| Election Name: | 2012 West Virginia elections |
| Country: | West Virginia |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2010 West Virginia elections |
| Previous Year: | 2010 |
| Next Election: | 2014 West Virginia elections |
| Next Year: | 2014 |
| Registered: | 1,246,559 |
| Turnout: | 55.0%[1] (11.0%) |
| Election Date: | November 6, 2012 |
West Virginia's 2012 general elections were held on November 6, 2012. Primary elections were held on May 8, 2012.
See main article: 2012 United States Senate election in West Virginia.
See also: 2012 United States Senate elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, was re-elected, defeating token opposition in the primary, and then perennial candidate John Raese, a businessman and four-time Republican nominee for the Senate (including a challenge to Manchin in 2010), with 61% of the vote.[2]
See main article: 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia.
See also: 2012 United States House of Representatives elections.
See also: West Virginia's 1st congressional district. Republican incumbent David McKinley, who has represented the 1st district since 2011, easily won re-election, defeating Sue Thorn, a "community organizer", receiving 62% of the vote.
See also: West Virginia's 2nd congressional district. Republican incumbent Shelley Moore Capito, who has represented the 2nd district since 2001, easily won re-election.[3] She defeated Michael Davis and state Delegate Jonathan Miller in the Republican primary.[4] and then Howard Swint, a union official, receiving 70% of the vote.[5]
See also: West Virginia's 3rd congressional district. Democratic incumbent Nick Rahall, who has represented the 3rd district since 1993 (and previously represented the 4th district from 1977 to 1993) won reelection in a close race (by the standard of that district, where many counties have not elected a Republican to any office in over 80 years), defeating State Delegate Rick Snuffer, who unsuccessfully challenged Rahall as the Republican nominee in 2004, with only 54% of the vote.[5]
See main article: 2012 West Virginia gubernatorial election.
See also: 2012 United States gubernatorial elections. Incumbent Democratic Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, who has held the position since 2010, won a full term in his own right, defeating Bill Maloney, a businessman who ran as the Republican nominee in the aforementioned 2011 special election. and two minor party candidates, winning 50% of the vote to 46%, with the minor party candidates receiving the remainder.
The results give automatic ballot access for the next four years to both the Mountain Party, (a "green" party); and the Libertarian Party, as ballot access is based on getting 1% of the vote for governor.
| Election Name: | 2012 West Virginia Attorney General election |
| Country: | West Virginia |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2008 West Virginia elections#Attorney General |
| Previous Year: | 2008 |
| Next Election: | 2016 West Virginia elections#Attorney General |
| Next Year: | 2016 |
| Election Date: | November 6, 2012 |
| Image1: | Patrick Morrisey by Gage Skidmore.jpg |
| Nominee1: | Patrick Morrisey |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 329,854 |
| Percentage1: | 51.24% |
| Nominee2: | Darrell McGraw |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 313,830 |
| Percentage2: | 48.76% |
| Attorney General | |
| Before Election: | Darrell McGraw |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Patrick Morrisey |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
Democratic incumbent Darrell McGraw was defeated by Patrick Morrisey, a lawyer specializing in health care matters, 51% to 49%.
See main article: 2012 West Virginia Secretary of State election.
Democratic incumbent Natalie Tennant, was re-elected easily, receiving 62% of the vote over state delegate Brian Savilla. She received by far the most votes of any statewide candidate.
| Election Name: | 2012 West Virginia State Treasurer election |
| Country: | West Virginia |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2008 West Virginia elections#Treasurer |
| Previous Year: | 2008 |
| Next Election: | 2016 West Virginia elections#Treasurer |
| Next Year: | 2016 |
| Election Date: | November 6, 2012 |
| Image1: | John Perdue.jpg |
| Nominee1: | John Perdue |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 348,267 |
| Percentage1: | 55.41% |
| Nominee2: | Mike Hall |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 280,316 |
| Percentage2: | 44.59% |
| State Treasurer | |
| Before Election: | John Perdue |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | John Perdue |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
Democratic incumbent John Perdue, won reelection over State Senate Minority Leader Mike Hall.
