2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona


The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the nine U.S. representatives from the state, one from each of the state's nine congressional districts, including the newly created 9th district following the 2010 United States census. The elections coincided with other federal and state elections, including a quadrennial presidential election and a U.S. Senate election. Primary elections were held on August 28, 2012.
Arizona was one of five states in which the party that won the state's popular vote did not win a majority of seats in 2012, the others being Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Overview

The table shows the number and percentage of votes, as well as the number of seats gained and lost, by each political party in the 2012 elections for the United States House of Representatives in Arizona.

Statewide

By district

Results of the 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona by district:

Redistricting

Due to population gains reflected in the 2010 United States census, Arizona's congressional delegation increased from eight members to nine in 2012. In accordance with the Arizona Constitution, the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission produced new congressional district maps for use in the 2012 and subsequent elections. In October 2011, the commission released a draft map and by November 5 that year had completed a round of public hearings for input on the draft map. The map became final after being cleared for compliance with the Voting Rights Act by the United States Department of Justice, and established the official district boundaries for the 2012 elections.
On November 1, 2011, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, with the approval of the Arizona Senate, removed Colleen Mathis, the commission's chair, charging Mathis was guilty of "failure to apply the Arizona Constitution's redistricting provisions in an honest, independent and impartial fashion." On November 17, the Arizona Supreme Court overturned Brewer's decision and reinstated Mathis. On November 21, Brewer asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision and to temporarily reverse Mathis' reinstatement. The Supreme Court refused. The map was pre-cleared by the U.S. Department of Justice on April 9, 2012, and was in effect for the 2012 elections.

District 1

Based upon the new map, the 1st district is slightly friendlier to Democrats than its predecessor. Incumbent Republican Paul Gosar, first elected in 2010, ran for election in the more conservative 4th district.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Primary results

Baldenegro would have been the first Native American woman to serve in Congress had she had won the seat.

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

General election

Endorsements

Polling

Predictions

Results

District 2

After redistricting, most of the 2nd district was composed of land previously located in the 8th district and was thus more favorable to Democrats. Democrat Gabby Giffords, who had represented the 8th district since 2007, was seriously wounded in a mass shooting in January 2011 and resigned her congressional seat in January 2012. A special election was held in June 2012 under the boundaries of the then current 8th district, with a primary election held in April 2012; in November 2012, another election took place under the new boundaries of the 2nd district, with a primary scheduled for August 2012.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Anthony Powell

    General election

Endorsements

Polling

Predictions

Results

District 3

In the October 2011 redistricting, most of the 7th district became the 3rd district and was more favorable to Democrats. Incumbent Democrat Raúl M. Grijalva, first elected in 2002, said in February 2011 that he had no plans to run for the U.S. Senate.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Raul Grijalva, incumbent U.S. representative
    Eliminated in primary
  • Amanda Aguirre, former state senator
  • Manny Arreguin, OB/GYN
    Withdrawn
  • David Crowe Robles, defense contractor

    Endorsements

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Gabriela Saucedo Mercer, conservative activist
    Eliminated in primary
  • Jaime Vasquez, businessman
    Declined
  • Ruth McClung, nominee for the 7th district in 2010

    Primary results

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Blanca Guerra

    Primary results

General election

Endorsements

Predictions

Results

District 4

The new 4th congressional district encompasses most of the rural areas in the old 2nd district, as well as significant portions of the old 1st, 5th, and 6th districts, according to the final maps of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. The district is heavily Republican.
Paul Gosar, who had represented the 1st district since 2011, moved to Prescott in order to run in this district.

Republican primary

Campaign

Babeu dropped his congressional bid on May 11, 2012, instead seeking re-election as sheriff. This came after he was accused of being lovers with an undocumented immigrant whom he threatened with deportation to guarantee his silence. The Arizona solicitor general later exonerated Babeu after an investigation.

Candidates

Nominee
  • Paul Gosar, incumbent U.S. representative for the 1st District
    Eliminated in primary
  • Ron Gould, state senator
  • Rick Murphy, founder and owner of Murphy Broadcasting
    Withdrawn
  • Paul Babeu, sheriff of Pinal County

    Primary results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Johnnie Robinson
    Eliminated in primary
  • Mikel Weisser, author and political activist

    Primary results

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Joe Pamelia, aerospace and defense professional

    Primary results

Americans Elect primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Richard Grayson, writer, political activist and performance artist

    Primary results

General election

Endorsements

Predictions

Results

District 5

With the October 2011 redistricting, most of the 6th district became the 5th district and continued to favor Republicans. Incumbent Republican Jeff Flake, who had represented this district since 2001, sought the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

General election

Endorsements

Predictions

Results

District 6

After redistricting, the bulk of David Schweikert's 5th district became the 9th district, while his home in Fountain Hills was drawn into the newly created 4th district. However, as soon as the maps were released, Schweikert announced he would run in the 6th district. That district had previously been the 3rd, represented by fellow Republican freshman Ben Quayle. In a statement announcing his re-election plans, Schweikert pointed out that he had grown up in Scottsdale—most of which had been drawn into the 6th as well—had represented it in both the state house and in Congress, and owned a second home there. A revised map, however, placed Schweikert's home in Fountain Hills into the reconfigured 6th. Quayle, whose home in Phoenix had been drawn into the 9th but was just outside the boundaries of the 6th, opted to seek re-election in the 6th as well.