2012 Arizona elections

2012 Arizona elections
November 6, 2012

A general election was held in the U.S. state of Arizona on November 6, 2012. Along with the presidential election, a Class I U.S. Senate seat, nine seats in the United States House of Representatives and several statewide and local offices were up for election. Primary elections were held on August 28, 2012.[1]

President of the United States

Republican nominee Mitt Romney won Arizona by defeating Democratic incumbent Barack Obama and gained eleven electoral votes.

United States Senate

Incumbent Republican senator and Senate minority whip Jon Kyl decided not to seek a fourth term, thus creating an open seat. Republican U.S. representative Jeff Flake won the election by narrowly defeating Democratic nominee and former surgeon general of the United States Richard Carmona.

United States House of Representatives

June special election

A special election was held in the 8th congressional district to replace Gabby Giffords. Democrat Ron Barber won the election by defeating Republican Jesse Kelly.

November general election

Following the 2010 United States census, Arizona gained one electoral vote, thus bringing the total number of congressional districts in the state to nine.

Party Candidates Votes Seats
No. % No. +/– %
Republican 8 1,131,663 52.07 4 Decrease 1 44.44
Democratic 9 946,994 43.57 5 Increase 2 55.56
Libertarian 7 82,282 3.79 0 Steady 0.0
Americans Elect 2 6,740 0.31 0 Steady 0.0
Green 1 5,637 0.26 0 Steady 0.0
Write-in 1 1 0.00 0 Steady 0.0
Total 28 2,173,317 100.0 9 Increase 1 100.0
Popular vote
Republican
 
 52.07%
Democratic
 
 43.57%
Libertarian
 
 3.79%
Americans Elect
 
 0.31%
Green
 
 0.26%
Other
 
 0.00%
House seats
Democratic
 
 55.56%
Republican
 
 44.44%

Corporation Commission

2012 Arizona Corporation Commission election
November 6, 2012
 
Nominee Bob Stump Bob Burns Susan Bitter Smith
Party Republican Republican Republican
Popular vote 979,034 943,157 935,573
Percentage 17.47% 16.83% 16.69%
 
Nominee Paul Newman Sandra Kennedy Marcia Busching
Party Democratic Democratic Democratic
Popular vote 868,726 862,876 776,472
Percentage 15.50% 15.39% 13.85%
Commissioners before election

Paul Newman (D)
Sandra Kennedy (D)
Bob Stump (R)

 Elected Commissioners

Bob Stump (R)
Bob Burns (R)
Susan Bitter Smith (R)

Three of the five seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission were up for election. Democratic incumbents Paul Newman and Sandra Kennedy and Republican incumbent Bob Stump all ran for re-election. Both Newman and Kennedy were ousted as Republicans swept all three seats.[2]

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bob Stump (incumbent) 349,966 35.02%
Republican Susan Bitter Smith 330,147 33.04%
Republican Bob Burns 319,151 31.94%
Total votes 999,264 100%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sandra Kennedy (incumbent) 232,403 36.57%
Democratic Paul Newman (incumbent) 209,094 32.91%
Democratic Marcia Busching 193,947 30.52%
Total votes 635,444 100%

Third party candidates

General election

Debate

2012 Arizona Corporation Commission election debate[6]
Date Host Moderator
October 2, 2012 Arizona PBS Ted Simons
Key:
 P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
Republican Democratic Green Libertarian
Bob Stump Bob Burns Susan Bitter Smith Paul Newman Sandra Kennedy Marcia Busching Thomas Meadows Daniel Pout Christopher Gohl
P P P P P P P P P
Link: YouTube

Results

Arizona Corporation Commission election, 2012[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bob Stump (incumbent) 979,034 17.47%
Republican Bob Burns 943,157 16.83%
Republican Susan Bitter Smith 935,573 16.69%
Democratic Paul Newman (incumbent) 868,726 15.50%
Democratic Sandra Kennedy (incumbent) 862,876 15.39%
Democratic Marcia Busching 776,472 13.85%
Libertarian Christopher Gohl 112,490 2.01%
Green Thomas Meadows 67,950 1.21%
Green Daniel Pout 58,607 1.05%
Total votes 5,604,885 100%
Republican hold
Republican gain from Democratic
Republican gain from Democratic

State Legislature

All 30 members of the Arizona Senate and all 60 members of the Arizona House of Representatives were up for election. Democrats flipped multiple seats in both chambers.

