2012 United States Senate election in New York
← 2010 (special) November 6, 2012 2018 →
Turnout53.2% (voting eligible)[1]
 
Nominee Kirsten Gillibrand Wendy Long
Party Democratic Republican
Alliance
Parties
 Conservative
Popular vote 4,822,330 1,758,702
Percentage 72.21% 26.34%
Gillibrand:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Long:      40–50%      50–60%
U.S. senator before election

Kirsten Gillibrand
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Kirsten Gillibrand
Democratic

Elections in New York State
Federal government
Presidential elections
U.S. Senate
U.S. House
State government
New York gubernatorial elections
Attorney General elections
State Comptroller elections
State Senate elections
State Assembly elections
State elections by year
New York City
Mayoral elections

Pre-consolidation:

Post-consolidation:

City Council elections

Pre-consolidation:

Post-consolidation:

Public Advocate elections
Comptroller elections
  • 1897
  • 1901
  • 1905
  • 1909
  • 1913
  • 1917
  • 1921
  • 1925
  • 1929
  • 1933
  • 1937
  • 1941
  • 1945
  • 1949
  • 1953
  • 1957
  • 1961
  • 1965
  • 1969
  • 1973
  • 1977
  • 1981
  • 1985
  • 1989
  • 1993
  • 1997
  • 2001
  • 2005
  • 2009
  • 2013
  • 2017
  • 2021
Borough president elections
  • 1897
  • 1901
  • 1905
  • 1909
  • 1913
  • 1917
  • 1921
  • 1925
  • 1929
  • 1933
  • 1937
  • 1941
  • 1945
  • 1949
  • 1953
  • 1957
  • 1961
  • 1965
  • 1969
  • 1973
  • 1977
  • 1981
  • 1985
  • 1989
  • 1993
  • 1997
  • 2001
  • 2005
  • 2009
  • 2013
  • 2017
  • 2021
Albany
Mayoral elections
Buffalo
Mayoral elections
Rochester
Mayoral elections
Syracuse
Mayoral elections

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

Governor David Paterson appointed then-U.S. Representative Kirsten Gillibrand to serve as U.S. Senator from New York until the 2010 special election, succeeding former U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, who resigned to serve as U.S. Secretary of State in the Obama administration. Gillibrand won the special election in 2010 with 62.95% of the vote over former U.S. Representative Joseph DioGuardi.

Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand won re-election to her first full term. She was opposed in the general election by Wendy Long (who ran on the Republican and Conservative Party tickets) and by three minor party candidates. Gillibrand was re-elected with 72% of the vote. She carried 60 out of 62 counties statewide, losing only Wyoming and Alleghany counties.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Gillibrand was endorsed by the Independence Party of New York and the Working Families Party and appeared on the ballot lines of both of those parties in the general election.[3][4]

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

The 2012 New York State Republican Convention took place on March 16, 2012.[8] Candidates Wendy Long, George Maragos, and Congressman Bob Turner each reached the threshold of 25% of the weighted vote necessary to qualify for the June 26 primary ballot; however, none of the candidates achieved a majority.[9] Long prevailed by a sizeable margin in the June 26 Republican primary, receiving 50.9% of the vote; Turner received 35.6% and Maragos 13.5%.[10]

Long was designated as the nominee for the Conservative Party of New York State, and appeared on its ballot line in the general election as well as the Republican Party line.[4][11]

Withdrew

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size 		Margin of
error 		Wendy
Long 		George
Maragos 		Bob
Turner 		Other Undecided
Quinnipiac Archived October 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine March 28 – April 2, 2012 372 ±5.1% 11% 7% 19% 2% 61%
Siena College April 1–4, 2012 218 ±6.6% 10% 5% 19% — 66%
Siena College May 6–10, 2012 205 ±6.8% 12% 6% 15% — 67%
Siena College June 3–6, 2012 201 ±6.9% 11% 3% 16% — 70%

