2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Arkansas

2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Arkansas

November 6, 2012 (2012-11-06)
All 4 Arkansas seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party Third party   Party Republican Democratic Green Last election 3 1 0 Seats won 4 0 0 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 637,591 304,770 57,706 Percentage 61.42% 29.36% 5.56% Swing 5.17% 11.72% New
Republican   50–60%   70–80%

The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Arkansas occurred on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the four U.S. representatives from the state, one from each of the state's four congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election.

As the result of redistricting following the 2010 United States census, the boundaries of the state's congressional districts were redrawn, heavily favoring Republicans. Governor Mike Beebe, who signed the new map into law in April 2011, described it as the "status quo" and not partisan. In the new map, five counties are split between districts, the first time in Arkansas history that counties have not been kept intact in congressional districts.

Overview

Statewide

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 Arkansas.

United States House of Representatives elections in Arkansas, 2012
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Republican	637,591	61.4%	4	+1
	Democratic	304,770	29.4%	0	-1
	Green	57,706	5.6%	0	-
	Libertarian	37,987	3.7%	0	-
Totals		1,038,054	100%	4	—

Popular vote Republican   61.42% Democratic   29.36% Green   5.56% Libertarian   3.66%

House seats Republican   100.0% Democratic   0% Green   0% Libertarian   0%

By district

Results of the 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Arkansas by district:

District	Republican		Democratic		Green		Libertarian		Total		Result
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
District 1	138,800	56.23%	96,601	39.13%	6,427	2.60%	5,015	2.03%	246,843	100.0%	Republican Hold
District 2	158,175	55.19%	113,156	39.48%	8,566	2.99%	6,701	2.34%	286,598	100.0%	Republican Hold
District 3	186,467	75.90%	0	0.00%	39,318	16.01%	19,875	8.09%	245,660	100.0%	Republican Hold
District 4	154,149	59.53%	95,013	36.69%	4,807	1.86%	4,984	1.93%	258,953	100.0%	Republican Gain
Total	637,591	61.42%	304,770	29.36%	57,706	5.56%	37,987	3.66%	1,038,054	100.0%

District 1

2012 Arkansas's 1st congressional district election

Nominee Rick Crawford Scott Ellington Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 138,800 96,601 Percentage 56.2% 39.2%

Results by county Crawford:      40–50%     50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Ellington:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. Representative before election Rick Crawford Republican Elected U.S. Representative Rick Crawford Republican

See also: Arkansas's 1st congressional district

The 1st district had lost population, and so was drawn in the new map to incorporate counties in southeastern Arkansas which were previously a part of the 4th district. Republican incumbent Rick Crawford was first elected in 2010.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Rick Crawford, incumbent U.S. Representative

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Scott Ellington, prosecuting attorney

Eliminated in primary

• Clark Hall, state representative
• Gary Latanich, professor of economics at Arkansas State University

Declined

• Paul Bookout, president pro tempore of the Arkansas Senate;
• L. J. Bryant, business owner and nominee for Land Commissioner in 2010
• Chad Causey, former chief of staff to U.S. Representative Marion Berry and nominee for this seat in 2010
• David Cook, former state representative and candidate for this seat in 2010
• Keith Ingram, state representative
• Robert S. Moore Jr., Speaker of the state house of representatives;
• Steve Rockwell, businessman (who had considered running in 2010)
• Robert F. Thompson, state senator

Endorsements

Clark Hall

Organizations

• Blue Dog Coalition

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Scott Ellington	Clark Hall	Gary Latanich	Undecided
Talk Business/Hendrix College	April 24–25, 2012	497	± 4.4%	15%	10%	4%	71%

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Scott Ellington	27,936	49.5
	Democratic	Clark M. Hall	21,861	38.8
	Democratic	Gary Latanich	6,605	11.7
Total votes			56,402	100.0

Green primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jacob Holloway, graduate student at Arkansas State University.

