2012 West Virginia Senate election

2012 West Virginia Senate elections

← 2010 November 6, 2012 2014 →

17 of 34 seats in the West Virginia Senate
18 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Jeff Kessler Mike Hall
Party Democratic Republican
Leader since 2010 2010
Leader's seat SD 2 SD 4
Seats before 28 6
Seats after 25 9
Seat change Decrease 3 Increase 3
Popular vote 352,746 219,193
Percentage 61.7% 38.3%
Seats up 14 3
Seats won 11 6

Holds and gains
     Democratic gain      Democratic hold
     Republican hold

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
Before[2]
80th Leg.
Up Won After[2]
81th Leg.
+/–
Democratic 16 352,746 61.7 28 14 11 25 Decrease 3
Republican 11 219,193 38.3 6 3 6 9 Increase 3
Total 571,939 100% 34 17 34 Steady
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%
  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.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Results was invoked but never defined (see the help page).