Endorsements

Wendy Long
Bob Turner

Source: Update for US Senate Election NY 2012: http://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/elections/2012/General/USSenator_07292013.pdf

Results

Results by county:
Long
  •   Long—80–90%
  •   Long—70–80%
  •   Long—60–70%
  •   Long—50–60%
  •   Long—40–50%
Turner
  •   Turner—40–50%
  •   Turner—50–60%
  •   Turner—60–70%
  •   Turner—70–80%
Maragos
  •   Maragos—40–50%
Republican primary results[14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Wendy Long 75,924 50.2%
Republican Bob Turner 54,196 35.9%
Republican George Maragos 21,002 13.9%
Total votes 151,122 100.0%

General election

Candidates

Debates

Fundraising

Candidate (party) Receipts Disbursements Cash on hand Debt
Kirsten Gillibrand (D) $13,778,867 $3,734,097 $10,541,156 $0
Wendy Long (R) $336,976 $240,564 $96,411 $250,077
Chris Edes (L) $2,017 $668 $1,348 $0
John Mangelli (I) $43,819 $43,820 $0 $22,120
Source: Federal Election Commission[16][17][18][19]

Top contributors

[20]

Kirsten Gillibrand Contribution Wendy Long Contribution
Boies, Schiller & Flexner $394,664 Citizens United $10,000
Davis Polk & Wardwell $314,600 Susan B. Anthony List $10,000
Corning Inc. $150,650 Davis, Polk & Wardwell $8,500
JPMorgan Chase & Co $143,800 Kirkland & Ellis $7,000
Morgan Stanley $140,800 Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz $6,000
National Amusements Inc. $126,850 Alta Partners $5,500
Goldman Sachs $117,400 Actimize $5,000
Blackstone Group $106,700 Carlyle Group $5,000
Sullivan & Cromwell $100,750 Credit Suisse Group $5,000
Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett $95,700 Crow Holdings $5,000

Top industries

[21]

Kirsten Gillibrand Contribution Wendy Long Contribution
Lawyers/law firms $4,050,294 Lawyers/law firms $38,550
Financial Institutions $2,748,640 Financial institutions $31,750
Real estate $1,257,504 Real estate $26,250
Retired $921,738 Retired $25,050
Women's issues $853,517 Misc. finance $16,000
Entertainment industry $764,677 Women's issues $15,150
Lobbyists $723,596 Republican/Conservative $11,250
Misc. finance $644,953 Education $7,250
Business services $621,286 Misc. business $7,000
Insurance $518,275 Construction services $5,000

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[22] Solid D November 1, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[23] Safe D November 5, 2012
Rothenberg Political Report[24] Safe D November 2, 2012
Real Clear Politics[25] Safe D November 5, 2012

