2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Indiana

The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Indiana were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the nine U.S. representatives from the state, one from each of the state's nine congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election, an election to the U.S. Senate, and a gubernatorial election.

2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Indiana

← 2010 November 6, 2012 (2012-11-06) 2014 →
All 9 Indiana seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Republican Democratic Last election 6 3 Seats won 7 2 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 1,351,760 1,142,554 Percentage 52.93% 44.74% Swing 2.72% 5.86%
District results County results Republican   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% Democratic   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in Indiana, 2012[1]
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Republican	1,351,760	52.93%	7	+1
	Democratic	1,142,554	44.74%	2	-1
	Libertarian	59,429	2.33%	0	-
	Independents	3	<0.01%	0	-
Totals		2,553,746	100.00%	9	-

Redistricting

A redistricting bill was passed by both houses of the Indiana General Assembly in April 2011^[2][3] and signed into law by Governor Mitch Daniels on May 10, 2011.

The newly drawn map was designed to produce seven districts which are favorable to the Republican Party and two which favor the Democratic Party. Republicans described the districts as being more compact and more in keeping with existing county boundaries than the previous map,^[4] while Democrats argued that the map was intended to protect Republican incumbents and help the Republican Party win the 2nd district.^[2]

District 1

2012 Indiana's 1st congressional district election

← 2010 2014 →

Nominee Pete Visclosky Joel Phelps Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 187,743 91,291 Percentage 67.3% 32.7%

County results Visclosky:      60-70%

U.S. Representative before election Pete Visclosky Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Pete Visclosky Democratic

Further information: Indiana's 1st congressional district

The district, based in the suburbs and exurbs of Chicago, acquired parts of LaPorte County, including Michigan City, in redistricting.^[5]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Pete Visclosky, incumbent U.S. Representative

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Pete Visclosky (incumbent)	42,219	100.0
Total votes			42,219	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Joel Phelps, industrial engineer^[6]

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joel Phelps	11,952	100.0
Total votes			11,952	100.0

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[7]	Safe D	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg[8]	Safe D	November 2, 2012
Roll Call[9]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[10]	Safe D	November 5, 2012
NY Times[11]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
RCP[12]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
The Hill[13]	Safe D	November 4, 2012

Results

Indiana's 1st congressional district, 2012^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Pete Visclosky (incumbent)	187,743	67.3
	Republican	Joel Phelps	91,291	32.7
Total votes			279,034	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 2

Further information: Indiana's 2nd congressional district

In redistricting, parts of the state which typically favor Republicans, including Elkhart County, Miami County, Wabash County and much of Kosciusko County, were moved into the 2nd district, while Democratic-leaning areas such as Kokomo and part of LaPorte County were removed from the district.^[2]

Democratic primary

Prior to announcing his Senate campaign, Donnelly commented that he was confident that a Democrat would be able to win the district, noting that then-Senator Barack Obama would have received 49% of the vote in the district in the 2008 presidential election had it been held under the newly drawn boundaries.^[14]

Candidates

Nominee

• Brendan Mullen, Army veteran and military contractor^[15]

Eliminated in primary

• Dan Morrison, small business owner

Withdrawn

• Andrew Straw, attorney and an assistant dean at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law^[16]

Declined

• Joe Donnelly, incumbent U.S. Representative (running for the U.S. Senate)^[17]

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Brendan Mullen	11,218	54.1
	Democratic	Dan Morrison	9,519	45.9
Total votes			20,737	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jackie Walorski, former state representative and nominee for this seat in 2010

Eliminated in primary

• Greg Andrews, physician

Withdrawn

• Mitch Feikes, real estate developer and broker

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jackie Walorski	46,873	72.8
	Republican	Greg Andrews	17,522	27.2
Total votes			64,395	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Joe Ruiz^[18]

