2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Connecticut explained

Election Name:	2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Connecticut
Country:	Connecticut
Type:	legislative
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Connecticut
Previous Year:	2010
Next Election:	2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Connecticut
Next Year:	2014
Seats For Election:	All 5 Connecticut seats to the United States House of Representatives
Party1:	Democratic Party (United States)
Last Election1:	5
Seats1:	5
Popular Vote1:	951,281
Percentage1:	64.87%
Swing1:	6.18%
Party2:	Republican Party (United States)
Last Election2:	0
Seats2:	0
Popular Vote2:	490,490
Percentage2:	33.45%
Swing2:	6.99%

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.^[1]

The Democratic candidate won in each of the five districts on election day.

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. In addition, the voter turnout and the number of votes not valid are listed below.

United States House of Representatives elections in Connecticut, 2012^[2]
Party	Votes	Percentage	Seats
	Democratic	951,281*	64.87%	5
	Republican	490,490	33.45%	0
	Green	9,115	0.62%	0
	Libertarian	3,511	0.24%	0
	Others	12,022	0.82%	0
Total		1,466,419	100%	5

• *Includes 66,883 votes received on the line of the Connecticut Working Families Party, which cross-endorsed

District 1

See also: Connecticut's 1st congressional district. Democratic incumbent John Larson, who had represented the 1st district since 1999, sought re-election.^[3]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• John Larson, incumbent U.S. Representative

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• John Decker, financial planner^[4]

Eliminated in primary

• Mike McDonald, member of the Windsor Town Council,^[5]

Results

Decker won the nomination^[6] at the Republican state convention on May 18, garnering 69% of available delegates.

General election

Results

District 2

See also: Connecticut's 2nd congressional district. 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.^[7] Courtney ran for re-election.^[3]

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^{[8] [9]}

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.^[10]

General election

Results

District 3

See also: Connecticut's 3rd congressional district. Democratic incumbent Rosa DeLauro, who had represented the 3rd district since 1991, ran for re-election.^[3]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Rosa DeLauro, incumbent U.S. Representative

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Wayne Winsley, Motivational speaker^[11]

Eliminated in primary

• Steve Packard^[12]

Results

At the Republican state convention on May 18, delegates in the third district endorsed Winsley.^[13] Following the Republican state convention, Steve Packard announced his intention to run for the office as an independent.^[14]

General election

Results

District 4

See also: Connecticut's 4th congressional district. 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.^[15] Himes ran for re-election.^[3]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jim Himes, incumbent U.S. Representative

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Steve Obsitnik, chair and chief executive of Quintel Technology^[16]

Eliminated in primary

• Chris Meek, the founder of START Now!, a non-profit organization^[17]
• David Orner, executive with CIT Group^[18]
• Richard Wieland, retired businessman^[19]

Declined

• Dan Debicella, former state senator and nominee for this seat in 2010^[20]

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.^[21] Obsitnik lost to Himes.

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
align=left	The Cook Political Report^[22]		November 5, 2012
align=left	Rothenberg^[23]		November 2, 2012
align=left	Roll Call^[24]		November 4, 2012
align=left	Sabato's Crystal Ball^[25]		November 5, 2012
align=left	NY Times^[26]		November 4, 2012
RCP^[27]		November 4, 2012
align=left	The Hill^[28]		November 4, 2012

Results

District 5

See also: Connecticut's 5th congressional district. 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.^[29] On August 30, Donovan withdrew his name from the Working Families line to allow the minor party to endorse Elizabeth Esty, the primary winner.^[30]

Candidates

Nominee

• Elizabeth Esty, former state representative^[31]

Eliminated in primary

• Chris Donovan, speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives^[32]
• Daniel Roberti, public relations firm worker^[33]

Disqualified

• Randy Yale, insurance underwriter^{[34] [35]}

Withdrawn

• Mike Williams, advisor to Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign^[36]

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^[37]

