2012 Delaware gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2012 United States gubernatorial elections.

The 2012 Delaware gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2012, to elect the governor of Delaware. Incumbent Democratic Governor Jack Markell won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican challenger Jeff Cragg in a landslide by a margin of over 40 points. As of 2025, this is the last time where a Democrat and a candidate from both major parties won all three of Delaware's counties in a gubernatorial election.

2012 Delaware gubernatorial election

← 2008 November 6, 2012 2016 →
Turnout	62.9%
Nominee Jack Markell Jeff Cragg Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 275,993 113,793 Percentage 69.3% 28.6%
County results House district results Markell:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Governor before election Jack Markell Democratic Elected Governor Jack Markell Democratic

General election

Democrat and Republican candidates were unopposed in their party primaries, which were held on September 11. The Green Party candidate was endorsed by the Green Party of Delaware at their annual meeting on May 11.^[1]

Candidates

• Jeff Cragg (R), businessman^[2]
• Jack Markell (D), incumbent Governor^[3]
• Mark Perri (G)^[4]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[5]	Solid D	November 1, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[6]	Safe D	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg Political Report[7]	Safe D	November 2, 2012
Real Clear Politics[8]	Safe D	November 5, 2012

Debates

• Complete video of debate, October 17, 2012

Results

Delaware gubernatorial election, 2012^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Jack Markell (incumbent)	275,993	69.34%	+1.82%
	Republican	Jeff Cragg	113,793	28.59%	−3.46%
	Green	Mark Perri	4,575	1.15%	N/A
	Libertarian	Jesse McVay	3,668	0.92%	N/A
Total votes			398,029	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic hold

By county

By county
County Jack Markell Democratic Jeffery Cragg Republican All Others # % # % # % Kent 40,696 61.5 23,846 36.04 1,628 2.46 New Castle 183,858 75.93 53,510 22.1 4,871 1.97 Sussex 51,439 57.33 36,437 40.61 1,848 2.05 Totals 275,993 69.34 113,793 28.59 8,247 2.07

See also

• 2012 Delaware elections
• 2012 United States gubernatorial elections
• 2012 Delaware lieutenant gubernatorial election
• 2012 United States House of Representatives election in Delaware
• 2012 United States Senate election in Delaware