2012 United States Senate election in New York

The 2012 United States Senate election in New York took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives as well as various state and local elections.

2012 United States Senate election in New York

November 6, 2012
Turnout	53.2% (voting eligible)[1]
Nominee Kirsten Gillibrand Wendy Long Party Democratic Republican Alliance Parties Independence Working Families Conservative Popular vote 4,822,330 1,758,702 Percentage 72.2% 26.3%
County results Gillibrand:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Long:      40–50%      50–60%
U.S. senator before election Kirsten Gillibrand Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand Democratic

Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand won re-election to her first full term. She was opposed in the general election by Wendy Long (who ran on the Republican and Conservative Party tickets) and by three minor party candidates. Gillibrand was re-elected with 72% of the vote, by a margin of 46%, the highest margin for any statewide candidate in New York. She performed 9 points better than President Barack Obama did in the presidential race in New York. She carried 60 out of 62 counties statewide. There was one debate, held in October 2012, in which Gillibrand and Long debated various issues such as the economy, abortion rights, the debt and deficit, foreign policy, jobs, and tax and regulatory policy.

Background

Governor David Paterson appointed then-U.S. Representative Kirsten Gillibrand to serve as U.S. Senator from New York until the 2010 special election, succeeding former U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, who resigned to serve as U.S. Secretary of State in the Obama administration. Gillibrand won the special election in 2010 with 62.95% of the vote over former U.S. Representative Joseph DioGuardi.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Kirsten Gillibrand, incumbent U.S. Senator[2]

Gillibrand has also been endorsed by the Independence Party of New York and the Working Families Party, and also appeared on the ballot lines of both of those parties in the general election.[3][4]

Republican primary

Declared

• Wendy E. Long, attorney[5]
• George Maragos, Nassau County Comptroller[6]
• Bob Turner, U.S. Representative, New York's 9th congressional district[7]

The 2012 New York State Republican Convention took place on March 16, 2012.[8] Candidates Wendy Long, George Maragos, and Congressman Bob Turner each reached the threshold of 25% of the weighted vote necessary to qualify for the June 26 primary ballot; however, none of the candidates achieved a majority.[9] Long prevailed by a sizeable margin in the June 26 Republican primary, receiving 50.9% of the vote; Turner received 35.6% and Maragos 13.5%.[10]

Long was designated as the nominee for the Conservative Party of New York State, and appeared on its ballot line in the general election as well as the Republican Party line.[4][11]

Withdrew

• Joe Carvin, Rye Town Supervisor,[12] withdrew on March 16, 2012[13] to run for the House of Representatives against Nita Lowey.

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Wendy Long	George Maragos	Bob Turner	Other	Undecided
Quinnipiac	March 28 – April 2, 2012	372	±5.1%	11%	7%	19%	2%	61%
Siena College	April 1–4, 2012	218	±6.6%	10%	5%	19%	—	66%
Siena College	May 6–10, 2012	205	±6.8%	12%	6%	15%	—	67%
Siena College	June 3–6, 2012	201	±6.9%	11%	3%	16%	—	70%

Endorsements

Wendy Long

• John Bolton, former US Ambassador to the United Nations
• John Faso, 2006 gubernatorial candidate
• Steve Forbes, publisher and former Presidential candidate
• Sean Hannity, talk radio/television host
• Laura Ingraham, talk radio host
• Brian Kolb, State Assembly Minority Leader
• Rick Lazio, former US Congressman from New York
• National Organization for Marriage
• The New York Post
• Grover Norquist
• Carl Paladino, 2010 gubernatorial candidate
• Dennis Vacco, former New York State Attorney General

Bob Turner

• Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City, 2008 presidential candidate, and Time Person of the Year for 2001
• Martin Golden, New York State Senator from the 22nd District
• Rush Limbaugh, talk radio host

Source: Update for US Senate Election NY 2012: http://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/elections/2012/General/USSenator_07292013.pdf

Results

Republican primary results[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Wendy Long	75,924	50.2%
	Republican	Bob Turner	54,196	35.9%
	Republican	George Maragos	21,002	13.9%
Total votes			151,122	100.0%

