2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Washington
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Washington were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the ten U.S. representatives from the state, one from each of the state's ten congressional districts, a gain of one seat following the 2010 United States census. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a federal quadrennial presidential election, concurrent statewide gubernatorial election, quadrennial statewide lieutenant gubernatorial election, and an election to the U.S. Senate. The state certified the returns on December 6, 2012. Primary elections were held August 7, 2012.
Overview
'''Summary of votes cast in the general election'''District 1
Democrat Jay Inslee, who represented the 1st district starting in 1999, resigned March 20, 2012, to focus on his run for governor of Washington.Primary election
Democratic candidates
Advanced to general
- Suzan DelBene, former director at the Washington State Department of Revenue, general election candidate for the 8th district in 2010
Eliminated in primary
- Darcy Burner, former manager at Microsoft and general election candidate for the 8th district in 2006 & 2008
- Steve Hobbs, state senator
- Darshan Rauniyar, businessman and political activist;
- Laura Ruderman, former state representative
Withdrawn
- Roger Goodman, state representative
Declined
- Brian Baird, former U.S. Representative
- Andrew Hughes, tax attorney
- Dennis Kucinich, incumbent U.S. Representative for Ohio's 10th congressional district
- Marko Liias, state representative
Republican candidates
Advanced to general
- John Koster, former state representative, member of the Snohomish County Council and general election candidate for the 2nd district in 2010
Withdrawn
- Greg Anders, the executive director of the Bellingham Heritage Flight Museum
- James Watkins, unsuccessfully ran in the 1st district in 2010
Independent candidates
Eliminated in primary
- Larry Ishmael, former member of the Issaquah School Board and Republican general election candidate for this seat in 2006 & 2008, ran as an independent candidate
Results
Republican John Koster and Democrat Suzan DelBene received the most votes in the nonpartisan blanket primary on August 7 for both the brief period of office remaining in the old 1st district and the redistricted 1st district, and faced each other in two separate ballot positions, with different boundaries, in the special election on November 6.Special election
On March 20, 2012, then representative Jay Inslee resigned his seat in the House of Representatives to run for governor. A special election was held at the same time as the general election for a representative to serve out the remainder of Inslee's term in the 112th Congress. The winner of the special glection, Suzan DelBene, assumed the seat on November 13, 2012.General Election
Results
DelBene won and was sworn in to serve the remainder of Inslee's term on November 13, 2012.District 2
Democrat Rick Larsen, who represented the 2nd district since 2001, ran for re-election.In the December 2011 redistricting proposal, the 2nd district was made more favorable to Democrats.
Primary election
Democratic candidates
Advanced to general
- Rick Larsen, incumbent U.S. Representative
Republican candidates
Advanced to general
- Dan Matthews, Air Force veteran and pilot
Eliminated in primary
- Eli Olson, electrical distribution company manager and political director for the Snohomish County Young Republicans
- John C. W. Shoop, United States Marine, combat veteran and survival instructor
Declined
- Greg Anders, director of the Bellingham Heritage Flight Museum
- John Koster, former state representative, member of the Snohomish County Council and general election candidate for this seat in 2010
Other parties' candidates
Eliminated in primary
- Mike Lapointe
Independent candidates
Eliminated in primary
- Glen S. Johnson
District 3
Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler, who represented the 3rd district since January 2011, ran for re-election.Primary election
Republican candidates
Advanced to general
- Jaime Herrera Beutler, incumbent U.S. Representative
Democratic candidates
Advanced to general
- Jon Haugen, commercial pilot for Delta Air Lines
Withdrawn
- Elizabeth Uelmen, middle school associate principal
Declined