Green primary

Andrew Straw, an attorney, switched from the Democratic Party to Green Party and ran for this seat.^[19][20] Straw was an Indiana Supreme Court analyst and an assistant dean at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law in charge of the International Program. He was, however, disqualified from the ballot in July.^[21]

General election

Endorsements

Brendan Mullen (D)

Organizations

• Blue Dog Coalition^[22]
• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee "Red to Blue" Program^[23]

Jackie Walorski (R)

Organizations

• National Republican Congressional Committee "Young Guns" Program^[24]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[25]	Likely R (flip)	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg[8]	Safe R (flip)	November 2, 2012
Roll Call[9]	Likely R (flip)	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[10]	Likely R (flip)	November 5, 2012
NY Times[11]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
RCP[12]	Likely R (flip)	November 4, 2012
The Hill[13]	Lean R (flip)	November 4, 2012

Results

Indiana's 2nd congressional district, 2012^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jackie Walorski	134,033	49.0
	Democratic	Brendan Mullen	130,113	47.6
	Libertarian	Joe Ruiz	9,326	3.4
	Independent	Kenneth R. Lunce Jr. (write-in)	3	0.0
Total votes			273,475	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 3

Further information: Indiana's 3rd congressional district

The 3rd district was expected to remain favorable to Republicans.^[2] Among the changes made in redistricting were the removal of Elkhart County from the 4th district to the 2nd, and the addition of areas south of Fort Wayne, which might have made Stutzman vulnerable to a primary challenge.^[5]

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Marlin Stutzman, incumbent U.S. Representative

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Marlin Stutzman (incumbent)	74,812	100.0
Total votes			74,812	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Kevin Boyd, pastor of Fort Wayne's Trinity Presbyterian Church^[26]

Eliminated in primary

• Stephen Hope
• Justin Kuhnle, family case manager
• John Roberson, former police officer
• Tommy Schrader
• David Sowards

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kevin R. Boyd	5,985	47.8
	Democratic	Tommy A. Schrader	1,694	13.5
	Democratic	Stephen G. Hope	1,441	11.5
	Democratic	Justin Kuhnle	1,265	10.1
	Democratic	David Sowards	1,172	9.4
	Democratic	John Forrest Roberson	966	7.7
Total votes			12,523	100.0

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report	Safe R	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg[8]	Safe R	November 2, 2012
Roll Call[9]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[10]	Safe R	November 5, 2012
NY Times[11]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
RCP[12]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
The Hill[13]	Safe R	November 4, 2012

Results

Indiana's 3rd congressional district, 2012^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Marlin Stutzman (incumbent)	187,872	67.0
	Democratic	Kevin Boyd	92,363	33.0
Total votes			280,235	100.0
	Republican hold

District 4

Further information: Indiana's 4th congressional district

Republican incumbent Todd Rokita ran for re-election in 2012. Rokita's home lies "about 500 yards" outside the boundaries of the newly drawn 4th district, a phenomenon he attributed in May 2011 to "a kind of comeuppance thing" on the part of members of the Indiana General Assembly in return for his having supported a nonpartisan redistricting process during his tenure as Secretary of State of Indiana. Sue Landske, a Republican member of the Indiana Senate, denied that this was the case.^[27] The 4th district was expected to remain favorable to Republicans.^[2]

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Todd Rokita, incumbent U.S. Representative

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Todd Rokita (incumbent)	73,089	100.0
Total votes			73,089	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Tara Nelson, information technology project manager

Eliminated in primary

• Lester Moore, former Newton County Assessor

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tara E. Nelson	7,018	58.3
	Democratic	Lester Terry Moore	5,010	41.7
Total votes			12,028	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Benjamin Gehlhausen, economics and professional flight technology major at Purdue University^[18][28]

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report	Safe R	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg[8]	Safe R	November 2, 2012
Roll Call[9]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[10]	Safe R	November 5, 2012
NY Times[11]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
RCP[12]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
The Hill[13]	Safe R	November 4, 2012

