2012 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

2012 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

← 2006 November 6, 2012 2018 →
Turnout72.5% (voting eligible)[1]
 
Nominee Tammy Baldwin Tommy Thompson
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,547,104 1,380,126
Percentage 51.41% 45.86%

Baldwin:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Thompson:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
     Tie      No data

U.S. senator before election

Herb Kohl
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Tammy Baldwin
Democratic

The 2012 United States Senate election in Wisconsin took place on November 6, 2012, alongside a U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic Senator Herb Kohl retired instead of running for re-election to a fifth term. This was the first open Senate seat in Wisconsin since 1988, when Kohl won his first term.

Primary elections were held on August 14, 2012. Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. The Republican nominee was former Wisconsin Governor and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, who won with a plurality in a four-way primary race. In the general election, Baldwin defeated Thompson and won the open seat. She became the first woman elected to represent Wisconsin in the Senate and the first openly gay U.S. senator in history. This is also the only time Thompson lost a statewide race.

  1. ^ Michael McDonald (February 9, 2013). "2012 General Election Turnout Rates". George Mason University. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2013.