The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Washington were held on Tuesday, 6 November 2012, to elect the ten U.S. representatives from the state, one from each of the state's ten congressional districts, a gain of one seat following the

2010 United States census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election, and a U.S. Senate election. The state certified the returns on 6 December 2012.

Primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

s were held on 7 August 2012.

Overview

;Summary of Votes Cast in the General Election

District 1

Democrat Jay Inslee, who represented the 1st district starting in 1999, resigned 20 March 2012, to focus on his run for Governor of Washington.

Primary election

Democratic Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *

Suzan DelBene Suzan Kay DelBene (née Oliver; ; born February 17, 1962) is an American politician and businesswoman who has been the United States House of Representatives, United States representative from Washington's 1st congressional district since 2012. ...

, former director at the Washington State Department of Revenue, general election candidate for the 8th district in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

=Eliminated in primary

= *

Darcy Burner Darcy Gibbons Burner (born November 12, 1970) is an American businesswoman and politician and a member of the Democratic Party from Carnation, Washington. Early life, education, and family Burner was adopted at birth in Alaska and grew up in a R ...

, former manager at Microsoft and general election candidate for the 8th district in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

* Steve Hobbs,

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

*Darshan Rauniyar, businessman and political activist; *

Laura Ruderman Laura Ruderman (born November 8, 1970) is a former Washington State Representative for Washington's 45th legislative district. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Ruderman graduated from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. Polit ...

, former

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 ...

=Withdrawn

= * Roger Goodman, state representative

=Declined

= * Brian Baird, former U.S. Representative *

Dennis Kucinich Dennis John Kucinich (; born October 8, 1946) is an American politician. A U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1997 to 2013, he was also a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States in 2004 and 2008. He ran for ...

, incumbent U.S. Representative for Ohio's 10th congressional district *Andrew Hughes, tax attorney * Marko Liias, state representative

Republican Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *

John Koster John Marvin Koster (born September 8, 1951) is an American politician who served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing the 39th district from 1995 to 2001 and again in 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he ...

, former state representative, member of the Snohomish County Council and general election candidate for the 2nd district in

=Withdrawn

= *Greg Anders, the executive director of the Bellingham Heritage Flight Museum *James Watkins, who unsuccessfully ran in the 1st district in

Independent Candidates

=Eliminated in primary

= *Larry Ishmael, former member of the Issaquah School Board and Republican general election candidate for this seat in

, ran as an independent candidate.

Results

Republican

and Democrat

received the most votes in the nonpartisan blanket primary on 7 August for both the brief period of office remaining in the old 1st district and the redistricted 1st district, and faced each other in two separate ballot positions, with different boundaries, in the special election on 6 November.

Special Election

On 20 March 2012, then Representative Jay Inslee resigned his seat in the House of Representatives to run for Governor. A Special Election was held at the same time as the General Election for a Representative to serve out the remainder of Inslee's term in the 112th Congress. The winner of the Special Election,

, assumed the seat on 13 November 2012.

Results

General Election

Endorsements

Polling

Predictions

Results

DelBene won and was sworn in to serve the remainder of Inslee's term on 13 November 2012.

District 2

Democrat Rick Larsen, who represented the 2nd district since 2001, ran for re-election. In the December 2011 redistricting proposal, the 2nd district was made more favorable to Democrats.

Primary election

Democratic Candidates

=Advanced to general

= * Rick Larsen, incumbent U.S. Representative

Republican Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *Dan Matthews, Air Force veteran and pilot

=Eliminated in primary

= *Eli Olson, electrical distribution company manager and political director for the Snohomish County Young Republicans *John C. W. Shoop, United States Marine, combat veteran and survival instructor

=Declined

= *Greg Anders, the director of the Bellingham Heritage Flight Museum *

, former state representative, member of the Snohomish County Council and general election candidate for this seat in

Other Party's Candidates

=Eliminated in primary

= *Mike Lapointe (99% Party)

Independent Candidates

=Eliminated in primary

= *Glen S. Johnson

Results

General election

Results

District 3

Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler, who represented the 3rd district since January 2011, ran for re-election.

Primary election

Republican Candidates

=Advanced to general

= * Jaime Herrera Beutler, incumbent U.S. Representative

Democratic Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *Jon Haugen, commercial pilot for Delta Air Lines

=Withdrawn

= *Elizabeth Uelmen, middle school associate principal

=Declined

= *

Tim Leavitt Timothy D. Leavitt (born 1971) is an American politician who served as the mayor of Vancouver, Washington. He was first elected in 2009 when he defeated 14-year incumbent Royce Pollard. Early life and education Leavitt was born in Yakima, Was ...

, Mayor of Vancouver *Steve Stuart, Clark County Commissioner

Results

General election

Predictions

Results

District 4

Republican Doc Hastings, who represented the 4th district since 1995, successfully ran for re-election.

Primary election

Republican Candidates

=Advanced to general

= * Doc Hastings, incumbent U.S. Representative

=Eliminated in primary

= *Jamie Wheeler, state director for FairTax.org and member of the

Tri-Cities Tri-Cities most often refers to: *Tri-Cities, Tennessee, United States *Tri-Cities, Washington, United States Tri-City, Tricity or Tri-Cities may also refer to: Populated places Americas Canada *Tri-Cities (British Columbia), consisting of Co ...

