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United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2012

The 2012 U.S. House of Representatives elections in California took place on November 6, 2012. Voters elected 53 candidates to serve in the U.S. House, one from each of the state's 53 congressional districts.

Candidate Filing Deadline	Primary Election	General Election
March 9, 2012	June 5, 2012	November 6, 2012

Primary: California has a top-two primary system, in which the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, go on to the general election.

Voter registration: Voters had to register to vote in the primary by May 21. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 22.^[1]

See also: California elections, 2012

Nearly $54 million was spent by Super PACs and independent organizations, the most of any state.^[2]

According to the New York Times race ratings in October 2012, 12 of the 53 districts were considered to be in play. Those were the 3rd, 7th, 9th, 10th, 16th, 21st, 24th, 26th, 36th, 41st, 47th and 52nd districts.^[3]

The Center for Voting and Democracy (Fairvote) projected that Democrats would win 33 districts while Republicans would win 13 seats. It did not make a projection for the remaining seven districts.^[4]

Primary competitiveness

See also: National contested primary average during the 2012 U.S. congressional elections

California had the 9th most competitive congressional primaries in 2012, with 84.91% of major party primaries having been contested (45 out of 53). The national average was 54.31%.

Forty-six U.S. House incumbents ran for re-election in California in 2012. Of those 46, 37 (80.43%) faced a primary challenger. Nationwide, 200 out of the 386 incumbents seeking re-election faced a primary challenger (51.81%).

Blanket primary

This was the first election year in which California's Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act was in effect. Because of this, all candidates for a seat competed in one blanket primary. The two candidates who received the most votes then advanced to the general election on November 6.

The proposition's intent was to encourage primary competition, which backers of the act said would lead to more moderate legislators being elected. The primary results did reflect an increase in competition, with California's percentage of contested primaries being much higher than the nationwide average.^[5]

The increase in competition also led to an increase in campaign spending, due to the fact that competition within political parties lasted for the entire year rather than ending after the primary. Raphael J. Sonenshein, executive director of the Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Institute of Public Affairs at Cal State L.A., said the following, "It's hard to argue it's a better system where the incumbent congressman has a huge war chest and nobody else has any money... At least now we can make him spend it."^[5]

As a result of the blanket primary, nine of California's 53 congressional districts had same-party candidates battling in the November 6 general election. Of those, seven were between Democrats.^[6]

There were also nineteen same-party races in the state legislature in November.^[6] Of the total 28 same-party contests, a study by the Public Policy Institute of California rated twelve as competitive. Minor party candidates, meanwhile, were only able to make it to the general election in three races.^[7]

This was also the first election after districts were redrawn by an independent commission, rather than partisan legislators, making some districts more competitive between Democrats and Republicans.^[8]

“What we’ve noticed is candidates in California playing to a wider ideological audience as a result of the top-two primary, instead of tailoring their message to a very narrow base," said David Wasserman of the Cook Political Report.^[8]

Partisan breakdown

Heading into the November 6 election, the Democratic Party held 34 of the 53 Congressional seats from California.

Members of the U.S. House from California -- Partisan Breakdown
Party	As of November 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	34	38
	Republican Party	19	15
Total	53	53

Incumbents

The 53 incumbents prior to the election are listed below. Click "show" to reveal the table.

