The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Arkansas occurred on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the four

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 four

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

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 ...

. As the result of

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

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 boundaries of the state's congressional districts have been redrawn.

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 ...

Mike Beebe Mickey Dale Beebe ( ; born December 28, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 45th governor of Arkansas from 2007 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Born in Amagon, Arkansas, Beebe is a graduate of Arkansa ...

, who signed the new map into law in April 2011, described it as the "

status quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...

" and not

partisan Partisan may refer to: Military * Partisan (weapon), a pole weapon * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line Films * ''Partisan'' (film), a 2015 Australian film * ''Hell River'', a 1974 Yugoslavian film also know ...

. In the new map, five

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

are split between districts, the first time in

Arkansas history The history of Arkansas began millennia ago when humans first crossed into North America. Many tribes used Arkansas as their hunting lands but the main tribe was the Quapaw, who settled in the Arkansas River delta upon moving south from Illinoi ...

that counties have not been kept intact in congressional districts.

Overview

Statewide

The table below shows the total number and percentage of votes, as well as the number of seats gained and lost by each political party in the election for the United States House of Representatives in Arkansas.

By district

Results of the 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Arkansas by district:

District 1

The 1st district had lost population, and so was drawn in the new map to incorporate counties in southeastern Arkansas which were previously a part of the 4th district.

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 ...

incumbent Rick Crawford was first elected 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 ...

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Rick Crawford, incumbent U.S. Representative

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *Scott Ellington,

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...

=Eliminated in primary

= * Clark Hall,

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 ...

*Gary Latanich, professor of economics at

Arkansas State University Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage la ...

Declined

Paul Bookout Paul Jerry Bookout (born June 30, 1962) is an American politician who served as the President pro tempore of the Arkansas Senate from 2011 to 2013, when he resigned from office. A member of the Democratic Party of Arkansas, Democratic Party, Boo ...

president pro tempore 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". ...

of the

Arkansas Senate The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 83,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have ...

; *L. J. Bryant, business owner and nominee for Land Commissioner in

* Chad Causey, former

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

to U.S. Representative Marion Berry and nominee for this seat in

David Cook David Cook may refer to: Entertainment * David Cook (game designer) (active since 1980s), American game designer for TSR * David Cook (singer) (born 1982), winner of the seventh season of ''American Idol'' * David Cook (writer) (1940–2015), Briti ...

, former

and candidate for this seat in

Keith Ingram Keith M. Ingram (born April 12, 1955) is an American politician from the state of Arkansas. A member of the Democratic Party, Ingram represents the 24th district in the Arkansas Senate, of which he is the Minority Leader. Ingram's district includ ...

* Robert S. Moore Jr., Speaker of the state house of representatives; *Steve Rockwell, businessman (who had considered running in 2010) *

Robert F. Thompson Robert F. Thompson (born June 19, 1971) is a former Democratic member of the Arkansas Senate. He represented the 11th District of Arkansas from 2007 to 2013. After senate districts were reorganized, he went on to represent District 20 from 2013 ...

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 ...

Endorsements

Polling

Primary results

Green primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *Jacob Holloway, graduate student at

Libertarian primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *Jessica Paxton, wife of Libertarian Party of Arkansas chairman Rodger Paxton

General election

Endorsements

Polling

Predictions

Results

District 2

Population growth in Arkansas's central counties meant that the 2nd district had to shrink in the new map. Under the new map, the 2nd district is likely to continue to favor Republicans. Republican incumbent

Timothy Griffin John Timothy Griffin (born August 21, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 20th lieutenant governor of Arkansas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the United States Attorney for the Eastern Dis ...

was first elected in

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

Tim Griffin John Timothy Griffin (born August 21, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 20th lieutenant governor of Arkansas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the United States Attorney for the Eastern Dist ...

, incumbent U.S. Representative

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Herb Rule, attorney and former state representative

Declined

*David Boling, former

to U.S. Representative

Vic Snyder Victor Frederick "Vic" Snyder (born September 27, 1947) is an American physician, lawyer, and politician who was the U.S. representative for from 1997 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He served in the United States Marine Corps ...

and candidate for this seat in

*Bob Edwards, attorney (who had considered running in 2010) *

John Charles Edwards John Charles Edwards is a former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Edwards was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas and grew up in rural Lonoke County, Arkansas. Career Edwards served as an aide t ...

, state representative *Drew Pritt, political consultant *

Bill Halter William A. Halter Jr (born November 30, 1960) is an American politician who served as the 18th lieutenant governor of Arkansas from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to succeed the late Republican Winthrop Paul Rocke ...

, former

Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas The lieutenant governor of Arkansas presides over the Arkansas Senate with a Casting vote, tie-breaking vote, serves as acting governor of Arkansas when the governor is out of state and assumes the governorship in cases of impeachment, removal from ...

and candidate for Senate in

Pat Hays Patrick Henry Hays (born January 8, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician from the state of Arkansas. A member of the Democratic Party, Hays served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1987 to 1989 and as the mayor of North Litt ...

, Mayor of

North Little Rock North Little Rock is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, across the Arkansas from Little Rock in the central part of the state. The population was 64,591 at the 2020 census. In 2019 the estimated population was 65,903, making it the seventh-mo ...

; * David Johnson,

* Jay Martin, lawyer and former

* Tracy Steele, state representative *

Robbie Wills Robert D. Wills, Jr. (born May 27, 1968) is an American attorney and former politician residing in Conway, Arkansas. He is the former Speaker of the House of the Arkansas House of Representatives and former State Representative representing House ...

