2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Nevada

The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Nevada were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, and elected the four U.S. Representatives from Nevada, one from each of the state's four congressional districts, an increase of one seat in reapportionment following the 2010 United States census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected will serve in the 112th Congress from January 2013 until January 2015. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election, and an election to the U.S. Senate. Primary elections were held on June 12, 2012.^[1]

2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Nevada

← 2010 November 6, 2012 (2012-11-06) 2014 →
All 4 Nevada seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Republican Democratic Last election 2 1 Seats won 2 2 Seat change 1 Popular vote 457,239 453,310 Percentage 46.96% 46.55% Swing 3.89% 1.33%
Election results by district Election results by county Democratic   50–60%   60–70% Republican   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%

Overview

Statewide

Party		Candidates	Votes		Seats
			No.	%	No.	+/–	%
	Republican	4	457,239[2]	46.96	2		50.00
	Democratic	4	453,310	46.55	2	1	50.00
	Independent American	3	25,185	2.59	0		0.0
	Independent	2	24,022	2.47	0		0.0
	Libertarian	3	13,986	1.44	0		0.0
Total		16	973,742	100.0	4	1	100.0

Popular vote Republican   46.96% Democratic   46.55% American Ind   2.59% Libertarian   1.44% Other   2.47%

House seats Republican   50.00% Democratic   50.00%

By district

Results of the 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Nevada by district:^[3]

District	Republican		Democratic		Others		Total		Result
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
District 1	56,521	31.53%	113,967	63.57%	8,790	4.90%	179,278	100.0%	Democratic hold
District 2	162,213	57.63%	103,019	36.60%	16,217	5.76%	281,449	100.0%	Republican hold
District 3	137,244	50.36%	116,823	42.87%	18,456	7.79%	272,523	100.0%	Republican hold
District 4	101,261	42.11%	120,501	50.11%	18,730	6.49%	240,492	100.0%	Democratic win
Total	457,239	46.96%	453,310	46.55%	63,193	6.49%	973,742	100.0%

District 1

2010 Nevada's 1st congressional district election

← 2010 2014 →

Nominee Dina Titus Chris Edwards Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 113,967 56,521 Percentage 63.6% 31.5%

U.S. Representative before election Shelley Berkley Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Dina Titus Democratic

See also: Nevada's 1st congressional district

Democrat Shelley Berkley, who had represented Nevada's 1st congressional district since 1999, ran for the U.S. Senate.^[4]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Dina Titus, former U.S. Representative for the 3rd district^[5]

Withdrawn

• Ruben Kihuen, state senator^[6]

Declined

• Shelley Berkley, incumbent U.S. Representative

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Chris Edwards, security strategic planner and Navy officer^[7]

Eliminated in primary

• Charmaine Guss, former real estate broker and anti-abortion activist
• Brian Landsberger, retired mechanical engineer and former Air Force fighter pilot
• Herb Peters, retired aerospace engineer and seven-time Libertarian candidate for Congress in California
• Miguel "Mike" Rodrigues, elementary school principal^[8]

Primary results

Republican primary results^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Chris Edwards	4,786	48.2
	Republican	Brian Landsberger	1,800	18.1
	Republican	Charmaine Guss	1,534	15.5
	Republican	Miguel "Mike" Rodrigues	1,163	11.7
	Republican	Herb Peters	643	6.5
Total votes			9,926	100.0

Libertarian primary

Bill Pojunis ran as the nominee of the Libertarian Party of Nevada.^[7]

Independent American primary

Stan Vaughan ran as the nominee of the Independent American Party of Nevada.

General election

Endorsements

Dina Titus (D)

State legislators

• Joseph Hogan, state assemblyman
• Joe Neal, former state senator
• Valerie Wiener, state senator

Labor unions

• Culinary Workers Union^[10]
• National Association of Letter Carriers^[11]

Organizations

• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee "Majority Makers" Program^[12]
• EMILY's List^[13]
• Human Rights Campaign^[14]
• Humane Society of the United States^[15]
• League of Conservation Voters^[16]
• NARAL Pro-Choice America^[17]
• National Organization for Women^[18]
• Planned Parenthood Action Fund^[19]

Newspapers

• Las Vegas Sun^[20]

Local officials

• Steve Sisolak, Clark County Commissioner

Chris Edwards (R)

Organizations

• National Right to Life Committee^[21]

Results

Nevada's 1st congressional district, 2012^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dina Titus	113,967	63.6
	Republican	Chris Edwards	56,521	31.5
	Libertarian	William "Bill" Pojunis	4,645	2.6
	Independent American	Stan Vaughan	4,145	2.3
Total votes			179,278	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 2

2012 Nevada's 2nd congressional district election

← 2011 (special) 2014 →

Nominee Mark Amodei Samuel Koepnick Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 162,213 103,019 Percentage 57.6% 36.6%