Name	Party	District
Adam Schiff	Democratic	29
Anna Eshoo	Democratic	14
Barbara Lee	Democratic	9
Bob Filner	Democratic	51
Brad Sherman	Democratic	27
Brian Bilbray	Republican	50
Howard McKeon	Republican	25
Dan Lungren	Republican	3
Dana Rohrabacher	Republican	46
Darrell Issa	Republican	49
David Dreier	Republican	26
Dennis Cardoza	Democratic	18
Devin Nunes	Republican	21
Doris Matsui	Democratic	5
Duncan Hunter	Republican	52
Edward Royce	Republican	40
Elton Gallegly	Republican	24
Gary Miller	Republican	42
George Miller	Democratic	7
Grace Napolitano	Democratic	38
Henry Waxman	Democratic	30
Howard Berman	Democratic	28
Jackie Speier	Democratic	12
Janice Hahn	Democratic	36
Jeff Denham	Republican	19
Jerry Lewis	Republican	41
Jerry McNerney	Democratic	11
Jim Costa	Democratic	20
Joe Baca	Democratic	43
John Campbell	Republican	48
John Garamendi	Democratic	10
Judy Chu	Democratic	32
Karen Bass	Democratic	33
Ken Calvert	Republican	44
Kevin McCarthy	Republican	22
Laura Richardson	Democratic	37
Linda Sanchez	Democratic	39
Lois Capps	Democratic	23
Loretta Sanchez	Democratic	47
Lucille Roybal-Allard	Democratic	34
Lynn Woolsey	Democratic	6
Mary Bono Mack	Republican	45
Maxine Waters	Democratic	35
Mike Honda	Democratic	15
Mike Thompson	Democratic	1
Nancy Pelosi	Democratic	8
Pete Stark	Democratic	13
Sam Farr	Democratic	17
Susan Davis	Democratic	53
Tom McClintock	Republican	4
Wally Herger	Republican	2
Xavier Becerra	Democratic	31
Zoe Lofgren	Democratic	16

Competitiveness analysis

According to a Cook Political Report analysis, there were 13 congressional districts which had competitive elections in 2012. The ratings are explained as follows:^[9]

Likely: "These seats are not considered competitive at this point but have the potential to become engaged."
Lean: "These are considered competitive races but one party has an advantage."
Toss-Up: "These are the most competitive; either party has a good chance of winning."

Likely Democratic
District 16
District 24
District 47

Lean Democratic
District 3
District 9
District 41

Republican Toss Up
District 7
District 26
District 31
District 52

Lean Republican
District 10
District 21

Likely Republican
District 36

Margin of victory for winners

There were a total of 53 seats up for election in 2012 in California. The following table shows the margin of victory for each district winner, which is calculated by examining the percentage difference between the top-two vote getters. If the race was uncontested, the margin of victory is listed as 100%.

