Nov. 6, 2012 U.S. Senate Races

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At Stake: 33 Seats
Before Nov. 6: 51D, 47R and 2I.

AZ  -  CA  -  CT  -  DE  -  FL  -  HI  -  IN  -  ME  -  MD  -  MA  -  MI  -  MN  -  MS  -  MO  -  MT  -  NE  -  NV  -  NJ  -  NM  -  NY  -  ND  -  OH  -  PA  -  RI  -  TN  -  TX  -  UT  -  VT  -  VA  -  WA  -  WV  -  WI  -  WY



Democrats Republicans Third Party/Independent
Arizona







California





Connecticut

D+





Delaware






Florida







Hawaii





Indiana

D+





Maine

I+




Maryland




Massachusetts

D+





Michigan





Minnesota





Mississippi




Missouri





Montana





Nebraska

R+





Nevada





New Jersey





New Mexico





New York




North Dakota







Ohio





Pennsylvania





Rhode Island





Tennessee






Texas




Utah




Vermont
[Sanders (I) won
Democratic nomination]




Virginia





Washington





West Virginia





Wisconsin





Wyoming



After Nov. 6: 53D, 45R and 2I.
  Margin of Victory in Percentage Points
25.01 +
20.01-25.0
15.01-20.0
10.01-15.0
5.01-10.0
0-5.0
0-5.0
5.01-10.0
10.01-15.0
15.01-20.0
20.01-25.0
25.01 +
CA 25.04
HI 25.20
MD 29.65
MN 34.70
DE 37.47
NY 45.87
MI 20.81
WA 20.90
WV 24.10
MO 15.70
NJ 19.45
CT 11.75*
FL 13.00
WI 5.55
NM 5.73
IN 5.76*
VA 5.91
OH 6.00
MA 7.55
PA 9.10
ND 0.90
MT 3.72

NV 1.16
AZ 3.03



NE 15.54*
TX 15.84
MS 16.61


TN 34.48
UT 35.33
WY 53.18
   Two Independents not shown in chart: ME-A.King won by 22.15 percentage points* and VT- B.Sanders won by 46.01 percentage points.
   *Seat changed parties.

 

OVERVIEW [more]

This was a very successful cycle for Democrats, who were defending 21 seats.  Benefiting from the Akin and Mourdock candidacies and from Heitkamp's narrow win in North Dakota they were able to slightly expand their majority.

Balance before Nov. 6:  51 Democrats, 47 Republicans and 2 Independents.


33 seats at stake:  21 held by Democrats, 10 by Republicans and 2 by Independents.

10 retirements: 
6 Democrats, 3 Republicans and 1 Independent.
D: Daniel Akaka (HI), Ben Nelson (NE), Jeff Bingaman (NM), Kent Conrad (ND), Jim Webb (VA), Herb Kohl (WI). 
R: Jon Kyl (AZ), Olympia Snowe (ME), Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX). 
I: Joe Lieberman (CT).

1 incumbent defeated in primary:  1 Republican. 
R: Richard Lugar (IN).
 
1 incumbent defeated in the general election1 Republican.
R: Scott Brown (MA).
 
5 seats flipped:  3 to Democrats, 1 to Republican and 1 to Independent

CT: Joe Lieberman (I) to Chris Murphy (D), IN: Richard Lugar (R) to Joe Donnelly (D), ME: Olympia Snowe (R) to Angus King (I), MA: Scott Brown (R) to Elizabeth Warren (D), NE: Ben Nelson (D) to Deb Fischer (R).

12 new Senators elected:  8 Democrats, 3 Republicans and 1 Independent.
D: Chris Murphy (CT), Mazie Hirono (HI), Joe Donnelly (IN), Elizabeth Warren (MA), Martin Heinrich (NM), Heidi Heitkamp (ND), Tim Kaine (VA), Tammy Baldwin (WI).
R: Jeff Flake (AZ), Deb Fischer (NE), Ted Cruz (TX).
I: Angus King (ME).

 
Races won:  Democrats 23, Republicans 8, and Independents 2.

Balance after: 53 Democrats, 45 Republicans and 2 Independents.



HIGHLIGHTS

  • According to Open Secrets (>) the most expensive race of the cycle (all candidates and outside groups) was the Scott Brown-Elizabeth Warren contest in Massachusetts, which saw total spending of $90.5 million ($82.4 million by the campaigns and $8.1 million by outside groups).  That race was atypical in that the two campaigns had reached an agreement to control outside spending.  The next most expensive race was in Virginia at $86.3 million ($33.9 million by  campaigns and $52.4 million by outside groups).  Other expensive races occurred in Ohio ($82.4 million), Wisconsin ($81.5 million) and Connecticut ($75.9 million).
  • The closest Senate race of the cycle was in North Dakota, where Heidi Heitkamp (D) eked out a 0.90 percentage point win over Rick Berg (R) to keep the seat in Democratic hands.  Another very close race occurred in Nevada, where Sen. Dean Heller (R) won a second term by 1.16 percentage points. 
  • Blowout races occurred in Wyoming, where Sen. John Barrasso (R) secured a 53.18 percentage point margin, in Vermont, where Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) won a second term by 46.01 percentage points, and in New York, where Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) won a full term by 45.87 percentage points.
  • Of the 66 major party nominees, 18 were women (27.3%): 12 of 33 Democrats or 36.4% (eight won—all five incumbents plus one challenger, Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts, and two open seat candidates, Mazie Hirono and Heidi Heitkamp) and six of 33 Republicans or 18.2% (one won, Deb Fischer picking up the open seat in Nebraska).  In two states, Hawaii and New York, both nominees were women.
  • The strongest showings by a third party or independent candidate was in Maryland, where Rob Sobhani, running as an independent, invested $7.9 million of his own money and obtained 16.37% of the vote.



  see also: campaign managers




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