‹ 2010  2014 ›
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| US Senate Elections, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 of the 100 seats, 51 seats needed for the majority | ||||
| November 6, 2012 | ||||
| First party | Second party | |||
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| Leader | Harry Reid | Mitch McConnell | ||
| Party | Democratic | Republican | ||
| Last election | (51+2) 53 | 47 | ||
| Seats won | (53+2) 55 | 45 | ||
| Seat change | +2 | -2 | ||
Majority Leader before election
Harry Reid Democratic
Resulting Majority Leader
Harry Reid Democratic | ||||
The 2012 Senate elections occurred during the 2012 general re-election of President Barack Obama against challenger Mitt Romney. There were many vulnerable Democrats up for re-election in states where their party had done very poorly in 2010's tea-party fervor. However because of high turnout for the presidential ticket and the abysmally poor quality of Republican senate candidates, the Democrats instead ended up increasing their senate majority.
Results[]
State[]
Republican gain Republican hold Democratic gain Democratic hold Independent gain Independent hold
Winning candidate in bold
| State | Incumbent | Party | Result | Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Jon Kyl | Republican | Retired, Republican hold | Jeff Flake (Republican) Richard Carmona (Democratic) Michael F. Meyer (Independent) Marc Victor (Libertarian) |
| California | Dianne Feinstein | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected | Elizabeth Emken (Republican) |
| Connecticut | Joe Lieberman | Connecticut for Lieberman | Retired, Democratic gain | Chris Murphy (Democratic) Linda McMahon (Republican) |
| Delaware | Tom Carper | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected | Kevin Wade (Republican) Alex Pires (Independent) |
| Florida | Bill Nelson | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected | Connie Mack IV (Republican) |
| Hawaii | Daniel Akaka | Democratic | Retired, Democratic hold | Mazie Hirono (Democratic) Linda Lingle (Republican) |
| Indiana | Richard Lugar | Republican | Defeated in Primary, Democratic gain | Joe Donnelly (Democratic) Richard Mourdock (Republican) Andrew Horning (Libertarian) |
| Maine | Olympia Snowe | Republican | Retired, Independent gain | Angus King (Independent) Charlie Summers (Republican) Cynthia Dill (Democratic) |
| Maryland | Ben Cardin | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected | Daniel Bongino (Republican) Brandy Baker (Socialist) |
| Massachusetts | Scott Brown | Republican | Incumbent lost re-election, Democratic gain | Elizabeth Warren (Democratic) |
| Michigan | Debbie Stabenow | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected | Pete Hoekstra (Republican) Scotty Boman (Libertarian) Harley Mikkelson (Green) |
| Minnesota | Amy Klobuchar | Democratic-Farmer-Labor | Incumbent re-elected | Kurt Bills (Republican) Glen R. Anderson Menze (Independence) |
| Mississippi | Roger Wicker | Republican | Incumbent re-elected | Albert Gore (Democratic) Thomas Cramer (Constitution) Shawn O'Hara (Reform) |
| Missouri | Claire McCaskill | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected | Todd Akin (Republican) Jonathan Dine (Libertarian) |
| Montana | Jon Tester | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected | Danny Rehberg (Republican) Dan Cox (Libertarian) |
| Nebraska | Ben Nelson | Democratic | Retired, Republican gain | Deb Fischer (Republican) Bob Kerrey (Democratic) Russell Anderson (Independent) |
| Nevada | Dean Heller | Republican | Incumbent re-elected to full term | Shelley Berkley (Democratic) David Lory Van Der Beek (Independent American) |
| New Jersey | Bob Menendez | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected | Joseph Kyrillos (Republican) Kenneth R. Kaplan (Libertarian) Greg Pason (Socialist) Ken Wolski (Green) |
| New Mexico | Jeff Bingaman | Democratic | Retired, Democratic hold | Martin Heinrich (Democratic) Heather Wilson (Republican) Jon Barrie (Independent American) |
| New York | Kirsten Gillibrand | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected | Wendy Long (Republican) Colia Clark (Green) Scott Noren (Independent) Tim Sweet (Independent-Republican) |
| North Dakota | Kent Conrad | Democratic | Retired, Democratic hold | Heidi Heitkamp (Democratic) Rick Berg (Republican) |
| Ohio | Sherrod Brown | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected | Josh Mandel (Republican) |
| Pennsylvania | Bob Casey, Jr. | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected | Tom Smith (Republican) |
| Rhode Island | Sheldon Whitehouse | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected | Barry Hinckley (Republican) |
| Tennessee | Bob Corker | Republican | Incumbent re-elected | Mark Clayton (Democratic) |
| Texas | Kay Bailey Hutchison | Republican | Retired, Republican hold | Ted Cruz (Republican) Paul Sadler (Democratic) John Jay Myers (Libertarian) Chris Tina Bruce (Independent) |
| Utah | Orrin Hatch | Republican | Incumbent re-elected | Scott Howell (Democratic) Shaun McCausland (Constitution) Daniel Geery (Justice) Bill Barron (Independent) |
| Vermont | Bernie Sanders | Independent | Incumbent re-elected | John MacGovern (Republican) Cris Ericson (U.S. Marijuana) |
| Virginia | Jim Webb | Democratic | Retired, Democratic hold | Tim Kaine (Democratic) George Allen (Republican) |
| Washington | Maria Cantwell | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected | Michael Baumgartner (Republican) |
| West Virginia | Joe Manchin | Democratic | Incumbent re-elected | John Raese (Republican) |
| Wisconsin | Herb Kohl | Democratic | Retired, Democratic hold | Tammy Baldwin (Democratic) Tommy Thompson (Republican) |
| Wyoming | John Barrasso | Republican | Incumbent re-elected | Tim Chesnut(Democratic) Phil Roberts (Independent) |