The 2012 United States Senate election in New York took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the
U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
and
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
as well as various state and local elections.
Incumbent
Democratic U.S. Senator
Kirsten Gillibrand
Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand (; ; born December 9, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from New York since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as member of the U.S. House of ...
won re-election to her first full term. She was opposed in the general election by
Wendy Long
Wendy Elizabeth Long (née Stone; born June 21, 1960) is an American attorney from New Hampshire. A member of the Republican Party, Long was the Republican and Conservative parties’ nominee for U.S. Senate in New York in 2012 and 2016, losing ...
(who ran on the Republican and Conservative Party tickets) and by three minor party candidates. Gillibrand was re-elected with 72% of the vote. She carried 60 out of 62 counties statewide.
Background
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
David Paterson
David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 55th governor of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer's term from March 2008 to December 2010. ...
appointed then-
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
Kirsten Gillibrand
Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand (; ; born December 9, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from New York since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as member of the U.S. House of ...
to serve as U.S. Senator from New York until the
2010 special election, succeeding former U.S. Senator
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
, who resigned to serve as
U.S. Secretary of State
The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
in the
Obama administration. Gillibrand won the
special election in 2010 with 62.95% of the vote over former U.S. Representative
Joseph DioGuardi
Joseph John DioGuardi (; born September 20, 1940) is an American certified public accountant and a Republican politician. DioGuardi served in the House of Representatives representing the 20th Congressional district of New York from 1985 to 19 ...
.
Democratic primary
Candidates
*
Kirsten Gillibrand
Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand (; ; born December 9, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from New York since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as member of the U.S. House of ...
, incumbent U.S. Senator
Gillibrand was endorsed by the
Independence Party of New York and the
Working Families Party
The Working Families Party (WFP) is a minor political party in the United States, founded in New York in 1998. There are active chapters in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Ne ...
and appeared on the ballot lines of both of those parties in the general election.
Republican primary
Candidates
Declared
*
Wendy E. Long
Wendy Elizabeth Long (née Stone; born June 21, 1960) is an American attorney from New Hampshire. A member of the Republican Party, Long was the Republican and Conservative parties’ nominee for U.S. Senate in New York in 2012 and 2016, losing ...
, attorney
*
George Maragos,
Nassau County Comptroller
*
Bob Turner, U.S. Representative,
New York's 9th congressional district
New York's 9th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in New York City, represented by Yvette Clarke.
The district is located entirely within Brooklyn. It includes the neighborhoods of ...
The 2012 New York State Republican Convention took place on March 16, 2012. Candidates Wendy Long, George Maragos, and Congressman Bob Turner each reached the threshold of 25% of the weighted vote necessary to qualify for the June 26 primary ballot; however, none of the candidates achieved a majority. Long prevailed by a sizeable margin in the June 26 Republican primary, receiving 50.9% of the vote; Turner received 35.6% and Maragos 13.5%.
Long was designated as the nominee for the
Conservative Party of New York State, and appeared on its ballot line in the general election as well as the Republican Party line.
[
]
Withdrew
* Joe Carvin, Rye Town Supervisor, withdrew on March 16, 2012 to run for the House of Representatives against Nita Lowey
Nita Sue Lowey ( ) ( Melnikoff; born July 5, 1937) is an American politician who formerly served as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1989 until 2021. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Lowey also served as co-Dean of the New York C ...
.
Polling
Endorsements
Source: Update for US Senate Election NY 2012: http://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/elections/2012/General/USSenator_07292013.pdf
Results
General election
Candidates
* Colia Clark (Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...
), civil rights activist and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010
* Chris Edes ( Libertarian)
* Kirsten Gillibrand (Democratic, Working Families, Independence), incumbent U.S. Senator
* Wendy Long (Republican, Conservative), attorney
* John Mangelli (Common Sense Party)
Debates
Complete video of debate
October 17, 2012 - C-SPAN
Fundraising
Top contributors
Top industries
Predictions
Polling
;with George Maragos
;with Bob Turner
;with Marc Cenedella
;with Harry Wilson
Results
See also
* 2012 United States Senate elections
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...
*
* 2012 New York state elections
References
External links
New York State Board of Elections
Campaign contributions
at OpenSecrets.org
OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...
Outside spending
at Sunlight Foundation
Candidate issue positions
at On the Issues
;Official campaign websites
Colia Clark for U.S. Senate
Kirsten Gillibrand for U.S. Senate
Wendy Long for U.S. Senate
Scott Noren for U.S. Senate
{{New York elections
New York
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
2012 New York (state) elections
Kirsten Gillibrand