U.S. Representative before election Mark Amodei Republican Elected U.S. Representative Mark Amodei Republican

See also: Nevada's 2nd congressional district

Republican Mark Amodei, who has represented Nevada's 2nd congressional district since being elected in a special election in September 2011, ran for re-election.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Mark Amodei, incumbent U.S. Representative

Declined

• Sharron Angle, former state assemblywoman and nominee for Senate in 2010^[23]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Samuel Koepnick, information technology employee for the state

Eliminated in primary

• Sam Dehne, retired pilot
• Xiomara Rodriguez, retired businesswoman^[24]

Primary results

Democratic primary results^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Samuel Koepnick	8,865	40.5
	Democratic	Xiomara "Xio" Rodriguez	7,404	33.9
	Democratic	Sam Dehne	5,604	25.6
Total votes			21,873	100.0

Independent American primary

Russell Best, a real estate broker and Navy veteran, ran as the nominee of the Independent American Party of Nevada.^[25]

General election

Endorsements

Mark Amodei (R)

Organizations

• National Rifle Association of America^[26]
• National Right to Life Committee^[21]
• United States Chamber of Commerce^[27]

Results

Nevada's 2nd congressional district, 2012 ^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Amodei (incumbent)	162,213	57.6
	Democratic	Samuel Koepnick	103,019	36.3
	Independent	Michael L. Haines	11,166	4.0
	Independent American	Russell Best	6,051	2.1
Total votes			281,449	100.0
	Republican hold

District 3

2012 Nevada's 3rd congressional district election

← 2010 2014 →

Nominee Joe Heck John Oceguera Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 137,244 116,823 Percentage 50.4% 42.9%

U.S. Representative before election Joe Heck Republican Elected U.S. Representative Joe Heck Republican

See also: Nevada's 3rd congressional district

Republican Joe Heck, who has represented Nevada's 3rd congressional district since January 2011, ran for re-election.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Joe Heck, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Chris Dyer, food service employee and Army and Navy veteran^[28]

Primary results

Republican primary results^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Heck (incumbent)	20,798	90.0
	Republican	Chris Dyer	2,298	10.0
Total votes			23,096	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• John Oceguera, Speaker of the Nevada Assembly

Eliminated in primary

• Stephen Frye, psychiatrist
• James F. Haning II, businessman
• Jesse "Jake" Holder, former Navy officer and Political Science student at UNLV
• Barry Michaels, businessman
• Gerald "Jerry" Sakura, retired business executive.^[28][29][30]

Declined

• Dina Titus, former U.S. Representative^[5]

Primary results

Democratic primary results^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Oceguera	7,966	50.4
	Democratic	Stephen Frye	2,659	16.8
	Democratic	Jesse "Jake" Holder	2,099	13.3
	Democratic	Barry Michaels	1,346	8.5
	Democratic	Gerald "Jerry" Sakura	989	6.3
	Democratic	James F. Haning II	736	4.7
Total votes			15,795	100.0

Independent American primary

Tom Jones, a retired businessman, ran as the nominee of the Independent American Party of Nevada.^[31]

Independents

James Murphy, a retired airline captain, ran as an Independent.^[32]

General election

Endorsements

Joe Heck (R)

Organizations

• Campaign for Working Families^[33]
• National Republican Congressional Committee "Patriot" Program^[34]
• National Rifle Association of America^[26]
• National Right to Life Committee^[21]
• United States Chamber of Commerce^[27]

John Oceguera (D)

Labor unions

• National Association of Letter Carriers^[11]

Organizations

• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee "Red to Blue" Program^[12]
• League of Conservation Voters^[16]
• NARAL Pro-Choice America^[17]
• Planned Parenthood Action Fund^[19]

Newspapers

• Las Vegas Sun^[20]

Debates

• Complete video of debate' C-SPAN, October 11, 2012

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Joe Heck (R)	John Oceguera (D)	Other	Undecided
SurveyUSA[35]	October 21–23, 2012	502	±4.5%	50%	40%	5%	5%
WPA Opinion Research (R-Heck)[36]	October 7–8, 2012	400	±4.9%	48%	37%	4%	12%
Benenson (D-Oceguera)[37]	October 1–3, 2012	400	±4.9%	45%	40%	10%	5%
Global Strategy (D-DCCC)[38]	September 27–30, 2012	405	±4.9%	42%	38%	—	20%
SurveyUSA[39]	September 10–12, 2012	663	±3.9%	53%	40%	4%	4%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[40]	Lean R	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg[41]	Lean R	November 2, 2012
Roll Call[42]	Lean R	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[43]	Lean R	November 5, 2012
NY Times[44]	Lean R	November 4, 2012
RCP[45]	Lean R	November 4, 2012
The Hill[46]	Tossup	November 4, 2012

