Jump to content

2012 United States Senate election in California

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Elizabeth Emken)

2012 United States Senate election in California
← 2006 November 6, 2012 2018 →
Turnout55.2% (voting eligible)[1]
 
Candidate 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

Elections in California
Federal government
U.S. President
U.S. Senate
U.S. House of Representatives
State government
Executive
Governor
Lieutenant governor
Attorney general
Secretary of state
Treasurer
Controller
Insurance commissioner
Superintendent
Board of equalization
Legislature
Senate
Assembly
Judiciary
Court of appeals
Elections by year
State propositions
1910–1919
1960–1969
1970–1979
1980–1989
1990–1999
2000–2009
2010–2019
2020–2029
Full list
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County
Board of supervisors
Ballot measures
  • 1980
  • 2008
  • 2012
  • 2016
Elections
Los Angeles
Mayor
City attorney
Ballot measures
  • 1986
  • 2017
Elections
Long Beach
Mayor
Orange County
Orange County
Board of supervisors
District attorney
Anaheim
Mayor
Irvine
Mayor
Costa Mesa
Municipal
Sacramento
Mayor
San Diego County
San Diego County
Board of supervisors
San Diego
Mayor
City attorney
City council
San Francisco
Mayor
District attorney
Board of supervisors
Board of education
Ballot measures
  • 2024
Elections
San Jose
Mayor
Other localities
Bakersfield

Mayoral elections:

Fresno

Mayoral elections:

Oakland

Mayoral elections:

Riverside

Mayoral elections:

San Bernardino

Mayoral elections:

Stockton

Mayoral elections:

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 was the most ever received by a candidate for U.S. Senate in American history until Adam Schiff won the same seat with over 8 million votes in 2024.[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

[edit]

Candidates

[edit]

Democratic Party

[edit]
  • 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

[edit]

Libertarian

[edit]
  • Gail Lightfoot, retired nurse

Peace and Freedom

[edit]

American Independent

[edit]
  • Don J. Grundmann, chiropractor

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

Polling

[edit]
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

[edit]
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

[edit]

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

[edit]

Fundraising

[edit]
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

[edit]
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

[edit]
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

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

Debates

[edit]

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

Predictions

[edit]
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

[edit]
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size 		Margin of
error 		Dianne
Feinstein (D) 		Elizabeth
Emken (R) 		Other Undecided
SurveyUSA[29] May 27–29, 2012 1,575 ±2.5% 50% 34% — 15%
The Field Poll[30] June 21 – July 2, 2012 848 ±3.5% 51% 32% — 17%
CBRT Pepperdine[31] July 30 – August 1, 2012 873 ±3.3% 46% 34% — 21%
SurveyUSA[32] September 9–11, 2012 524 ±4.2% 55% 37% — 9%
The Field Poll[33] September 6–18, 2012 902 ±3.4% 57% 31% — 12%
SurveyUSA[34] October 7–9, 2012 539 ±4.3% 54% 35% — 10%
Reason-Rupe[35] October 11–15, 2012 508 ±5.1% 60% 34% 2% 5%
LA Times/USC[36] October 15–21, 2012 1,440 ±n/a 55% 38% 1% 6%
The Field Poll[37] October 17–24, 2012 815 ±3.6% 56% 32% — 12%
The Field Poll[37] October 25–30, 2012 751 ±3.6% 54% 33% — 13%

Results

[edit]
United States Senate election in California, 2012[38]
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

