2012 United States Senate election in California
November 6, 2012
Turnout55.2% (voting eligible)[1]
 
Nominee Dianne Feinstein Elizabeth Emken
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 7,864,624 4,713,887
Percentage 62.52% 37.48%
Feinstein:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Emken:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
U.S. senator before election

Dianne Feinstein
Democratic

 Elected U.S. Senator

Dianne Feinstein
Democratic

The 2012 United States Senate election in California took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

The primary election on June 5 took place under California's new blanket primary law, where all candidates appear on the same ballot, regardless of party. In the primary, voters voted for any candidate listed, or write-in any other candidate. The top two finishers—regardless of party—advanced to the general election in November, even if a candidate managed to receive a majority of the votes cast in the June primary. In the primary, less than 15% of the total 2010 census population voted. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein announced her intention to run for a fourth full term in April 2011[2] and finished first in the blanket primary with 49.5% of the vote. The second-place finisher was Republican candidate and autism activist Elizabeth Emken, who won 12.7% of the vote.

Feinstein ultimately defeated Emken in the general election on November 6, winning 62.5% of the vote to Emken's 37.5%. Feinstein's total of 7.86 million popular votes is the most ever received by a candidate for U.S. Senate in American history.[3] For a full decade, Emken was the only Republican candidate to have advanced to a general U.S. Senate election in California, as only Democratic candidates advanced to the general election in 2016 and 2018; however, this streak was broken in 2022.

Primary

Candidates

Democratic Party

  • Dianne Feinstein, incumbent U.S. senator[4]
  • Colleen Shea Fernald
  • David Levitt, computer scientist and engineer[5]
  • Nak Shah, environmental health consultant
  • Diane Stewart, businesswoman
  • Mike Strimling, attorney and former U.S. Peace Corps legal adviser

Republican Party

Libertarian

  • Gail Lightfoot, retired nurse

Peace and Freedom

American Independent

  • Don J. Grundmann, chiropractor

Despite Don J. Grundmann running, the American Independent Party gave their party endorsement to Republican Robert Lauten.[14]

Polling

Open Primary
Survey USA poll of 1,314 likely voters, March 29–April 2, 2012. MoE: ±2.8%
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dianne Feinstein (incumbent) 51
Republican Dan Hughes 2
Republican Elizabeth Emken 2
Democratic Diane Stewart 1
Republican John Boruff 1
Republican Rick Williams 1
Republican Al Ramirez 1
Republican Robert Lauten 1
Republican Orly Taitz 1
Libertarian Gail Lightfoot 1
Democratic David Alex Levitt 1
Republican Greg Conlon 1
Republican Dennis Jackson 1
Republican Donald Krampe 1
American Independent Don J. Grundmann 1
Republican Oscar Alejandro Braun 0
Republican Dirk Allen Konopik 0
Democratic Mike Strimling 0
Democratic Nak Shah 0
Democratic Colleen Shea Fernald 0
Peace and Freedom Marsha Feinland 0
Republican Rogelio T. Gloria 0
Peace and Freedom Kabiruddin Karim Ali 0
Republican Nachum Shifren 0
n/a Undecided 30
Total votes
Survey USA poll of 1,232 likely voters, May 27–29, 2012. MoE: ±2.8%
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dianne Feinstein (incumbent) 42
Republican Elizabeth Emken 4
Republican Dan Hughes 4
Republican Rick Williams 3
Republican Al Ramirez 3
Republican Donald Krampe 2
Democratic Diane Stewart 2
Democratic David Alex Levitt 2
Libertarian Gail Lightfoot 2
Republican Orly Taitz 1
Republican Greg Conlon 1
Republican Robert Lauten 1
Republican Nachum Shifren 1
Republican Dennis Jackson 1
Republican John Boruff 1
Republican Dirk Allen Konopik 1
Democratic Colleen Shea Fernald 1
Democratic Mike Strimling 1
Peace and Freedom Marsha Feinland 1
American Independent Don J. Grundmann 1
Republican Oscar Alejandro Braun 0
Peace and Freedom Kabiruddin Karim Ali 0
Democratic Nak Shah 0
Republican Rogelio T. Gloria 0
n/a Undecided 24
Total votes