Results

Nevada's 3rd congressional district, 2012^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Heck (incumbent)	137,244	50.4
	Democratic	John Oceguera	116,823	42.9
	Independent	Jim Murphy	12,856	4.7
	Independent American	Tom Jones	5,600	2.0
Total votes			272,523	100.0
	Republican hold

District 4

2012 Nevada's 4th congressional district election

2014 →

Nominee Steven Horsford Danny Tarkanian Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 120,501 101,261 Percentage 50.1% 42.1%

U.S. Representative before election None (New district) Elected U.S. Representative Steven Horsford Democratic

See also: Nevada's 4th congressional district

Nevada's 4th congressional district was created for the 2012 elections as a result of reapportionment following the 2010 United States census. It consists of most of Central Nevada and Northern Clark County, the latter of which contains the bulk of the district's population.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Steven Horsford, majority leader of the Nevada Senate^[47]

Withdrawn

• John Lee, state senator^[48][49]

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Danny Tarkanian, businessman, nominee for Secretary of State in 2006 and candidate for Senate in 2010^[7]

Eliminated in primary

• Diana Anderson, retired clerical worker
• Barbara Cegavske, state senator
• Mike Delarosa, detention officer
• Kiran Hill, translator for the State Department
• Robert Leeds, author and former Merchant Marine
• Dan Schwartz, businessman
• Kenneth Wegner, retired Army veteran and nominee for the 1st district in 2006, 2008 and 2010
• Sid Zeller, retired Marine intelligence officer^[50][51][52]

Primary results

Republican primary election^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Danny Tarkanian	7,605	31.5
	Republican	Barbara Cegavske	6,674	27.7
	Republican	Kenneth Wegner	5,069	21.0
	Republican	Dan Schwartz	2,728	11.3
	Republican	Kiran Hill	666	2.8
	Republican	Diana Anderson	607	2.5
	Republican	Mike Delarosa	370	1.5
	Republican	Sid Zeller	252	1.0
	Republican	Robert X. Leeds	165	0.7
Total votes			24,136	100.0

Libertarian primary

Joseph Silvestri, a teacher and chairman of the Libertarian Party of Nevada, also ran.^[53]

Independent American primary

Floyd Fitzgibbons, an insurance agent, ran as the nominee of the Independent American Party of Nevada.^[54]

General election

Endorsements

Steven Horsford (D)

Executive branch officials

• Barack Obama, President of the United States^[55]

Labor unions

• AFL-CIO^[56]
• National Association of Letter Carriers^[11]

Organizations

• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee "Majority Makers" Program^[12]
• League of Conservation Voters^[16]
• NARAL Pro-Choice America^[17]
• Planned Parenthood Action Fund^[19]

Newspapers

• Las Vegas Sun^[20]

Danny Tarkanian (R)

Organizations

• National Republican Congressional Committee "Young Guns" Program^[57]
• National Right to Life Committee^[21]
• United States Chamber of Commerce^[27]

Debates

• Complete video of debate' C-SPAN, October 11, 2012

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Danny Tarkanian (R)	Steven Horsford (D)	Other	Undecided
SurveyUSA[58]	October 26–28, 2012	648	±3.9%	47%	42%	6%	5%
Tarrance (R-Tarkanian)[59]	October 9–11, 2012	422	±5.0%	50%	40%	—	10%
SurveyUSA[60]	September 18–20, 2012	646	±3.9%	45%	42%	6%	8%
Public Opinion Strategies (R-Tarkanian)[61]	August 7–9, 2012	400	±4.9%	46%	35%	—	19%
Tarrance (R-Tarkanian)[62]	June 26–28, 2012	400	±5.0%	47%	41%	–	12%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report	Tossup	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg[41]	Tossup	November 2, 2012
Roll Call[42]	Tossup	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[43]	Lean D	November 5, 2012
NY Times[44]	Lean D	November 4, 2012
RCP[45]	Tossup	November 4, 2012
The Hill[46]	Tossup	November 4, 2012

Results

Nevada's 4th congressional district, 2012^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Steven Horsford	120,501	50.1
	Republican	Danny Tarkanian	101,261	42.1
	Independent American	Floyd Fitzgibbons	9,389	3.9
	Libertarian	Joseph P. Silvestri	9,341	3.9
Total votes			240,492	100.0
	Democratic win (new seat)

