2012 United States Senate election in North Dakota
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The 2012 United States Senate election in North Dakota took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election, other United States Senate elections, United States House of Representatives elections, and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic-NPL Senator Kent Conrad decided to retire instead of running for reelection to a fifth term.
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Turnout | 60.6% (voting eligible)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
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Heitkamp: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 80–90% Berg: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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Though each party endorses a single candidate in state conventions in the spring, ballot access for the general election was determined in a primary election held on June 12, 2012.[2]
Heidi Heitkamp, a Democratic-NPL former North Dakota Attorney General, won the open seat over Republican Rick Berg, North Dakota's at-large U.S. Representative, by a margin of 0.9%.[3] Heitkamp outperformed President Barack Obama by 20.5%, the latter having lost North Dakota by 19.6% in the concurrent presidential election.[4] Heitkamp's very narrow winning margin made it the closest race of the 2012 United States Senate elections.
As of 2024[update], this was the last time a Democrat won a federal and/or statewide election in North Dakota.[5]