United States House of Representatives election in North Dakota, 2012
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| Elections in North Dakota |
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The 2012 United States House of Representatives election in North Dakota was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 to elect the U.S. Representative from the state's at-large congressional district. The election coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election and an election to the U.S. Senate. A primary election was held on June 12, 2012;[1] a candidate must receive at least 300 votes to appear on the general election ballot in November.[2]
Rick Berg, a member of the Republican Party who was first elected to represent the at-large district in 2010, has announced that he will not seek re-election, but will instead run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Kent Conrad.[3] Republican Kevin Cramer won the open seat.
Republican nomination
The North Dakota Republican Party endorsed Public Service Commissioner Brian Kalk at their state convention, though general election ballot access is determined by a statewide primary election held on June 12, 2012. In contrast to state political tradition, fellow Public Service Commissioner Kevin Cramer did not seek the party endorsement, instead attempting to defeat Kalk on the June primary ballot.
Candidates
Declared
- Kevin Cramer, Public Service Commissioner[4]
- Brian Kalk, Public Service Commissioner and state party endorsed candidate[5]
Withdrew
- Shane Goettle, U.S. Senator John Hoeven's state director[6]
- Bette Grande, state representative[7]
- DuWayne Hendrickson, perennial candidate[8]
- Kim Koppelman, state representative[9]
Declined
- Rick Berg, incumbent U.S. Representative[3]
- Al Carlson, state House Majority Leader[10][11]
- Tony Clark, Public Service Commissioner[12]
- Cory Fong, North Dakota State Tax Commissioner[13]
- Tony Grindberg, state senator[14]
- Robert Harms, Tea Party activist and former treasurer of the North Dakota Republican Party[11]
- Kelly Schmidt, North Dakota State Treasurer[15]
Debate
The North Dakota Republican Party held a candidates' debate on December 14 at the campus of Valley City State University. All five GOP candidates declared at the time—Cramer, Goettle, Grande, Kalk, and Koppelman—participated.[16]
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Kevin Cramer |
Brian Kalk |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason Dixon | June 4–6, 2012 | 625† | ± 4% | 60% | 21% | 19% |
| Forum Communications Co. | May 3–8, 2012 | 500 | ± 4.3% | 38% | 25% | 27% |
†Likely general election voters
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kevin Cramer | 54,394 | 54.44 | |
| Republican | Brian Kalk | 45,411 | 45.45 | |
| Total votes | 99,918 | 100 | ||
Democratic nomination
Candidates
Declared
- Pam Gulleson, former state representative[18]
Declined
- Ben Vig, former state representative[19]
Libertarian nomination
The Libertarian Party of North Dakota has selected small business owner Eric Olson as their nominee at a state meeting.[20]
General Election
Cramer defeated Gulleson in the general election with 54.9% of the vote.[21]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kevin Cramer | 173,433 | 54.87 | |
| Democratic-NPL | Pam Gulleson | 131,869 | 41.72 | |
| Libertarian | Eric Olson | 10,261 | 3.25 | |
| Write-ins | 508 | 0.16 | ||
| Total votes | 316,224 | 100.00 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Pam Gulleson (D) |
Kevin Cramer (R) |
Eric Olson (L) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason Dixon | October 26–28, 2012 | 625 | ± 4.0% | 40% | 50% | 2% | 8% |
| Forum/Essman | October 12–15, 2012 | 500 | ± 4% | 32% | 52% | 1% | 15% |
| Mason-Dixon | October 3–5, 2012 | 625 | ± 4% | 37% | 49% | 2% | 12% |
| Mason Dixon | June 4–6, 2012 | 625 | ± 4% | 35% | 49% | 4% | 12% |
| Forum Communications Co. | May 3–8, 2012 | 500‡ | ± 4.3% | 23% | 61% | – | 15% |
‡Likely primary voters
References
- ↑ "North Dakota election calendar" (PDF). Secretary of State. July 2011. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
- ↑ "North Dakota Century Code". Secretary of State. August 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
- 1 2 Toeplitz, Shira (May 16, 2011). "House Freshman Berg Will Run for Senate in North Dakota". Roll Call. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
- ↑ Wetzel, Dale (November 3, 2011). "ND's Cramer uses Web video to open US House campaign; running for Congress for fourth time". The Republic. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
- ↑ Trygstad, Kyle (May 20, 2011). "Kalk to Run for House Instead of Senate in North Dakota". Roll Call. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
- ↑ Daum, Kristen M (November 29, 2011). "Goettle declares as 4th GOP contender in 2012 U.S. House race". Flickertales from The Hill. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
- ↑ Daum, Kristen M (October 3, 2011). "Fargo legislator Bette Grande will announce U.S. House run Tuesday". Flickertales from The Hill. areavoices. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
- ↑ Smith, Nick (January 12, 2012). "Hendrickson joins GOP race for U.S. House". The Bismarck Tribune. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
- ↑ Daum, Kristen M (December 5, 2011). "West Fargo legislator seeks GOP nod in packed U.S. House race". Flickertales from The Hill. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
- ↑ Catanese, David (April 27, 2011). "Hoeven: Berg 'likely' to run". Politico. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
- 1 2 Toeplitz, Shira (May 3, 2011). "N.D. GOP Expecting Competitive House Race". Roll Call. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
- ↑ Schneider, Mark (June 12, 2011). "North Dakota asks: Is anyone on the job?". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
- ↑ Daum, Kristen M (October 13, 2011). "N.D. tax commissioner opts against congressional bid in 2012". Flickertales from The Hill. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
- ↑ Daum, Kristen M (November 2, 2011). "Grindberg not running for U.S. House in 2012". Flickertales from The Hill. areavoices. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
- ↑ Finneman, Teri (February 20, 2012). "Kelly Schmidt to seek third term as North Dakota treasurer". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
- ↑ Daum, Kristen M (December 1, 2011). "NDGOP announces Dec. 14th debate for its U.S. House candidates". Flickertales from The Hill. Retrieved December 2, 2011.
- 1 2 http://results.sos.nd.gov/resultsSW.aspx?text=Race&type=SW&map=CTY
- ↑ Daum, Kristen M (September 21, 2011). "Democrat Pam Gulleson running for North Dakota's U.S. House seat". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
- ↑ Daum, Kristen M (September 28, 2011). "Former state legislator Vig declines U.S. House run". Flickertales from The Hill. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
- ↑ Ames, Richard (November 20, 2011). "Libertarians take a stand on measure #2" (Press release). Libertarian Party of North Dakota. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
- ↑ http://results.sos.nd.gov/resultsSW.aspx?text=Race&type=SW&map=CTY
External links
- North Dakota State Board of Elections
- United States House of Representatives elections in North Dakota, 2012 at Ballotpedia
- North Dakota U.S. House at OurCampaigns.com
- Campaign contributions for U.S. Congressional races in North Dakota from OpenSecrets.org
- Outside spending at the Sunlight Foundation
- Official campaign websites