The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Indiana were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 to elect the nine

U.S. 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from the state, one from each of the state's nine

congressional districts Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial

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, an election to the U.S. Senate, and a

gubernatorial election 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 ...

Overview

Redistricting

A redistricting bill was passed by both houses of the

Indiana General Assembly The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate. Th ...

in April 2011 and signed into law by

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 ...

on May 10, 2011. The newly drawn map was designed to produce seven districts which are favorable to the Republican Party and two which favor the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. Republicans described the districts as being more compact and more in keeping with existing county boundaries than the previous map, while Democrats argue that the map is intended to protect Republican incumbents and help the Republican Party win the 2nd district.

District 1

The district, based in the suburbs and exurbs of

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, acquired parts of LaPorte County, including Michigan City, in redistricting. Incumbent Democrat

Pete Visclosky Peter John Visclosky ( ; born August 13, 1949) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1985 until his retirement in 2021. He is a member of the Democratic Party and was the dean of the Indiana congressional d ...

faced Republican nominee Joel Phelps, an industrial engineer.

Democratic primary

Primary results

Republican primary

Primary results

General election

Results

District 2

In redistricting, parts of the state which typically favor Republicans, including Elkhart County, Miami County, Wabash County and much of

Kosciusko County Kosciusko County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. At the 2020 United States Census, its population was 80,240. The county seat (and only incorporated city) is Warsaw. The county was organized in 1836. It was named for the Polish ge ...

, were moved into the 2nd district, while Democratic-leaning areas such as Kokomo and part of LaPorte County were removed from the district. Democratic incumbent

Joe Donnelly Joseph Simon Donnelly Sr. (born September 29, 1955) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a United States senator from Indiana from 2013 to 2019. Since 2022, he has served as the United States Ambassador to the Holy S ...

, who has represented the 2nd district since 2007, ran for the U.S. Senate rather than for re-election to the House of Representatives. Brendan Mullen, an

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

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and military contractor was the Democratic nominee. Former State Representative

Jackie Walorski Jacqueline Renae Walorski (, August 17, 1963 – August 3, 2022) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Indiana's 2nd congressional district from 2013 until her death in 2022. She was a member of the Republican Pa ...

won the Republican nomination for the second consecutive time. Joe Ruiz was the Libertarian nominee.2012 Federal Candidates
, Libertarian Party of Indiana Andrew Straw, an attorney, switched from the Democratic Party to

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

and ran for this seat. Straw was an Indiana Supreme Court analyst and an assistant dean at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law in charge of the International Program. Prior to announcing his Senate campaign, Donnelly commented that he was confident that a Democrat would be able to win the district, noting that then-Senator

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

would have received 49% of the vote in the district in the 2008 presidential election had it been held under the newly drawn boundaries.

Democratic primary

Primary results

Republican primary

Primary results

General election

Results

District 3

The 3rd district is expected to remain favorable to Republicans. Among the changes made in redistricting were the removal of Elkhart County from the 4th district to the 2nd, and the addition of areas south of Fort Wayne, which may make Stutzman vulnerable to a primary challenge. Incumbent Republican Marlin Stutzman ran for re-election and faced Democratic nominee Kevin Boyd, the pastor of Fort Wayne's Trinity Presbyterian Church.

Democratic primary

Primary results

Republican primary

Primary results

General election

Results

District 4

Republican incumbent

Todd Rokita Theodore Edward Rokita (born February 9, 1970) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 44th and current Attorney General of Indiana. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from from 2011 to 2019. A membe ...

ran for re-election in 2012. He faced Democratic nominee Tara Nelson, an

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of Data (computing), data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information te ...

project manager and Libertarian nominee Benjamin Gehlhausen, an economics and professional flight technology major at Purdue University. Rokita's home lies "about 500 yards" outside the boundaries of the newly drawn 4th district, a phenomenon he attributed in May 2011 to "a kind of comeuppance thing" on the part of members of the

in return for his having supported a nonpartisan redistricting process during his tenure as

Secretary of State of Indiana The Secretary of State of Indiana is one of five constitutional officers originally designated in Indiana's State Constitution of 1816. Since 1851, it has been an elected position. The Secretary of State oversees four divisions, and is the third ...

. Sue Landske, a Republican member of the

Indiana Senate The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year term ...

, denied that this was the case. The 4th district is expected to remain favorable to Republicans.

Democratic primary

Primary results

Republican primary

Primary results

General election

Results

District 5

The 5th district continues to include Hamilton County and the north side of Indianapolis, but received Democratic-leaning areas in northern

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mario ...

and

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, and lost rural areas near Fort Wayne. The district is expected to continue to favor Republicans. Republican incumbent

Dan Burton Danny Lee Burton (born June 21, 1938) is an American politician. Burton is the former U.S. Representative for , and previously the , serving from 1983 until 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party and was part of the Tea Party Caucus. Ea ...

, who had represented the 5th district since 2003 and previously represented the 6th district from 1983, retired rather than seeking re-election in 2012. The Republican nominee was former

U.S. 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 ...

Susan Brooks Susan Lynn Brooks (née Wiant; born August 25, 1960) is an American prosecutor and politician. She is a Republican Party (United States), Republican and the former United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative for . She was elected ...

. She faced Democratic nominee Scott Reske, a State Representative, and Libertarian nominee Chard Reid, an economics and finance teacher at Plainfield High School.