Results

Indiana's 4th congressional district, 2012^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Todd Rokita (incumbent)	168,688	61.9
	Democratic	Tara Nelson	93,015	34.2
	Libertarian	Benjamin Gehlhausen	10,565	3.9
Total votes			272,268	100.0
	Republican hold

District 5

Further information: Indiana's 5th congressional district

The 5th district continues to include Hamilton County and the north side of Indianapolis,^[29] but received Democratic-leaning areas in northern Marion and Madison,^[5] and lost rural areas near Fort Wayne.^[29] The district was expected to continue to favor Republicans.^[2]

Republican incumbent Dan Burton, who had represented the 5th district since 2003 and previously represented the 6th district from 1983, retired rather than seeking re-election in 2012.^[30]

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Susan Brooks, former United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana^[31]

Eliminated in primary

• Jason Anderson
• Jack Lugar, attorney^[32]
• John McGoff, physician and candidate for this seat in 2008 & 2010^[33]
• David McIntosh, former U.S. Representative and lobbyist^[34]
• Matthew Mount
• Bill Salin, business analyst and Air Force veteran
• Wayne Seybold, Mayor of Marion and former Olympic pair skater^[30]

Withdrawn

• Dan Burton, incumbent U.S. Representative

Declined

• Mike Delph, state senator^[30]

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Susan Brooks	31,185	30.2
	Republican	David McIntosh	30,175	29.2
	Republican	John McGoff	23,773	23.0
	Republican	Wayne Seybold	11,874	11.5
	Republican	Jack Lugar	4,758	4.6
	Republican	Jason Anderson	1,036	1.0
	Republican	Bill Salin	869	0.8
	Republican	Matthew Mount	453	0.4
Total votes			103,254	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Scott Reske, state representative,^[35][36]

Eliminated in primary

• Tony Long, general motors retiree

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Scott Reske	13,175	63.1
	Democratic	Tony Long	7,692	36.9
Total votes			20,867	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Chard Reid, economics and finance teacher at Plainfield High School^[18]

General election

Endorsements

Susan Brooks (R)

Organizations

• National Republican Congressional Committee "Vanguard" Program^[24]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report	Safe R	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg[8]	Safe R	November 2, 2012
Roll Call[9]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[10]	Safe R	November 5, 2012
NY Times[11]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
RCP[12]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
The Hill[13]	Safe R	November 4, 2012

Results

Indiana's 5th congressional district, 2012^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Susan Brooks	194,570	58.4
	Democratic	Scott Reske	125,347	37.6
	Libertarian	Chard Reid	13,442	4.0
Total votes			333,359	100.0
	Republican hold

District 6

Further information: Indiana's 6th congressional district

The 6th district was made more favorable to Republicans in redistricting,^[37] and now stretches from Muncie to the Ohio River.^[2]

Republican incumbent Mike Pence announced in May 2011 that he would run for Governor of Indiana rather than for re-election to the House of Representatives.^[38]

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Luke Messer, former state representative, former executive director of the Indiana Republican Party, and candidate for the 5th District in 2010^[39]

Eliminated in primary

• Don Bates Jr., financial adviser and candidate for Senate in 2010^[37]
• Bill Frazier, former state senator^[40]
• Travis Hankins, developer and candidate for 9th District in 2010^[37]
• John Hatter, human resources director at Ivy Tech Community College^[37]
• Joe Sizemore, factory worker
• Allen Smith, Bartholomew County coroner and The Biggest Loser contestant^[41]
• Joseph S. Van Wye Sr., part-time service technician and part-time worker for Lifetime Resources^[42]

Declined

• Nate LaMar, president of the Henry County Council^[43][44]
• Jean Lesing, state senator^[45]
• Mike Pence, incumbent U.S. Representative
• Andrew Phipps, retired educator and candidate for Indiana Senate in 2002 and 2006^[46]
• Mike Sodrel, former U.S. Representative^[43]
• T.J. Thompson, candidate for this seat in 2010^[37]