, former speaker of the state House of Representatives and candidate for this seat in

Libertarian primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *Chris Hayes

General election

Endorsements

Results

District 3

Population growth in Arkansas's northwestern counties meant that the 3rd district had to shrink in the new map. Under the new map, the 3rd district is likely to continue to favor Republicans. Republican incumbent

Steve Womack Stephen Allen Womack ( ; born February 18, 1957) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2011. The district, which was once represented by future Senator J. William Fulbright, covers much of northwestern Arkansas, ...

was first elected in

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *Ken Aden, former director for

West Memphis West Memphis is the largest city in Crittenden County, Arkansas, Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 26,245 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, ranking it as the state's 18th largest city, behind Bella Vista, ...

-based nonprofit Residents 4 Arkansas

Green primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Rebekah Kennedy, nominee for Senate 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; ...

and for state Attorney General in

Libertarian primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *David Pangrac, Libertarian Party of Arkansas Vice Chairman

General election

Campaign

Aden would withdraw from the race after admitting to exaggerating his military record. Under Arkansas law, the Democratic Party was unable to field a replacement candidate for Aden and no Democrat appeared on the general election ballot. On August 14, 2012, Kennedy received the endorsement of the Arkansas state AFL-CIO labor union.

Endorsements

Results

District 4

Under the new map, the 4th district loses some territory in the east of the state to the 1st district and gains some Republican-leaning northwestern Arkansas counties from the 3rd district. The district also gains Yell County from the 2nd district, which is expected to make the 4th district more favorable to Democrats. Democratic incumbent Mike Ross, who was first elected in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, chose not to seek re-election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Gene Jeffress,

=Eliminated in primary

= *D.C. Morrison, businessman and candidate for Senate in

* Q. Byrum Hurst Jr., attorney and small business owner

=Declined

= *Robin Carroll, prosecutor and former legal counsel to the Democratic Party; *

Conner Eldridge William Conner Eldridge Jr. (born September 9, 1977) is an American lawyer and politician who served as United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas. He is a member of the Democratic Party and was his party's nominee for the 2016 ...

U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas The United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas (in case citations, W.D. Ark.) is a federal court in the Eighth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appeale ...

* Steve Faris, former state senator *Greg Hale, consultant for The Markham Group; * Steve Harrelson, state senator * Mike Hathorn, former

and candidate for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

*Carlton Jones, prosecutor from Texarkana *Chris Masingill, head of the

Delta Regional Authority The Delta Regional Authority (DRA) is a Federal-State partnership whose mission it is to improve the quality of life for the residents of the Mississippi Delta. The Delta Regional Authority serves 252 counties and parishes in parts of eight state ...

and a former staff member for Ross and

Bruce Maloch Bruce Maloch ( ; born June 29, 1957) is an attorney and politician in South Arkansas. Education and personal life Maloch was raised on a farm near Emerson, Arkansas. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Agricultural Business fro ...

, state representative *

Gregg Reep Gregg may refer to: Places * Gregg, California, United States, an unincorporated community * Gregg, Missouri, United States, an unincorporated community * Gregg County, Texas, United States * Gregg River, Alberta, Canada * Gregg Seamount, Atlantic ...

, state representative * Mike Ross, incumbent U.S. Representative * Larry Teague, state senator * Chris Thomason, former state representative and chancellor of the

University of Arkansas Community College at Hope The University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana (UAHT) is a public community college in Hope and Texarkana, Arkansas. It is affiliated with the University of Arkansas System as a result a merger by act of the Arkansas Legislature in 1995 and is accre ...

*Jeff Weaver, district director for Mike Ross * Hank Wilkins, state representative

Polling

Primary results

Primary runoff results

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

Tom Cotton Thomas Bryant Cotton (born May 13, 1977) is an American politician, attorney, and former military officer serving as the junior United States senator for Arkansas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the U.S. House of R ...

, consultant and Army reservist

=Eliminated in primary

= *John Cowart,

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

and currently serving

U.S. Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned pe ...

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

*Beth Anne Rankin, teacher, former

Miss Arkansas The Miss Arkansas competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Arkansas in the Miss America pageant. Arkansas has won the Miss America title three times (1964, 1982, 2017). Ebony Mitchell of Harrison was crowned Mi ...

& nominee for this seat in

Withdrew

*Marcus Richmond, business owner and retired

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

Polling

Primary results

Green primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *J. Joshua Drake

Libertarian primary

Bobby Tullis had considered seeking

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

nomination for the seat; however in December 2011 Tullis gave his support to Republican candidate Beth Anne Rankin; nevertheless, he was subsequently nominated as the Libertarian candidate.

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

Bobby Tullis Robert Wayne Tullis (born 1950/51) is an American politician of the Libertarian Party. He is a former mayor of Mineral Springs, Arkansas, serving from 2015 to 2019, and a former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, serving from 1979 u ...

, former Democratic state representative and unsuccessful

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 ...

nominee for

state treasurer In the state governments of the United States, 48 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the position in 1926; duties were transferred to New York State Comptroller. Texas abolished the position of Texas ...

General election

Endorsements

Predictions

Results

References

External links

Elections Division
from the Arkansas Secretary of State
United States House of Representatives elections in Arkansas, 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
at

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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 ...

{{2012 United States elections

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

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 ...

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 ...