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jessica Paxton, wife of Libertarian Party of Arkansas chairman Rodger Paxton

General election

Endorsements

Rick Crawford (R)

Organizations

• National Republican Congressional Committee "Patriot" Program
• NRA Political Victory Fund
• National Right to Life Committee
• United States Chamber of Commerce

Scott Ellington (D)

Labor unions

• AFL-CIO
• National Association of Letter Carriers
• National Education Association
• United Steelworkers

Organizations

• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee "Emerging Races" Program

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Rick Crawford (R)	Scott Ellington (D)	Undecided
Anzalone Liszt Research Ellington (D)	July 16–18, 2012	401	±4.9%	47%	45%	8%

Predictions

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

Results

Arkansas' 1st congressional district, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rick Crawford (incumbent)	138,800	56.2
	Democratic	Scott Ellington	96,601	39.2
	Libertarian	Jessica Paxton	6,427	2.6
	Green	Jacob Holloway	5,015	2.0
Total votes			246,843	100.0
	Republican hold

District 2

2012 Arkansas's 2nd congressional district election

Nominee Tim Griffin Herb Rule Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 158,175 113,156 Percentage 55.2% 39.5%

U.S. Representative before election Tim Griffin Republican Elected U.S. Representative Tim Griffin Republican

See also: Arkansas's 2nd congressional district

Population growth in Arkansas's central counties meant that the 2nd district had to shrink in the new map. Under the new map, the 2nd district is likely to continue to favor Republicans.

Republican incumbent Timothy Griffin was first elected in 2010.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Tim Griffin, incumbent U.S. Representative

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Herb Rule, attorney and former state representative

Declined

• David Boling, former chief of staff to U.S. Representative Vic Snyder and candidate for this seat in 2010
• Bob Edwards, attorney (who had considered running in 2010)
• John Charles Edwards, state representative
• Drew Pritt, political consultant
• Bill Halter, former Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas and candidate for Senate in 2010
• Pat Hays, Mayor of North Little Rock;
• David Johnson, state senator
• Jay Martin, lawyer and former state representative
• Tracy Steele, state representative
• Robbie Wills, former speaker of the state House of Representatives and candidate for this seat in 2010

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Chris Hayes

General election

Endorsements

Tim Griffin (R)

Organizations

• Gun Owners of America
• NRA Political Victory Fund
• National Right to Life Committee
• United States Chamber of Commerce

Herb Rule (D)

Labor unions

• National Education Association
• United Steelworkers

Results

Arkansas' 2nd congressional district, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tim Griffin (incumbent)	158,175	55.2
	Democratic	Herb Rule	113,156	39.5
	Green	Barbara Ward	8,566	3.0
	Libertarian	Chris Hayes	6,701	2.3
Total votes			286,598	100.0
	Republican hold

District 3

2012 Arkansas's 3rd congressional district election

Nominee Steve Womack Rebekah Kennedy David Pangrac Party Republican Green Libertarian Popular vote 186,467 39,318 19,875 Percentage 75.9% 16.0% 8.1%

U.S. Representative before election Steve Womack Republican Elected U.S. Representative Steve Womack Republican

See also: Arkansas's 3rd congressional district

Population growth in Arkansas's northwestern counties meant that the 3rd district had to shrink in the new map. Under the new map, the 3rd district is likely to continue to favor Republicans.

Republican incumbent Steve Womack was first elected in 2010.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Steve Womack, incumbent U.S. Representative

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Ken Aden, former director for West Memphis-based nonprofit Residents 4 Arkansas

Green primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Rebekah Kennedy, nominee for Senate in 2008 and for state attorney general in 2010.

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• David Pangrac, Libertarian Party of Arkansas Vice Chairman

General election

Campaign

Aden would withdraw from the race after admitting to exaggerating his military record. Under Arkansas law, the Democratic Party was unable to field a replacement candidate for Aden and no Democrat appeared on the general election ballot. On August 14, 2012, Kennedy received the endorsement of the Arkansas state AFL-CIO labor union.

Endorsements

Steve Womack (R)

Organizations

• NRA Political Victory Fund
• National Right to Life Committee
• United States Chamber of Commerce

Ken Aden (D)

Labor unions

• United Steelworkers

Rebekah Kennedy (G)

Labor unions

• AFL-CIO

Results

Arkansas' 3rd congressional district, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Womack (incumbent)	186,467	75.9
	Green	Rebekah Kennedy	39,318	16.0
	Libertarian	David Pangrac	19,875	8.1
Total votes			245,660	100.0
	Republican hold

District 4

2012 Arkansas's 4th congressional district election

Nominee Tom Cotton Gene Jeffress Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 154,149 95,013 Percentage 59.5% 36.7%

Results by county Cotton:      40–50%     50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Jeffress:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. Representative before election Mike Ross Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Tom Cotton Republican

See also: Arkansas's 4th congressional district

Under the new map, the 4th district loses some territory in the east of the state to the 1st district and gains some Republican-leaning northwestern Arkansas counties from the 3rd district. The district also gains Yell County from the 2nd district, which is expected to make the 4th district more favorable to Democrats.

