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The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 to elect the 13 U.S. Representatives from the state of North Carolina. The elections coincided with the U.S. presidential election, N.C. gubernatorial election, statewide judicial elections, Council of State elections and various local elections. Primary elections were held on May 8, 2012; for races in which no candidate received 40 percent of the vote in the primary, runoff elections (officially known as "second" primaries) were held on July 17.
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Redistricting
A redistricting map, drawn to reflect changes observed in the 2010 United States Census, was passed into law in July 2011. The map must receive approval from either the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia or the U.S. Department of Justice before it can be enforced (under the 1965 Voting Rights Act). The North Carolina chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People challenged the map on the grounds that it reduces the influence of African American voters.
District 1
Democrat G. K. Butterfield, who has represented North Carolina's 1st congressional district since 2004, ran for re-election. The 1st district, which is majority-minority and already strongly favored Democrats, favored them even more so after redistricting. Butterfield ran against Republican ex-law enforcement officer Pete DiLauro and Libertarian Darryl Holloman in the general election.
General election results
District 2
Republican Renee Ellmers, who has represented North Carolina's 2nd congressional district since January 2011, ran for re-election. Richard Speer, contract farmer Sonya Holmes and Clement F. Munno challenged her for the Republican nomination. The 2nd district was made more favorable to Republicans in redistricting. Democrat Bob Etheridge, who represented the district from 1997 until 2011 and lost to Ellmers in 2010, considered running again, but announced in January 2012 that he would instead run for governor after his home was removed from the district. Steve Wilkins, a retired US Army officer and Moore County businessman, and Toni Morris, a Licensed Professional Counselor in Cumberland County, ran for the Democratic nomination. Brian Irving, a retired US Air Force officer, ran as the Libertarian Party candidate.
Wilkins defeated Morris in the Democratic primary, while Ellmers again won the Republican nomination.
General election results
District 3
Republican Walter Jones, Jr., who has represented North Carolina's 3rd congressional district since 1995, ran for re-election. The 3rd district was made slightly more favorable to Democrats in redistricting, but continued to strongly favor Republicans. Frank Palombo, a former New Bern police chief, ran against Jones for the Republican nomination.
Jones defeated Palombo by a wide margin in the Republican primary in May, and faced Democrat Erik Anderson in the general election.
General Election Results
District 4
Democrat David Price, who has represented North Carolina's 4th congressional district since 1997 and previously served from 1987 until 1995, ran for re-election. Democrat Brad Miller, who has represented the 13th district since 2003, considered challenging Price in the 4th district primary after having his home drawn into it, but announced in January 2012 that he would not seek either seat and would instead retire. Price was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
The Republican primary featured a three-way race between Jim Allen of Burlington; businessman Tim D'Annunzio, who previously sought the 8th District nomination in 2010; and George Hutchins, former US Marine veteran of the first Gulf War and 2010 candidate. Doug Yopp, a fund raiser in higher education, announced that he would seek the Republican nomination, but in the end, he did not file to run. D'Annunzio won the Republican primary in May.
General Election Results
District 5
Republican Virginia Foxx, who has represented North Carolina's 5th congressional district since 2005, ran for re-election. The 5th district was made slightly more favorable to Democrats in redistricting, but continued to strongly favor Republicans.
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Board member Elisabeth Motsinger and dentist Dr. Bruce Peller ran for the Democratic nomination. Wilkes County Democratic chairwoman Treva Johnson, the state director of an agency providing foster care, initially said she would seek the Democratic nomination but she soon dropped out. Motsinger defeated Peller in the Democratic primary in May.
General Election Results
District 6
Republican Howard Coble, who has represented North Carolina's 6th congressional district since 1985, ran for re-election. Former radio personality Bill Flynn, electrical contractor Jim Allen and Guilford County Commissioner Billy Yow challenged Coble in the Republican primary. Coble easily won his party's nomination. The 6th district was expected to continue to strongly favor Republicans.
Former two-term State senator Tony Foriest was the only Democrat to file against Coble.
General Election Results
District 7
The home of Democrat Mike McIntyre, who has represented North Carolina's 7th congressional district since 1997, was drawn into the 8th district in redistricting. McIntyre, who had briefly considered running for governor following Bev Perdue's announcement that she would not seek re-election, decided to seek re-election in the newly redrawn 7th district.
McIntyre was endorsed by the National Rifle Association, the United States Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Business, and the National Right to Life Committee. In this election cycle, he was the lone Democratic federal candidate endorsed by NRLC.
State senator David Rouzer won the Republican primary against Randy Crow and Ilario Pantano, a retired U.S. Marine who unsuccessfully ran as the Republican nominee for the seat in 2010.
The district was made more favorable to Republicans in redistricting: 58% of its residents voted for Republican nominee John McCain in the 2008 presidential election.
The election outcome left McIntyre the winner by 655 votes. A recount requested by Rouzer began on November 26, 2012; two days later, Rouzer conceded the race to McIntyre.
General Election Results
District 8
Democrat Larry Kissell, who had represented North Carolina's 8th congressional district since 2009, ran for re-election. Marcus Williams, an attorney who unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 2008, challenged the incumbent for the Democratic nomination. The home of Kissell's fellow Democrat Mike McIntyre, who has represented the 7th district since 1997, was drawn into the 8th district in redistricting, but McIntyre sought re-election in the 7th district. The 8th district was made more favorable to Republicans in redistricting: only 42% of its residents voted for Democratic nominee Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election.
