2012 West Virginia Senate election

2012 West Virginia Senate elections
← These seats' last election (2008) These seats' next election (2016) →
17 of 34 seats in the West Virginia Senate; 18 seats needed for a majority
Democratic 50–60% 60–70% >90%	Republican 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%
Senate President before election; Jeff Kessler; Democratic	Elected Senate President ; Jeff Kessler; Democratic

The 2012 West Virginia Senate election took place on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect members to the 81st and 82nd Legislatures; held concurrently with the presidential, U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and gubernatorial elections.^[1] State senate seats in West Virginia are staggered, with senators serving 4-year terms. 17 of the 34 state senate seats were up for election. While Republican candidate for president Mitt Romney won the state in the presidential election by over 26 points, the Democratic Party won over 60% of the vote for state senate candidates, though they lost 3 seats.^[2] As of 2023, this is the last state senate election in which Democrats won a majority of seats.

Summary of the 2012 West Virginia Senate election results^[3]
Party		Candidates	Votes	%	Seats
Party		Candidates	Votes	%	Before^[2] 80th Leg.	Up	Won	After^[2] 81th Leg.	+/–
	Democratic	16	352,746	61.7	28	14	11	25	3
	Republican	11	219,193	38.3	6	3	6	9	3
Total			571,939	100%	34	17		34

Popular vote

Democratic			61.7%
Republican			38.3%

Seats won

Democratic			64.7%
Republican			35.3%

Total senate seats

Democratic			73.5%
Republican			26.5%

^ Barnes, Clark (2016). West Virginia Blue Book (PDF) (Volume 93 ed.). Charleston, West Virginia: West Virginia Legislature. pp. 780–87. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c Barnes, Clark (2016). West Virginia Blue Book (PDF) (Volume 93 ed.). Charleston, West Virginia: West Virginia Legislature. p. 511. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
^ Cite error: The named reference Results was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1] Barnes, Clark (2016). West Virginia Blue Book (PDF) (Volume 93 ed.). Charleston, West Virginia: West Virginia Legislature. pp. 780–87. Retrieved February 24, 2024.

[BeforeAndAfter-2] Barnes, Clark (2016). West Virginia Blue Book (PDF) (Volume 93 ed.). Charleston, West Virginia: West Virginia Legislature. p. 511. Retrieved February 24, 2024.

[Results-3] Cite error: The named reference Results was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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