2012 United States House of Representatives election in North Dakota

2012 United States House of Representatives Election in North Dakota
	County results; Cramer: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%; Gulleson: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
U.S. Representative before election; Rick Berg; Republican	Elected U.S. Representative ; Kevin Cramer; Republican

The 2012 United States House of Representatives election in North Dakota was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 to elect the U.S. representative from the state's at-large congressional district. The election coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election and an election to the U.S. Senate. A primary election was held on June 12, 2012;^[1] a candidate must receive at least 300 votes to appear on the general election ballot in November.^[2]

Rick Berg, a member of the Republican Party who was first elected to represent the at-large district in 2010, had announced that he would not seek re-election and would instead run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Kent Conrad.^[3] Republican Kevin Cramer won the open House seat.

Republican primary

The North Dakota Republican Party endorsed Public Service Commissioner Brian Kalk at their state convention, though general election ballot access is determined by a statewide primary election held on June 12, 2012. In contrast to state political tradition, fellow Public Service Commissioner Kevin Cramer did not seek the party endorsement, instead attempting to defeat Kalk on the June primary ballot.

Candidates

Nominee

Kevin Cramer, Public Service Commissioner^[4]

Eliminated in primary

Brian Kalk, Public Service Commissioner and state party endorsed candidate^[5]

Withdrew

Shane Goettle, U.S. Senator John Hoeven's state director^[6]
Bette Grande, state representative^[7]
DuWayne Hendrickson, perennial candidate^[8]
Kim Koppelman, state representative^[9]

Declined

Rick Berg, incumbent U.S. Representative^[3]
Al Carlson, state House Majority Leader^[10]^[11]
Tony Clark, Public Service Commissioner^[12]
Cory Fong, North Dakota State Tax Commissioner^[13]
Tony Grindberg, state senator^[14]
Robert Harms, Tea Party activist and former treasurer of the North Dakota Republican Party^[11]
Kelly Schmidt, North Dakota State Treasurer^[15]

Debate

The North Dakota Republican Party held a candidates' debate on December 14 at the campus of Valley City State University. All five GOP candidates declared at the time—Cramer, Goettle, Grande, Kalk, and Koppelman—participated.^[16]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Kevin Cramer	Brian Kalk	Undecided
Mason Dixon	June 4–6, 2012	625	± 4%	60%	21%	19%
Forum Communications Co.	May 3–8, 2012	500	± 4.3%	38%	25%	27%

Results

Republican primary results^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kevin Cramer	54,405	54.4
	Republican	Brian Kalk	45,415	45.5
	n/a	Write-ins	113	0.1
Total votes			99,933	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Pam Gulleson, former state representative^[18]

Declined

Ben Vig, former state representative^[19]

Results

Democratic primary results^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic–NPL	Pam Gulleson	51,750	99.9
	Democratic–NPL	Write-in	74	0.1
Total votes			51,824	100.0

Libertarian nomination

The Libertarian Party of North Dakota has selected small business owner Eric Olson as their nominee at a state meeting.^[20]

General election

Endorsements

Kevin Cramer (R)

Organizations

National Republican Congressional Committee "Young Guns" Program^[21]

Pam Gulleson (D)

Organizations

Blue Dog Coalition^[22]
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee "Red to Blue" Program^[23]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Kevin Cramer (R)	Pam Gulleson (D)	Eric Olson (L)	Undecided
Mason Dixon	October 26–28, 2012	625	± 4.0%	50%	40%	2%	8%
Forum/Essman	October 12–15, 2012	500	± 4%	52%	32%	1%	15%
Mason-Dixon	October 3–5, 2012	625	± 4%	49%	37%	2%	12%
Mason Dixon	June 4–6, 2012	625	± 4%	49%	35%	4%	12%
Forum Communications Co.	May 3–8, 2012	500	± 4.3%	61%	23%	–	15%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[24]	Likely R	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg^[25]	Safe R	November 2, 2012
Roll Call^[26]	Likely R	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[27]	Likely R	November 5, 2012
NY Times^[28]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
RCP^[29]	Likely R	November 4, 2012
The Hill^[30]	Likely R	November 4, 2012

