The 2012 special election in Michigan's 11th congressional district was a special election that took place in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

on November 6, 2012, to replace Republican United States Congressman

Thaddeus McCotter Thaddeus George "Thad" McCotter (born August 22, 1965) is an American politician, radio host, and a member of the Republican Party who was the U.S. representative from from 2003 to 2012. The district at the time consisted of portions of Detroi ...

, who resigned after a failed

presidential campaign 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 ful ...

and a series of scandals. Former autoworker David Curson, the Democratic nominee, narrowly defeated Republican nominee

Kerry Bentivolio Kerry Bentivolio (born October 6, 1951) is an American politician and educator who is the former United States Representative for , in office from 2013 to 2015. Bentivolio, a Republican, defeated Democratic nominee Syed Taj, a physician, in th ...

, a reindeer farmer, to win the seat for the last few months of McCotter's term.

Schedule

As a matter of convenience and cost saving, this special election was held in conjunction with the regularly scheduled general election on November 6, 2012. Voters were asked on the November ballot to select two candidates: one to serve the remainder of McCotter's term in the

112th Congress The 112th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2011, until January 3, 2013. It convened in Washington, D.C. on January 3, 2011, and ended on January 3, 2013, 17 ...

, and the other to serve the full 2-year term in the

113th Congress The 113th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2013, to January 3, 2015, during the fifth and sixth years of Barack Obama's presidency. It was composed of the ...

beginning in January 2013.

Democratic primary

Candidates

* David Curson, labor activist Despite the fact that Canton Township Trustee Syed Taj was the Democratic nominee in the regularly-scheduled

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, Taj did not opt to run in the special election and Curson did not opt to run in the general election.

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

, reindeer farmer *

Nancy Cassis Nancy Cassis (born January 26, 1944) is an American teacher and psychologist. As a Michigan Senator who initially ran against Dick DeVos, she dropped out of the contest before Michigan's 2006 gubernatorial Republican primary. In the Michigan S ...

, former

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 ...

* Kenneth Crider, steel worker * Carolyn Kavanagh * Steve King, former member of the Livonia School Board

Results

General election

The election to fill the remaining 6 weeks of McCotter's term was largely ignored as the attention was focused on the presidential election and the race for the full two-year term between Bentivolio and Taj.

Candidates

, Republican nominee * David Curson, Democratic nominee *John J. Tartar,

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties * Outline of libertarianism ...

nominee *Marc J. Sosnowski, Constitution Party nominee

Election results

References

{{2012 United States elections United States House of Representatives 11 special Michigan 11 special 2012 11 special Michigan 2012 11 Michigan 11 United States House of Representatives 2012 11