The 2012 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 6, 2012, along with 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 ...

the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

in additional states. Incumbent Republican U.S. senator

Kay Bailey Hutchison Kay Bailey Hutchison (born Kathryn Ann Bailey; July 22, 1943) is an American attorney, television correspondent, politician, diplomat, and was the 22nd United States Permanent Representative to NATO from 2017 until 2021. A member of the Republic ...

decided to retire instead of running for reelection to a fourth full term. This was the first open election for this seat since

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

John Jay Myers was elected by nomination at the Texas Libertarian Party State Convention on June 8, 2012. After the first round of primary voting on May 29, 2012, a runoff was held on July 31, 2012, for both the Democratic Party and Republican Party. Former state representative Paul Sadler and former state solicitor general

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...

respectively won the Democratic and Republican runoffs; Cruz won the general election by a wide margin.

Background

In an interview with ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. Founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, ''Texas Monthly'' chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the Natura ...

'' published in December 2007, incumbent U.S. senator

stated that she would not seek reelection and might also resign from the Senate as early as 2009 to run for

Governor of Texas The governor of Texas is the head of state of the U.S. state of Texas. The governor is the head of the executive branch of the government of Texas and is the commander-in-chief of the Texas Military Forces. Established in the Constit ...

. After the 2008 elections, Hutchison formed an exploratory committee to run for the governorship 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 ...

. State Republican Party Chairman Cathie Adams later called upon Hutchison to clarify when she would vacate the Senate so that other Republican candidates could make preparations to run. On December 4, 2008, Hutchison set up an exploratory committee, setting up a primary battle with incumbent Republican governor

Rick Perry James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 in the first administration of Donald Trump. He previously served as the 47th governor of Texas fr ...

. Fellow Texas U.S. senator and

National Republican Senatorial Committee The National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC) is the Republican Hill committee for the United States Senate, working to elect Republicans to the Senate. The NRSC was founded in 1916 as the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. It was reor ...

Chairman

John Cornyn John Cornyn III ( ; born February 2, 1952) is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Texas, a seat he has held since 2002. ...

tried to convince Hutchison to stay in the Senate, for fear of losing the seat to the Democrats. On January 15, 2009, Hutchison transferred nearly all the money, approximately $8 million, from her federal campaign account to her gubernatorial exploratory committee. On November 13, 2009, Hutchison announced that she would not resign from the Senate seat until after the primary on March 2, 2010. Hutchison lost the gubernatorial primary to Perry and on March 31, 2010, she announced her intention to serve out her third term. On January 13, 2011, after some discussion about whether she would change her mind, Hutchison announced she would not seek re-election in 2012.

Requirements for nomination

Texas requires a majority for nomination, as well as a second round runoff between the two candidates with the two highest pluralities if none win a majority on the first round. No candidate won a majority in either 2012 major party first round primary, so both parties had a runoff on July 31, 2012.

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

* Glenn Addison, funeral home owner * Joe Agris, plastic surgeon * Curt Cleaver, owner of a hotel sales, consulting, and management company *

, former State Solicitor General * David Dewhurst, Texas

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 ...

* Ben Gambini * Charles Holcomb, retired judge from the

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) is the court of last resort for all criminal matters in Texas. The Court, which is based in the Supreme Court Building in Downtown Austin, is composed of a presiding judge and eight judges. Article V ...

* Craig James, sports commentator and former professional football player * Tom Leppert, former

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

* Lela Pittenger, mediator

Withdrew

* Elizabeth Ames Jones, Texas Railroad Commissioner (withdrew to run for state senate) * Florence Shapiro, Texas

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

(dropped out) * Michael Williams, former Texas Railroad Commissioner (withdrew to run for U.S. House) *

Roger Williams Roger Williams (March 1683) was an English-born New England minister, theologian, author, and founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Pl ...

, former Texas Secretary of State (withdrew to run for U.S. House)

Declined

, incumbent U.S. senator * Robert Paul, doctor and son of

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977, and again from 1979 to 1985, as well as for Texas' ...

, U.S. representative (running for president) * Dan Patrick, Texas

Endorsements

Polling

* Commissioned by David Dewhurst With Dan Patrick * Commissioned by Dan Patrick

Results

Runoff

Polling

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Filed

* Addie Allen, disaster assistance employee for the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...

* Sean Hubbard, businessman * Paul Sadler, attorney and former state Representative * Grady Yarbrough, retired teacher

Withdrew

* Daniel Boone, retired Air Force Colonel (withdrew to run for 21st U.S. congressional district in Texas; lost in Democratic primary) * Jason Gibson, president of the Houston Trial Lawyers Association (filed, but dropped out in February 2012) *

Ricardo Sanchez Ricardo Sanchez (born September 9, 1953) is a former lieutenant general in the United States Army. Early life and education Sánchez was born into a Mexican American family in Rio Grande City, Texas. He spent one year at the University of Tex ...

