The 2012 Indiana gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2012. Incumbent

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 ...

Mitch Daniels Mitchell Elias Daniels Jr. (born April 7, 1949) is an American academic administrator, businessman, author, and retired politician. A Republican, Daniels served as the 49th governor of Indiana from 2005 to 2013. Since 2013, Daniels has been pr ...

was term-limited and unable to seek a third term. The Republican candidate, Congressman

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...

; the Democratic candidate, former Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives John R. Gregg; and the Libertarian candidate, youth mentor, small business owner and reality TV personality,

Rupert Boneham Rupert Frederick Boneham (; born January 27, 1964) is an American mentor for troubled teens, who became known to reality television audiences in 2003 as a contestant on '' Survivor: Pearl Islands'' where he placed eighth. He later appeared on the ...

, were all unopposed in their respective primaries or conventions and contested the general election. This is the first open Indiana gubernatorial election since

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

and the first gubernatorial election since

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

without the governor or

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

as a nominee. When the polls closed, the election was very close, and continued to stay close throughout the night. Gregg performed well in Marion County (Indianapolis) and Lake County (Gary), which were Democratic strongholds. Pence performed well in the

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

suburbs and the

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Cens ...

area. At 12:34 am EST, the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

called the race for Pence. At 1:06 am, Gregg called Pence to concede, realizing there weren't enough votes left to overtake him. Pence ultimately won the election and took office on January 13, 2013. This was the closest race for governor since

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

Primaries

Democratic

* John R. Gregg, former Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives

Results

Libertarian

, four-time contestant on '' Survivor'' and founder of Rupert's Kids. Boneham was nominated by delegates at his party's state convention.

General election

Candidates

(Republican), U.S. Representative :*Running mate: Sue Ellspermann,

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 S ...

* John Gregg (Democratic), former Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives :*Running mate: Vi Simpson,

state Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

Minority Leader *

(Libertarian), four-time contestant on ''Survivor'' and founder of Rupert's Kids :*Running mate: Brad Klopfenstein, former executive director of the

Libertarian Party of Indiana The Libertarian Party of Indiana is the Indiana affiliate of the Libertarian Party. History and operations The founding meeting of the Libertarian Party of Indiana was held on July 14, 1974, at the Holiday Inn at Weir Cook Airport (now called t ...

* Donnie Harold Harris (Public Party) (

write-in A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be pos ...

) :*Running mate: George Fish

Debates

Th
Indiana Debate Commission
organized three televised debates between Indiana Gubernatorial candidates Republican Mike Pence, Democrat John R. Gregg and Libertarian Rupert Boneham. ;Debate schedule The first debate was held on Wednesday, October 10, 2012 at the Zionsville Performing Arts Center in

Zionsville, Indiana Zionsville is a suburban town located in the extreme southeast area of Boone County, Indiana, United States, northwest of Indianapolis. The population was 14,160 at the 2010 census, 30,693 at the 2020 census, and grew to 33,891 in the 2022 est ...

and was moderated by former

Indianapolis Star Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

editor Dennis Ryerson.
Complete video of debate
October 10, 2012 -

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

The second debate was held on Wednesday, October 17, 2012 at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

and was moderated by Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute president John Ketzenberger.
Complete video of debate
October 17, 2012 -

The third debate was held on Thursday, October 25, 2012 at the

WFWA WFWA (channel 39) is a PBS member television station in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. Owned by Fort Wayne Public Television, Inc., the station maintains studios at the Dr. Rudy and Rhonda Kachmann Teleplex on the campus of Purdue Universi ...

PBS 39 studio in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

and was moderated by

DePauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the ...

Executive Director of Media Relations Ken Owen.
Complete video of debate
October 25, 2012 -

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

Predictions

Polling

Statewide results

By congressional district

Pence won 6 of 9 congressional districts.

References

External links

Election Division
at the Indiana Secretary of State office
Indiana gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2012
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

;Campaign websites (archived)
Rupert Boneham for Governor

John R. Gregg for Governor

Mike Pence for Governor
{{2012 United States elections

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

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 ...

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 ...

Mike Pence