2012 Arizona elections
November 6, 2012
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| Elections in Arizona |
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A general election was held in the U.S. state of Arizona on November 6, 2012. Along with the presidential election, a Class I U.S. Senate seat, nine seats in the United States House of Representatives and several statewide and local offices were up for election. Primary elections were held on August 28, 2012.[1]
President of the United States
Republican nominee Mitt Romney won Arizona by defeating Democratic incumbent Barack Obama and gained eleven electoral votes.
United States Senate
Incumbent Republican senator and Senate minority whip Jon Kyl decided not to seek a fourth term, thus creating an open seat. Republican U.S. representative Jeff Flake won the election by narrowly defeating Democratic nominee and former surgeon general of the United States Richard Carmona.
United States House of Representatives
June special election
A special election was held in the 8th congressional district to replace Gabby Giffords. Democrat Ron Barber won the election by defeating Republican Jesse Kelly.
November general election
Following the 2010 United States census, Arizona gained one electoral vote, thus bringing the total number of congressional districts in the state to nine.
| Party | Candidates | Votes | Seats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | +/– | % | |||
| Republican | 8 | 1,131,663 | 52.07 | 4 | 1 | 44.44 | |
| Democratic | 9 | 946,994 | 43.57 | 5 | 2 | 55.56 | |
| Libertarian | 7 | 82,282 | 3.79 | 0 | 0.0 | ||
| Americans Elect | 2 | 6,740 | 0.31 | 0 | 0.0 | ||
| Green | 1 | 5,637 | 0.26 | 0 | 0.0 | ||
| Write-in | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0 | ||
| Total | 28 | 2,173,317 | 100.0 | 9 | 1 | 100.0 | |
Corporation Commission
November 6, 2012
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Three of the five seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission were up for election. Democratic incumbents Paul Newman and Sandra Kennedy and Republican incumbent Bob Stump all ran for re-election. Both Newman and Kennedy were ousted as Republicans swept all three seats.[2]
Republican primary
Candidates
- Bob Stump, incumbent commissioner.[3]
- Bob Burns, former Arizona Senate president.[3]
- Susan Bitter Smith, telecommunications executive and former Scottsdale councilwoman.[3]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bob Stump (incumbent) | 349,966 | 35.02% | |
| Republican | Susan Bitter Smith | 330,147 | 33.04% | |
| Republican | Bob Burns | 319,151 | 31.94% | |
| Total votes | 999,264 | 100% | ||
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Sandra Kennedy, incumbent commissioner.[3]
- Paul Newman, incumbent commissioner.[3]
- Marcia Busching, attorney.[3]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Sandra Kennedy (incumbent) | 232,403 | 36.57% | |
| Democratic | Paul Newman (incumbent) | 209,094 | 32.91% | |
| Democratic | Marcia Busching | 193,947 | 30.52% | |
| Total votes | 635,444 | 100% | ||
Third party candidates
- Christopher Gohl[5] (Libertarian Party)
- Thomas Meadows[5] (Green Party)
- Daniel Pout[5] (Green Party)
General election
Debate
| Date | Host | Moderator | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2, 2012 | Arizona PBS | Ted Simons | ||||||
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn | ||||||||
| Republican | Democratic | Green | Libertarian | |||||
| Bob Stump | Bob Burns | Susan Bitter Smith | Paul Newman | Sandra Kennedy | Marcia Busching | Thomas Meadows | Daniel Pout | Christopher Gohl |
| P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P |
| Link: YouTube | ||||||||
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bob Stump (incumbent) | 979,034 | 17.47% | |
| Republican | Bob Burns | 943,157 | 16.83% | |
| Republican | Susan Bitter Smith | 935,573 | 16.69% | |
| Democratic | Paul Newman (incumbent) | 868,726 | 15.50% | |
| Democratic | Sandra Kennedy (incumbent) | 862,876 | 15.39% | |
| Democratic | Marcia Busching | 776,472 | 13.85% | |
| Libertarian | Christopher Gohl | 112,490 | 2.01% | |
| Green | Thomas Meadows | 67,950 | 1.21% | |
| Green | Daniel Pout | 58,607 | 1.05% | |
| Total votes | 5,604,885 | 100% | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Republican gain from Democratic | ||||
| Republican gain from Democratic | ||||
State Legislature
All 30 members of the Arizona Senate and all 60 members of the Arizona House of Representatives were up for election. Democrats flipped multiple seats in both chambers.
