The 2012 United States Senate election in California took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the
2012 U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
and
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
and various state and local elections.
The primary election on June 5 took place under California's new blanket primary law, where all candidates appear on the same ballot, regardless of party. In the primary, voters voted for any candidate listed, or write-in any other candidate. The top two finishers—regardless of party—advanced to the general election in November, even if a candidate managed to receive a majority of the votes cast in the June primary. In the primary, less than 15% of the total 2010 census population voted. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Emiel Feinstein (; June 22, 1933 – September 29, 2023) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from California from 1992 until her death in 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the 38th ...
announced her intention to run for a fourth full term in April 2011 and finished first in the blanket primary with 49.5% of the vote. The second-place finisher was Republican candidate and autism activist Elizabeth Emken, who won 12.7% of the vote.
Feinstein ultimately defeated Emken in the general election on November 6, winning 62.5% of the vote to Emken's 37.5%. Feinstein's total of 7.86 million popular votes was the most ever received by a candidate for U.S. Senate in American history until
Adam Schiff
Adam Bennett Schiff (born June 22, 1960) is an American lawyer, author, and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from California, a seat he has held since 2024. A m ...
won the same seat with over 9 million votes in
2024
The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
. For a full decade, Emken was the only Republican candidate to have advanced to a general U.S. Senate election in California, as only Democratic candidates advanced to the general election in
2016
2016 was designated as:
* International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly.
* International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
and
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
; however, this streak was broken 10 years later in
2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
.
Primary
Candidates
Democratic Party
*
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Emiel Feinstein (; June 22, 1933 – September 29, 2023) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from California from 1992 until her death in 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the 38th ...
, incumbent U.S. senator
* Colleen Shea Fernald
* David Levitt, computer scientist and engineer
* Nak Shah, environmental health consultant
* Diane Stewart, businesswoman
* Mike Strimling, attorney and former U.S. Peace Corps legal adviser
Republican Party
* John Boruff, businessman
* Oscar Alejandro Braun, businessman and rancher
* Greg Conlon, businessman and
CPA
* Elizabeth Emken, candidate for the
11th congressional district in
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
[
]
* Rogelio Gloria, U.S. Naval Officer
* Dan Hughes, businessman
* Dennis Jackson
* Dirk Konopik, former congressional aide
[
* Donald Krampe
* Robert Lauten
* Al Ramirez, businessman
* Nachum Shifren, rabbi and state senate candidate in ]2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
* Orly Taitz
Orly Taitz (; born August 30, 1960) is an Israeli-American political conspiracy theorist and political candidate. A dentist, lawyer, and former real estate agent, Taitz was a figure in the "birther" movement, which promoted the conspiracy the ...
, dentist, Birther movement
During Barack Obama's campaign for president in 2008, throughout his presidency and afterwards, there was extensive news coverage of Obama's religious preference, birthplace, and of the individuals questioning his religious belief and citiz ...
activist and candidate for California Secretary of State in 2010
* Rick Williams, business attorney
Libertarian
* Gail Lightfoot, retired nurse
Peace and Freedom
* Kabiruddin Karim Ali, businessman
* Marsha Feinland
Marsha Feinland (born May 21, 1949) is an American activist and politician. Feinland was a third-party candidate (Peace and Freedom Party) for President of the United States in the 1996 U.S. presidential election. Her running mate was Kate McCla ...
, retired teacher
American Independent
* Don J. Grundmann, chiropractor
Despite Don J. Grundmann running, the American Independent Party gave their party endorsement to Republican Robert Lauten.
Polling
Results
Election contest
In July 2012, Taitz sued to block the certification of the primary election results, alleging "rampant election fraud", but her suit was denied.
General election
Fundraising
Top contributors
Top industries
Candidates
* Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Emiel Feinstein (; June 22, 1933 – September 29, 2023) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from California from 1992 until her death in 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the 38th ...
(D), incumbent U.S. Senator
* Elizabeth Emken (R), former Vice President of Autism Speaks
Debates
No debates were scheduled. Senator Feinstein decided to focus on her own campaign rather than debate her challenger.
Predictions
Polling
Results
By county
;Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
* Butte
In geomorphology, a butte ( ) is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from the French l ...
(largest city: Chico)
* Del Norte (largest community: Crescent City)
* Trinity
The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...
(largest community: Weaverville)
By congressional district
Feinstein won 41 of the 53 congressional districts, including three held by Republicans.
See also
* 2012 United States Senate elections
The 2012 United States Senate elections were held on November 6, 2012, with 33 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate, Senate, all Classes of United States senators, Class 1 seats, being contested in regular elections whose winners would ...
*
References
External links
Elections
at Secretary of State of California
The secretary of state of California is the chief clerk of the U.S. state of California, overseeing a department of 500 people. The secretary of state is elected for four year terms, like the state's other constitutional officers; the officeho ...
Campaign contributions
at OpenSecrets.org
OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying, including a revolving door database which documents the individuals who have worked in both the public sector and ...
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
On the Issues or OnTheIssues is an American non-partisan, non-profit organization providing information to American voters on American candidates, primarily via their website. The organization was started in 1996, went non-profit in 2000, and is ...
Official campaign sites (Archived)
Elizabeth Emken for Senate
Dianne Feinstein for Senate
{{California elections
2012
2012 was designated as:
*International Year of Cooperatives
*International Year of Sustainable Energy for All
Events January
*January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins.
* January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
Dianne Feinstein