Democratic incumbent Mike Ross, who was first elected in 2000, chose not to seek re-election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Gene Jeffress, state senator

Eliminated in primary

• D.C. Morrison, businessman and candidate for Senate in 2010
• Q. Byrum Hurst Jr., attorney and small business owner

Declined

• Robin Carroll, prosecutor and former legal counsel to the Democratic Party;
• Conner Eldridge, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas
• Steve Faris, former state senator
• Greg Hale, consultant for The Markham Group;
• Steve Harrelson, state senator
• Mike Hathorn, former state representative and candidate for lieutenant governor in 2010
• Carlton Jones, prosecutor from Texarkana
• Chris Masingill, head of the Delta Regional Authority and a former staff member for Ross and Governor Mike Beebe
• Bruce Maloch, state representative
• Gregg Reep, state representative
• Mike Ross, incumbent U.S. Representative
• Larry Teague, state senator
• Chris Thomason, former state representative and chancellor of the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope
• Jeff Weaver, district director for Mike Ross
• Hank Wilkins, state representative

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Q. Byrum Hurst	Gene Jeffress	D.C. Morrison	Undecided
Talk Business/Hendrix College	May 10, 2012	418	± 4.8%	23%	22%	11%	44%

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gene Jeffress	23,848	43.0
	Democratic	Q. Byrum Hurst	19,812	35.7
	Democratic	DC Morrison	11,771	21.2
Total votes			55,431	100.0

Primary runoff results

Democratic primary runoff results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gene Jeffress	15,266	60.7
	Democratic	Q. Byrum Hurst	9,895	39.3
Total votes			25,161	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Tom Cotton, consultant and Army reservist

Eliminated in primary

• John Cowart, police officer and currently serving U.S. Marine Corps Reserve lieutenant colonel in Afghanistan
• Beth Anne Rankin, teacher, former Miss Arkansas & nominee for this seat in 2010

Withdrew

• Marcus Richmond, business owner and retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Tom Cotton	John Cowart	Beth Anne Rankin	Undecided
Talk Business/Hendrix College	May 10, 2012	437	± 4.7%	51%	6%	33%	10%
Talk Business/Hendrix College	April 17, 2012	542	± 4.2%	38.5%	4%	38.5%	19%

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Cotton	20,899	57.6
	Republican	Beth Anne Rankin	13,460	37.1
	Republican	John Cowart	1,953	5.4
Total votes			36,312	100.0

Green primary

Candidates

Nominee

• J. Joshua Drake

Libertarian primary

Bobby Tullis had considered seeking Libertarian nomination for the seat; however in December 2011 Tullis gave his support to Republican candidate Beth Anne Rankin; nevertheless, he was subsequently nominated as the Libertarian candidate.

Candidates

Nominee

• Bobby Tullis, former Democratic state representative and unsuccessful Green Party nominee for state treasurer in 2010

General election

Endorsements

Gene Jeffress (D)

Labor unions

• AFL-CIO
• National Association of Letter Carriers
• National Education Association
• United Steelworkers

Tom Cotton (R)

Organizations

• Club for Growth
• Eagle Forum
• Gun Owners of America
• National Right to Life Committee
• Tea Party Express
• United States Chamber of Commerce

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report	Likely R (flip)	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg	Safe R (flip)	November 2, 2012
Roll Call	Safe R (flip)	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe R (flip)	November 5, 2012
NY Times	Safe R (flip)	November 4, 2012
RCP	Safe R (flip)	November 4, 2012
The Hill	Likely R (flip)	November 4, 2012

Results

Arkansas' 4th congressional district, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Cotton	154,149	59.5
	Democratic	Gene Jeffress	95,013	36.7
	Libertarian	Bobby Tullis	4,984	1.9
	Green	J. Joshua Drake	4,807	1.9
Total votes			258,953	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic

External links

• Elections Division from the Arkansas Secretary of State
• United States House of Representatives elections in Arkansas, 2012 at Ballotpedia
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets
• Outside spending at the Sunlight Foundation