Results

North Dakota's at-large congressional district, 2012^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Kevin Cramer	173,585	54.89%	+0.15%
	Democratic–NPL	Pam Gulleson	131,870	41.70%	-3.23%
	Libertarian	Eric Olson	10,261	3.24%	N/A
	n/a	Write-ins	508	0.16%	-0.17%
Total votes			316,224	100.0%	N/A
	Republican hold

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Barnes (largest city: Valley City)
Grand Forks (largest city: Grand Forks)
Name (Largest city: Stanley)
Ramsey (Largest city: Devils Lake)
Towner (Largest city: Cando)

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Richland (largest city: Wahpeton)

References

^ "North Dakota election calendar" (PDF). Secretary of State. July 2011. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
^ "North Dakota Century Code". Secretary of State. August 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
^ ^a ^b Toeplitz, Shira (May 16, 2011). "House Freshman Berg Will Run for Senate in North Dakota". Roll Call. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
^ Wetzel, Dale (November 3, 2011). "ND's Cramer uses Web video to open US House campaign; running for Congress for fourth time". The Republic. Retrieved November 4, 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Trygstad, Kyle (May 20, 2011). "Kalk to Run for House Instead of Senate in North Dakota". Roll Call. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
^ Daum, Kristen M (November 29, 2011). "Goettle declares as 4th GOP contender in 2012 U.S. House race". Flickertales from The Hill. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
^ Daum, Kristen M (October 3, 2011). "Fargo legislator Bette Grande will announce U.S. House run Tuesday". Flickertales from The Hill. areavoices. Archived from the original on December 20, 2011. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
^ Smith, Nick (January 12, 2012). "Hendrickson joins GOP race for U.S. House". The Bismarck Tribune. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
^ Daum, Kristen M (December 5, 2011). "West Fargo legislator seeks GOP nod in packed U.S. House race". Flickertales from The Hill. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
^ Catanese, David (April 27, 2011). "Hoeven: Berg 'likely' to run". Politico. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
^ ^a ^b Toeplitz, Shira (May 3, 2011). "N.D. GOP Expecting Competitive House Race". Roll Call. Archived from the original on January 6, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
^ Schneider, Mark (June 12, 2011). "North Dakota asks: Is anyone on the job?". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Retrieved June 13, 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Daum, Kristen M (October 13, 2011). "N.D. tax commissioner opts against congressional bid in 2012". Flickertales from The Hill. Archived from the original on December 18, 2011. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
^ Daum, Kristen M (November 2, 2011). "Grindberg not running for U.S. House in 2012". Flickertales from The Hill. areavoices. Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^ Finneman, Teri (February 20, 2012). "Kelly Schmidt to seek third term as North Dakota treasurer". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Retrieved February 25, 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Daum, Kristen M (December 1, 2011). "NDGOP announces Dec. 14th debate for its U.S. House candidates". Flickertales from The Hill. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c "North Dakota Secretary of State".
^ Daum, Kristen M (September 21, 2011). "Democrat Pam Gulleson running for North Dakota's U.S. House seat". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
^ Daum, Kristen M (September 28, 2011). "Former state legislator Vig declines U.S. House run". Flickertales from The Hill. Archived from the original on December 20, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
^ Ames, Richard (November 20, 2011). "Libertarians take a stand on measure #2" (Press release). Libertarian Party of North Dakota. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
^ "CANDIDATES". gopyoungguns.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
^ "Blue Dog Endorsements". bluedogdems.ngpvanhost.com/. Archived from the original on November 24, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
^ "RED TO BLUE 2012". DCCC. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
^ "The Cook Political Report — Charts – 2012 House Competitive Races". Cookpolitical.com. November 5, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
^ "House Ratings". Rothenbergpoliticalreport.com. November 2, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
^ [1], as of November 4, 2012^[update]
^ Crystal Ball, as of November 5, 2012^[update]
^ House Race Ratings, The New York Times, as of November 4, 2012^[update]
^ [2], as of November 4, 2012^[update]
^ "House Ratings". The Hill. November 3, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.