Supreme Court

Results by county
Yes:
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%

One seat on the Arizona Supreme Court was up for retention. Justice John Pelander was appointed by Governor Jan Brewer in 2009 to succeed retiring justice Ruth McGregor.[8]

Justice Pelander retention, 2012
ChoiceVotes%
For1,070,83873.95
Against377,25926.05
Total1,448,097100.00
Source: Arizona Secretary of State[7]

Ballot propositions

Arizona had nine statewide propositions on the ballot in 2012.[9]

2012 Arizona ballot propositions
No. Description Votes Type
Yes % No %
114 Prohibits felony crime victims from having to pay damages.[10] 1,664,473 79.95 417,431 20.05 Legislatively referred constitutional amendment
115 Increases term lengths and retirement age for the judiciary and requires superior courts to publish decisions online.[11] 553,132 27.66 1,446,970 72.34
116 Establishes the tax exemption amount for business equipment to be equal to the combined earnings of 50 workers.[12] 852,981 43.92 1,089,294 56.08
117 Sets a 5% annual cap on increases in property values used to determine property taxes and establish a single limited property value as the basis for calculating all property taxes on real property.[13] 1,132,766 56.67 866,249 43.33
118 Adjusts the distribution formula for the State Land Trust Permanent Endowment Fund.[14] 950,938 50.52 931,238 49.48
119 Authorizes the exchange of state trust lands for protecting military facilities or improving land management.[15] 1,194,594 61.94 733,907 38.06
120 Declares Arizona's sovereignty over public lands and all natural resources within its boundaries, excluding Indian reservations, federal property, or land ceded by the state.[16] 623,461 32.27 1,308,299 67.73
121 Establishes a top-two system for primary elections.[17] 662,366 33.07 1,340,286 66.93 Citizen-initiated constitutional amendment
204 Permanently increases the state sales tax by one cent per dollar.[18] 768,422 36.22 1,353,212 63.78 Citizen-initiated state statute
Source: Arizona Secretary of State[7]
Results by county
Proposition 114 results by county
Yes:
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
Proposition 115 results by county
No:
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
Proposition 116 results by county
No:
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
Proposition 117 results by county
Yes:
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
No:
  •   50–60%
Proposition 118 results by county
Yes:
  •   50–60%
No:
  •   50–60%
Proposition 119 results by county
Yes:
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
No:
  •   50–60%
Proposition 120 results by county
No:
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
Proposition 121 results by county
No:
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
Proposition 204 results by county
No:
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%

References

  1. ↑ "Arizona elections, 2012". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  2. ↑ Randazzo, Ryan (November 7, 2012). "Democrats ousted from utilities commission as GOP wins 3 seats". The Arizona Republic. Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 O'Grady, Patrick (January 10, 2012). "Campaign season starts early for Arizona Corporation Commission". Phoenix Business Journal. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Primary Election Results" (PDF). Arizona Secretary of State. September 10, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 Bevis, Mark; Fischer, Howard (October 5, 2012). "A Primer and a Debate on the Corporation Commission". KNAU. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  6. ↑ Fischer, Howard (October 1, 2012). "Debate shows how corporation commission candidates differ on solar, renewable energy issues". East Valley Tribune. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 "Official Election Canvass of Results" (PDF). Arizona Secretary of State. December 3, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  8. ↑ Fischer, Howard; Smith, Kim (July 29, 2009). "Longtime Tucsonan named to state's high court". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Arizona 2012 ballot measures". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Arizona Proposition 114, Crime Victim Protection Amendment (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Arizona Proposition 115, Judicial Terms, Retirement Age, Commission Membership, and Court Decisions Amendment (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  12. ↑ "Arizona Proposition 116, Tax Exemptions for Business Equipment Amendment (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Arizona Proposition 117, Property Tax Increase Cap Amendment (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Arizona Proposition 118, State Land Trust Permanent Endowment Fund Amendment (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Arizona Proposition 119, State Trust Land Amendment (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Arizona Proposition 120, Declare State's Sovereignty Over Public Lands and Natural Resources Amendment (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Arizona Proposition 121, Top-Two Primary Elections Initiative (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Arizona Proposition 204, Sales Tax Increase Initiative (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
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