Richard Hudson, former U.S. Representative Robin Hayes' district director; former Iredell County Commissioner Scott Keadle; Vernon Robinson, a former member of the Winston-Salem City Council; neurosurgeon John Whitley and state representative Fred Steen sought the Republican nomination to challenge Kissell. Insurance executive Daniel Barry had planned to seek the Republican nomination in the 8th district, but announced in February 2012 that he would instead run in the 9th district.
Several Republicans mentioned as possible candidates did not run, including state representative Justin Burr, businessman Pat Molamphy, 2010 nominee and former sportscaster Harold Johnson, and state representative Jerry Dockham.
In the primary, Kissell defeated Williams 73%-27%. Hudson and Keadle qualified for the runoff election, getting 32% and 22% of the vote, respectively. Hudson won the runoff by a large margin, with more than 63 percent of the vote according to unofficial returns.
General Election Results
District 9
Republican Sue Myrick, who had represented North Carolina's 9th congressional district since 1995, did not seek another term.
The following candidates filed to run in the Republican primary: Richard Lynch, Jon Gauthier (financial adviser), Ken Leonwyzk (lawyer and ordained minister), Michael Steinberg (businessman), Dan Barry (Mayor Pro Tem of Weddington), Andy Dulin (Charlotte City Council member), Jim Pendergraph (Mecklenburg County Commissioner), Robert Pittenger (former State Senator), Ric Killian (former State Representative), and Edwin Peacock (Charlotte City Council member), One candidate who filed, Michael Schaffer, dropped out and endorsed Dan Barry. State senator Bob Rucho, who was partially responsible for drawing the district's boundaries as chair of the North Carolina General Assembly's Redistricting Committee, did not run. In the Republican primary, Pittenger and Pendergraph qualified for the runoff election, earning 33% and 25% of the vote, respectively. On July 17, Pittenger won the primary runoff.
Mecklenburg County Commissioner Jennifer Roberts was the only candidate seeking the Democratic nomination. Patrick Cannon, the mayor pro tem of Charlotte, did not run.
Curtis Campbell ran as the Libertarian nominee.
General Election Results
District 10
Republican Patrick McHenry, who has represented North Carolina's 10th congressional district since 2005, ran for re-election. Though the 10th district was made more favorable to Democrats in redistricting, it was expected to continue to strongly favor Republicans. Newspaper publisher Ken Fortenberry and Don Peterson filed to challenge McHenry for the Republican nomination.
Terry Bellamy, the mayor of Asheville; state representative Patsy Keever, a retired teacher; and Timothy Murphy of Rutherfordton ran for the Democratic nomination. Another Democrat, Heath Wynn, an adjunct professor at Catawba Valley Community College, initially campaigned for the seat but ultimately did not file as a candidate. Keever won a "decisive" victory in the Democratic primary in May.
General Election Results
District 11
Democrat Heath Shuler, who had represented North Carolina's 11th congressional district since 2007, chose not to run for re-election. The 11th district was made more favorable to Republicans in redistricting: more than three-quarters of voters in Asheville were removed from the district, while Avery, Burke, Caldwell and Mitchell counties, all of which favor Republicans, were added to it.
Cecil Bothwell, a member of the Asheville city council; Tom Hill, a retired defense industry worker; and Hayden Rogers, Shuler's former chief of staff, sought the Democratic nomination. In the Democratic primary, Rogers won with 56% of the vote.
Spence Campbell, a retired U.S. Army colonel who unsuccessfully ran for the seat in 2008; Jeff Hunt, the district attorney for Henderson, Polk and Transylvania counties; real estate investor Mark Meadows; business owner and Tea Party member Vance Patterson; economic development consultant Chris Petrella; Kenny West, the chair of the Clay County Republican Party; and businessman Ethan Wingfield ran for the Republican nomination. Dan Eichenbaum, an ophthalmologist who unsuccessfully ran in the Republican primary in 2010, had planned to seek the Republican nomination but announced in February 2012 that he would not run. Jeff Miller, who unsuccessfully challenged Shuler as the Republican nominee in 2010, also did not run. In the Republican primary, Meadows and Patterson qualified for the runoff election, earning 38% and 24% of the vote, respectively. Meadows won the runoff by a large margin, with more than 76 percent according to unofficial returns.
On November 6, 2012, Mark Meadows defeated Hayden Rogers in the election with 57% of votes cast.
General Election Results
District 12
Democrat Mel Watt, who has represented North Carolina's 12th congressional district since 1993, ran for re-election. The 12th district was made more favorable to Democrats in redistricting. Guilford County Commissioner Melvin "Skip" Alston said that he might run if Watt retired. In the Democratic primary in May, Watt easily defeated attorney/former Occupy movement protester Matt Newton.
Watt faced Republican Jack Brosch and Libertarian Lon Cecil in the general election in November.
General Election Results
District 13
Democrat Brad Miller, who had represented North Carolina's 13th congressional district since 2003, did not seek re-election. The 13th district was made more favorable to Republicans in redistricting. Two Democrats, Baptist minister Bernard Holliday, and state employee Charles Malone (a candidate for the North Carolina Senate in 2010), ran for the seat. Malone defeated Holliday in the May 8 Democratic primary by a 2-1 margin.
Wake County Commissioner Paul Coble, former U.S. Attorney George E.B. Holding, and 2010 nominee Bill Randall ran for the Republican nomination. Former Winston-Salem city council member Vernon Robinson and Nathan Tabor, who ran unsuccessfully in the 5th district in 2004, had both planned to seek the Republican nomination in the 13th district in 2012, but Robinson instead ran in the 8th district, while Tabor declined to run as a result of changes made to the district in redistricting. On May 8, George Holding won the Republican primary with almost 44 percent of the vote.