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Luke Messer	32,859	40.3
	Republican	Travis Hankins	23,276	28.6
	Republican	Don Bates Jr.	10,913	13.4
	Republican	Bill Frazier	8,446	10.4
	Republican	Joe Sizemore	2,346	2.9
	Republican	Allen K. Smith II	1,679	2.1
	Republican	Joseph S. Van Wye, Sr	989	1.2
	Republican	John Hatter	917	1.1
Total votes			81,425	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Bradley Bookout, former Delaware County council member^[47][48]

Eliminated in primary

• Dan Bolling, biotech entrepreneur
• Jim Crone, sociology professor at Hanover College^[37]
• Susan Hall Heitzman, small business owner
• George Holland, salesman

Declined

• Lane Siekman, attorney;^[37]
• Barry Welsh, nominee for this seat in 2006, 2008 & 2010^[37]

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bradley T. Bookout	8,278	30.9
	Democratic	Susan Hall Heitzman	7,077	26.5
	Democratic	Jim Crone	5,611	21.0
	Democratic	Dan Bolling	3,719	13.9
	Democratic	George T. Holland	2,059	7.7
Total votes			26,744	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Rex Bell, owner of a contracting business in the New Castle area^[18]

General election

Endorsements

Luke Messer (R)

Organizations

• National Republican Congressional Committee "Vanguard" Program^[24]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report	Safe R	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg[8]	Safe R	November 2, 2012
Roll Call[9]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[10]	Safe R	November 5, 2012
NY Times[11]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
RCP[12]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
The Hill[13]	Safe R	November 4, 2012

Results

Indiana's 6th congressional district, 2012^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Luke Messer	162,613	59.1
	Democratic	Brad Bookout	96,678	35.1
	Libertarian	Rex Bell	15,962	5.8
Total votes			275,253	100.0
	Republican hold

District 7

Further information: Indiana's 7th congressional district

The 7th district lost Democratic-leaning areas in northern Marion County in redistricting, while acquiring more Republican areas in the south of the county.^[5] Nonetheless, the district was expected to remain favorable to Democrats.^[2]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• André Carson, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Bob Kern, paralegal
• Pierre Pullins, warehouse worker
• Woodrow Wilcox

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	André Carson (incumbent)	34,782	90.3
	Democratic	Bob "Citizen" Kern	2,048	5.3
	Democratic	Woodrow Wilcox	1,082	2.8
	Democratic	Pierre Quincy Pullins	586	1.5
Total votes			38,498	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Carlos May, former aide for Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard^[49]

Eliminated in primary

• Steve Davis, former Southport police chief
• Tony Duncan, Army veteran and union worker
• Wayne Harmon, parole agent and former Marine
• J.D. Miniear, Christian ministry outreach
• Catherine Ping, Army Reserve lieutenant colonel and business owner
• Larry Shouse

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Carlos A. May	10,783	26.8
	Republican	Catherine Ping	9,771	24.3
	Republican	Steven Davis	7,727	19.1
	Republican	Wayne E. Harmon	4,252	10.6
	Republican	Anthony W. Duncan	4,079	10.1
	Republican	JD Miniear	2,227	5.5
	Republican	Lawrence B. Shouse	1,412	3.5
Total votes			40,251	100.0

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[7]	Safe D	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg[8]	Safe D	November 2, 2012
Roll Call[9]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[10]	Safe D	November 5, 2012
NY Times[11]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
RCP[12]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
The Hill[13]	Safe D	November 4, 2012

Results

Indiana's 7th congressional district, 2012^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	André Carson (incumbent)	162,122	62.9
	Republican	Carlos May	95,828	37.1
Total votes			257,950	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 8

Further information: Indiana's 8th congressional district

The 8th district was made slightly more favorable to Democrats in redistricting, as a result of the removal of Fountain County, Putnam County and Warren County, all of which favor Republicans, and the addition of Dubois County, Perry County, Spencer County and part of Crawford County, all of which strongly favor neither party.^[5] Republican incumbent Larry Bucshon ran for re-election.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Larry Bucshon, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Kristi Risk, stay-at-home mom^[50]

