Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

's 2012 general elections were held on November 6, 2012. Primary elections were held on June 12, 2012.

Federal

Presidential

Nevada voters will choose 6 representatives to the

Electoral College An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...

who will vote for the president and vice-president of the United States. Candidates with ballot access are

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

(Democrat),

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

Paul Ryan Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member of the ...

(Republican),

Gary Johnson Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 29th List of governors of New Mexico, governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republica ...

/ Jim Gray (Libertarian),

Virgil Goode Virgil Hamlin Goode Jr. ( born October 17, 1946) is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 5th congressional district of Virginia from 1997 to 2009. He was initially a Democrat, but beca ...

(independent).

Senate

Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator

Dean Heller Dean Arthur Heller (born May 10, 1960) is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator representing Nevada from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 15th secretary of state of Nevada ...

, who was first appointed to the position in May 2011, is seeking a full term. His challenger is Democratic U.S. Representative

Shelley Berkley Shelley Berkley (née Rochelle Levine; born January 20, 1951) is an American businesswoman, politician and attorney who has served as Mayor of Las Vegas, mayor of Las Vegas since 2024. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ...

House of Representatives

All four Congressional seats are up for election. The Nevada House delegation currently consists of 2 Republicans and 1 Democrat. The fourth seat was created from

reapportionment Apportionment is the process by which seats in a legislative body are distributed among administrative divisions, such as states or parties, entitled to representation. This page presents the general principles and issues related to apportionment ...

following the 2010 United States census. Candidates with ballot access are

(Democrat),

(Republican),

/ Jim Gray (Libertarian),

(independent).

State

Legislature

Senate

12 out of the 21 seats in the

Nevada Senate The Nevada Senate is the upper house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of U.S. state of Nevada, the lower house being the Nevada Assembly. It currently (2012–2021) consists of 21 members from single-member districts. In the pr ...

are up for election. The state Senate currently consists of 10 Democrats, 9 Republicans, and 2 vacancies. Open seats
District 1 (old

Clark Clark is an English language surname with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland, ultimately derived from the Latin ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educated ...

1): Democratic incumbent

John Jay Lee John Jay Lee (born August 20, 1955) is an American entrepreneur and politician who served as mayor of North Las Vegas. He is a former member of the Nevada Senate, representing Clark County District 1 (2004–2012), and a former member of the Ne ...

was defeated in the primary. District 3 (old Clark 3): Democratic incumbent Valerie Wiener is term-limited. District 4 (old Clark 4): Democratic incumbent and Majority Leader

Steven Horsford Steven Alexzander Horsford (born April 29, 1973) is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative for Nevada's 4th congressional district since 2019, previously holding the position from 2013 to 2015. He also served ...

is seeking the 4th congressional district seat. District 5 (old Clark 5A): Democratic incumbent

Shirley Breeden Shirley Breeden (born 1955) is an American politician who served as a member of the Nevada Senate for the 5th district from 2009 to 2012. Early life and education Breeden was born in Needles, California and raised in Las Vegas. After graduatin ...

is retiring. District 6 (old Clark 6): Democratic incumbent

Allison Copening Debra Allison Copening (née Mellot; July 4, 1964 – January 18, 2020) was a Democratic member of the Nevada Senate, representing Clark County District 6map from 2009 to 13, defeating incumbent Bob Beers in 2008. She did not run for re-electio ...

is retiring. District 9 (old Clark 9): Republican

Elizabeth Halseth Elizabeth Nicole Helgelien (née Schworak; formerly Halseth, born February 5, 1983) is an American politician. She was a Republican member of the Nevada Senate from November 2010 until February 2012. Halseth is the youngest woman ever elected ...

held the seat until her resignation in February 2012; a special election will be held for the remainder of her term. District 11 (old Clark 11): Democratic incumbent Michael A. Schneider is term-limited. District 13 (old Washoe 1): Democratic

Sheila Leslie Sheila Leslie (born in 1955 in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California) is an American politician. She served as a Democratic member of the Nevada Assembly from 1998 to 2010 representing District 27, as well as in the Nevada Senate representing Distric ...

held the seat until her resignation in February 2012 to run for the District 15 state Senate seat; a special election will be held for the remainder of her term in this district. District 18: This is a new seat, with no current incumbent. District 19 (old Rural Nevada): Republican incumbent

Dean Rhoads Dean Rhoads is a former Republican member of the Nevada Senate, representing the Northern Nevada Districtmap from 1984 until 2012. Previously he served in the Nevada Assembly from 1976 through 1982. In October 2010, Senator Rhoads broke with ...

is term-limited.

Assembly

All 42 seats of the

Nevada Assembly The Nevada Assembly is the lower house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Nevada, the upper house being the Nevada Senate. The body consists of 42 members, elected to two-year terms from single-member distri ...

are up for election. The state Assembly currently consists of 26 Democrats and 16 Republicans. Open seats
District 4: Republican incumbent Richard McArthur unsuccessfully sought the District 18 state Senate seat. District 9: Democratic incumbent Richard "Tick" Segerblom is seeking the District 3 state Senate seat. District 13: Republican incumbent Scott Hammond is seeking the District 18 state Senate seat. District 16: Democratic incumbent and Assembly Speaker John Oceguera is term-limited. District 20: This is a new seat, with no current incumbent. District 21: Republican incumbent Mark Sherwood is retiring. District 30: Democratic incumbent and Speaker Pro Tempore Debbie Smith is seeking the District 13 state Senate seat. District 35: Republican incumbent and Minority Leader

Pete Goicoechea Peter J. Goicoechea (born September 8, 1949) is an American politician who served as the Nevada State Senator from the 19th district from 2012 to 2024. He previously served in the Nevada Assembly, representing the 35th district from 2002 to 201 ...

is seeking the District 19 state Senate seat. District 36: Republican incumbent Ed Goedhart is retiring. District 39: Republican incumbent Kelly Kite was defeated in the primary.

Ballot Measure

Question 1 would allow for the Nevada Legislature to call itself into a special session under extenuating circumstances, if approved by two-thirds of all legislators.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nevada elections, 2012 2012 elections in the United States by state