District	Winner	Margin of Victory	Total Vote	Top Opponent
California, District 10	Jeff Denham	5.4%	209,199	Jose Hernandez
California, District 11	George Miller	39.5%	287,879	Virginia Fuller
California, District 12	Nancy Pelosi	70.2%	298,187	John Dennis
California, District 13	Barbara Lee	73.6%	288,582	Marilyn M. Singleton
California, District 14	Jackie Speier	57.8%	258,283	Deborah Bacigalupi
California, District 15	Eric Swalwell	4.2%	231,034	Pete Stark
California, District 16	Jim Costa	14.8%	147,450	Brian Daniel Whelan
California, District 17	Mike Honda	47.1%	216,728	Evelyn Li
California, District 18	Anna Eshoo	41%	301,934	Dave Chapman
California, District 19	Zoe Lofgren	46.5%	221,613	Robert Murray
California, District 1	Doug La Malfa	14.8%	294,213	Jim Reed
California, District 20	Sam Farr	48.1%	233,562	Jeff Taylor
California, District 21	David G. Valadao	15.5%	116,283	John Hernandez
California, District 22	Devin Nunes	23.8%	213,941	Otto Lee
California, District 23	Kevin McCarthy	46.4%	216,003	Terry Phillips
California, District 24	Lois Capps	10.2%	284,495	Abel Maldonado
California, District 25	Buck McKeon	9.6%	236,575	Lee Rogers
California, District 26	Julia Brownley	5.4%	263,935	Tony Strickland
California, District 27	Judy Chu	28%	241,008	Jack Orswell
California, District 28	Adam Schiff	53%	246,711	Phil Jennerjahn
California, District 29	Tony Cardenas	48.1%	150,281	David Hernandez
California, District 2	Jared Huffman	42.5%	317,526	Daniel W. Roberts
California, District 30	Brad Sherman	20.6%	247,851	Howard Berman
California, District 31	Gary Miller	10.4%	161,219	Bob Dutton
California, District 32	Grace Napolitano	31.4%	190,111	David Miller
California, District 33	Henry Waxman	7.9%	318,520	Bill Bloomfield
California, District 34	Xavier Becerra	71.2%	140,590	Stephen Smith
California, District 35	Gloria Negrete McLeod	11.7%	142,680	Joe Baca
California, District 36	Raul Ruiz	5.9%	208,142	Mary Bono Mack
California, District 37	Karen Bass	72.8%	239,580	Morgan Osborne
California, District 38	Linda Sanchez	35.1%	215,087	Benjamin Campos
California, District 39	Ed Royce	15.6%	251,967	Jay Chen
California, District 3	John Garamendi	8.5%	233,968	Kim Vann
California, District 40	Lucille Roybal-Allard	17.8%	125,553	David Sanchez
California, District 41	Mark Takano	17.9%	175,652	John Tavaglione
California, District 42	Ken Calvert	21.2%	214,947	Michael Williamson
California, District 43	Maxine Waters	42.5%	200,894	Bob Flores
California, District 44	Janice Hahn	20.4%	165,898	Laura Richardson
California, District 45	John Campbell	16.9%	293,231	Sukhee Kang
California, District 46	Loretta Sanchez	27.7%	149,815	Jerry Hayden
California, District 47	Alan Lowenthal	13.1%	230,012	Gary DeLong
California, District 48	Dana Rohrabacher	22%	290,502	Ron Varasteh
California, District 49	Darrell Issa	16.3%	274,618	Jerry Tetalman
California, District 4	Tom McClintock	22.2%	323,688	Jack Uppal
California, District 50	Duncan Hunter	35.4%	258,293	David Secor
California, District 51	Juan Vargas	43%	159,398	Michael Crimmins
California, District 52	Scott Peters	2.4%	295,910	Brian Bilbray
California, District 53	Susan Davis	22.9%	268,307	Nick Popaditch
California, District 5	Mike Thompson	48.9%	272,417	Randy Loftin
California, District 6	Doris Matsui	50.1%	214,073	Joseph McCray, Sr.
California, District 7	Ami Bera	3.4%	273,291	Dan Lungren
California, District 8	Paul Cook	14.8%	179,644	Greg Imus
California, District 9	Jerry McNerney	11.1%	213,077	Ricky Gill

