The 2012 Missouri Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2012, alongside the

presidential President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...

and gubernatorial elections. The incumbent Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, a Democrat, won re-election for a second full term against Republican attorney Ed Martin. As of , this is the last time a Democrat was elected Attorney General of Missouri.

Background

Koster was originally elected as attorney general in 2008 as a Democrat after switching from the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

. Koster won despite accusations that his campaign violated state law in raising money from multiple committees. He also survived the disclosure that he played a supporting role in a plagiarism episode that damaged Attorney General

William L. Webster William Lawrence Webster (born September 17, 1953) is an American lawyer, former politician and convicted felon from Missouri. He served in the Missouri House of Representatives and later as the 39th Missouri Attorney General, Attorney General o ...

’s campaign for governor in 1992. Fresh out of law school, Koster worked for Webster, a Republican, as an assistant state attorney general. He defeated State Representative Margaret Donnelly in the Democratic primary for the nomination for Missouri Attorney General and won against Republican state senator

Michael R. Gibbons Michael R. Gibbons is a former Republican member of the Missouri Senate, representing the 15th District from 2001 to 2009. He served as ''President pro tempore''. Previously he was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives from 1993 thro ...

in the general election, 53%-47%. He was sworn in as attorney general on January 12, 2009, succeeding Jay Nixon, who had served since 1993.

Timeline

*March 27, 2012 - Filing deadline for Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians
from the ''Missouri Secretary of State'' *August 7, 2012 - Primary (gubernatorial and other statewide office) elections *August 21, 2012 - Filing deadline for other third parties and Independents *November 6, 2012 - General election.

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

* Ed Martin, attorney * Adam Lee Warren, prosecuting attorney of Livingston County, Missouri, Livingston County

Declined

* Cole McNary,

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

Polling

Results

100% reporting (3,420 of 3,420 precincts) Martin, who served as chief of staff for Governor Matt Blunt from 2006 until November 2007, won the Republican primary in a landslide, 72%-28% and become the party's nominee.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

* Chris Koster, incumbent Attorney General since 2008 Koster was unopposed for the

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

nomination.

General election

Polling

Results

On election day, Koster defeated Martin by a wide margin of over 14 percentage points, an increase from his 5% margin of victory in 2008. This is despite Republican

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

defeating

President Barack Obama in the concurrent presidential election in Missouri, although other incumbent state Democratic officials were re-elected as well. Governor Jay Nixon won re-election by more than 12 percentage points, Senator Claire McCaskill won re-election by over 15 percentage points, and

Clint Zweifel Clint Zweifel (born November 3, 1973), is an American politician and businessman who served as the State Treasurer of Missouri from 2009 to 2017. He is a member of the Democratic Party and the most recent member of the party to hold that offic ...

won by 5 percentage points. Jason Kander was also elected Secretary of State by just over one percentage point.

References

External links

Elections
from the ''Missouri Secretary of State'' ;Official campaign websites

{{2012 United States elections 2012 Missouri elections, Attorney General 2012 United States Attorney General elections, Missouri Missouri Attorney General elections

Background

Timeline

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Declined

Polling

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

General election

Polling

Results

See also

References

External links