General election

Candidates

• Colia Clark (Green), civil rights activist and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010[15]
• Chris Edes (Libertarian), Member of the New York Civil Liberties Union Board of Directors[16]
• Kirsten Gillibrand (Democratic, Working Families, Independence), incumbent U.S. Senator
• Wendy Long (Republican, Conservative), attorney
• John Mangelli (Common Sense Party), Long Island foreclosure defense attorney
• Scott Noren (Independent), oral surgeon (had previously sought the Democratic nomination)[15][17]
• Tim Sweet (Independent-Republican), former social worker, journalist, pastor, businessman, author, and actor[18]

Debates

• Complete video of debate, October 17, 2012 - C-SPAN

Fundraising

Candidate (party)	Receipts	Disbursements	Cash on hand	Debt
Kirsten Gillibrand (D)	$13,778,867	$3,734,097	$10,541,156	$0
Wendy Long (R)	$336,976	$240,564	$96,411	$250,077
Chris Edes (L)	$2,017	$668	$1,348	$0
John Mangelli (I)	$43,819	$43,820	$0	$22,120
Source: Federal Election Commission[19][20][21][22]

Top contributors

[23]

Kirsten Gillibrand	Contribution	Wendy Long	Contribution
Boies, Schiller & Flexner	$394,664	Citizens United	$10,000
Davis Polk & Wardwell	$314,600	Susan B. Anthony List	$10,000
Corning Inc.	$150,650	Davis, Polk & Wardwell	$8,500
JPMorgan Chase & Co	$143,800	Kirkland & Ellis	$7,000
Morgan Stanley	$140,800	Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz	$6,000
National Amusements Inc.	$126,850	Alta Partners	$5,500
Goldman Sachs	$117,400	Actimize	$5,000
Blackstone Group	$106,700	Carlyle Group	$5,000
Sullivan & Cromwell	$100,750	Credit Suisse Group	$5,000
Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett	$95,700	Crow Holdings	$5,000

Top industries

[24]

Kirsten Gillibrand	Contribution	Wendy Long	Contribution
Lawyers/law firms	$4,050,294	Lawyers/law firms	$38,550
Financial Institutions	$2,748,640	Financial institutions	$31,750
Real estate	$1,257,504	Real estate	$26,250
Retired	$921,738	Retired	$25,050
Women's issues	$853,517	Misc. finance	$16,000
Entertainment industry	$764,677	Women's issues	$15,150
Lobbyists	$723,596	Republican/Conservative	$11,250
Misc. finance	$644,953	Education	$7,250
Business services	$621,286	Misc. business	$7,000
Insurance	$518,275	Construction services	$5,000

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[25]	Solid D	November 1, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[26]	Safe D	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg Political Report[27]	Safe D	November 2, 2012
Real Clear Politics[28]	Safe D	November 5, 2012

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Kirsten Gillibrand (D)	Wendy Long (R)	Other	Undecided
Quinnipiac	March 28 – April 2, 2012	1,597	±2.5%	58%	25%	1%	13%
Siena College	April 1–4, 2012	808	±3.4%	63%	23%	—	14%
Siena College	May 6–10, 2012	766	±3.5%	60%	26%	—	14%
Quinnipiac	May 22–28, 2012	1,504	±2.5%	58%	24%	1%	15%
Siena College	June 3–6, 2012	807	±3.4%	65%	22%	—	12%
Siena College	July 10–15, 2012	758	±3.6%	62%	25%	—	13%
Quinnipiac	July 17–23, 2012	1,779	±2.3%	57%	24%	1%	16%
Siena College	August 14–19, 2012	671	±3.8%	65%	22%	—	13%
Quinnipiac	September 4–9, 2012	1,468	±2.5%	64%	27%	—	9%
Marist	October 18–21, 2012	565	±4.1%	68%	24%	—	8%
Siena College	October 22–24, 2012	750	±3.6%	67%	24%	—	8%
SurveyUSA	October 23–25, 2012	554	±4.1%	64%	22%	7%	7%