External links

North Dakota State Board of Elections
United States House of Representatives elections in North Dakota, 2012 at Ballotpedia
North Dakota U.S. House at OurCampaigns.com
Campaign contributions for U.S. Congressional races in North Dakota from OpenSecrets
Outside spending at the Sunlight Foundation

Official campaign websites

[1] "North Dakota election calendar" (PDF). Secretary of State. July 2011. Retrieved August 17, 2011.

[2] "North Dakota Century Code". Secretary of State. August 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2011.

[rc2-3] Toeplitz, Shira (May 16, 2011). "House Freshman Berg Will Run for Senate in North Dakota". Roll Call. Retrieved May 20, 2011.

[4] Wetzel, Dale (November 3, 2011). "ND's Cramer uses Web video to open US House campaign; running for Congress for fourth time". The Republic. Retrieved November 4, 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}

[5] Trygstad, Kyle (May 20, 2011). "Kalk to Run for House Instead of Senate in North Dakota". Roll Call. Retrieved May 20, 2011.

[6] Daum, Kristen M (November 29, 2011). "Goettle declares as 4th GOP contender in 2012 U.S. House race". Flickertales from The Hill. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved November 29, 2011.

[7] Daum, Kristen M (October 3, 2011). "Fargo legislator Bette Grande will announce U.S. House run Tuesday". Flickertales from The Hill. areavoices. Archived from the original on December 20, 2011. Retrieved October 3, 2011.

[8] Smith, Nick (January 12, 2012). "Hendrickson joins GOP race for U.S. House". The Bismarck Tribune. Retrieved January 12, 2012.

[9] Daum, Kristen M (December 5, 2011). "West Fargo legislator seeks GOP nod in packed U.S. House race". Flickertales from The Hill. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2011.

[politico-10] Catanese, David (April 27, 2011). "Hoeven: Berg 'likely' to run". Politico. Retrieved April 29, 2011.

[rc-11] Toeplitz, Shira (May 3, 2011). "N.D. GOP Expecting Competitive House Race". Roll Call. Archived from the original on January 6, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2011.

[forum-12] Schneider, Mark (June 12, 2011). "North Dakota asks: Is anyone on the job?". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Retrieved June 13, 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}

[13] Daum, Kristen M (October 13, 2011). "N.D. tax commissioner opts against congressional bid in 2012". Flickertales from The Hill. Archived from the original on December 18, 2011. Retrieved October 13, 2011.

[14] Daum, Kristen M (November 2, 2011). "Grindberg not running for U.S. House in 2012". Flickertales from The Hill. areavoices. Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2011.

[15] Finneman, Teri (February 20, 2012). "Kelly Schmidt to seek third term as North Dakota treasurer". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Retrieved February 25, 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}

[16] Daum, Kristen M (December 1, 2011). "NDGOP announces Dec. 14th debate for its U.S. House candidates". Flickertales from The Hill. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2011.

[results.sos.nd.gov-17] "North Dakota Secretary of State".

[18] Daum, Kristen M (September 21, 2011). "Democrat Pam Gulleson running for North Dakota's U.S. House seat". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2011.

[19] Daum, Kristen M (September 28, 2011). "Former state legislator Vig declines U.S. House run". Flickertales from The Hill. Archived from the original on December 20, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2011.

[20] Ames, Richard (November 20, 2011). "Libertarians take a stand on measure #2" (Press release). Libertarian Party of North Dakota. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2011.

[21] "CANDIDATES". gopyoungguns.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2023.

[22] "Blue Dog Endorsements". bluedogdems.ngpvanhost.com/. Archived from the original on November 24, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2023.

[DCCC-23] "RED TO BLUE 2012". DCCC. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2023.

[Cook-24] "The Cook Political Report — Charts – 2012 House Competitive Races". Cookpolitical.com. November 5, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2012.

[House_Ratings-25] "House Ratings". Rothenbergpoliticalreport.com. November 2, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.

[rollcall.com-26] [1], as of November 4, 2012^[update]

[Crystal_Ball-27] Crystal Ball, as of November 5, 2012^[update]

[House_Race_Ratings-28] House Race Ratings, The New York Times, as of November 4, 2012^[update]

[realclearpolitics.com-29] [2], as of November 4, 2012^[update]

[thehill.com-30] "House Ratings". The Hill. November 3, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.

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