Results

Primary results by county:
  Feinstein >= 20%
  Feinstein >= 30%
  Feinstein >= 40%
  Feinstein >= 50%
  Feinstein >= 60%
  Feinstein >= 70%
United States Senate primary election in California, 2012[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dianne Feinstein (incumbent) 2,392,822 49.3%
Republican Elizabeth Emken 613,613 12.6%
Republican Dan Hughes 323,840 6.7%
Republican Rick Williams 157,946 3.3%
Republican Orly Taitz 154,781 3.2%
Republican Dennis Jackson 137,120 2.8%
Republican Greg Conlon 135,421 2.8%
Republican Al Ramirez 109,399 2.3%
Libertarian Gail Lightfoot 101,648 2.1%
Democratic Diane Stewart 97,782 2.0%
Democratic Mike Strimling 97,024 2.0%
Democratic David Levitt 76,482 1.6%
Republican Oscar Braun 75,842 1.6%
Republican Robert Lauten 57,720 1.2%
Peace and Freedom Marsha Feinland 54,129 1.2%
Democratic Colleen Shea Fernald 51,623 1.1%
Republican Donald Krampe 39,035 0.8%
American Independent Don J. Grundmann 33,037 0.7%
Republican Dirk Allen Konopik 29,997 0.6%
Republican John Boruff 29,357 0.6%
Democratic Nak Shah 27,203 0.6%
Republican Rogelio T. Gloria 22,529 0.5%
Republican Nachum Shifren 21,762 0.4%
Peace and Freedom Kabiruddin Karim Ali 12,269 0.3%
Republican Linda R. Price (write-in) 25 0.0%
Total votes 4,852,406 100.0%

Election contest

In July 2012, Taitz sued to block the certification of the primary election results, alleging "rampant election fraud", but her suit was denied.[16][17]

General election

Fundraising

Candidate (party) Receipts Disbursements Cash on hand Debt
Dianne Feinstein (D) $12,673,306 $12,105,960 $865,541 $373,734
Elizabeth Emken (R) $1,114,350 $1,110,209 $4,140 $4,479
Source: Federal Election Commission[18][19]

Top contributors

Dianne Feinstein Contribution Elizabeth Emken Contribution
Pacific Gas and Electric Company $120,700 Thomas H. Lee Partners $10,000
JStreetPAC $82,171 DevicePharm, Inc. $7,500
General Atomics $56,750 Troy Group $7,500
Edison International $54,250 Jelly Belly $5,500
General Dynamics $43,500 Autism Advocate $5,000
BAE Systems $40,000 Geier Group $5,000
Diamond Foods $31,599 Generations Healthcare $5,000
Northrop Grumman $30,800 Gingery Development $4,000
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees $30,000 MIR3, Inc. $3,000
Wells Fargo $27,250 Northrop Grumman $2,800
Source: OpenSecrets[20]

Top industries

Dianne Feinstein Contribution Elizabeth Emken Contribution
Lawyers/Law Firms $565,129 Retired $63,849
Retired $463,058 Republican/Conservative $35,800
Agribusiness $367,132 Financial Institutions $26,100
Real Estate $334,321 Real Estate $19,200
Lobbyists $324,196 Business Services $16,000
Financial Institutions $321,744 Misc Finance $12,750
Electric Utilities $313,450 Printing & Publishing $8,000
Entertainment Industry $300,321 Food & Beverage $6,000
Women's Issues $207,449 Petroleum Industry $6,000
High-Tech Industry $205,789 Lawyers/Law Firms $5,458
Source: OpenSecrets[21]

Candidates

  • Dianne Feinstein (D), incumbent U.S. Senator
  • Elizabeth Emken (R), former Vice President of Autism Speaks[22]

Debates

No debates were scheduled. Senator Feinstein decided to focus on her own campaign rather than debate her challenger.[23][24]

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[25] Solid D November 1, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[26] Safe D November 5, 2012
Rothenberg Political Report[27] Safe D November 2, 2012
Real Clear Politics[28] Safe D November 5, 2012

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered		 Sample
size		 Margin of
error		 Dianne
Feinstein (D)		 Elizabeth
Emken (R)		 Other Undecided
SurveyUSA May 27–29, 2012 1,575 ±2.5% 50% 34% — 15%
The Field Poll June 21 – July 2, 2012 848 ±3.5% 51% 32% — 17%
CBRT Pepperdine July 30 – August 1, 2012 873 ±3.3% 46% 34% — 21%
SurveyUSA September 9–11, 2012 524 ±4.2% 55% 37% — 9%
The Field Poll September 6–18, 2012 902 ±3.4% 57% 31% — 12%
SurveyUSA October 7–9, 2012 539 ±4.3% 54% 35% — 10%
Reason-Rupe October 11–15, 2012 508 ±5.1% 60% 34% 2% 5%
LA Times/USC October 15–21, 2012 1,440 ±n/a 55% 38% 1% 6%
The Field Poll October 17–24, 2012 815 ±3.6% 56% 32% — 12%
The Field Poll October 25–30, 2012 751 ±3.6% 54% 33% — 13%

Results

United States Senate election in California, 2012[29]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Dianne Feinstein (incumbent) 7,864,624 62.52% +3.09%
Republican Elizabeth Emken 4,713,887 37.48% +2.46%
Total votes 12,578,511 100.00% N/A
Democratic hold