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Larry D. Bucshon (incumbent)	34,511	58.0
	Republican	Kristi Risk	24,960	42.0
Total votes			59,471	100.0

Democratic primary

The 8th district's Democratic candidates agreed to participate in a caucus in which the chairs and vice chairs of 38 counties would vote to decide the party's nominee; after which the candidates not selected would support the winner.^[51] Former state representative Dave Crooks was endorsed as the Democratic nominee by party leaders on December 10, 2011.

Candidates

Nominee

• Dave Crooks, former state representative^[52]

Eliminated in primary

• Thomas Barnett
• William Bryk, attorney and perennial candidate

Withdrawn

• Patrick Scates, former aide to former U.S. Representative Brad Ellsworth
• Terry White, chair of the Warrick County Democratic Party^[53]

Declined

• Brad Ellsworth, former U.S. Representative and nominee for Senate in 2010^[5]
• Trent Van Haaften, former state representative and nominee for this seat in 2010^[54]

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dave Crooks	18,634	57.7
	Democratic	Thomas Barnett	10,638	32.9
	Democratic	William Bryk	3,023	9.4
Total votes			32,295	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Bart Gadau^[18]

General election

Endorsements

Dave Crooks (D)

Organizations

• Blue Dog Coalition^[22]
• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee "Red to Blue" Program^[23]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[25]	Lean R	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg[8]	Likely R	November 2, 2012
Roll Call[9]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[10]	Lean R	November 5, 2012
NY Times[11]	Lean R	November 4, 2012
RCP[12]	Likely R	November 4, 2012
The Hill[13]	Lean R	November 4, 2012

Results

Indiana's 8th congressional district, 2012^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Larry Bucshon (incumbent)	151,533	53.3
	Democratic	Dave Crooks	122,325	43.1
	Libertarian	Bart Gadau	10,134	3.6
Total votes			283,992	100.0
	Republican hold

District 9

Further information: Indiana's 9th congressional district

The 9th district previously consisted mostly of rural areas in southeastern Indiana but was made more favorable to Republicans when the legislature extended it northwards to include Johnson County and Morgan County while also incorporating suburbs of Louisville, Kentucky.^[2][5] Republican incumbent Todd Young ran for re-election.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Todd Young, incumbent U.S. Representative

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Todd Young (incumbent)	59,327	100.0
Total votes			59,327	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Shelli Yoder, professional development director at Indiana University in Bloomington Kelley School of Business and former Miss Indiana^[55]

Eliminated in primary

• Jonathan D. George, former Air Force officer who served on the United States National Security Council^[56]
• John Griffin Miller, activist
• John Tilford, military veteran and activist for veterans
• Robert Winningham, former employee of U.S. Representative Lee Hamilton^[57]

Declined

• Sam Locke, Air Force veteran and candidate for State Auditor in 2010^[58]
• Peggy Welch, state representative^[59]

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Shelli Yoder	13,186	47.7
	Democratic	Robert Winningham	5,590	20.2
	Democratic	Jonathan George	4,591	16.6
	Democratic	John W. Tilford	2,233	8.1
	Democratic	John Griffin Miller	2,062	7.4
Total votes			27,662	100.0

General election

Jason Sharp was nominated by the Libertarian Party but later dropped out.

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report	Safe R	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg[8]	Safe R	November 2, 2012
Roll Call[9]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[10]	Safe R	November 5, 2012
NY Times[11]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
RCP[12]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
The Hill[13]	Safe R	November 4, 2012

Results

Indiana's 9th congressional district, 2012^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Todd Young (incumbent)	165,332	55.4
	Democratic	Shelli Yoder	132,848	44.6
Total votes			298,180	100.0
	Republican hold