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size 		Margin of
error 		Kirsten
Gillibrand (D) 		Wendy
Long (R) 		Other Undecided
Quinnipiac Archived October 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine March 28 – April 2, 2012 1,597 ±2.5% 58% 25% 1% 13%
Siena College April 1–4, 2012 808 ±3.4% 63% 23% — 14%
Siena College May 6–10, 2012 766 ±3.5% 60% 26% — 14%
Quinnipiac Archived May 31, 2012, at the Wayback Machine May 22–28, 2012 1,504 ±2.5% 58% 24% 1% 15%
Siena College June 3–6, 2012 807 ±3.4% 65% 22% — 12%
Siena College July 10–15, 2012 758 ±3.6% 62% 25% — 13%
Quinnipiac Archived July 28, 2012, at the Wayback Machine July 17–23, 2012 1,779 ±2.3% 57% 24% 1% 16%
Siena College August 14–19, 2012 671 ±3.8% 65% 22% — 13%
Quinnipiac Archived September 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine September 4–9, 2012 1,468 ±2.5% 64% 27% — 9%
Marist October 18–21, 2012 565 ±4.1% 68% 24% — 8%
Siena College October 22–24, 2012 750 ±3.6% 67% 24% — 8%
SurveyUSA October 23–25, 2012 554 ±4.1% 64% 22% 7% 7%
Hypothetical polling
with George Maragos
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size 		Margin of
error 		Kirsten
Gillibrand (D) 		George
Maragos (R) 		Other Undecided
Siena College November 8–13, 2011 803 ±3.5% 65% 17% — 18%
Siena College January 8–12, 2012 805 ±3.5% 63% 22% — 15%
Siena College January 29 – February 1, 2012 807 ±3.4% 63% 20% — 17%
SurveyUSA February 24–26, 2012 518 ±4.4% 53% 23% — 25%
Siena College February 26–29, 2012 808 ±3.4% 68% 19% — 13%
Quinnipiac Archived October 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine March 28 – April 2, 2012 1,597 ±2.5% 57% 23% 2% 15%
Siena College April 1–4, 2012 808 ±3.4% 65% 21% — 14%
Siena College May 6–10, 2012 766 ±3.5% 60% 25% — 15%
Quinnipiac Archived May 31, 2012, at the Wayback Machine May 22–28, 2012 1,504 ±2.5% 57% 24% 1% 16%
Siena College June 3–6, 2012 807 ±3.4% 65% 23% — 13%
with Bob Turner
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size 		Margin of
error 		Kirsten
Gillibrand (D) 		Bob
Turner (R) 		Other Undecided
Quinnipiac Archived October 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine March 28 – April 2, 2012 1,597 ±2.5% 57% 27% 1% 13%
Siena College April 1–4, 2012 808 ±3.4% 65% 24% — 11%
Siena College May 6–10, 2012 766 ±3.5% 59% 25% — 15%
Quinnipiac Archived May 31, 2012, at the Wayback Machine May 22–28, 2012 1,504 ±2.5% 56% 26% 0% 15%
Siena College June 3–6, 2012 807 ±3.4% 63% 25% — 11%
with Marc Cenedella
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size 		Margin of
error 		Kirsten
Gillibrand (D) 		Marc
Cenedella (R) 		Undecided
Siena College January 29 – February 1, 2012 807 ±3.4% 65% 18% 17%
with Harry Wilson
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size 		Margin of
error 		Kirsten
Gillibrand (D) 		Harry
Wilson (R) 		Undecided
Siena College November 8–13, 2011 803 ±3.5% 63% 21% 16%
Siena College January 8–12, 2012 805 ±3.5% 63% 23% 14%

Results

2012 United States Senate election in New York[26]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Kirsten Gillibrand 4,432,525 66.38% +11.38%
Working Families Kirsten Gillibrand 251,292 3.76% -0.29%
Independence Kirsten Gillibrand 138,513 2.07% -1.83%
Total Kirsten Gillibrand (incumbent) 4,822,330 72.21% +9.26%
Republican Wendy Long 1,517,578 22.73% -6.96%
Conservative Wendy Long 241,124 3.61% -1.81%
Total Wendy Long 1,758,702 26.34% -8.77%
Green Colia Clark 42,591 0.64% -0.15%
Libertarian Chris Edes 32,002 0.48% +0.07%
Independent John Mangelli 22,041 0.33% N/A
Total votes 6,677,666 100.00% N/A
Democratic hold

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

By congressional district

Gillibrand won all 27 congressional districts, including six held by Republicans.[27] She won all but two with over 60% of the vote, with the 27th being her weakest with only 55% of the vote.

