The 2012 United States House of Representatives election in North Dakota was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 to elect the

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 ...

from the state's at-large congressional district. The election coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

and an election to the U.S. Senate. A

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 ...

was held on June 12, 2012; a candidate must receive at least 300 votes to appear on the general election ballot in November.

Rick Berg Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

, a member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

who was first elected to represent the at-large district in

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, had announced that he would not seek re-election but would instead run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Kent Conrad. Republican Kevin Cramer won the open House seat.

Republican primary

The

North Dakota Republican Party The North Dakota Republican Party is the North Dakota affiliate of the United States Republican Party. Its platform is conservative. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling North Dakota's at-large U.S. House seat, both U.S. S ...

endorsed Public Service Commissioner

Brian Kalk Brian Kalk (born c. 1966) is a North Dakota Republican Party politician in the U.S. state of North Dakota. He served on the North Dakota Public Service Commission from 2009 to 2017. Early life Kalk was born and raised in Bottineau, North Dakota ...

at their state convention, though general election ballot access is determined by a statewide primary election held on June 12, 2012. In contrast to state political tradition, fellow Public Service Commissioner Kevin Cramer did not seek the party endorsement, instead attempting to defeat Kalk on the June primary ballot.

Candidates

Nominee

* Kevin Cramer, Public Service Commissioner

Eliminated in primary

* Brian Kalk, Public Service Commissioner and state party endorsed candidate

Withdrew

* Shane Goettle, U.S. Senator John Hoeven's state director *

Bette Grande Bette B. Grande (born January 25, 1961) is a North Dakota Republican Party politician who represented the 41st district alongside Al Carlson in the North Dakota House of Representatives from 1997 to 2014. Grande is a member of the American Le ...

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 ...

* DuWayne Hendrickson, perennial candidate *

Kim Koppelman Kim Koppelman is a state legislator serving in the North Dakota House of Representatives. He was elected in 1994, and subsequently re-elected in 1996, 1998, 2002 and 2006 (North Dakota House member terms changed from two to four years in 1998). ...

, state representative

Declined

, incumbent U.S. Representative * Al Carlson, state House Majority Leader *

Tony Clark Anthony Christopher Clark (born June 15, 1972) is an American professional baseball player and executive. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1995 to 2009 and is the sixth executive director of the Major League Baseball P ...

, Public Service Commissioner *

Cory Fong Cory Fong (born August 6, 1972, Great Falls, Montana) is a North Dakota public servant. He is a Republican, and the former state State Tax Commissioner. Fong was appointed Tax Commissioner in 2005 by Governor John Hoeven following the resignat ...

, North Dakota State Tax Commissioner * Tony Grindberg,

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 ...

* Robert Harms,

Tea Party A tea party is a social gathering event held in the afternoon. For centuries, many societies have cherished drinking tea with a company at noon. Tea parties are considered for formal business meetings, social celebrations or just as an afternoon ...

activist and former treasurer of the North Dakota Republican Party * Kelly Schmidt, North Dakota State Treasurer

Debate

The North Dakota Republican Party held a candidates' debate on December 14 at the campus of

Valley City State University Valley City State University (VCSU) is a public university in Valley City, North Dakota. It is part of the North Dakota University System. Founded in 1890 as Valley City State Normal School, a two-year teachers' college, it was authorized to confe ...

. All five GOP candidates declared at the time—Cramer, Goettle, Grande, Kalk, and Koppelman—participated.

Polling

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

* Pam Gulleson, former state representative

Declined

Ben Vig Benjamin A. Vig is an American politician from North Dakota. He is a former member of the North Dakota House of Representatives and the Democratic Party nominee for lieutenant governor in the 2020 election. Vig graduated from Valley City Stat ...

, former state representative

Results

Libertarian nomination

The Libertarian Party of North Dakota has selected small business owner Eric Olson as their nominee at a state meeting.

General election

Endorsements

Polling

Predictions

Results

References

External links

North Dakota State Board of Elections

United States House of Representatives elections in North Dakota, 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 ...

North Dakota U.S. House
at OurCampaigns.com
Campaign contributions for U.S. Congressional races in North Dakota
from

OpenSecrets 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 the

Sunlight Foundation The Sunlight Foundation was an American 501(c)(3) nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that advocated for open government. The organization was founded in April 2006 with the goal of increasing transparency and accountability in the United States ...

;Official campaign websites
Kevin Cramer campaign website

Pam Gulleson campaign website

Eric Olson campaign website
{{2012 United States elections

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United States House of Representatives 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...