Results

2012 United States Senate election in New York[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Kirsten Gillibrand	4,432,525	66.38%	+11.38%
	Working Families	Kirsten Gillibrand	251,292	3.76%	-0.29%
	Independence	Kirsten Gillibrand	138,513	2.07%	-1.83%
	Total	Kirsten Gillibrand (incumbent)	4,822,330	72.21%	+9.26%
	Republican	Wendy Long	1,517,578	22.73%	-6.96%
	Conservative	Wendy Long	241,124	3.61%	-1.81%
	Total	Wendy Long	1,758,702	26.34%	-8.77%
	Green	Colia Clark	42,591	0.64%	-0.15%
	Libertarian	Chris Edes	32,002	0.48%	+0.07%
	Independent	John Mangelli	22,041	0.33%	N/A
Total votes			6,677,666	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic hold

See also

• 2012 United States Senate elections
• 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in New York
• 2012 New York state elections

References

1. Dr. Michael McDonald (February 9, 2013). "2012 General Election Turnout Rates". George Mason University. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved April 6, 2013.
2. Hill, Michael (November 3, 2010). "Day after win, NY Sen. Gillibrand is running again". Associated Press. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
3. Johnson, Michael (March 12, 2012). "State Independence Party Backs Gillibrand". Capital Tonight. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
4. "New York Democrats back Kirsten Gillibrand for US Senate; Conservatives pick Wendy Long". The Post-Standard. Associated Press. March 19, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
5. Benjamin, Liz (January 29, 2012). "A New Challenger To Gillibrand?". Capital Tonight. Archived from the original on February 8, 2012. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
6. "U.S. Senate Hopeful Speaks to Rockland Republicans - Pearl River, NY Patch". patch.com. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
7. Campbell, Colin (March 13, 2012). "Bob Turner Announces U.S. Senate Campaign Against Kirsten Gillibrand". Politicker. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
8. Seiler, Casey (February 19, 2012). Save the date: GOP plans March 16 convention. Capitol Confidential (Albany Times-Union). Retrieved February 19, 2012.
9. Benjamin, Liz (March 16, 2012). Three-Way GOP Primary For US Senate. Capital Tonight. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
10. "Long wins NY Senate GOP primary to face Gillibrand". Wall Street Journal. News Corporation. June 27, 2012. Archived from the original on June 28, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
11. "Long wins NY Senate GOP primary to face Gillibrand". WSJ.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2012.
12. Vielkind, Jimmy (February 29, 2012). "Joe Carvin of Rye also challenging Gillibrand". Albany Times Union. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
13. Benjamin, Elizabeth (March 16, 2012). Carvin Out Of US Senate Race (Updated). Capital Tonight. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
14. "2016 Election Results: President Live Map by State, Real-Time Voting Updates". Election Hub.
15. "Liberal Alternatives To Kirsten Gillibrand". Irregular Times. April 16, 2012. Archived from the original on May 5, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
16. "Vote For Chris". www.vote-for-chris.net.
17. Sultanik, Sara (January 24, 2011). "Ithaca Man to Run for U.S. Senate". WETM-TV. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
18. "Alumnus vies for New York senate - The Daily Collegian Online". psu.edu.
19. "Gillibrand Campaign Finances". fec.gov.
20. "Long Campaign Finances". fec.gov.
21. "Mangelli Campaign Finances". fec.gov.
22. "Edes Campaign Finances". fec.gov.
23. "New York Senate Race". opensecrets.org.
24. "Kansas District 04 Race". opensecrets.org.
25. "2012 Senate Race Ratings for November 1, 2012". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
26. "2012 Senate". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
27. "2012 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
28. "2012 Elections Map - Battle for the Senate 2012". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
29. https://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/elections/2012/General/USSenator_07292013.pdf

External links

• New York State Board of Elections
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Outside spending at Sunlight Foundation
• Candidate issue positions at On the Issues

Official campaign websites

• Colia Clark for U.S. Senate
• Kirsten Gillibrand for U.S. Senate
• Wendy Long for U.S. Senate
• Scott Noren for U.S. Senate