The 2012 West Virginia gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2012, to elect the governor of West Virginia. Democratic incumbent

Earl Ray Tomblin Earl Ray Tomblin (born March 15, 1952) is an American politician who served as the 35th governor of West Virginia from 2011 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the West Virginia Senate from 1980 to 2011 and as pre ...

, who was elected governor in a special election in 2011, was elected to a full four-year term. The election was a rematch of the 2011 special election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Arne Moltis, candidate for governor in 2011 *

, incumbent governor

Declined

Jeff Kessler Jeffrey Vincent Kessler (born November 16, 1955) is an American politician and former Democratic member of the West Virginia Senate in the United States, representing the 2nd district from 1997 to 2017. He is the former President of the Senate ...

, state senator, president of the state senate, and candidate for governor in 2011 *

Brooks McCabe Brooks F. McCabe, Jr. was a Democratic member of the West Virginia Senate, representing the 17th district in Kanawha County. First elected in 1998, Brooks served for eight years as chairman of the Senate Committee on Economic Development. He ...

, state senator

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

* Ralph William Clark, philosophy professor at

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State Coll ...

and candidate for governor in 2011 *

Bill Maloney Bill Maloney is an American businessman and politician. He was a two-time candidate for the governorship of West Virginia. He was the Republican nominee in the 2011 West Virginia gubernatorial special election, in which he lost by 7,546 votes, a ...

, businessman and Republican nominee for governor in 2011

Declined

Clark Barnes Clark S. Barnes (born August 6, 1950) is a former member of the West Virginia Senate, representing District 15 as a Republican. Originally elected in 2004, Barnes was reelected to the Senate’s District 15 in 2008. He ran in the 2012 election f ...

, state senator and candidate for governor in 2011 (did not file) * Mark Sorsaia, Putnam County prosecutor and candidate for governor in 2011 (did not file) * Mike Stuart,

West Virginia Republican Party The West Virginia Republican Party is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in West Virginia. Mark Harris is the party chair. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all three of West Virginia's U.S. House seat ...

chairman

Results

General election

Candidates

* Jesse Johnson (

Mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

), former gubernatorial and senate nominee *

(R), businessman and Republican nominee for governor in 2011 * David Moran ( Libertarian), farmer and retired engineer *

(D), incumbent governor

Other potential candidates

* Norman Ferguson ( NPA) * Phil Hudok (

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

), write-in candidate for governor in 2011

Debates

Complete video of debate
October 9, 2012 - C-SPAN

Predictions

Polling

Results

By congressional district

Tomblin won 2 of 3 congressional districts, including one held by a Republican.

References

External links

Elections Division
at the West Virginia secretary of state ;Candidate sites (Archived)
Bill Maloney for Governor

Earl Ray Tomblin for Governor

David Moran for Governor
{{United States elections, 2012

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 ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

Gubernatorial 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 ...