The 2012 United States Senate election in Virginia took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the
2012 U.S. presidential election
The 2012 United States presidential election was the 57th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Biden, were re-el ...
as well as other elections to the
United States Senate and
House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator
Jim Webb retired instead of running for reelection to a second term, and former Democratic
Governor of Virginia Tim Kaine won the open seat over Republican former Senator and Governor
George Allen.
Kaine was unopposed for the Democratic nomination, and the Republicans nominated Allen through a primary on June 12, 2012. Allen had previously held this seat for one term before narrowly losing reelection to Webb in
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
.
Republican primary
In Virginia, parties have the option of whether to hold a primary or to nominate their candidate through a party convention. In November 2010, the Virginia GOP announced that it had chosen to hold a primary.
Candidates
Declared
*
George Allen, former
U.S. Senator
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 powe ...
and former
Governor of Virginia
*
E. W. Jackson, minister and conservative activist
*
Bob Marshall,
State Delegate and candidate in
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
* Jamie Radtke, conservative activist
Withdrawn
* Tim Donner, founder of Horizons Television and LibertyNation.com
* David McCormick, attorney
Declined
*
Liz Cheney
Elizabeth Lynne Cheney (; born July 28, 1966) is an American attorney and politician who has been the U.S. representative for since 2017, with her term expiring in January 2023. She chaired the House Republican Conference, the third-highest p ...
, former
*
Ken Cuccinelli,
Virginia Attorney General
The attorney general of Virginia is an elected constitutional position that holds an executive office in the government of Virginia. Attorneys general are elected for a four-year term in the year following a presidential election. There are no ter ...
*
Tom Davis, former U.S. Representative
*
Corey Stewart
Corey Alan Stewart (born August 1, 1968) is an American retired politician who served four terms as at-large chair of the Board of Supervisors of Prince William County, Virginia from December 2006 to December 2019.
Stewart was the Republica ...
,
Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman
Debates
Three debates between Republican candidates were announced before the primary on June 12, 2012. The debates took place in Richmond, Northern Virginia, and Hampton Roads.
Polling
Endorsements
Results
General election
Candidates
*
George Allen (Republican), former
U.S. Senator
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 powe ...
and former
Governor of Virginia
*
Tim Kaine (Democrat), former
Governor of Virginia and former
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...
chairman
Only Allen and Kaine qualified for the ballot.
Debates
David Gregory moderated a debate between Kaine and Allen on September 20, 2012. Topics included partisan gridlock in Washington policy making, job creation, tax policy, and Middle East unrest.
;External links
Complete video of debate September 20, 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 8, 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 18, 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 ...
Campaign
Once incumbent U.S. Senator Jim Webb decided to retire, many Democratic candidates were speculated. These included U.S. Congressmen
Rick Boucher,
Gerry Connolly,
Glenn Nye,
Tom Perriello and
Bobby Scott. However, they all declined and encouraged Kaine to run for the seat, believing he would be by far the most electable candidate. Courtney Lynch, former Marine Corps Officer and Fairfax business consultant
and Julien Modica, former CEO of the Brain Trauma Recovery & Policy Institute,
[ eventually withdrew from the election, allowing Kaine to be unopposed in the Democratic primary.
]
Fundraising
Top contributors
Top industries
Independent expenditures
In early October 2012, Crossroads GPS
American Crossroads is a US Super PAC that raises funds from donors to advocate for certain candidates of the Republican Party. It has pioneered many of the new methods of fundraising opened up by the Supreme Court's ruling in ''Citizens United ...
announced it would launch a $16 million advertising buy in national races, of which four were this and three other Senate elections.
Predictions
Polling
;Democratic primary
;General election
;with Rick Boucher
;with Tom Perriello
;with Bobby Scott
;with Jim Webb
Results
See also
* Hank the Cat Hank the Cat (August 2001 – February 13, 2014) was a Maine Coon cat that was put up as a joke candidate in the 2012 United States Senate election in Virginia, a feat which gained international coverage after Hank reportedly came third behind the ...
* 2012 United States Senate elections
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...
*
References
External links
Virginia State Board of Elections
Campaign contributions
at OpenSecrets.org
Outside spending
at 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
George Allen for U.S. Senate
Tim Kaine for U.S. Senate
{{Tim Kaine
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 ...
Virginia
United States Senate
Tim Kaine