Democratic primary

Primary results

Republican primary

;Candidates *

* Jason Anderson * Jack Lugar, attorney * John McGoff *

David McIntosh David McIntosh may refer to: * David McIntosh (''Gladiators'') (born 1985), English actor * David McIntosh (Scottish footballer), Scottish footballer * Dave McIntosh (1925–1995), Scottish footballer * David Gregg McIntosh David Gregg McInt ...

U.S. Representative for IN-02 from 1995 to 2001 * Matthew Mount * Wayne Sebold,

mayor

Primary results

General election

Results

District 6

The 6th district was made more favorable to Republicans in redistricting, and now stretches from

Muncie Muncie ( ) is an incorporated city and the seat of Delaware County, Indiana. Previously known as Buckongahelas Town, named after the legendary Delaware Chief.http://www.delawarecountyhistory.org/history/docs/lenape-villages.pdf It is located in ...

to the Ohio River. Republican incumbent Mike Pence announced in May 2011 that he would Indiana gubernatorial election, 2012, run for Governor of Indiana rather than for re-election to the House of Representatives. The Republican nominee in 2012 was Luke Messer, an attorney. The Democratic nominee was Brad Bookout, a Delaware County Councilman. The Libertarian nominee was Rex Bell, owner of a contracting business in the New Castle area.

Republican primary

;Candidates * Don Bates Jr., financial adviser and United States Senate election in Indiana, 2010, 2010 U.S. Senate candidate * Bill Frazier, state senator * Travis Hankins, developer and United States House of Representatives elections in Indiana, 2010#District 9, 2010 candidate for IN-09 * Luke Messer, Indiana House of Representatives, State representative, former executive director of the Indiana Republican Party, and United States House of Representatives elections in Indiana, 2010#District 5, 2010 candidate for IN-05 * John Hatter, human resources director at Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, Ivy Tech Community College * Joe Sizemore * Allen Smith, Bartholomew County, Indiana, Bartholomew County coroner and The Biggest Loser (season 8), The Biggest Loser contestant * Joseph S. Van Wye Sr., part-time service technician and part-time worker for Lifetime Resources

Primary results

Democratic primary

;Candidates * Dan Bolling, biotech entrepreneur * Bradley Bookout, former Delaware County, Indiana, Delaware County council member * Jim Crone, sociology professor at Hanover College * Susan Hall Heitzman * George Holland

Primary results

General election

Results

District 7

The 7th district lost Democratic-leaning areas in northern Marion County, Indiana, Marion County in redistricting, while acquiring more Republican areas in the south of the county. Nonetheless, the district is expected to remain favorable to Democrats. Incumbent André Carson faced Republican nominee Carlos May, a former aide for Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard.

Democratic primary

Primary results

Republican primary

Primary results

General election

Results

District 8

The 8th district was made slightly more favorable to Democrats in redistricting, as a result of the removal of Fountain County, Indiana, Fountain County, Putnam County, Indiana, Putnam County and Warren County, Indiana, Warren County, all of which favor Republicans, and the addition of Dubois County, Indiana, Dubois County, Perry County, Indiana, Perry County, Spencer County, Indiana, Spencer County and part of Crawford County, Indiana, Crawford County, all of which strongly favor neither party. Republican incumbent Larry Bucshon faced former State Representative Dave Crooks, the Democratic nominee, and Bart Gadau, the Libertarian nominee.

Democratic primary

The 8th district's Democratic candidates agreed to participate in a caucus in which the chairs and vice chairs of 38 list of counties in Indiana, counties would vote to decide the party's nominee; after which the candidates not selected would support the winner. Former Indiana House of Representatives, state representative Dave Crooks was endorsed as the Democratic nominee by party leaders on December 10, 2011. C

Primary results

Republican primary

;Candidates * Larry Bucshon, incumbent * Kristi Risk, stay-at-home mom

Primary results

General election

Results

District 9

The 9th district previously consisted mostly of rural areas in southeastern Indiana but was made more favorable to Republicans when the legislature extended it northwards to include Johnson County, Indiana, Johnson County and Morgan County, Indiana, Morgan County while also incorporating suburbs of Louisville, Kentucky. Republican incumbent Todd Young ran for re-election and faced Democratic nominee Shelli Yoder. Jason Sharp was nominated by the Libertarian Party (United States), Libertarian Party but later dropped out. Young ran unopposed in the Republican primary.

Democratic primary

; Candidates * Jonathan D. George, former United States Air Force, Air Force officer (armed forces), officer who served on the United States National Security Council * John Griffin Miller, activist * John Tilford, military veteran and activist for veterans * Robert Winningham, former employee of former U.S. Representative Lee H. Hamilton, Lee Hamilton * Shelli Yoder, professional development director at Indiana University in Bloomington Kelley School of Business and former Miss Indiana

Primary results

Republican primary

Primary results

General election

Results

References

External links

Election Division
at the Indiana Secretary of State
Primary election resultsIndiana U.S. House
at Ballotpedia
Indiana U.S. House
at OurCampaigns.com
Campaign contributions for U.S. Congressional races in Indiana
from OpenSecrets
Outside spending
at the Sunlight Foundation
Indiana Congressional Districts Adopted 2011Map of the congressional districts under which the 2012 elections will be contested
published by the Indiana Business Research Service
2010 Census data tabulation for the new congressional and state legislative districts
published by the Indiana Business Research Service (Microsoft Excel format) {{2012 United States elections 2012 United States House of Representatives elections, Indiana United States House of Representatives elections in Indiana, 2012 2012 Indiana elections, United States House of Representatives