Tea Party

Democratic Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *Mary Baechler, businesswoman

=Eliminated in primary

= *Mohammad H. Said, doctor

=Withdrawn

= *Jay Clough, radiological control technician and nominee for this seat in

Results

General election

Results

District 5

Republican

Cathy McMorris Rodgers Cathy Anne McMorris Rodgers (born May 22, 1969) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for , which encompasses the eastern third of the state and includes Spokane, the state's second-largest city. A Republican, McMorris Rodgers ...

, who represented the 5th district since 2005, ran successfully for re-election in 2012.

Primary election

Republican Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

=Eliminated in primary

= *Randall Yearout, crane operator

Democratic Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *

Rich Cowan Rich Cowan (born February 7, 1956) was the 2012 Democratic nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives in . He is also an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He co-founded North by Northwest Productions, a video and film p ...

, president and CEO of a film production company

=Declined

= *Dan Morrissey, professor at Gonzaga University School of Law * Mary Verner, former Mayor of Spokane

Results

General election

Results

District 6

Democrat Norm Dicks, who represented the 6th district since 1977, decided to retire rather than seeking re-election.

Primary election

Democratic Candidates

=Advanced to general

= * Derek Kilmer,

=Declined

= *Steve Boyer, Kitsap County Sheriff *Josh Brown, Kitsap County Commissioner *Norman D. Dicks, incumbent U.S. Representative *Jim Hargrove, James Hargrove, state Senator *Mark Lindquist, Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County Prosecutor *Pat McCarthy, Pierce County Executive *Christine Rolfes, state senator *Tim Sheldon, state senator and Mason County, Washington, Mason County Commissioner *Brian Sonntag, Washington State Auditor, State Auditor *Marilyn Strickland, Mayor of Tacoma, Washington, Tacoma *Kevin Van De Wege,

Republican Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *Bill Driscoll, businessman

=Eliminated in primary

= *Stephan Brodhead, small business owner *Doug Cloud, attorney and general election candidate for this seat in United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, 2004#District 6, 2004 and United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, 2006#District 6, 2006,

& United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, 2010#District 6, 2010 *David "Ike" Eichner, accountant *Jesse Young (politician), Jesse Young, technology consultant and candidate for this seat in United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, 2010#District 6, 2010

=Withdrawn

= *Bob Sauerwein, insurance agent

=Declined

= *Jan Angel, state representative

Results

General Election

Polling

Results

District 7

Democrat Jim McDermott, who represented the 7th district since 1989, ran for re-election.

Primary election

Democratic Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *Jim McDermott, incumbent U.S. Representative

=Eliminated in primary

= *Charles Allen, product manager at Amazon *Andrew Hughes, tax attorney *Don Rivers, human rights activist

Republican Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *Ron Bemis, lawyer

=Eliminated in primary

= *Scott Sutherland

Results

General election

Results

District 8

Republican Dave Reichert, who represented the 8th district since 2005, ran for re-election.

Primary election

Republican Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *Dave Reichert, incumbent U.S. Representative

=Eliminated in primary

= *Ernest Huber, retired military commander *Keith Swank, former police officer

Democratic Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *Karen Porterfield, associate dean and public administration lecturer at Seattle University

=Eliminated in primary

= *Keith Arnold, accounting technician

Independent Candidates

=Withdrawn

= *James Windle, Associate Dean and Instructor at the Department of Defense's National Defense University

Results

General election

Results

District 9

Democrat Adam Smith (Washington politician), Adam Smith, who represented the 9th district since 1997, was re-elected.

Primary election

Democratic Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *Adam Smith (Washington politician), Adam Smith, incumbent U.S. Representative

=Eliminated in primary

= *Dave Christie *Tom Cramer

Republican Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *Jim Postma, businessman and candidate for this seat in

and United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, 2010#District 9, 2010

=Eliminated in primary

= *John Orlinski

Results

General election

Results

District 10

The newly created 10th district is centred on the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and includes portions of Thurston County, Washington, Thurston, Pierce County, Washington, Pierce, and Mason County, Washington, Mason counties.

Primary election

Democratic Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *Dennis Heck, former majority leader of the Washington House of Representatives and general election candidate for the 3rd district in United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, 2010#District 3, 2010

=Eliminated in primary

= *Jennifer Ferguson, nonprofit founder and small business owner

Republican Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *Dick Muri, Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County councilmember and general election candidate for the 9th district in United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, 2010#District 9, 2010

=Eliminated in primary

= *Stan Flemming, Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County councilmember

Results

General election

Endorsements

Predictions

Results

Heck defeated Muri 58.6% to 41.4%.

References

External links

Elections & Voting
at the Washington Secretary of State
United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, 2012
at Ballotpedia
Campaign contributions for U.S. Congressional races in Washington
from OpenSecrets
Outside spending
at the Sunlight Foundation
Politics
at the ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer''
Election 2012
at ''The Seattle Times'' {{Washington elections, state=collapsed 2012 Washington (state) elections, United States House of Representatives United States House of Representatives elections in Washington (state), 2012 2012 United States House of Representatives elections, Washington