2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Oregon

The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Oregon were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 to elect the five U.S. representatives from the state of Oregon, apportioned according to the 2010 United States census. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election. All five incumbents, four Democrats and one Republican, were re-elected to another term.

2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Oregon

← 2010November 6, 2012 (2012-11-06)2014 →

All 5 Oregon seats to the United States House of Representatives
 Majority partyMinority party
 
PartyDemocraticRepublican
Last election41
Seats won41
Seat changeSteadySteady
Popular vote949,660687,839
Percentage55.60%40.27%
SwingIncrease 4.29%Decrease 5.70%

Primary elections for Democrats and Republicans were held on May 15, 2012; other parties had other nominating procedures.[1] Several candidates received nominations for multiple parties, as permitted by Oregon law.

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in Oregon, 2012[2][3]
PartyVotesPercentageSeats+/–
Democratic949,66055.60%4-
Republican687,83940.27%1-
Libertarian34,8792.04%-
Pacific Green20,6751.21%-
Constitution12,5180.73%-
write-ins2,5970.15%-
Totals1,708,168100.00%5-

Redistricting

On June 29, 2011, members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly reached an agreement on redistricting all five of Oregon's congressional districts, as required by population changes from the 2010 census. Among other changes, Downtown Portland was moved from District 1 to District 3; District 2 ceded more of the Grants Pass area to District 4; and District 5 was changed to include more of Clackamas County and only small parts of Multnomah County.[4]

District 1

Oregon's 1st congressional district is represented by Democrat Suzanne Bonamici, the winner of a January 2012 special election held after Representative David Wu resigned following allegations of an unwanted sexual encounter following the resolution of the 2011 U.S. debt ceiling crisis.[5][6] The district has a PVI of D+6.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
Declined

Primary results

Democratic primary results[14]
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticSuzanne Bonamici (incumbent) 57,146 98.9
DemocraticWrite-ins6081.1
Total votes57,754 100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Delinda Morgan, vineyard owner[7]
Eliminated in primary
Declined

Results

Republican primary results
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanDelinda Morgan 18,996 56.4
RepublicanLisa Michaels14,27442.3
RepublicanWrite-ins4471.3
Total votes33,717 100.0

General election

Results

Oregon's 1st congressional district, 2012[3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticSuzanne Bonamici (incumbent) 197,845 59.6
RepublicanDelinda Morgan109,69933.0
ProgressiveSteven Reynolds15,0094.5
ConstitutionBob Ekstrom8,9182.7
n/aWrite-ins5090.2
Total votes331,980 100.0
Democratic hold

District 2

Republican Greg Walden has represented Oregon's 2nd congressional district since 1998 and is seeking re-election.[7] The district has a PVI of R+10.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Primary results

Republican primary results
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanGreg Walden (incumbent) 77,498 99.3
RepublicanWrite-ins5810.7
Total votes78,079 100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Joyce Segers, businesswoman, writer and nominee for this seat in 2010[19][7]
Eliminated in primary
  • John Sweeney, activist[7]

Results

Democratic primary results [14]
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticJoyce Segers 31,157 76.5
DemocraticJohn Sweeney8,82521.7
DemocraticWrite-ins7511.8
Total votes40,733 100.0

General election

Results

Oregon's 2nd congressional district, 2012[3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanGreg Walden (incumbent) 228,043 68.7
DemocraticJoyce B. Segers96,74129.1
LibertarianJoe Tabor7,0252.1
n/aWrite-ins4460.1
Total votes332,255 100.0
Republican hold

District 3

Democrat Earl Blumenauer has represented Oregon's 3rd congressional district since 1996 and is seeking re-election.[7] The district is the most Democratic-leaning district in the state, with a PVI of D+21.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Primary results

Democratic primary results
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticEarl Blumenauer (incumbent) 84,628 98.9
DemocraticWrite-ins9691.1
Total votes85,597 100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Ronald Green, bus operator[7]
Eliminated in primary
  • Delia Lopez, real estate investor[7]

Results

Republican primary results [14]
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanRonald Green 14,844 63.2
RepublicanDelia Lopez8,23735.0
RepublicanWrite-ins4241.8
Total votes23,505 100

General election

Results

Oregon's 3rd congressional district, 2012[3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticEarl Blumenauer (incumbent) 264,979 74.4
RepublicanRonald Green70,32519.8
Pacific GreenWoodrow Broadnax13,1593.7
LibertarianMichael Cline6,6401.9
n/aWrite-ins7720.2
Total votes355,875 100.0
Democratic hold

District 4

Oregon's 4th congressional district has been represented by Democrat Peter DeFazio since 1987 and he is seeking re-election.[7] The district has a PVI of D+2.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
Eliminated in primary

Results

Democratic primary results [14]
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticPeter DeFazio (incumbent) 69,864 89.9
DemocraticMatthew Robinson7,6659.8
DemocraticWrite-ins2120.3
Total votes77,741 100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Results

Republican primary results
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanArt Robinson 50,090 97.3
RepublicanWrite-ins1,4142.7
Total votes51,504 100.0

General election

Endorsements

Arthur Robinson (R)
Organizations

Results

Oregon's 4th congressional district, 2012[3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticPeter A. DeFazio (incumbent) 212,866 59.2
RepublicanArthur B. Robinson140,54939.0
LibertarianChuck Huntting6,2051.7
n/aWrite-ins4680.1
Total votes360,088 100.0
Democratic hold

District 5

Democratic incumbent Kurt Schrader has represented Oregon's 5th congressional district since 2008 and is running for re-election in what is often considered to be the most competitive district in the state.[4][7] In fact, the district has an even PVI.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Primary results

Democratic primary results
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticKurt Schrader (incumbent) 51,652 98.5
DemocraticWrite-ins8051.5
Total votes52,457 100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Fred Thompson, retired timber executive and candidate for this seat in 2010[22][7]
Eliminated in primary
  • Karen Bowerman, business consultant and retired college administrator[7][23]
Declined

Results

Republican primary results [14]
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanFred Thompson 33,448 67.0
RepublicanKaren Bowerman16,17432.4
RepublicanWrite-ins3200.6
Total votes49,942 100.0

General election

Endorsements

Kurt Schrader (D)

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report[26]Safe DNovember 5, 2012
Rothenberg[27]Safe DNovember 2, 2012
Roll Call[28]Safe DNovember 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[29]Safe DNovember 5, 2012
NY Times[30]Lean DNovember 4, 2012
RCP[31]Safe DNovember 4, 2012
The Hill[32]Likely DNovember 4, 2012

Results

Oregon's 5th congressional district, 2012[3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticKurt Schrader (incumbent) 177,229 54.0
RepublicanFred Thompson139,22342.5
Pacific GreenChristina Jean Lugo7,5162.3
ConstitutionRaymond Baldwin3,6001.1
n/aWrite-ins4020.1
Total votes327,970 100.0
Democratic hold

See also

References