, former

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

(dropped out)

Declined

Julian Castro Julián Castro ( , ; born September 16, 1974) is an American lawyer and politician from San Antonio, Texas. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the youngest member of President Obama's cabinet, serving as the 16th United States secretar ...

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

* Adrian Garcia, Harris County sheriff *

Ron Kirk Ronald Kirk (born June 27, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Trade Representative from 2009 to 2013, as the 97th secretary of state of Texas, and as the 56th mayor of Dallas from 1995 to 2002. He is a me ...

, U.S. trade representative and former

Nick Lampson Nicholas Valentino Lampson (born February 14, 1945) is an American politician who is a former Democratic Congressman representing the 22nd Congressional District and the 9th Congressional District of Texas. Early life, education, and early p ...

, former U.S. representative * John Sharp, former Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts *

Leticia Van de Putte Leticia Rosa Magdalena Aguilar Van de Putte ( San Miguel; born December 6, 1954) is an American politician from San Antonio, Texas. She represented the 26th District in the Texas Senate from 1999–2015. From 1991 to 1999, Van de Putte was a me ...

, Texas

* Bill White, former

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, originally announced that he would be running for the seat when it is vacated by Hutchison. On December 4, 2009, White announced that he was running for governor instead. After receiving the Democratic nomination for governor and losing the general election, White declared on November 15, 2010, that he would not run for the U.S. Senate in 2012.

Polling

Results

Runoff

Libertarian Party nomination

The Libertarian Party was qualified for the ballot (based on its 2010 performance at the polls). The Texas Libertarian Party nominated John Jay Myers as its Senate candidate, using

approval voting Approval voting is a single-winner rated voting system where voters can approve of all the candidates as they like instead of Plurality voting, choosing one. The method is designed to eliminate vote-splitting while keeping election administration ...

on June 9 at the state convention in Fort Worth. The nominating process followed a two-round debate featuring six candidates for the nomination.

Candidates

* Robert Butler * Wayne Huffman * Scott Jameson * John Jay Myers, restaurant owner * S. Ropal Raju * Jon Roland

Results

Green Party nomination

The Green Party of Texas reported two candidates pre-selected at the June 9 convention: David B. Collins and Victoria Ann Zabaras. Collins was ultimately nominated
official blog
.

General election

Candidates

, (Republican) former state solicitor general * Paul Sadler, (Democratic) former state representative * John Jay Myers, (Libertarian) restaurant owner * David Collins (Green), IT service desk analyst * Chris Tina Bruce (independent) * Mike Champion (independent)

Debates

Complete video of debate
October 2, 2012 -

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

Complete video of debate
October 19, 2012 -

Fundraising

Top contributors

Top industries

Predictions

Polling

with David Dewhurst with Julian Castro with Chet Edwards with Sean Hubbard with Tommy Lee Jones with Paul Sadler with Ricardo Sanchez with John Sharp with Bill White Republican primary (when asked specifically, if Dewhurst were not running)

Results

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Bexar (largest city:

) *

Cameron Cameron may refer to: People * Clan Cameron, a Scottish clan * Cameron (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Cameron (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) ;Mononym * Cam'ron (born 19 ...

(largest community: Brownsville) * Jefferson (largest city: Beaumont) * Frio (largest municipality: Pearsall) * Kleberg (largest municipality: Kingsville) * La Salle (largest municipality: Cotulla) * Val Verde (largest municipality: Del Rio) * Culberson (largest municipality: Van Horn) *

(largest city:

)

By congressional district

Cruz won 25 of 36 congressional districts, including one that elected a Democrat.

Notes

References

External links

Elections Division
from the Texas Secretary of State
Campaign contributions
at

OpenSecrets 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 an ...

Outside spending
at

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 websites (Archived)
Ted Cruz

Paul Sadler

John Jay Myers

Tom Leppert

Lela Pittenger

Craig James

David Dewhurst

Glenn Addison

Stanley Garza

Sean Hubbard
{{Elections in Texas footer

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

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 ...

Ted Cruz

Background

Requirements for nomination

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Withdrew

Declined

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Runoff

Polling

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Filed

Withdrew

Declined

Polling

Results

Runoff

Libertarian Party nomination

Candidates

Results

Green Party nomination

General election

Candidates

Debates

Fundraising

Top contributors

Top industries

Predictions

Polling

Results

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

By congressional district

See also

Notes

References

External links