District Gillibrand Long Representative
1st 62.13% 36.58% Tim Bishop
2nd 63.33% 35.51% Peter T. King
3rd 62.51% 36.28% Steve Israel
4th 66.17% 32.88% Carolyn McCarthy
5th 92.32 7.21% Gregory Meeks
6th 75.99% 22.58% Grace Meng
7th 90.67% 7.65% Nydia Velázquez
8th 91.75% 7.35% Hakeem Jeffries
9th 89.59% 9.33% Yvette Clarke
10th 81.28% 17.15% Jerry Nadler
11th 64.5% 34.23% Michael Grimm
12th 81.74% 16.49% Carolyn Maloney
13th 95.05% 3.91% Charles B. Rangel
14th 84.85% 13.76% Joe Crowley
15th 96.89% 2.7% Jose Serrano
16th 79.78% 19.23% Eliot Engel
17th 68.41% 30.33% Nita Lowey
18th 64.33% 34.22% Sean Patrick Maloney
19th 65.98% 32.34% Chris Gibson
20th 71.07% 27.26% Paul Tonko
21st 65.41% 33.1% Bill Owens
22nd 61.77% 36.05% Richard L. Hanna
23rd 58.95% 39.13% Tom Reed
24th 65.34% 32.06% Dan Maffei
25th 66.81% 31.45% Louise Slaughter
26th 73.31% 24.99% Brian Higgins
27th 55.55% 42.71% Chris Collins

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 6, 2013.
  2. ^ Hill, Michael (November 3, 2010). "Day after win, NY Sen. Gillibrand is running again". Associated Press. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
  3. ^ Johnson, Michael (March 12, 2012). "State Independence Party Backs Gillibrand". Capital Tonight. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  4. ^ a b "New York Democrats back Kirsten Gillibrand for US Senate; Conservatives pick Wendy Long". The Post-Standard. Associated Press. March 19, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  5. ^ Benjamin, Liz (January 29, 2012). "A New Challenger To Gillibrand?". Capital Tonight. Archived from the original on February 8, 2012. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
  6. ^ "U.S. Senate Hopeful Speaks to Rockland Republicans - Pearl River, NY Patch". patch.com. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  7. ^ Campbell, Colin (March 13, 2012). "Bob Turner Announces U.S. Senate Campaign Against Kirsten Gillibrand". Politicker. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  8. ^ Seiler, Casey (February 19, 2012). Save the date: GOP plans March 16 convention. Capitol Confidential (Albany Times-Union). Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  9. ^ Benjamin, Liz (March 16, 2012). Three-Way GOP Primary For US Senate. Capital Tonight. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  10. ^ "Long wins NY Senate GOP primary to face Gillibrand". Wall Street Journal. News Corporation. June 27, 2012. Archived from the original on June 28, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  11. ^ "Long wins NY Senate GOP primary to face Gillibrand". WSJ.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2012.
  12. ^ Vielkind, Jimmy (February 29, 2012). "Joe Carvin of Rye also challenging Gillibrand". Albany Times Union. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  13. ^ Benjamin, Elizabeth (March 16, 2012). Carvin Out Of US Senate Race (Updated). Capital Tonight. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  14. ^ "2016 Election Results: President Live Map by State, Real-Time Voting Updates". Election Hub. November 8, 2016.
  15. ^ "Liberal Alternatives To Kirsten Gillibrand". Irregular Times. April 16, 2012. Archived from the original on May 5, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  16. ^ "Gillibrand Campaign Finances". fec.gov.[permanent dead link]
  17. ^ "Long Campaign Finances". fec.gov.[permanent dead link]
  18. ^ "Mangelli Campaign Finances". fec.gov.[permanent dead link]
  19. ^ "Edes Campaign Finances". fec.gov.[permanent dead link]
  20. ^ "New York Senate Race". opensecrets.org.
  21. ^ "Kansas District 04 Race". opensecrets.org.
  22. ^ "2012 Senate Race Ratings for November 1, 2012". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  23. ^ "2012 Senate". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  24. ^ "2012 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  25. ^ "2012 Elections Map - Battle for the Senate 2012". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  26. ^ "2012 U.S. Senate election results" (PDF). Elections.NY.gov.
  27. ^ "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts". Daily Kos. Retrieved August 11, 2020.

External links

Official campaign websites
(2011 โ†) ย  2012 United States elections ย  (โ†’ 2013)
Elections in New York (state)
Categories