By county

[edit]
Dianne Feinstein Elizabeth Emken
County Votes % Votes %
Alameda 468,456 81.9% 103,313 18.1%
Alpine 409 64.1% 229 35.9%
Amador 7,051 40.8% 10,232 59.2%
Butte 43,681 49.3% 44,981 50.7%
Calaveras 8,878 41.6% 12,479 58.4%
Colusa 2,482 43.3% 3,253 56.7%
Contra Costa 300,194 70.1% 128,310 29.9%
Del Norte 4,065 47.4% 4,502 52.6%
El Dorado 35,776 41.3% 50,820 58.7%
Fresno 129,267 51.1% 123,499 48.9%
Glenn 3,520 39.0% 5,515 61.0%
Humboldt 36,162 65.0% 19,437 35.0%
Imperial 25,342 67.2% 12,346 32.8%
Inyo 3,333 42.6% 4,494 57.4%
Kern 92,252 42.3% 125,906 57.7%
Kings 13,304 42.6% 17,916 57.4%
Lake 13,543 59.0% 9,424 41.0%
Lassen 3,150 29.9% 7,390 70.1%
Los Angeles 2,183,654 71.5% 868,924 28.5%
Madera 15,997 41.1% 22,942 58.9%
Marin 105,153 80.1% 26,105 19.9%
Mariposa 3,551 40.3% 5,268 59.7%
Mendocino 24,254 70.3% 10,224 29.7%
Merced 32,955 55.0% 27,000 45.0%
Modoc 1,188 30.1% 2,761 69.9%
Mono 2,600 52.0% 2,404 48.0%
Monterey 84,585 69.6% 36,930 30.4%
Napa 37,122 66.5% 18,682 33.5%
Nevada 25,495 50.4% 25,078 49.6%
Orange 515,902 47.5% 570,574 52.5%
Placer 68,599 41.4% 97,139 58.6%
Plumas 4,162 42.8% 5,560 57.2%
Riverside 327,698 51.9% 303,651 48.1%
Sacramento 302,078 60.7% 195,412 39.3%
San Benito 11,389 61.1% 7,255 38.9%
San Bernardino 298,067 54.0% 253,433 46.0%
San Diego 622,781 54.4% 521,884 45.6%
San Francisco 305,126 88.5% 39,589 11.5%
San Joaquin 113,706 57.0% 85,787 43.0%
San Luis Obispo 62,216 50.8% 60,262 49.2%
San Mateo 213,503 77.2% 62,979 22.8%
Santa Barbara 93,921 59.6% 63,599 40.4%
Santa Clara 454,647 72.9% 168,722 27.1%
Santa Cruz 91,109 78.2% 25,463 21.8%
Shasta 27,155 36.5% 47,184 63.5%
Sierra 677 38.6% 1,078 61.4%
Siskiyou 8,196 42.0% 11,334 58.0%
Solano 98,251 66.0% 50,634 34.0%
Sonoma 154,892 73.7% 55,256 26.3%
Stanislaus 78,470 51.8% 73,060 48.2%
Sutter 12,395 41.2% 17,715 58.8%
Tehama 8,349 37.0% 14,241 63.0%
Trinity 2,658 47.5% 2,943 52.5%
Tulare 42,395 42.9% 56,499 57.1%
Tuolumne 10,336 42.8% 13,823 57.2%
Ventura 171,483 54.4% 143,603 45.6%
Yolo 49,148 67.7% 23,468 32.3%
Yuba 7,896 41.0% 11,376 59.0%
Totals 7,864,624 62.52% 4,713,887 37.48%
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

By congressional district

[edit]

Feinstein won 41 of the 53 congressional districts, including three held by Republicans.[39]

District Feinstein Emken Representative
1st 42% 58% Doug LaMalfa
2nd 73% 27% Jared Huffman
3rd 56% 44% John Garamendi
4th 41% 59% Tom McClintock
5th 72% 28% Mike Thompson
6th 71% 29% Doris Matsui
7th 53% 47% Ami Bera
8th 43% 57% Paul Cook
9th 60% 40% Jerry McNerney
10th 52% 48% Jeff Denham
11th 72% 28% George Miller
12th 89% 11% Nancy Pelosi
13th 91% 9% Barbara Lee
14th 79% 21% Jackie Speier
15th 71% 29% Eric Swalwell
16th 59% 41% Jim Costa
17th 75% 25% Mike Honda
18th 72% 28% Anna Eshoo
19th 74% 26% Zoe Lofgren
20th 73% 27% Sam Farr
21st 56% 44% David Valadao
22nd 43% 57% Devin Nunes
23rd 38% 62% Kevin McCarthy
24th 56% 44% Lois Capps
25th 49% 51% Buck McKeon
26th 56% 44% Julia Brownley
27th 65% 35% Judy Chu
28th 73% 27% Adam Schiff
29th 78% 22% Tony Cárdenas
30th 69% 31% Brad Sherman
31st 59% 41% Gary Miller
32nd 67% 33% Grace Napolitano
33rd 65% 35% Henry Waxman
34th 85% 15% Xavier Becerra
35th 68% 32% Gloria Negrete McLeod
36th 54% 46% Raul Ruiz
37th 86% 14% Karen Bass
38th 67% 33% Linda Sánchez
39th 49% 51% Ed Royce
40th 81% 19% Lucille Roybal-Allard
41st 63% 37% Mark Takano
42nd 43% 57% Ken Calvert
43rd 78% 22% Maxine Waters
44th 85% 15% Janice Hahn
45th 44% 56% John B. T. Campbell III
46th 63% 37% Loretta Sánchez
47th 61% 39% Alan Lowenthal
48th 45% 55% Dana Rohrabacher
49th 47% 53% Darrell Issa
50th 40% 60% Duncan Hunter
51st 70% 30% Juan Vargas
52nd 54% 46% Scott Peters
53rd 63% 37% Susan Davis

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  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 (November 26, 2012). "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. ^ a b 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.[permanent dead link‍]
  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. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. 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. ^ SurveyUSA
  30. ^ The Field Poll
  31. ^ CBRT Pepperdine
  32. ^ SurveyUSA
  33. ^ The Field Poll
  34. ^ SurveyUSA
  35. ^ Reason-Rupe
  36. ^ LA Times/USC [permanent dead link‍]
  37. ^ a b The Field Poll
  38. ^ "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)
  39. ^ "Counties by Congressional Districts for United States Senator" (PDF). November 6, 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 18, 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
[edit]

Official campaign sites (Archived)

Retrieved from "https://wiki.riteme.site/w/index.php?title=2012_United_States_Senate_election_in_California&oldid=1272297834"