Eliminated in primary

• Justin Bernier, former member of Governor Jodi Rell's cabinet^[38]
• Mark Greenberg, businessman^[33]
• Lisa Wilson-Foley, businesswoman^[39]

Withdrawn

• Mike Clark, chair of the Farmington Town Council and a former FBI agent^{[40] [41]}

Declined

• Sam Caligiuri, former state senator and nominee for this seat in 2010^[42]

Primary results

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
align=left	The Cook Political Report		November 5, 2012
align=left	Rothenberg		November 2, 2012
align=left	Roll Call		November 4, 2012
align=left	Sabato's Crystal Ball		November 5, 2012
align=left	NY Times		November 4, 2012
RCP		November 4, 2012
align=left	The Hill		November 4, 2012

Results

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

Notes and References

1. Web site: Candidate Committees, Exploratory Committees, and Durational Political Committees Organized for the November 6, 2012 Election . State of Connecticut, State Elections Enforcement Commission . PDF . August 13, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121017200126/http://www.ct.gov/seec/lib/seec/seecfilingcalendars/2012_filing_calendar_candidate_committees_and_durational_political_committees__final_.pdf . October 17, 2012 . dead . mdy-all .
2. Web site: USSenCD . 2012-12-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141113083201/http://www.statementofvote-sots.ct.gov/StatementOfVote/WebModules/ReportsLink/RepCong.aspx . 2014-11-13 . dead .
3. Web site: Himes has commanding fundraising lead. February 14, 2012. February 20, 2012. The Stamford Advocate. Charles J.. Lewis.
4. Web site: John Decker to run for Larson's 1st District seat. March 19, 2012. May 15, 2012. The Bristol Press. Steve. Collins.
5. Web site: McDonald to Run for Congress. January 5, 2012. January 12, 2012. Windsor Patch. Julian. McKinley.
6. Web site: John Decker Wins GOP Endorsement to Face Larson for US Congress. May 18, 2012. May 18, 2012. The Hartford Courant. Allen. Martel.
7. Web site: Joe Courtney: Not Running For U.S. Senate. February 21, 2011. April 23, 2011. Hartford Courant.
8. Web site: Republican declares 2nd run for Congress. April 22, 2011. April 23, 2011. Norwich Bulletin.
9. Web site: Two More Republicans Jump Into CT2. May 14, 2012. May 15, 2012. Hartford Courant. Daniela. Altimari. https://web.archive.org/web/20120518015921/http://courantblogs.com/capitol-watch/two-more-republicans-jump-into-ct2/. May 18, 2012. dead.
10. News: Esty, Roraback emerge as victors in 5th District race. August 15, 2012. August 14, 2012. Mark Pazniokas. Jacqueline Rabe Thomas. Aroosa Masroor. https://web.archive.org/web/20120822041303/http://www.ctmirror.org/story/17225/esty-roraback-emerge-victors-5th-district-race. August 22, 2012. dead.
11. Web site: Motivational speaker from Naugatuck to take on DeLauro. October 18, 2011. October 21, 2011. Republican-American. Alia. Malik. https://web.archive.org/web/20111022012009/http://www.rep-am.com/articles/2011/10/18/news/local/592478.txt. October 22, 2011. dead.
12. Web site: Statement of Organization. Federal Election Commission. May 2, 2012. PDF. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222827/http://images.nictusa.com/pdf/512/12030782512/12030782512.pdf#navpanes=0. March 3, 2016. dead.
13. News: Roraback Wins GOP Endorsement In 5th District But Primary Assured. 14 January 2013. 18 May 2012. Christopher Keating. Daniela Altimari. Hartford Courant.
14. Web site: Packard. Steve. Steve Packard 2012. https://archive.today/20130415151547/http://www.packard2012.org/going-independent/. dead. 15 April 2013. 24 June 2012.
15. Web site: Himes Rules out Running for Lieberman Seat in 2012. December 10, 2010. April 23, 2011. The Hartfordite. Dennis. House.
