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

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 ten

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 ...

, a gain of one seat following the

2010 United States census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

. The elections 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 a U.S. Senate election. The state certified the returns on 6 December 2012.

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 ...

s were held on 7 August 2012.

Overview

;Summary of Votes Cast in the General Election

District 1

Democrat

Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee (; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician, lawyer, and economist who has served as the 23rd governor of Washington since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representat ...

, who represented the 1st district starting in 1999, resigned 20 March 2012, to focus on his run for

Governor of Washington The governor of Washington is the head of government of Washington and commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.WA Const. art. III, § 2. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws,WA Const. art. III, § 5. the power to either a ...

Primary election

Democratic Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *

Suzan DelBene Suzan Kay DelBene (née Oliver; ; born February 17, 1962) is an American politician and businesswoman who has been the United States House of Representatives, United States representative from Washington's 1st congressional district since 2012. ...

, former director at the Washington State Department of Revenue, general election candidate for the 8th district in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

=Eliminated in primary

= * Darcy Burner, former manager at

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

and general election candidate for the 8th district 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 ...

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; ...

* Steve Hobbs,

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 ...

*Darshan Rauniyar, businessman and political activist; *

Laura Ruderman Laura Ruderman (born November 8, 1970) is a former Washington State Representative for Washington's 45th legislative district. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Ruderman graduated from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. Polit ...

, former

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 ...

=Withdrawn

= *

Roger Goodman Roger Elliot Goodman (born 1961) is an American lawyer and politician serving as a Democratic member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing the 45th district since 2007. Goodman won re-election in 2012 against Republican Joel ...

, state representative

=Declined

= *

Brian Baird Brian Norton Baird (born March 7, 1956) is an American psychologist and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. representative for from 1999 to 2011. After leaving the U.S. House of Representatives, he served as the p ...

, former U.S. Representative *

Dennis Kucinich Dennis John Kucinich (; born October 8, 1946) is an American politician. A U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1997 to 2013, he was also a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States in 2004 and 2008. He ran for ...

, incumbent U.S. Representative for

Ohio's 10th congressional district Ohio's 10th congressional district is represented by Representative Mike Turner ( R). The district is based in southwestern Ohio and consists of Montgomery, Greene, and Fayette counties. Election results from presidential races List of me ...

*Andrew Hughes, tax attorney *

Marko Liias Marko Sakari Liias (born July 17, 1981) is an American politician serving as a member of the Washington State Senate, representing the 21st district since 2014. The district, located entirely within Snohomish County, includes portions of Lynnwoo ...

, state representative

Republican Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *

John Koster John Marvin Koster (born September 8, 1951) is an American politician who served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing the 39th district from 1995 to 2001 and again in 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he ...

, former state representative, member of the

Snohomish County Council The Snohomish County Council is the legislative body of Snohomish County, Washington. The county council was created in 1979 and consists of five members serving four-year terms. Members ;Notes History The county council was created on No ...

and general election candidate for the 2nd district in

=Withdrawn

= *Greg Anders, the executive director of the Bellingham

Heritage Flight Museum The Heritage Flight Museum is an aviation museum located at Skagit Regional Airport just west of Burlington, Washington. History The museum was founded by the family of Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders in 1996 and was originally located at Be ...

*James Watkins, who unsuccessfully ran in the 1st district in

Independent Candidates

=Eliminated in primary

= *Larry Ishmael, former member of the

Issaquah Issaquah ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 40,051 at the 2020 census. Located in a valley and bisected by Interstate 90, the city is bordered by the Sammamish Plateau to the north and the "Issaquah Alp ...

School Board and Republican general election candidate for this seat in

, ran as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

candidate.

Results

Republican

and Democrat

received the most votes in the

nonpartisan blanket primary A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of the political party. Partisan elections are, on the other hand, segregated by political party. ...

on 7 August for both the brief period of office remaining in the old 1st district and the redistricted 1st district, and faced each other in two separate ballot positions, with different boundaries, in the special election on 6 November.

Special Election

On 20 March 2012, then Representative

resigned his seat in the House of Representatives to run for Governor. A

Special Election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

was held at the same time as the General Election for a Representative to serve out the remainder of Inslee's term in the 112th Congress. The winner of the Special Election,

, assumed the seat on 13 November 2012.

Results

General Election

Endorsements

Polling

Predictions

Results

DelBene won and was sworn in to serve the remainder of Inslee's term on 13 November 2012.

District 2

Democrat

Rick Larsen Richard Ray Larsen (born June 15, 1965) is an American politician and lobbyist serving as the United States House of Representatives, United States representative for since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Part ...

