential election, other elections to the United States Senate in other states, as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Roger Wicker won re-election to his first full term, while 82-year-old Albert N. Gore (possibly distantly related to former U.S. Vice President Al Gore) ^{[2] [3] [4]} was the Democratic nominee.

Background

Former U.S. representative Roger Wicker was appointed by Governor Haley Barbour after then-incumbent Trent Lott retired at the end of 2007. A 2008 special election was later scheduled to determine who would serve the remainder of the term. Then-U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker defeated former Mississippi Governor Ronnie Musgrove with 54.96% of the vote in the special election and will be up for re-election in 2012.

Republican primary

Candidates

• E. Allen Hathcock, Tea Party activist and Army veteran ^{[5] [6]}
• Robert Maloney ^[5]
• Roger Wicker, incumbent U.S. Senator ^[5]

Results

Republican primary results ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Roger Wicker (incumbent)	254,936	89.17
	Republican	Robert Maloney	18,857	6.6
	Republican	Allen Hathcock	12,106	4.23
Total votes			285,899	100

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Albert N. Gore Jr. chairman of the Oktibbeha County Democratic Party ^[8]
• Will Oatis, Afghan War veteran and Independent candidate for governor in 2011 ^[6]
• Roger Weiner, member of the Coahoma County Board of Supervisors ^[9]

Results

County results

Democratic primary results ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Albert Gore	49,157	56.77
	Democratic	Roger Weiner	21,131	24.4
	Democratic	Will Oatis	16,300	18.83
Total votes			86,588	100

General election

Candidates

• Roger Wicker (R), incumbent U.S. Senator
• Albert Gore (D), chairman of the Oktibbeha County Democratic Party
• Thomas Cramer (Constitution), employee of Ingalls Shipbuilding ^{[11] [12]}
• Shawn O'Hara (Reform), former chairman of the Reform Party of the United States of America and perennial candidate ^[13]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [14]	Solid R	November 1, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball [15]	Safe R	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg Political Report [16]	Safe R	November 2, 2012
Real Clear Politics [17]	Safe R	November 5, 2012

Hypothetical polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Roger Wicker (R)	Travis Childers (D)	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling [18]	March 24–27, 2011	817	±3.4%	51%	33%	—	15%
Public Policy Polling [19]	November 4–6, 2011	796	±3.5%	56%	30%	—	13%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Roger Wicker (R)	Jim Hood (D)	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling [18]	March 24–27, 2011	817	±3.4%	50%	36%	—	14%
Public Policy Polling [19]	November 4–6, 2011	796	±3.5%	52%	39%	—	9%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Roger Wicker (R)	Mike Moore (D)	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling [18]	March 24–27, 2011	817	±3.4%	48%	38%	—	14%
Public Policy Polling [19]	November 4–6, 2011	796	±3.5%	53%	39%	—	8%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Roger Wicker (R)	Ronnie Musgrove (D)	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling [18]	March 24–27, 2011	817	±3.4%	52%	35%	—	13%
Public Policy Polling [19]	November 4–6, 2011	796	±3.5%	58%	33%	—	9%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Roger Wicker (R)	Gene Taylor (D)	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling [18]	March 24–27, 2011	817	±3.4%	48%	36%	—	17%
Public Policy Polling [19]	November 4–6, 2011	796	±3.5%	55%	34%	—	11%

Results

United States Senate election in Mississippi, 2012 ^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Roger Wicker (incumbent)	709,626	57.16%	+2.20%
	Democratic	Albert Gore	503,467	40.55%	−4.49%
	Constitution	Thomas Cramer	15,281	1.23%	N/A
	Reform	Shawn O'Hara	13,194	1.06%	N/A
Total votes			1,241,568	100.0%	N/A
	Republican hold

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Chickasaw (Largest city: Houston)

See also

• 2012 United States Senate elections
• 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Mississippi

References

1. Dr. Michael McDonald (February 9, 2013). "2012 General Election Turnout Rates". George Mason University. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
2. "Al Gore running for Senate on green platform". March 14, 2012.
3. "Will the Real al Gore Please Stand Up?". Business Insider .
4. "Retired Col. Albert N. Gore Jr". Starkville Daily News. December 3, 2024.
5. Amy, Jeff (January 13, 2012). "Fields fill up for Mississippi congressional races". Sun Herald . Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 17, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
6. Farrell, David A. (February 10, 2012). "Saturday noon is last chance to register to vote in March 13 primaries". Picayune Item . Archived from the original on January 4, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
7. "2012 Republican Primary Results". Secretary of State of Mississippi . March 23, 2012. Archived from the original on February 23, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
8. Corder, Frank (January 4, 2012). "And They're Off!". Y'all Politics. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
9. Killebrew, Matt (January 10, 2012). "Weiner will make senatorial run". Clarksdale Press Register . Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
10. "2012 Democratic Primary Results". Secretary of State of Mississippi . March 23, 2012. Archived from the original on May 1, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
11. Farrell, David A. (January 7, 2012). "Congressional candidates campaign here, cite reasons for running". Picayune Item . Retrieved January 16, 2012.
12. "912 Project Hattiesburg hosts forum for conservative candidates". WDAM-TV . January 19, 2012. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
13. "Wicker triumphs in MS GOP US Senate primary". WLOX. March 13, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
14. "2012 Senate Race Ratings for November 1, 2012". The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
15. "2012 Senate". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
16. "2012 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
17. "2012 Elections Map - Battle for the Senate 2012". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
18. Public Policy Polling
19. Public Policy Polling
20. Total Votes Reported by County for the 2012 General Election Archived March 27, 2022, at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Elections Division from the Mississippi secretary of state
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Outside spending at the Sunlight Foundation
• Candidate issue positions Archived February 17, 2013, at the Wayback Machine at On the Issues
• League of Women Voters on Albert N. Gore Jr.

Official campaign websites (Archived)

• Roger Wicker for U.S. Senate
• Thomas Cramer for U.S. Senate