Results by county

Dianne Feinstein Elizabeth Emken
County Votes  % Votes  %
Alameda468,45681.9%103,31318.1%
Alpine40964.1%22935.9%
Amador7,05140.8%10,23259.2%
Butte43,68149.3%44,98150.7%
Calaveras8,87841.6%12,47958.4%
Colusa2,48243.3%3,25356.7%
Contra Costa300,19470.1%128,31029.9%
Del Norte4,06547.4%4,50252.6%
El Dorado35,77641.3%50,82058.7%
Fresno129,26751.1%123,49948.9%
Glenn3,52039.0%5,51561.0%
Humboldt36,16265.0%19,43735.0%
Imperial25,34267.2%12,34632.8%
Inyo3,33342.6%4,49457.4%
Kern92,25242.3%125,90657.7%
Kings13,30442.6%17,91657.4%
Lake13,54359.0%9,42441.0%
Lassen3,15029.9%7,39070.1%
Los Angeles2,183,65471.5%868,92428.5%
Madera15,99741.1%22,94258.9%
Marin105,15380.1%26,10519.9%
Mariposa3,55140.3%5,26859.7%
Mendocino24,25470.3%10,22429.7%
Merced32,95555.0%27,00045.0%
Modoc1,18830.1%2,76169.9%
Mono2,60052.0%2,40448.0%
Monterey84,58569.6%36,93030.4%
Napa37,12266.5%18,68233.5%
Nevada25,49550.4%25,07849.6%
Orange515,90247.5%570,57452.5%
Placer68,59941.4%97,13958.6%
Plumas4,16242.8%5,56057.2%
Riverside327,69851.9%303,65148.1%
Sacramento302,07860.7%195,41239.3%
San Benito11,38961.1%7,25538.9%
San Bernardino298,06754.0%253,43346.0%
San Diego622,78154.4%521,88445.6%
San Francisco305,12688.5%39,58911.5%
San Joaquin113,70657.0%85,78743.0%
San Luis Obispo62,21650.8%60,26249.2%
San Mateo213,50377.2%62,97922.8%
Santa Barbara93,92159.6%63,59940.4%
Santa Clara454,64772.9%168,72227.1%
Santa Cruz91,10978.2%25,46321.8%
Shasta27,15536.5%47,18463.5%
Sierra67738.6%1,07861.4%
Siskiyou8,19642.0%11,33458.0%
Solano98,25166.0%50,63434.0%
Sonoma154,89273.7%55,25626.3%
Stanislaus78,47051.8%73,06048.2%
Sutter12,39541.2%17,71558.8%
Tehama8,34937.0%14,24163.0%
Trinity2,65847.5%2,94352.5%
Tulare42,39542.9%56,49957.1%
Tuolumne10,33642.8%13,82357.2%
Ventura171,48354.4%143,60345.6%
Yolo49,14867.7%23,46832.3%
Yuba7,89641.0%11,37659.0%
Totals7,864,62462.52%4,713,88737.48%

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

By congressional district

Feinstein won 41 of the 53 congressional districts, including three held by Republicans.[30]

District Emken Feinstein Representative
1st 57.54% 42.46% Doug LaMalfa
2nd 26.57% 73.43% Jared Huffman
3rd 43.53% 56.47% John Garamendi
4th 58.51% 41.49% Tom McClintock
5th 27.52% 72.48% Mike Thompson
6th 28.74% 71.26% Doris Matsui
7th 46.52% 53.48% Ami Bera
8th 56.52% 43.48% Paul Cook
9th 40.39% 59.61% Jerry McNerney
10th 47.93% 52.07% Jeff Denham
11th 28.5% 71.5% George Miller
12th 11.19% 88.81% Nancy Pelosi
13th 9.14% 90.86% Barbara Lee
14th 20.65% 79.35% Jackie Speier
15th 29.32% 70.68% Eric Swalwell
16th 40.69% 59.31% Jim Costa
17th 25.22% 74.78% Mike Honda
18th 28.45% 71.55% Anna Eshoo
19th 26.49% 73.51% Zoe Lofgren
20th 26.87% 73.13% Sam Farr
21st 44.36% 55.64% David Valadao
22nd 56.76% 43.24% Devin Nunes
23rd 61.99% 38.01% Kevin McCarthy
24th 44.1% 55.9% Lois Capps
25th 50.8% 49.2% Buck McKeon
26th 43.8% 56.2% Julia Brownley
27th 34.85% 65.15% Judy Chu
28th 26.59% 73.41% Adam Schiff
29th 22.21% 77.79% Tony Cárdenas
30th 31.44% 68.56% Brad Sherman
31st 41.33% 58.67% Gary Miller
32nd 33.33% 66.67% Grace Napolitano
33rd 35.5% 64.5% Henry Waxman
34th 15.4% 84.6% Xavier Becerra
35th 31.96% 68.04% Gloria Negrete McLeod
36th 46.35% 53.65% Raul Ruiz
37th 13.92% 86.08% Karen Bass
38th 33.43% 66.57% Linda Sánchez
39th 50.82% 49.18% Ed Royce
40th 18.76% 81.24% Lucille Roybal-Allard
41st 37.03% 62.97% Mark Takano
42nd 56.82% 43.18% Ken Calvert
43rd 21.7% 78.3% Maxine Waters
44th 15.29% 84.71% Janice Hahn
45th 55.57% 44.43% John B. T. Campbell III
46th 36.98% 63.02% Loretta Sánchez
47th 38.56% 61.44% Alan Lowenthal
48th 55.06% 44.94% Dana Rohrabacher
49th 53.31% 46.69% Darrell Issa
50th 60.48% 39.52% Duncan Hunter
51st 29.92% 70.08% Juan Vargas
52nd 45.51% 54.49% Scott Peters
53rd 36.67% 63.33% Susan Davis

