2012 Indiana gubernatorial election

2012 Indiana gubernatorial election

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Nominee Mike Pence John R. Gregg
Party Republican Democratic
Running mate Sue Ellspermann Vi Simpson
Popular vote 1,275,424 1,200,016
Percentage 49.5% 46.6%

Pence:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Gregg:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      80–90%

Governor before election

Mitch Daniels
Republican

Elected Governor

Mike Pence
Republican

The 2012 Indiana gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2012. Incumbent governor Mitch Daniels was term-limited and unable to seek a third term. The Republican candidate, Congressman Mike Pence; the Democratic candidate, former Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives John R. Gregg; and the Libertarian candidate, youth mentor, small business owner and reality TV personality, Rupert Boneham, were all unopposed in their respective primaries or conventions and contested the general election. This is the first open Indiana gubernatorial election since 1996 and the first gubernatorial election since 1972 without the governor or lieutenant governor as a nominee.

When the polls closed, the election was very close, and continued to stay close throughout the night. Gregg performed well in Marion County (Indianapolis) and Lake County (Gary), which were Democratic strongholds. Pence performed well in the Indianapolis suburbs and the Fort Wayne area. At 12:34 am EST, the Associated Press called the race for Pence. At 1:06 am, Gregg called Pence to concede, realizing there were not enough votes left to overtake him. Pence ultimately won the election and took office on January 13, 2013. This was the closest race for governor since 1960.

Primaries

Democratic

Results

Democratic Indiana gubernatorial election primary in Indiana, 2012
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic John R. Gregg 207,365 100
Total votes 207,365 100

Libertarian

General election

Candidates

  • John Gregg (Democratic), former Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives
  • Rupert Boneham (Libertarian), four-time contestant on Survivor and founder of Rupert's Kids
  • Donnie Harold Harris (Public Party) (write-in)
  • Running mate: George Fish

Debates

The Indiana Debate Commission organized three televised debates between Indiana Gubernatorial candidates Republican Mike Pence, Democrat John R. Gregg and Libertarian Rupert Boneham.

Debate schedule

The first debate was held on Wednesday, October 10, 2012 at the Zionsville Performing Arts Center in Zionsville, Indiana and was moderated by former Indianapolis Star editor Dennis Ryerson.

The second debate was held on Wednesday, October 17, 2012 at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center in South Bend, Indiana and was moderated by Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute president John Ketzenberger.

The third debate was held on Thursday, October 25, 2012 at the WFWA PBS 39 studio in Fort Wayne, Indiana and was moderated by DePauw University Executive Director of Media Relations Ken Owen.

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report Likely R November 1, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball Likely R November 5, 2012
Rothenberg Political Report Likely R November 2, 2012
Real Clear Politics Likely R November 5, 2012

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Mike
Pence (R)
John R.
Gregg (D)
Rupert
Boneham (L)
Other Undecided
Howey Politics/DePauw October 28–30, 2012 800 ± 3.5% 47% 40% 5%
Benenson Strategy Group October 18–21, 2012 701 ± 3.7% 44% 38% 6% 12%
YouGov October 4–11, 2012 470 ± 5.6% 49% 38% 13%
Howey Politics/DePauw University September 19–23, 2012 800 ± 3.5% 47% 34% 5% 14%
Market Research Insight August 6–9, 2012 600 ± 4% 50% 32% 3% 15%
Market Research Insight March 26–27, 2012 503 ± 4.5% 44% 31% 5% 20%

Statewide results

Indiana gubernatorial election, 2012
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Mike Pence/Sue Ellspermann 1,275,424 49.49% -8.35%
Democratic John R. Gregg/Vi Simpson 1,200,016 46.56% +6.52%
Libertarian Rupert Boneham 101,868 3.95% +1.83%
Independent Donnie Harold Harris (write-in) 21 0.00% N/A
Total votes 2,577,329 100.0% N/A
Republican hold

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

By congressional district

Pence won 6 of 9 congressional districts.

District Pence Gregg Representative
1st 33.61% 63.98% Pete Visclosky
2nd 50.63% 46.15% Joe Donnelly (112th Congress)
Jackie Walorski (113th Congress)
3rd 58.24% 38.77% Marlin Stutzman
4th 53.82% 40.87% Todd Rokita
5th 55.34% 40.44% Dan Burton (112th Congress)
Susan Brooks (113th Congress)
6th 56.56% 38.49% Mike Pence (112th Congress)
Luke Messer (113th Congress)
7th 33.07% 61.73% André Carson
8th 48.28% 48.69% Larry Bucshon
9th 53.08% 42.70% Todd Young

This page was last updated at 2023-10-29 12:25 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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