16. Web site: Westport businessman running for Congress. November 16, 2011. October 22, 2022. Connecticut Post. Brian. Lockhart.
17. Web site: Republican Chris Meek Formally Announces His Run for Congress in CT-4. November 17, 2011. November 19, 2011. Hartford Courant. Daniela. Altimari.
18. Web site: Himes faces growing field of challengers. October 6, 2011. October 26, 2011. Connecticut Post. Neil. Vigdor.
19. Web site: Greenwich Tea Party event sparsely attended. March 9, 2012. March 13, 2012. Connecticut Post. Neil. Vigdor.
20. Web site: Debicella to GOP: Not your fella in 2012. January 16, 2012. January 19, 2012. Hearst Connecticut Media Group. Neil. Vigdor.
21. News: Vigdor. Neil. Obsitnik won't face primary for GOP House nod. October 22, 2022. May 26, 2012.
22. Web site: The Cook Political Report — Charts – 2012 House Competitive Races . Cookpolitical.com . November 5, 2012 . November 6, 2012.
23. Web site: House Ratings . Rothenbergpoliticalreport.com . November 2, 2012 . November 4, 2012.
24. http://www.rollcall.com/politics/race-ratings-chart-2012-house-elections.html
25. http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/category/2012-house/ Crystal Ball
26. http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/ratings/house House Race Ratings
27. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/house/2012_elections_house_map.html
28. Web site: House Ratings . The Hill . November 4, 2012. November 3, 2012 .
29. Web site: Endorsements Boost 2 Democrats In 5th District Race. December 20, 2011. May 15, 2012. Hartford Courant. Daniela. Altimari.
30. News: It's official, Donovan drops out of race. September 1, 2012. CTMirror.org. August 30, 2012. Jacqueline Rabe Thomas. Keith M. Phaneuf.
31. Web site: Wife of DEP Commissioner May Get in Fifth District Race. March 29, 2011. May 24, 2011. Litchfield County Times. Luther. Turmelle.
32. Web site: Donovan Running for Congress. May 23, 2011. May 24, 2011. NBC Connecticut. Bob. Connors.
33. Web site: Kent Democrat Dan Roberti Entering 5th District Race. April 13, 2011. May 24, 2011. Litchfield County Times. Kathryn. Boughton.
34. Web site: Donovan tries to bar negative ads in 5th CD primary. February 26, 2012. March 13, 2012. The Connecticut Mirror. Mark. Pazniokas. https://web.archive.org/web/20120229090155/http://www.ctmirror.org/story/15561/donovan-seeks-non-aggression-pact-5th-cd. February 29, 2012. dead.
35. Web site: Donovan easily wins nomination, but two opponents to primary. May 14, 2012. May 15, 2012. Record-Journal. Mary Ellen. Godin. https://web.archive.org/web/20150412085327/http://www.myrecordjournal.com/local/article_8710e4f8-9e40-11e1-a75b-001a4bcf887a.html. April 12, 2015. dead.
36. Web site: New Preston man seeks 5th District seat. May 12, 2011. May 24, 2011. Connecticut Post. Susan. Tuz.
37. Web site: Roraback officially in the running for 5th District seat. October 21, 2011. October 22, 2011. The Register Citizen. Rick. Thomason.
38. Web site: Bernier announces he'll run in 5th District. January 26, 2011. May 24, 2011. The News-Times. Robert. Miller.
39. Web site: Fifth Congressional District GOP candidates bat around the issues at meeting . Ricky . Campbell . June 24, 2011 . June 28, 2011 . The Register Citizen.
40. Web site: Former FBI Agent Running for Congress. April 5, 2011. May 24, 2011. NBC Connecticut. Jennifer. Sposato.
41. Web site: Clark Drops Bid, Endorses Roraback. May 16, 2012. May 17, 2012. CT News Junkie. Christine. Stuart.
42. Web site: Caligiuri passes on another run for Rep. Murphy's seat. February 1, 2011. May 24, 2011. The Hill. Shane. D'Aprile.