North Carolina's 8th Congressional District elections, 2012
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November 6, 2012 |
May 8, 2012 |
Richard Hudson  |
Larry Kissell  |
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The 8th Congressional District of North Carolina held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012.
Challenger Richard Hudson (R) defeated incumbent Larry Kissell (D) on November 6th, 2012.[1] This switched partisan control of the district. The political blog Daily Kos did an analysis of the fundraising figures and found Republican challenger Richard Hudson outraised Democratic incumbent Larry Kissell in the third quarter. Hudson raised $512,000 to Kissell's $220,000.[2]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: North Carolina has a closed primary system, meaning only registered members of a particular party may vote in that party's primary.
Voter registration: Voters had to register to vote in the primary by April 13. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 12.[3]
- See also: North Carolina elections, 2012
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Larry Kissell (D), who was first elected to the House in 2008.
This was the first election using district maps based on data from the 2010 Census. North Carolina's 8th Congressional District was located in the southern portion of the state and included Cumberland, Hoke, Scotland, Richmond, Montgomery, Anson, Stanly, Cabarrus, Union, and Mecklenburg counties.[4]
Candidates
Note: Election results were added on election night as races were called. Vote totals were added after official election results had been certified. Click here for more information about Ballotpedia's election coverage plan. Please contact us about errors in this list.
General election candidates
July 17, 2012 Republican Runoff candidates
May 8, 2012, primary results
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Election results
General Election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Larry Kissell Incumbent | 45.4% | 137,139 | |
| Republican |  Richard Hudson |
53.2% | 160,695 | |
| Write-In | N/A | 1.5% | 4,446 | |
| Total Votes | 302,280 | |||
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Democratic Primary
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Larry Kissell |
72.6% | 45,987 |
| Marcus W. Williams | 27.4% | 17,393 |
| Total Votes | 63,380 | |
Republican Primary
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Richard Hudson |
32.1% | 21,451 |
| Scott Keadle | 22% | 14,687 |
| Vernon Robinson | 18.2% | 12,181 |
| Fred F. Steen II | 14.5% | 9,670 |
| John M. Whitley | 13.3% | 8,894 |
| Total Votes | 66,883 | |
Race background
North Carolina's 8th was considered to be a Tossup according to the New York Times race ratings. Democratic incumbent Larry Kissell was challenged by Richard Hudson (R) in one of the most vulnerable Democratic districts. After redistricting, his district strongly favored Republicans.[9]
Republican challenger Richard Hudson has been included in the National Republican Congressional Committee's Young Guns program. The program highlights challengers who represent the GOP's best chances to pick up congressional seats in the general election.[10]
The Washington Post listed the House of Representatives elections in North Carolina in 2012 as one of the states that could have determined whether Democrats retook the House or Republicans held their majority in 2013.[11] North Carolina was rated 8th on the list.[11]
Kissell did not receive the monetary assistance set aside for him from the Democratic Party, while the Republican Party poured money into Hudson's campaign.[12] Despite the fact that the majority of voters in this district were registered democrats, the district has a history of voting republican, and after redistricting the ratio of democrats to Republicans decreased.[12] The disparity of funds and the new political demographic have analysts favoring Hudson in this race, but Kissell has won against long odds in the past: in 2006, he won the primary for the Democratic nomination without the support of the party.[13]
Kissell's voting record caused some rifts in a local chapter of the Democratic Party. Leaders of the Cabarrus County Democratic Party have signed a petition to remove their chairman after she refused to endorse Kissell because of his anti-Obama voting record. Kissell voted to repeal the PPACA (Obamacare), refused to endorse Obama for re-election, and declined to attend the Democratic National Convention.[14]
Hudson's campaign reported that Kissell declined to schedule a final debate between the two candidates, and claimed that he was reluctant to engage in debates throughout his campaign.[15]
Impact of redistricting
- See also: Redistricting in North Carolina
Following the 2010 Census results, North Carolina did not gain or lose any congressional seats, maintaining its 13 representatives. Under the new map, the 8th District swung Republican. While the previous 8th District lines encompassed a voting base going 52 percent for Obama in 2008, the new district would have gone just 42 percent for the Democratic president.[7]
Registration statistics
As of May 11, 2012, District 8 had the following partisan registration breakdown according to the North Carolina Board of Elections:
| North Carolina Congressional District 8[16] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Congressional District | District Total | Democrats | Republicans | Other & Unaffiliated | Advantage | Party Advantage | Change in Advantage from 2010 |
| District 8 | 450,771 | 201,071 | 149,211 | 100,489 | Democratic | 34.76% | -44.23% |
| "Party advantage" is the percentage gap between the two major parties in registered voters. "Change in advantage" is the spread in difference of party advantage between 2010 and 2012 based on the congressional district number only. | |||||||
District partisanship
FairVote's Monopoly Politics 2012 study
- See also: FairVote's Monopoly Politics 2012
In 2012, FairVote did a study on partisanship in the congressional districts, giving each a percentage ranking (D/R) based on the new 2012 maps and comparing that to the old 2010 maps. North Carolina's 8th District became more Republican because of redistricting.[17]
- 2012: 39D / 61R
- 2010: 49D / 51R
Cook Political Report's PVI
In 2012, Cook Political Report released its updated figures on the Partisan Voter Index, which measures each congressional district's partisanship relative to the rest of the country. North Carolina's 8th Congressional District has a PVI of R+12, which is the 91st most Republican district in the country. In 2008, this district was won by John McCain (R), 58-42 percent over Barack Obama (D). In 2004, George W. Bush (R) won the district 63-37 percent over John Kerry (D).[18]
Campaign contributions
The race has attracted $1.9 million in satellite spending since Labor Day. All of it has been spent on Republican Richard Hudson.[19]
Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2012 elections season. Below are candidate reports.
