The 2012 United States Senate election in West Virginia was held on November 6, 2012, to elect one of

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

's two members of the

U.S. 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 ...

for a six-year term. In a rematch of the 2010 special election, incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator

Joe Manchin Joseph Manchin III (born August 24, 1947) is an American politician and businessman serving as the senior United States senator from West Virginia, a seat he has held since 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, Manchin was the 34th governor o ...

won re-election to a first full term against the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nominee,

John Raese John Reeves Raese ( ; born April 10, 1950) is an American businessman and perennial Republican Party candidate for political office in West Virginia. He has lost campaigns to represent West Virginia in the United States Senate in 1984, 2006, 201 ...

. Notably, Manchin outperformed Barack Obama in the concurrent presidential election by 25.06 percentage points in vote share, and by 50.86 percentage points on margin.

Background

Robert Byrd Robert Carlyle Byrd (born Cornelius Calvin Sale Jr.; November 20, 1917 – June 28, 2010) was an American politician and musician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia for over 51 years, from 1959 until his death in 2010. A ...

held this seat in the U.S. Senate since 1959, after having served in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

since 1953, making him the longest-serving person in

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

. Byrd led his party in the Senate from 1977 to 1989, as Majority Leader or Minority Leader. Afterward, as the most senior Democrat in the Senate, he served as

President pro tempore of the Senate A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

whenever his party was in the majority, including at the time of his death. After Byrd's death, West Virginia Secretary of State

Natalie Tennant Natalie E. Tennant (born December 25, 1967) is an American politician who served as the Secretary of State of West Virginia from 2009 to 2017. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Tennant was the 2014 Democratic Party nominee for West Virgin ...

initially announced that 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, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

would be held on the same day as the regular election for the six-year term. However, that special election was rescheduled to 2010 for it to coincide with the 2010 mid-term elections. Governor

made a temporary appointment of

Carte Goodwin Carte Patrick Goodwin (born February 27, 1974) is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia in 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, he was appointed by Governor Joe Manchin on July 16, 2010 t ...

to the vacant seat. Goodwin was later replaced by Manchin who won the 2010 special election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Sheirl Fletcher, former Republican State Delegate and Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2008 and 2010 *

, incumbent U.S. senator

Results

General election

Candidates

* Bob Henry Baber (

Mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

), former mayor of Richwood and candidate for

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 ...

in 2011 *

(Democratic), incumbent U.S. Senator *

(Republican), businessman and

perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are no laws that limit a number of times a person can ...

Campaign

Raese filed a rematch against Manchin, arguing that he now had more material to criticize Manchin for. One example is how Manchin lost his longtime endorsement from the organization West Virginians for Life because of his vote against defunding Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider. Another example is how he is undecided about whether or not to support Obama's re-election campaign.John Raese: Gazette should endorse Manchin - Op-Ed Commentaries - The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports
/ref> Senior Obama campaign advisor David Axelrod commented in response, "His concern is about his own political well-being." In addition, he voted against U.S. Congressman Paul Ryan's Republican budget. Raese wrote an op-ed in the ''

Charleston Gazette-Mail The ''Charleston Gazette-Mail'' is the only daily morning newspaper in Charleston, West Virginia. It is the product of a July 2015 merger between ''The Charleston Gazette'' and the '' Charleston Daily Mail''. The paper is one of nine owned by HD ...

'', saying about Manchin, "Yes, he'll talk like a conservative and act like he's fiscally responsible to appeal to more moderate voters, but under that outward appearance of a lovable rube is the heart of a tax-and-spend liberal." Raese continued to make controversial statements. In April 2012, he equated smoking bans with

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

yellow badge Yellow badges (or yellow patches), also referred to as Jewish badges (german: Judenstern, lit=Jew's star), are badges that Jews were ordered to wear at various times during the Middle Ages by some caliphates, at various times during the Medieva ...

. He said "in Monongalia County now, I have to put a huge sticker on my buildings to say this is a smoke-free environment. This is brought to you by the government of Monongalia County. Okay? Remember Hitler used to put

Star of David The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...

on everybody’s lapel, remember that? Same thing." That same day, he referred to President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

as "

Fidel Fidel most commonly refers to: * Fidel Castro (1926–2016), Cuban communist revolutionary and politician * Fidel Ramos (1928–2022), Filipino politician and former president Fidel may also refer to: Other persons * Fidel (given name) Film * ...

Roosevelt." Raese didn't apologize for his statements on Hitler saying "I am not going to be intimidated by a bunch of bullshit. I'm not apologizing to anybody or any organization. It's my perfect right to make a speech about meaningful subject matters in this country." He also called rocker

Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American rock musician and activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock ...

a "patriot" for criticizing President

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 U ...

Fundraising

Top contributors

Top industries

Predictions

Polling

Results

In spite of the Republicans winning every county in the presidential election, Manchin carried 52 of West Virginia's 55 counties.

References

External links

Elections Division
at the West Virginia secretary of state
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 Sunlight Foundation
Candidate issue positions
at On the Issues ;Official campaign websites
Joe Manchin for U.S. Senate

John Raese for U.S. Senate
{{2012 United States elections

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 ...

2012

Background

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Fundraising

Top contributors

Top industries

Predictions

Polling

Results

See also

References

External links