References

1. "Election Information Guide". State of Nevada. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
2. "Nevada Primary Election 2014 - U.S. Congress". Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
3. Haas, Karen L. (March 9, 2015). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2014". Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
4. D'Aprile, Shane (April 14, 2011). "Rep. Berkley to run for the Senate". The Hill. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
5. Myers, Laura (October 31, 2011). "Titus to announce new bid for Congress". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
6. Trygstad, Kyle (February 7, 2012). "Nevada: Kihuen Drops Out of House Race". Roll Call. Archived from the original on June 9, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
7. Kanigher, Steve (June 13, 2012). "Tarkanian Wins GOP Congressional Primary". KLAS-TV. Archived from the original on August 31, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
8. Myers, Laura (June 3, 2012). "2012 PRIMARY ELECTION: 1ST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
9. "Official Results of the 2012 Primary Election". Secretary of State of Nevada. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
10. "Endorsements". dinatitus.com. Archived from the original on April 5, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
11. "NALC-ENDORSED CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES" (PDF). NALC. pp. 3–4. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
12. "RED TO BLUE 2012". DCCC. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
13. "Help Our Candidates Win!". emilyslist.org. Archived from the original on November 14, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
14. "2012 ELECTION ENDORSEMENTS" (PDF). Human Rights Campaign. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 24, 2012. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
15. "Humane USA PAC". votesmart.org. Archived from the original on November 15, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
16. "2012 Endorsements". lcv.org. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
17. "Pro-Choice Voter Guide". prochoiceamerica.org. Archived from the original on December 28, 2012. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
18. "2012 NOW PACs Endorsements: All Federal Races". Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
19. "Planned Parenthood Action Voter guide - NV". Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Archived from the original on November 27, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
20. "The Sun's 2012 endorsements". lasvegassun.com. The Las Vegas Sun. October 22, 2012. Archived from the original on December 25, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
21. "Nevada Endorsements" (PDF). National Right to Life. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 23, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
22. "Nevada General Election 2012 - U.S. Congress". Nevada Secretary of State. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
23. Vogel, Ed (March 16, 2012). "Angle won't run for office in 2012". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
24. Vogel, Ed (June 3, 2012). "2012 PRIMARY ELECTION: 2ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
25. "Meet the Candidates: Russell Best". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
26. "Upcoming Election - Nevada". Archived from the original on October 9, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
27. "Help With Voting". Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
28. Myers, Laura (June 3, 2012). "2012 PRIMARY ELECTION: 3RD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
29. Knightly, Arnold (August 10, 2011). "Tearing down Heck". Boulder City Review. Retrieved August 14, 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}
30. Myers, Laura (December 20, 2011). "Oceguera slams Heck for voting against 2-month payroll tax cut extension". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
31. "Meet the Candidates: Tom Jones". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
32. "Meet the Candidates: James Murphy". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
33. "2012 Candidate Endorsements". cwfpac.com. Archived from the original on June 26, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
34. "Candidates". electgoppatriots.org/. NRCC. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
35. SurveyUSA
36. WPA Opinion Research (R-Heck)
37. Benenson (D-Oceguera)
38. Global Strategy (D-DCCC)
39. SurveyUSA
40. "The Cook Political Report — Charts – 2012 House Competitive Races". Cookpolitical.com. November 5, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
41. "House Ratings". Rothenbergpoliticalreport.com. November 2, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
42. , as of November 4, 2012^[update]
43. Crystal Ball, as of November 5, 2012^[update]
44. House Race Ratings, The New York Times, as of November 4, 2012^[update]
45. , as of November 4, 2012^[update]
46. "House Ratings". The Hill. November 3, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
47. Silva, Cristina (October 12, 2011). "Democrat Steven Horsford announces bid for U.S. House in Nevada". Reno Gazette-Journal. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
48. Vogel, Ed (October 17, 2011). "Lee to challenge Horsford in Democratic primary". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
49. McGrath Schwartz, David (November 21, 2011). "State Sen. John Lee not running for Congress". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
50. Myers, Laura (November 10, 2011). "GOP's Cegavske joins battle for 4th Congressional seat". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
51. Myers, Laura (January 4, 2012). "Danny Tarkanian to join race for new district seat". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
52. Myers, Laura (June 3, 2012). "2012 PRIMARY ELECTION: 4TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
53. "Meet the Candidates: Joseph P. Silvestri". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
54. "Meet the Candidates: Floyd Fitzgibbons". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
55. "President Barack Obama Endorses State Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford in Nevada's 4th Congressional District". stevenhorsford.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
56. "Endorsements". stevenhorsford.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
57. "CANDIDATES". gopyoungguns.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
58. SurveyUSA
59. Tarrance (R-Tarkanian)
60. SurveyUSA Archived May 8, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
61. Public Opinion Strategies (R-Tarkanian)
62. Tarrance (R-Tarkanian)

External links

• Election Center at the Nevada Secretary of State
• United States House of Representatives elections in Nevada, 2012 at Ballotpedia
• Nevada U.S. House from OurCampaigns.com
• Campaign contributions for U.S. Congressional races in Nevada from OpenSecrets
• Outside spending at the Sunlight Foundation