Larry Kissell
| Larry Kissell (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[20] | April 15, 2012 | $351,835.40 | $179,430.53 | $(67,301.13) | $463,964.80 | ||||
| Pre-primary[21] | April 26, 202 | $463,964.80 | $13,745.56 | $(44,892.90) | $432,817.46 | ||||
| July Quarterly[22] | July 15, 2012 | $432,817.46 | $252,508.34 | $(76,740.83) | $0 | ||||
| October Quarterly[23] | October 15, 2012 | $608,584.97 | $222,939.23 | $(270,537.98) | $560,986.22 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $668,623.66 | $(459,472.84) | ||||||||
Richard Hudson
| Richard Hudson (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[24] | April 15, 2012 | $238,345.6 | $216,373.24 | $(109,645.96) | $345,072.88 | ||||
| Pre-primary[25] | April 26, 2012 | $345,072.88 | $345,072.88 | $(125,152.53) | $235,866.47 | ||||
| Pre-runoff[26] | July 5, 2012 | $235,866.47 | $238,636.91 | $(300,573.72) | $173,929.66 | ||||
| October Quarterly[27] | October 15, 2012 | $173,929.66 | $513,002.96 | $(331,960.54) | $354,972.08 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $1,313,085.99 | $(867,332.75) | ||||||||
District history
| Candidate ballot access |
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See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina, 2012
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
Footnotes
- ↑ Politico, "2012 Election Map, North Carolina," accessed November 7, 2012
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Third quarter House fundraising: who's got the cash?" October 18, 2012
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Registering to Vote in North Carolina," accessed July 26, 2012
- ↑ North Carolina Redistricting Map, "Map" accessed August 24, 2012
- ↑ Coshocton Tribune "GOP candidates Hudson, Keadle face runoff," May 8, 2012
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Charlotte Observer "8th District GOP field grows," accessed December 26, 2011
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Roll Call, "Race Ratings: GOP looks for major gains in North Carolina," accessed December 26, 2011
- ↑ Salisbury Post "Steen makes it official as Republican field taking on Kissell Grows," accessed December 26, 2011
- ↑ New York Times, "House Race Ratings," accessed August 10, 2012
- ↑ NRCC "Young Guns 2012"
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Washington Post, "The 10 states that will determine control of the House in 2012," accessed April 25, 2012
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Fay Observer, "Rep. Larry Kissell faces fight from Richard Hudson in Congressional District 8" accessed October 17, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ Charlotte Observer, "Robert Pittenger's $3 million dwarfs rival war chests" accessed October 17, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ Independent Tribune, "Cabarrus Democratic leaders move to oust party chair" accessed October 17, 2012
- ↑ Fay Observer, "U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell won't commit to debate against challenger Richard Hudson" accessed October 17, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "US Congressional Districts by County and Precinct," May 11, 2012
- ↑ "2011 Redistricting and 2012 Elections in North Carolina," September 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Partisan Voting Index Districts of the 113th Congress: 2004 & 2008" accessed October 2012
- ↑ The New York Times, "Outside Spending in Key House Races," October 25, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Larry Kissell April Quarterly," accessed August 19, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Larry Kissell Pre-primary," accessed October 17, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Larry Kissell July Quarterly," accessed August 19, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Larry Kissell October Quarterly," accessed October 17, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Richard Hudson April Quarterly," accessed August 19, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Richard Hudson Pre-primary," accessed October 17, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Richard Hudson Pre-runoff" accessed October 17, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Richard Hudson October Quarterly" accessed October 17, 2012