General election candidates

District	General Election Candidates	Incumbent	2012 Winner	Partisan Switch?
1st	Jim Reed Doug La Malfa	Mike Thompson	Doug La Malfa	Yes
2nd	Jared Huffman Daniel Roberts	Wally Herger	Jared Huffman	Yes
3rd	John Garamendi Kim Dolbow Vann	Dan Lungren	John Garamendi	Yes
4th	Jack Uppal Tom McClintock	Tom McClintock	Tom McClintock	No
5th	Mike Thompson Randy Loftin	Doris Matsui	Mike Thompson	No
6th	Doris Matsui Joseph McCray, Sr.	Lynn Woolsey	Doris Matsui	No
7th	Ami Bera Dan Lungren	George Miller	Ami Bera	No
8th	Paul Cook Gregg Imus	Nancy Pelosi	Paul Cook	Yes
9th	Jerry McNerney Ricky Gill	Barbara Lee	Jerry McNerney	No
10th	Jose Hernandez Jeff Denham	John Garamendi	Jeff Denham	Yes
11th	George Miller Virginia Fuller	Jerry McNerney	George Miller	No
12th	Nancy Pelosi John Dennis	Jackie Speier	Nancy Pelosi	No
13th	Barbara Lee Marilyn Singleton	Pete Stark	Barbara Lee	No
14th	Jackie Speier Deborah Bacigalupi	Anna Eshoo	Jackie Speier	No
15th	Pete Stark Eric Swalwell	Mike Honda	Eric Swalwell	No
16th	Jim Costa Brian Daniel Whelan	Zoe Lofgren	Jim Costa	No
17th	Mike Honda Evelyn Li	Sam Farr	Mike Honda	No
18th	Anna Eshoo Dave Chapman	Dennis Cardoza	Anna Eshoo	No
19th	Zoe Lofgren Robert Murray	Jeff Denham	Zoe Lofgren	Yes
20th	Sam Farr Jeff Taylor	Jim Costa	Sam Farr	No
21st	John Hernandez David Valadao	Devin Nunes	David Valadao	No
22nd	Otto Lee Devin Nunes	Kevin McCarthy	Devin Nunes	No
23rd	Kevin McCarthy Terry Phillips	Lois Capps	Kevin McCarthy	Yes
24th	Lois Capps Abel Maldonado	Elton Gallegly	Lois Capps	Yes
25th	Lee Rogers Howard McKeon	Howard McKeon	Howard McKeon	No
26th	Julia Brownley Tony Strickland	David Dreier	Julia Brownley	Yes
27th	Judy Chu Jack Orswell	[[Brad Sherman]]	Judy Chu	No
28th	Adam Schiff Phil Jennerjahn	Howard Berman	Adam Schiff	No
29th	Tony Cardenas David Hernandez	Adam Schiff	Tony Cardenas	No
30th	Howard Berman [[Brad Sherman]]	Henry Waxman	[[Brad Sherman]]	No
31st	Bob Dutton Gary Miller	Xavier Becerra	Gary Miller	Yes
32nd	Grace Napolitano David Miller	Judy Chu	Grace Napolitano	No
33rd	Henry Waxman Bill Bloomfield	Karen Bass	Henry Waxman	No
34th	Xavier Becerra Stephen Smith	Lucille Roybal-Allard	Xavier Becerra	No
35th	Joe Baca Gloria Negrete McLeod	Maxine Waters	Gloria Negrete McLeod	No
36th	Raul Ruiz Mary Bono Mack	Janice Hahn	Raul Ruiz	No
37th	Karen Bass Morgan Osborne	Laura Richardson	Karen Bass	No
38th	Linda Sanchez Benjamin Campos	Grace Napolitano	Linda Sanchez	No
39th	Jay Chen Edward R. Royce	Linda Sanchez	Edward R. Royce	Yes
40th	Lucille Roybal-Allard David Sanchez	Edward Royce	Lucille Roybal-Allard	Yes
41st	Mark Takano John Tavaglione	Jerry Lewis	Mark Takano	Yes
42nd	Michael Williamson Ken Calvert	Gary Miller	Ken Calvert	No
43rd	Bob Flores Maxine Waters	Joe Baca	Maxine Waters	No
44th	Janice Hahn Laura Richardson	Ken Calvert	Janice Hahn	Yes
45th	Sukhee Kang John Campbell	Mary Bono Mack	John Campbell	No
46th	Loretta Sanchez Jerry Hayden	Dana Rohrabacher	Loretta Sanchez	Yes
47th	Alan Lowenthal Gary DeLong	Loretta Sanchez	Alan Lowenthal	No
48th	Ron Varasteh Dana Rohrabacher	John Campbell	Dana Rohrabacher	No
49th	Jerry Tetalman Darrell Issa	Darrell Issa	Darrell Issa	No
50th	David Secor Duncan Hunter	Brian Bilbray	Duncan Hunter	No
51st	Juan Vargas Michael Crimmins	Bob Filner	Juan Vargas	No
52nd	Scott Peters Brian Bilbray	Duncan Hunter	Scott Peters	Yes
53rd	Susan Davis Nick Popaditch	Susan Davis	Susan Davis	No

Candidates

1st Congressional District

General election candidates

Jim Reed