United States elections, 2012
Encyclopedia
The 2012 United States elections will be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. The 57th quadrennial presidential election
will be held on this date, coinciding with Senate election
s where 33 races will occur, as well as House of Representatives elections
to elect the members for the 113th Congress. This election year will also encompass eleven gubernatorial races
, many state legislature races, special elections, and various other state and local races.
President Barack Obama
will run for a second and final term during this election. This will be the first presidential election since the 2010 Census, which changed the Electoral College vote apportionment.
. Elections will also be held for the delegates
from the District of Columbia and five major U.S. territories
. The winners of this election cycle will serve in the 113th United States Congress
.
A special election
in Oregon's 1st congressional district
will be held on January 31 to determine a replacement for David Wu
, who resigned in August 2011. The winner will only serve out the remainder of Wu's term, and would still need to run in November if he or she wants to keep that seat.
of the United States Senate
will be up for election. Currently, Democrats are expected to have 23 seats up for election, including 2 independents
who caucus with the Democrats, while Republicans are only expected to have 10 seats up for election. Additionally, special elections may be held to fill any vacancies that occur.
and the territorial governorships of American Samoa
and Puerto Rico
will be up for election. Among those, two (Mitch Daniels
of Indiana
and Brian Schweitzer
of Montana
) will be term-limited out of office.
(though some will be voted for on the same ticket as the gubernatorial nominee), Secretary of state
, state Treasurer
, state Auditor
, state Attorney General
, state Superintendent of Education, Commissioners of Insurance
, Agriculture, or Labor, etc., and state judicial branch offices (seats on state Supreme Court
s and, in some states, state appellate courts).
Some of the major American cities that will hold mayoral elections in 2012 include:
United States presidential election, 2012
The United States presidential election of 2012 is the next United States presidential election, to be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. It will be the 57th quadrennial presidential election in which presidential electors, who will actually elect the President and the Vice President of the United...
will be held on this date, coinciding with Senate election
United States Senate elections, 2012
Elections to the United States Senate are to be held on November 6, 2012, with 33 of the 100 seats in the Senate being contested in regular elections whose winners will serve six-year terms from January 3, 2013 until January 3, 2019. Additionally, special elections may be held to fill vacancies...
s where 33 races will occur, as well as House of Representatives elections
United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections will be held on November 6, 2012. Elections will be held for all 435 seats, representing the 50 U.S. states. Elections will also be held for the delegates from the District of Columbia and five major U.S. territories.The winners of this...
to elect the members for the 113th Congress. This election year will also encompass eleven gubernatorial races
United States gubernatorial elections, 2012
The United States gubernatorial elections of 2012 will be held in eleven states and two territories concurrent with other elections during the United States General election of 2012.- Predictions :...
, many state legislature races, special elections, and various other state and local races.
Presidential election
Incumbent DemocraticDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
will run for a second and final term during this election. This will be the first presidential election since the 2010 Census, which changed the Electoral College vote apportionment.
House of Representatives elections
This will be the first congressional election using the congressional districts that were apportioned based on the 2010 Census. Elections will be held for all 435 seats in the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
. Elections will also be held for the delegates
Delegate (United States Congress)
A delegate to Congress is a non-voting member of the United States House of Representatives who is elected from a U.S. territory and from Washington, D.C. to a two-year term. While unable to vote in the full House, a non-voting delegate may vote in a House committee of which the delegate is a member...
from the District of Columbia and five major U.S. territories
Insular area
An insular area is a United States territory, that is neither a part of one of the fifty U.S. states nor the District of Columbia, the federal district of the United States...
. The winners of this election cycle will serve in the 113th United States Congress
113th United States Congress
The One Hundred Thirteenth United States Congress will be the next meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government after the 112th Congress is seated. It will be composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It is scheduled to meet...
.
A special election
Oregon's 1st congressional district special election, 2012
A 2012 special election in Oregon's 1st congressional district will be held on January 31, 2012 to fill a seat in the U.S. Congress for Oregon's 1st congressional district, following the resignation of Representative David Wu...
in Oregon's 1st congressional district
Oregon's 1st congressional district
Oregon's 1st congressional district consists of the northwest corner of Oregon. It includes Clatsop, Columbia, Washington, and Yamhill counties, and southwest Portland, part of Multnomah County, which belonged to the 3rd district before the 2002 redistricting....
will be held on January 31 to determine a replacement for David Wu
David Wu
David Wu is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1999 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party.The district includes most of Portland west of the Willamette River, as well as all of Yamhill, Columbia, Clatsop, and Washington Counties...
, who resigned in August 2011. The winner will only serve out the remainder of Wu's term, and would still need to run in November if he or she wants to keep that seat.