| Election Name: | 2012 West Virginia State Auditor election |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Election Date: | November 6, 2012 |
| Country: | West Virginia |
| Previous Election: | 2008 West Virginia elections#Auditor |
| Previous Year: | 2008 |
| Next Election: | 2016 West Virginia State Auditor election |
| Next Year: | 2016 |
| Nominee1: | Glen Gainer III |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 355,610 |
| Percentage1: | 57.40% |
| Nominee2: | Larry V. Faircloth |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 263,959 |
| Percentage2: | 42.60% |
| Map Size: | 275px |
| State Auditor | |
| Before Election: | Glen Gainer III |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Glen Gainer III |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
Democratic incumbent Glen Gainer III, won re-election for the last time over former state Delegate Larry Faircloth.[6]
In April of 2016, Gainer announced he would resign[7] before the end of his term to accept a job as President and CEO of the National White Collar Crime Center, beginning May 15.[8] Lisa Hopkins, who had served as general counsel and deputy commissioner of securities since 2001, was appointed by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin as Gainer's replacement on May 13 and she took office 2 days later.[9]
| Election Name: | 2012 West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture election |
| Country: | West Virginia |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2008 West Virginia elections#Commissioner of Agriculture |
| Previous Year: | 2008 |
| Next Election: | 2016 West Virginia elections#Commissioner of Agriculture |
| Next Year: | 2016 |
| Election Date: | November 6, 2012 |
| Nominee1: | Walt Helmick |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 316,591 |
| Percentage1: | 51.59% |
| Nominee2: | Kent Leonhardt |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 297,088 |
| Percentage2: | 48.41% |
| Secretary of State | |
| Before Election: | Gus Douglass |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Walt Helmick |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
Democratic incumbent Gus Douglass, who has held the position of state Agriculture Commissioner since 1993 (and previously held the position from 1965 to 1989), decided to retire.[10]
State Senator Walt Helmick sought and received the Democratic nomination to succeed Douglass. He defeated Joe Messineo, a former agricultural field supervisor for the state Department of Agriculture and the USDA; Steve Miller, an assistant state Agriculture Commissioner; Sally Shepherd, a farmer; and, Bob Tabb, the deputy state Agriculture Commissioner and former state Delegate.[11]
Kent Leonhardt, a farmer and retired Marine lieutenant colonel, received the Republican nomination.[12] Mike Teets, a cattleman who unsuccessfully challenged Douglass in 2008, has planned to run but dropped out of the race in February 2012.[13]
Helmick defeated Leonhardt with 52% of the vote.[14]
17 of the 34 members of the West Virginia Senate were up for election. The state Senate consisted of 28 Democrats and 6 Republicans. This was the first election after the redistricting following the 2010 Census.
Democrats won 11 of the 17 races. With the carryover seats the Democrats retained control of the State Senate 23 to 11.
All 100 members of the West Virginia House of Delegates were up for election. The state House previously consisted of 65 Democrats and 35 Republicans. This likewise was the first election following the redistricting, with the House districts changed more than those of the Senate. Democrats won only 55 of the 100 races, making the new balance of power 55–45, the best showing for Republicans since the party shift of 1932.[15]
Two seats were up for election on the state Supreme Court of Appeals. The electoral system requires voters to "vote for no more than two" in a single election, rather than electing each seat separately. Both seats were held by Democrats.
Justice Robin Jean Davis, who was first elected in 2000, ran for re-election, while Justice Thomas McHugh, kept his pledge to not seek a full term. McHugh had previously served on the court from 1980 to 1997, and was appointed and then elected to an unexpired term in 2008.
Davis faced Wood County Circuit Judge J.D. Beane; Letitia Neese Chafin, a lawyer and wife of state Senator H. Truman Chafin; Louis Palmer, a Supreme Court clerk; H. John "Buck" Rogers, a lawyer; and, Greenbrier County Circuit Judge Jim Rowe, in the Democratic primary. Chafin and Davis received the Democratic nomination.[16]
Allen Loughry, a law clerk for Democrat Supreme Court Justice Margaret Workman, and Jefferson County Circuit Judge John Yoder sought and received the Republican nomination as they were the only two Republican candidates in the primary.
Davis was re-elected, while Allen Loughry was elected to his first term in office. With the election of Loughry, the court has two elected Republicans sitting on the bench for the first time since 1940.