See also

References

  1. ↑ Dr. Michael McDonald (February 9, 2013). "2012 General Election Turnout Rates". George Mason University. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  2. ↑ Marinucci, Carla (April 30, 2011). "US Sen. Dianne Feinstein on nuclear energy and her 2012 re-election: "My plan is to run"". San Francisco Chronicle Politics Blog. Archived from the original on January 22, 2012.
  3. ↑ Mahtesian, Charles. "Feinstein's record: 7.3 million votes". POLITICO. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  4. ↑ Reston, Maeve (October 25, 2010). "Feinstein hints she'll run again in 2012". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 13, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  5. ↑ Milhalcik, Carrie. "Citizen candidate to challenge Dianne Feinstein in Senate race". Current TV. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  6. ↑ Walker, Mark (December 1, 2011). "REGION: Ramona man running against Feinstein in 2012". North County Times. Archived from the original on September 7, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  7. ↑ Van Oot, Torey (November 28, 2011). "Republican Elizabeth Emken to run against Sen. Dianne Feinstein". The Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on November 30, 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  8. 1 2 Richman, Josh (November 29, 2011). "Danville woman seeks GOP nod to take on Feinstein". Oakland Tribune. Contra Costa Times. Archived from the original on December 31, 2011. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  9. ↑ Merl, Jean (February 6, 2012). "GOP businessman joins field challenging Sen. Dianne Feinstein". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  10. ↑ Archibald, Ashley (January 28, 2012). "Santa Monican hopes to unseat Feinstein". Santa Monica Daily Press. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  11. ↑ Surowski, Peter (May 18, 2011). "Rabbi Who Denounced Temecula Mosque Runs for Senate". Temecula Patch. Archived from the original on May 22, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Orly Taitz Senate Campaign: 'Birther Queen' Running As GOP Candidate For U.S. Senate Seat In California". The Huffington Post. November 4, 2011. Archived from the original on November 7, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Rick Williams for Senate". Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Voter Information Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 28, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Statement of Vote (June 5, 2012, Presidential Primary Election)" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 7, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  16. ↑ Wisckol, Martin (July 12, 2012). "O.C. 'birther' sues to block primary election results". The Orange County Register. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012.
  17. ↑ Wisckol, Martin (July 13, 2012). "O.C. 'birther' suit to block election results denied". The Orange County Register. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012.
  18. ↑ Federal Election Commission. "2012 House and Senate Campaign Finance for California FEINSTEIN, DIANNE". fec.gov. Archived from the original on July 21, 2013.
  19. ↑ Federal Election Commission. "2012 House and Senate Campaign Finance for California EMKEN, ELIZABETH". fec.gov. Archived from the original on July 21, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Top Contributors 2012 Race: California Senate". OpenSecrets. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Top Industries 2012 Race: California Senate". OpenSecrets. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Elizabeth Emken". ElizabethEmken.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  23. ↑ PaoloPhotoFilms (September 8, 2012). ""Feinstein Walks Out On Reporter", California US Senate debate". Archived from the original on January 12, 2018 – via YouTube.
  24. ↑ "Sen. Feinstein explains decision not to debate". ocregister.com. November 1, 2012. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012.
  25. ↑ "2012 Senate Race Ratings for November 1, 2012". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  26. ↑ "2012 Senate". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  27. ↑ "2012 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  28. ↑ "2012 Elections Map - Battle for the Senate 2012". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  29. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on December 24, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  30. ↑ "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts". Daily Kos. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
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