- Tim Leavitt, mayor of Vancouver
- Steve Stuart, Clark County Commissioner
District 4
Republican Doc Hastings, who represented the 4th district since 1995, successfully ran for re-election.Primary election
Republican candidates
Advanced to general
- Doc Hastings, incumbent U.S. Representative
Eliminated in primary
- Jamie Wheeler, state director for FairTax.org and member of the Tri-Cities Tea Party
Democratic candidates
Advanced to general
- Mary Baechler, businesswoman
Eliminated in primary
- Mohammad H. Said, doctor
Withdrawn
- Jay Clough, radiological control technician and nominee for this seat in 2010
District 5
Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who represented the 5th district since 2005, ran successfully for re-election in 2012.Primary election
Republican candidates
Advanced to general
- Cathy McMorris Rodgers, incumbent U.S. Representative
Eliminated in primary
- Randall Yearout, crane operator
Democratic candidates
Advanced to general
- Rich Cowan, president and CEO of a film production company
Declined
- Dan Morrissey, professor at Gonzaga University School of Law
- Mary Verner, former mayor of Spokane
District 6
Democrat Norm Dicks, who represented the 6th district since 1977, decided to retire rather than seeking re-election.Primary election
Democratic candidates
Advanced to general
- Derek Kilmer, state senator
Declined
- Steve Boyer, Kitsap County sheriff
- Josh Brown, Kitsap County Commissioner
- Norman D. Dicks, incumbent U.S. Representative
- James Hargrove, state Senator
- Mark Lindquist, Pierce County Prosecutor
- Pat McCarthy, Pierce County Executive
- Christine Rolfes, state senator
- Tim Sheldon, state senator and Mason County Commissioner
- Brian Sonntag, State Auditor
- Marilyn Strickland, Mayor of Tacoma
- Kevin Van De Wege, state representative
Republican candidates
Advanced to general
- Bill Driscoll, businessman
Eliminated in primary
- Stephan Brodhead, small business owner
- Doug Cloud, attorney and general election candidate for this seat in 2004 and 2006, 2008 & 2010
- David "Ike" Eichner, accountant
- Jesse Young, technology consultant and candidate for this seat in 2010
Withdrawn
- Bob Sauerwein, insurance agent
Declined
- Jan Angel, state representative
District 7
Democrat Jim McDermott, who represented the 7th district since 1989, ran for re-election.Primary election
Democratic candidates
Advanced to general
- Jim McDermott, incumbent U.S. Representative
Eliminated in primary
- Charles Allen, product manager at Amazon
- Andrew Hughes, tax attorney
- Don Rivers, human rights activist
Republican candidates
Advanced to general
- Ron Bemis, lawyer
Eliminated in primary
- Scott Sutherland
District 8
Republican Dave Reichert, who represented the 8th district since 2005, ran for re-election.Primary election
Republican candidates
Advanced to general
- Dave Reichert, incumbent U.S. Representative
Eliminated in primary
- Ernest Huber, retired military commander
- Keith Swank, former police officer
Democratic candidates
Advanced to general
- Karen Porterfield, associate dean and public administration lecturer at Seattle University
Eliminated in primary
- Keith Arnold, accounting technician
Independent candidates
Withdrawn
- James Windle, associate dean and instructor at the Department of Defense's National Defense University
District 9
Democrat Adam Smith, who represented the 9th district since 1997, was re-elected.Primary election
Democratic candidates
Advanced to general
- Adam Smith, incumbent U.S. Representative
Eliminated in primary
- Dave Christie
- Tom Cramer
Republican candidates
Advanced to general
- Jim Postma, businessman and candidate for this seat in 2008 and 2010
Eliminated in primary
- John Orlinski, social worker
District 10
The newly created 10th district is centred on the state capital, Olympia, and includes portions of Thurston, Pierce, and Mason counties.Primary election
Democratic candidates
Advanced to general
- Denny Heck, former majority leader of the Washington House of Representatives and general election candidate for the 3rd district in 2010
Eliminated in primary
- Jennifer Ferguson, nonprofit founder and small business owner
Republican candidates
Advanced to general
- Dick Muri, Pierce County councilmember and general election candidate for the 9th district in 2010
Eliminated in primary
- Stan Flemming, Pierce County councilmember