The 2012 U.S. House of Representatives elections in Connecticut were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the five congressional representatives from the state, one from each of the state's five congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election, a U.S. Senate election, and state legislature races.
Primaries to select Republican and Democratic candidates in some districts were held on Tuesday, August 14, 2012.
Overview The table below shows the total number and percentage of votes, as well as the number of seats gained and lost by each political party in the election for the United States House of Representatives in Connecticut. United States House of Representatives elections in Connecticut, 2012PartyVotesPercentageSeats Democratic884,39860.31%5 Republican490,49033.45%0 Working Families Party66,8834.56%0 Independent Party of Connecticut9,7100.66%0 Green Party9,1150.62%0 Libertarian3,5110.24%0 Others2,3140.16%0 Total 1,466,511 100% 5 All five Democratic candidates were cross-endorsed by the Connecticut Working Families Party The Republican candidate was cross-endorsed by the Independent Party of Connecticut in the Fifth District
By district Results of the 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Connecticut by district:
DistrictDemocraticRepublicanOthers†TotalResult Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes %District 1 206,973* 69.7% 82,321 27.7% 7,767 2.6% 297,061 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 2 204,708* 68.2% 88,103 29.4% 7,149 2.4% 299,960 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 3 217,573* 74.7% 73,726 25.3% 2 <0.0% 291,301 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 4 175,929* 60.0% 117,503 40.0% N/A N/A 293,432 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 5 146,098* 51.3% 138,637* 48.7% 22 <0.0% 284,757 100.0% Democratic holdTotal 951,281* 64.9% 500,290* 34.1% 14,940 1.0% 1,466,511 100.0% * Includes votes for candidates on more than one party line † Does not include fusion vote counts -- see individual districts for details
District 1
Democratic incumbent John Larson, who had represented the 1st district since 1999, sought re-election.
Democratic primary Candidates Nominee John Larson, incumbent U.S. Representative
Republican primary Candidates Nominee John Decker, financial planner
Eliminated in primary Mike McDonald, member of the Windsor Town Council,
Results Decker won the nomination at the Republican state convention on May 18, garnering 69% of available delegates.
General election Matthew M. Corey gained ballot access as a named candidate by petition.
Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report November 5, 2012 Rothenberg November 2, 2012 Roll Call, November 4, 2012 Sabato's Crystal BallCrystal Ball , November 5, 2012 NY TimesHouse Race Ratings, The New York Times, November 4, 2012RCP, November 4, 2012The Hill November 4, 2012
Results
District 2
Democratic incumbent Joe Courtney, who had represented the 2nd district since 2007, said in February 2011 that he would not run for the U.S. Senate seat to be vacated by Joe Lieberman. Courtney ran for re-election.
Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Joe Courtney, incumbent U.S. Representative
Republican primary Candidates Nominee Paul Formica, first selectman of the East Lyme Board of Selectmen
Eliminated in primary Doug Dubitsky, lawyer and candidate for this seat in 2010 Daria Novak, business consultant and former State Department employee and candidate for this seat in 2010
Withdrawn Christopher Coutu, state representative
Primary results At the Republican state convention on May 18, delegates in the second district endorsed Formica. Formica and Novak took part in the August 14 primary, which Formica won.
General election Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report November 5, 2012 Rothenberg November 2, 2012 Roll Call November 4, 2012 Sabato's Crystal Ball November 5, 2012 NY Times November 4, 2012RCP November 4, 2012The Hill November 4, 2012
Results
District 3
Democratic incumbent Rosa DeLauro, who had represented the 3rd district since 1991, ran for re-election.
Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Rosa DeLauro, incumbent U.S. Representative
Republican primary Candidates Nominee Wayne Winsley, Motivational speaker
Eliminated in primary Steve Packard
Results At the Republican state convention on May 18, delegates in the third district endorsed Winsley. Following the Republican state convention, Steve Packard announced his intention to run for the office as an independent.
General election Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report November 5, 2012 Rothenberg November 2, 2012 Roll Call November 4, 2012 Sabato's Crystal Ball November 5, 2012 NY Times November 4, 2012RCP November 4, 2012The Hill November 4, 2012
Results
District 4
Democratic incumbent Jim Himes, who had represented the 4th district since 2009, said in December 2010 that he would not run for the U.S. Senate in 2012. Himes ran for re-election.
Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Jim Himes, incumbent U.S. Representative
Republican primary Candidates Nominee Steve Obsitnik, chair and chief executive of Quintel Technology
Eliminated in primary Chris Meek, the founder of START Now!, a non-profit organization David Orner, executive with CIT Group Richard Wieland, retired businessman
Declined Dan Debicella, former state senator and nominee for this seat in 2010
Results At the Republican state convention on May 18, delegates in the fourth district endorsed Obsitnik. Meek met the threshold required to force a primary, but decided not to challenge the endorsed candidate. Obsitnik lost to Himes.
General election Endorsements
Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report November 5, 2012 Rothenberg November 2, 2012 Roll Call November 4, 2012 Sabato's Crystal Ball November 5, 2012 NY Times November 4, 2012RCP November 4, 2012The Hill November 4, 2012
Results
District 5
Incumbent Democrat Chris Murphy had represented the 5th district since 2007. He announced that he would not seek re-election for a fourth term. He instead ran for the U.S. Senate to replace Independent Democrat Joe Lieberman, who retired from the Senate. Murphy won election to the Senate.
Democratic primary Prior to the Democratic primary, Donovan received the endorsement of the Connecticut Working Families Party and was granted placement on its ballot line for the general election. On August 30, Donovan withdrew his name from the Working Families line to allow the minor party to endorse Elizabeth Esty, the primary winner.
Candidates Nominee Elizabeth Esty, former state representative
Eliminated in primary Chris Donovan, speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives Daniel Roberti, public relations firm worker
Disqualified Randy Yale, insurance underwriter
Withdrawn Mike Williams, advisor to Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign
Primary results
Republican primary At the Republican state convention on May 18, delegates in the fifth district endorsed Roraback. Roraback, Wilson-Foley, Bernier, and Greenberg took part in the August 14 primary.
Candidates Nominee Andrew Roraback, state senator
Eliminated in primary Justin Bernier, former member of Governor Jodi Rell's cabinet Mark Greenberg, businessman Lisa Wilson-Foley, businesswoman
Withdrawn Mike Clark, chair of the Farmington Town Council and a former FBI agent
Declined Sam Caligiuri, former state senator and nominee for this seat in 2010
Endorsements
Primary results
General election Endorsements
Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report November 5, 2012 Rothenberg November 2, 2012 Roll Call November 4, 2012 Sabato's Crystal Ball November 5, 2012 NY Times November 4, 2012RCP November 4, 2012The Hill November 4, 2012
Results
See also 2012 United States House of Representatives elections 2012 United States elections
References
External links Elections and Voting from the Connecticut Secretary of State United States House of Representatives elections in Connecticut, 2012 at Ballotpedia Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets Outside spending at the Sunlight Foundation