, who represented the 2nd district since 2001, ran for re-election. In the December 2011 redistricting proposal, the 2nd district was made more favorable to Democrats.

Primary election

Democratic Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

Republican Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *Dan Matthews, Air Force veteran and pilot

=Eliminated in primary

= *Eli Olson, electrical distribution company manager and political director for the Snohomish County Young Republicans *John C. W. Shoop, United States Marine, combat veteran and survival instructor

=Declined

= *Greg Anders, the director of the Bellingham

, former state representative, member of the

and general election candidate for this seat in

Other Party's Candidates

=Eliminated in primary

= *Mike Lapointe (99% Party)

Independent Candidates

=Eliminated in primary

= *Glen S. Johnson

Results

General election

Results

District 3

Republican

Jaime Herrera Beutler Jaime Lynn Herrera Beutler ( ; born November 3, 1978) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2023. The district is in southwestern Washington, lying across the Columbia River from Oregon's Portland met ...

, who represented the 3rd district since January 2011, ran for re-election.

Primary election

Republican Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

Democratic Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *Jon Haugen, commercial pilot for

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...

=Withdrawn

= *Elizabeth Uelmen, middle school associate principal

=Declined

= * Tim Leavitt,

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

*Steve Stuart, Clark County Commissioner

Results

General election

Predictions

Results

District 4

Republican

Doc Hastings Richard Norman Hastings (born February 7, 1941) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who served as the U.S. representative for from 1995 until his retirement in 2015. The district includes much of central Washington incl ...

, who represented the 4th district since 1995, successfully ran for re-election.

Primary election

Republican Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

=Eliminated in primary

= *Jamie Wheeler, state director for FairTax.org and member of the Tri-Cities Tea Party

Democratic Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *Mary Baechler, businesswoman

=Eliminated in primary

= *Mohammad H. Said, doctor

=Withdrawn

= *Jay Clough, radiological control technician and nominee for this seat in

Results

General election

Results

District 5

Republican

Cathy McMorris Rodgers Cathy Anne McMorris Rodgers (born May 22, 1969) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for , which encompasses the eastern third of the state and includes Spokane, the state's second-largest city. A Republican, McMorris Rodgers ...

, who represented the 5th district since 2005, ran successfully for re-election in 2012.

Primary election

Republican Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

=Eliminated in primary

= *Randall Yearout, crane operator

Democratic Candidates

=Advanced to general

= * Rich Cowan, president and CEO of a film production company

=Declined

= *Dan Morrissey, professor at

Gonzaga University School of Law The Gonzaga University School of Law (also known as Gonzaga Law or GU Law) is the professional school for the study of law at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Established in 1912, the Jesuit-affiliated law school has been fully accredi ...

Mary Verner Mary B. Verner (born August 13, 1956) is an American politician who served as the 42nd Mayor of Spokane, Washington from 2007 to 2011. Early life and education Originally from Fitzgerald, Georgia, Verner received a Bachelor of Arts degree in ...

, former Mayor of

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

Results

General election

Results

District 6

Democrat

Norm Dicks Norman DeValois Dicks (born December 16, 1940) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for , between 1977 and 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. His district was located in the northwestern corner o ...

, who represented the 6th district since 1977, decided to retire rather than seeking re-election.

Primary election

Democratic Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *

Derek Kilmer Derek Christian Kilmer (born January 1, 1974) is an American politician who has been the U.S. representative for Washington's 6th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the Washington House ...

=Declined

= *Steve Boyer,

Kitsap County Kitsap County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 275,611. Its county seat is Port Orchard, and its largest city is Bremerton. The county was formed out of King County and Jefferson County on ...

Sheriff *Josh Brown, Kitsap County Commissioner *

Norman D. Dicks Norman DeValois Dicks (born December 16, 1940) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for , between 1977 and 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. His district was located in the northwestern corner o ...

, incumbent U.S. Representative * James Hargrove, state Senator *Mark Lindquist, Pierce County Prosecutor *Pat McCarthy, Pierce County Executive *

Christine Rolfes Christine Margaret Rolfes (née Nasser, born March 25, 1967). is an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as the Washington State Senator for the 23rd District between 2011 and 2023. The 23rd District includes Bainbridge Island, ...

, state senator *

Tim Sheldon Timothy Markham Sheldon (born March 9, 1947) is an American farmer, businessman, and politician serving as a member of the Washington State Senate, representing the 35th District since 1997. The district includes all of Mason County and parts o ...

, state senator and Mason County Commissioner *

Brian Sonntag Brian S. Sonntag (born December 28, 1951) was the ninth Washington State Auditor. He served five terms, from 1993 until his retirement in 2013. He is a Democrat. Personal Sonntag was born in 1951 in Tacoma, Washington. He attended Tacoma Commun ...