Senate elections
The 33 seats of Class IClasses of United States Senators
The three classes of United States Senators are currently made up of 33 or 34 Senate seats. The purpose of the classes is to determine which Senate seats will be up for election in a given year. The three groups are staggered so that one of them is up for election every two years.A senator's...
of the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
will be up for election. Currently, Democrats are expected to have 23 seats up for election, including 2 independents
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
who caucus with the Democrats, while Republicans are only expected to have 10 seats up for election. Additionally, special elections may be held to fill any vacancies that occur.
Gubernatorial elections
Eleven of the fifty state governorshipsGovernor (United States)
In the United States, the title governor refers to the chief executive of each state or insular territory, not directly subordinate to the federal authorities, but the political and ceremonial head of the state.-Role and powers:...
and the territorial governorships of American Samoa
American Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
will be up for election. Among those, two (Mitch Daniels
Mitch Daniels
Mitchell Elias "Mitch" Daniels, Jr. is the 49th and current Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana. A Republican, he began his first four-year term as governor on January 10, 2005, and was elected to his second term by an 18-point margin on November 4, 2008. Previously, he was the Director of the...
of Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
and Brian Schweitzer
Brian Schweitzer
Brian David Schweitzer is an American politician from the U.S. state of Montana. Schweitzer is its 23rd and current governor, serving since January 2005. Schweitzer currently has one of the highest approval ratings among governors in the nation, with polls regularly showing a rating of above 60...
of Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
) will be term-limited out of office.
Other state-wide Officer elections
In many states where if the following positions are elective offices, voters will cast votes for candidates for the state executive branch offices of Lieutenant GovernorLieutenant governor (United States)
In the United States, 43 of the 50 states have a separate, full-time office of lieutenant governor. In most cases, the lieutenant governor is the highest officer of state after the governor, standing in for that officer when he or she is absent from the state or temporarily incapacitated...
(though some will be voted for on the same ticket as the gubernatorial nominee), Secretary of state
Secretary of State (U.S. state government)
Secretary of State is an official in the state governments of 47 of the 50 states of the United States, as well as Puerto Rico and other U.S. possessions. In Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, this official is called the Secretary of the Commonwealth...
, state Treasurer
State Treasurer
In the state governments of the United States, 49 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. Texas abolished the position of Texas State Treasurer in 1996....
, state Auditor
State auditor
State auditors are executive officers of U.S. states who serve as auditors and comptrollers for state funds....
, state Attorney General
State Attorney General
The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states and territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney general serves as the head of a state department of justice, with responsibilities similar to those...
, state Superintendent of Education, Commissioners of Insurance
Insurance commissioner
Insurance commissioner is an executive office in many U.S. states, some in the state cabinet. The office differs state by state:...
, Agriculture, or Labor, etc., and state judicial branch offices (seats on state Supreme Court
State supreme court
In the United States, the state supreme court is the highest state court in the state court system ....
s and, in some states, state appellate courts).
State Legislative elections
Many states across the nation will hold elections for their state legislatures.Local elections
Nationwide, there are various cities, counties, school boards, special districts and others that will elect members in 2012.Some of the major American cities that will hold mayoral elections in 2012 include:
- Anchorage, AlaskaAnchorage, AlaskaAnchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
- Augusta, MaineAugusta, MaineAugusta is the capital of the US state of Maine, county seat of Kennebec County, and center of population for Maine. The city's population was 19,136 at the 2010 census, making it the third-smallest state capital after Montpelier, Vermont and Pierre, South Dakota...
- Baton Rouge, LouisianaBaton Rouge, LouisianaBaton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
- Cheyenne, WyomingCheyenne, WyomingCheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...
- Fresno, CaliforniaFresno, CaliforniaFresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
- Honolulu, Hawaii
- Huntsville, AlabamaHuntsville, AlabamaHuntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
- Juneau, AlaskaJuneau, AlaskaThe City and Borough of Juneau is a unified municipality located on the Gastineau Channel in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Alaska. It has been the capital of Alaska since 1906, when the government of the then-District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900...
- El Paso, TexasEl Paso, TexasEl Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
- Mesa, ArizonaMesa, ArizonaAccording to the 2010 Census, the racial composition of Mesa was as follows:* White: 77.1% * Hispanic or Latino : 26.54%* Black or African American: 3.5%* Two or more races: 3.4%* Native American: 2.4%...
- Milwaukee, WisconsinWisconsinWisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
- Orlando, FloridaOrlando, FloridaOrlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
- Portland, OregonPortland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
- Richmond, VirginiaRichmond, VirginiaRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
- Sacramento, CaliforniaSacramento, CaliforniaSacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
- San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego mayoral election, 2012The 2012 San Diego mayoral election will be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the mayor for San Diego. Incumbent mayor Jerry Sanders is ineligible due to term limits....
: Incumbent Jerry SandersJerry Sanders (politician)Gerald Robert "Jerry" Sanders is an American politician, Mayor of San Diego, California, and former Chief of Police.-Personal life:...
will be term-limited out of office. - San Juan, Puerto RicoSan Juan, Puerto RicoSan Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
- Scottsdale, ArizonaScottsdale, ArizonaScottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...
- Virginia Beach, Virginia