The 2012 United States Senate election in Arizona was held November 6, 2012, alongside a

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 ...

, 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 ...

in other states, as well as elections to the

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 ...

and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator

Jon Kyl Jon Llewellyn Kyl ( ; born April 25, 1942) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senator for Arizona from 1995 to 2013 and again in 2018. A Republican, he held both of Arizona's Senate seats at different times, ser ...

, the Senate Minority Whip, decided to retire instead of running for reelection to a fourth term. Republican U.S. Representative

Jeff Flake Jeffry Lane Flake (born December 31, 1962) is an American politician and diplomat who is the current U.S Ambassador to Turkey. A member of the Republican Party, Flake served in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013 and ...

won the open seat.

Republican primary

The filing deadline for Republican candidates was June 1, 2012, and the primary election took place on August 28, 2012.

Candidates

Declared

* Wil Cardon, CEO of a real estate investment firm *

, U.S. Representative from the 6th district * Bryan Hackbarth, former Mayor of Youngtown * Clair Van Steenwyk, conservative radio host

Withdrew

* Doug McKee, businessman

Declined

* Fife Symington III, former Arizona governor *

Joe Arpaio Joseph Michael Arpaio (; born June 14, 1932) is an American former law enforcement officer and politician. He served as the 36th Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona for 24 years, from 1993 to 2017, losing reelection to Democrat Paul Penzone i ...

Maricopa County Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and the fourth-most populous in the United States. It contains about 6 ...

sheriff (running for re-election as Sheriff) *

Jan Brewer Janice Kay Brewer (''née'' Drinkwine, formerly Warren; born September 26, 1944) is an American politician and author who was the 22nd governor of Arizona from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Brewer is the fourth woman (and was ...

, Arizona governor *

Trent Franks Trent Franks (born June 19, 1957) is a former American politician and businessman who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2003 to 2017 (numbered as the Arizona's 2nd congressional district, 2nd dis ...

, U.S. representative *

J. D. Hayworth John David Hayworth Jr. (born July 12, 1958) is an American television host and former politician. He served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2007 from Arizona's 5th Congressional District. He curre ...

, former U.S. representative *

, incumbent U.S. senator *

Ben Quayle Benjamin Eugene Quayle (born November 5, 1976) is an American lawyer and politician who is a former U.S. Representative for . A member of the Republican Party, he is the son of the 44th vice president of the United States, Dan Quayle James ...

, U.S. representative * David Schweikert, U.S. representative *

John Shadegg John Barden Shadegg (; born October 22, 1949) is an American politician and former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1995 until 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district, numbered as the 4th District before the 2000 Censu ...

, former U.S. representative

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Democratic primary

Former Surgeon General Richard Carmona was the only candidate for the Democratic nomination, receiving all 289,881 votes cast in the primary election.

Candidates

Declared

Richard Carmona Richard Henry Carmona (born November 22, 1949) is an American physician, nurse, police officer, public health administrator, and politician. He was a vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and served as the seventeenth Surg ...

, former

Surgeon General of the United States The surgeon general of the United States is the operational head of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government of the United States. Th ...

Withdrew

Don Bivens Donald Wayne Bivens (born February 5, 1952) is an American attorney, former member of the American Bar Association's Board of Governors, Chair-Elect of the ABA's Section of Litigation, and former Chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party. Perso ...

, former Chairman of the

Arizona Democratic Party The Arizona Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Arizona. Its headquarters are in Phoenix. Party organization The Arizona Democratic Party is organized into three parts: the state committee, the executive ...

* David Ruben, physician

Declined

* Dennis Burke,

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

* Phil Gordon, Mayor of

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

* Ed Pastor, U.S. Representative * Warren Stewart, civil rights leader * Gabby Giffords, former U.S. Representative *

Mark Kelly Mark Edward Kelly (born February 21, 1964) is an American politician, former astronaut, and United States Navy captain who has served as the junior United States senator from Arizona since 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, he was electe ...

, astronaut and husband of Gabrielle Giffords, (later elected to Arizona's Class 3 Senate seat in 2020). *

Janet Napolitano Janet Ann Napolitano (; born November 29, 1957) is an American politician, lawyer, and university administrator who served as the 21st governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009 and third United States secretary of homeland security from 2009 to 20 ...

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the U ...

and former Arizona governor * Jim Pederson, former

chairman and 2006 Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate

Polling

Results

General election

Candidates

(Republican), U.S. Representative *

(Democratic), former U.S. Surgeon General * Michael F. Meyer (Independent) * Marc J. Victor (Libertarian), attorney

Debates

There were three debates before the election. The first was in Phoenix on October 10, 2012, the second in Tucson on October 15 and the last was in Yuma on October 25. ;External links
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 ...

Complete video of debate
October 15, 2012 –

Complete video of debate
October 25, 2012 –

Fundraising

Top contributors

Top industries

Predictions

Polling

;Republican primary ;Democratic primary ;with Don Bivens ;with J.D. Hayworth ;with Jeff Flake ;with Jon Kyl ;with Sarah Palin

Results

Preliminary results showed Flake leading 49.7–45.7%, but 439,961 early votes had yet to be counted.

References

External links

Arizona Secretary of State – 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 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 ...

Candidate issue positions
at On the Issues ;Official campaign websites (Archived)
Richard Carmona for U.S. Senate

Jeff Flake for U.S. Senate

Ian Gilyeat for U.S. Senate

Marc J. Victor For Senate
{{Arizona elections

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 gather ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Withdrew

Declined

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Withdrew

Declined

Polling

Results

General election

Candidates

Debates

Fundraising

Top contributors

Top industries

Predictions

Polling

Results

See also

References

External links