State Auditor State auditors (also known as state comptrollers, state controllers, state examiners, or inspectors general) are fiscal officers lodged in the executive or legislative branches of U.S. state governments who serve as external auditors, financial ...

Marilyn Strickland Marilyn Strickland (born September 25, 1962) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative from Washington's 10th congressional district. The district is based in the state capital of Olympia, and also includes much of eastern Tacoma ...

, Mayor of Tacoma *

Kevin Van De Wege Kevin Wayne Van De Wege (born October 2, 1974) is an American firefighter and politician serving as a member of the Washington State Senate, representing the 24th district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a m ...

Republican Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *Bill Driscoll, businessman

=Eliminated in primary

= *Stephan Brodhead, small business owner *Doug Cloud, attorney and general election candidate for this seat in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

and

*David "Ike" Eichner, accountant * Jesse Young, technology consultant and candidate for this seat in

=Withdrawn

= *Bob Sauerwein, insurance agent

=Declined

= *

Jan Angel Janice E. Angel (born 1946) is an American politician who served as a member of the Washington State Senate, representing the 26th district from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as a member of the Washingto ...

, state representative

Results

General Election

Polling

Results

District 7

Democrat

Jim McDermott James Adelbert McDermott (born December 28, 1936) is an American politician and psychiatrist who was the U.S. representative for from 1989 to 2017. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The 7th District includes most of Seattle, Vashon Isla ...

, who represented the 7th district since 1989, ran for re-election.

Primary election

Democratic Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

=Eliminated in primary

= *Charles Allen, product manager at Amazon *Andrew Hughes, tax attorney *Don Rivers, human rights activist

Republican Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *Ron Bemis, lawyer

=Eliminated in primary

= *Scott Sutherland

Results

General election

Results

District 8

Republican

Dave Reichert David George Reichert (; born August 29, 1950) is an American politician, veteran, and former sheriff who served as the U.S. representative for Washington's 8th congressional district from 2005 to 2019. He is a Republican and is the former ele ...

, who represented the 8th district since 2005, ran for re-election.

Primary election

Republican Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

=Eliminated in primary

= *Ernest Huber, retired military commander *Keith Swank, former police officer

Democratic Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *Karen Porterfield, associate dean and public administration lecturer at

Seattle University Seattle University (SeattleU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington. Seattle University is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate prog ...

=Eliminated in primary

= *Keith Arnold, accounting technician

Independent Candidates

=Withdrawn

= *James Windle, Associate Dean and Instructor at the Department of Defense's National Defense University

Results

General election

Results

District 9

Democrat

Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...

, who represented the 9th district since 1997, was re-elected.

Primary election

Democratic Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

=Eliminated in primary

= *Dave Christie *Tom Cramer

Republican Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *Jim Postma, businessman and candidate for this seat in

and

=Eliminated in primary

= *John Orlinski

Results

General election

Results

District 10

The newly created 10th district is centred on the state capital,

Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...

, and includes portions of Thurston,

Pierce Pierce may refer to: Places Canada * Pierce Range, a mountain range on Vancouver Island, British Columbia United States * Pierce, Colorado * Pierce, Idaho * Pierce, Illinois * Pierce, Kentucky * Pierce, Nebraska * Pierce, Texas * Pierce, We ...

, and

Mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...

counties.

Primary election

Democratic Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *

Dennis Heck Dennis Lynn Heck (born July 29, 1952) is an American entrepreneur and politician serving as the 17th lieutenant governor of Washington. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the U.S. representative for Washington's 10th congre ...

, former

majority leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.

of the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

and general election candidate for the 3rd district in

=Eliminated in primary

= *Jennifer Ferguson, nonprofit founder and small business owner

Republican Candidates

=Advanced to general

= *

Dick Muri Richard Walter Muri (born November 30, 1953) is an American politician. He is the appointed Mayor of the Town of Steilacoom after longtime Mayor Ron Lucas stepped down for health reasons in March 2021, before passing away just weeks later. He is ...

, Pierce County councilmember and general election candidate for the 9th district in

=Eliminated in primary

= *Stan Flemming, Pierce County councilmember

Results

General election

Endorsements

Predictions

Results

Heck defeated Muri 58.6% to 41.4%.

References

External links

Elections & Voting
at the Washington Secretary of State
United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, 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 ...

Campaign contributions for U.S. Congressional races in Washington
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 ...

Politics
at the ''

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was foun ...

''
Election 2012
at ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington (s ...

'' {{Washington elections, state=collapsed

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 ...

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 ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...