State Senate
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House of Representatives
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Supreme Court
One seat on the Arizona Supreme Court was up for retention. Justice John Pelander was appointed by Governor Jan Brewer in 2009 to succeed retiring justice Ruth McGregor.[8]
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 1,070,838 | 73.95 |
| No | 377,259 | 26.05 |
| Total votes | 1,448,097 | 100.00 |
| Source: Arizona Secretary of State[7] | ||
Ballot propositions
Arizona had nine statewide propositions on the ballot in 2012.[9]
| No. | Description | Votes | Type | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | % | No | % | |||
| 114 | Prohibits felony crime victims from having to pay damages.[10] | 1,664,473 | 79.95 | 417,431 | 20.05 | Legislatively referred constitutional amendment |
| 115 | Increases term lengths and retirement age for the judiciary and requires superior courts to publish decisions online.[11] | 553,132 | 27.66 | 1,446,970 | 72.34 | |
| 116 | Establishes the tax exemption amount for business equipment to be equal to the combined earnings of 50 workers.[12] | 852,981 | 43.92 | 1,089,294 | 56.08 | |
| 117 | Sets a 5% annual cap on increases in property values used to determine property taxes and establish a single limited property value as the basis for calculating all property taxes on real property.[13] | 1,132,766 | 56.67 | 866,249 | 43.33 | |
| 118 | Adjusts the distribution formula for the State Land Trust Permanent Endowment Fund.[14] | 950,938 | 50.52 | 931,238 | 49.48 | |
| 119 | Authorizes the exchange of state trust lands for protecting military facilities or improving land management.[15] | 1,194,594 | 61.94 | 733,907 | 38.06 | |
| 120 | Declares Arizona's sovereignty over public lands and all natural resources within its boundaries, excluding Indian reservations, federal property, or land ceded by the state.[16] | 623,461 | 32.27 | 1,308,299 | 67.73 | |
| 121 | Establishes a top-two system for primary elections.[17] | 662,366 | 33.07 | 1,340,286 | 66.93 | Citizen-initiated constitutional amendment |
| 204 | Permanently increases the state sales tax by one cent per dollar.[18] | 768,422 | 36.22 | 1,353,212 | 63.78 | Citizen-initiated state statute |
| Source: Arizona Secretary of State[7] | ||||||
Results by county
Proposition 114 results by county
Yes:
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
- 80–90%
Proposition 115 results by county
No:
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
Proposition 116 results by county
No:
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
Proposition 117 results by county
Yes:
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
No:
- 50–60%
Proposition 118 results by county
Yes:
- 50–60%
No:
- 50–60%
Proposition 119 results by county
Yes:
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
No:
- 50–60%
Proposition 120 results by county
No:
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
Proposition 121 results by county
No:
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
Proposition 204 results by county
No:
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
References
- ^ "Arizona elections, 2012". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
- ^ Randazzo, Ryan (November 7, 2012). "Democrats ousted from utilities commission as GOP wins 3 seats". The Arizona Republic. Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f O'Grady, Patrick (January 10, 2012). "Campaign season starts early for Arizona Corporation Commission". Phoenix Business Journal. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
- ^ a b "Primary Election Results" (PDF). Arizona Secretary of State. September 10, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
- ^ a b c Bevis, Mark; Fischer, Howard (October 5, 2012). "A Primer and a Debate on the Corporation Commission". KNAU. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
- ^ Fischer, Howard (October 1, 2012). "Debate shows how corporation commission candidates differ on solar, renewable energy issues". East Valley Tribune. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Official Election Canvass of Results" (PDF). Arizona Secretary of State. December 3, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
- ^ Fischer, Howard; Smith, Kim (July 29, 2009). "Longtime Tucsonan named to state's high court". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
- ^ "Arizona 2012 ballot measures". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
- ^ "Arizona Proposition 114, Crime Victim Protection Amendment (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
- ^ "Arizona Proposition 115, Judicial Terms, Retirement Age, Commission Membership, and Court Decisions Amendment (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
- ^ "Arizona Proposition 116, Tax Exemptions for Business Equipment Amendment (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
- ^ "Arizona Proposition 117, Property Tax Increase Cap Amendment (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
- ^ "Arizona Proposition 118, State Land Trust Permanent Endowment Fund Amendment (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
- ^ "Arizona Proposition 119, State Trust Land Amendment (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
- ^ "Arizona Proposition 120, Declare State's Sovereignty Over Public Lands and Natural Resources Amendment (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
- ^ "Arizona Proposition 121, Top-Two Primary Elections Initiative (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
- ^ "Arizona Proposition 204, Sales Tax Increase Initiative (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 7, 2025.