The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the 16
U.S. representatives from the state of
Ohio, a loss of two seats following the
2010 United States census. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial
presidential election and an
election to the U.S. Senate.
The
redistricting process was formally begun by a legislative panel on June 16, 2011.[1] A proposal released in September 2011 would create 12 districts favoring Republicans and four favoring Democrats. In the proposal, one district which favored Republicans would be effectively eliminated, and the homes of six of the state's
incumbents would be drawn into districts also containing the homes of other incumbents.[2] The map was passed by the
Ohio House of Representatives on September 15[3] and by the
Ohio Senate on September 21. The bill passed by the Senate included an
appropriations provision intended to prevent the bill from being placed on the 2012 ballot by
petition[4] and was passed again by the House the same day.[5]GovernorJohn Kasich signed the bill into law on September 26.[6]
On September 28, the
Ohio Democratic Party had filed suit in the
Ohio Supreme Court, seeking a ruling on the legality of the Senate's addition of an appropriations provision.[7] On October 14, the Supreme Court ruled that a
referendum on the map could go ahead. Ohioans for Fair Districts, the group calling for a referendum, asked the court to restart the 90-day time limit for the collection of signatures,[8] a request the court declined, meaning the 90-day period would begin on September 26 rather than October 14.[9] Chris Redfern, the chair of the Ohio Democratic Party, vowed to collect enough signatures to place the map on the ballot.[10]
If the map had received 66 votes in the House of Representatives, an emergency clause preventing a referendum from being held would have been invoked. As a result, in October 2011 Republicans sought the support of
African American Democrats for an alternative map.[11] Later that month members of the
Ohio Legislative Black Caucus met with Redfern, indicating they would not immediately seek to compromise with Republicans;[12] however on October 31
Bob Bennett, the former chair of the
Ohio Republican Party appointed by
House SpeakerWilliam G. Batchelder to negotiate an alternative map, said he thought the two parties were close to reaching an agreement.[13]
On November 3, Batchelder brought a slightly modified map to the floor of the House of Representatives. However, the House fell eight votes short of the 66 needed to bring the map up for a vote without a committee hearing having been held.[14]
Later in November, Ohio Democratic Party
communications directorSeth Bringman said the referendum effort had surpassed 100,000 signatures and aimed to have collected the over 230,000 signatures necessary by December 23.[15] However, a lack of funds prevented Ohioans for Fair Districts from hiring professional signature gatherers and necessitated the exclusive use of volunteers. Redfern said in December 2011 that Democrats might return to the Supreme Court to request that it reconsider its decision on the 90-day time limit. If the signature-gathering effort had failed, an
amendment to the
Ohio Constitution requiring compact and competitive districts could have been sought.[16] If the Democratic Party failed to collect enough signatures, the original map would have taken effect on Christmas Day 2011.[15]
On December 14, 2011, the House of Representatives and Senate both passed a new map, effectively resolving the situation.[17]
District 1
The
Ohio's 1st congressional district is based in
Cincinnati, stretching southwestward to Ohio's borders with
Kentucky and
Indiana. After redistricting, it lost parts of
Hamilton County and gained strongly republican
Warren Country. This turned it from a district that was 1 percentage point more Democratic than the national average, to one that was 6 percentage points more Republican than the national average.[18] It had been represented by Republican
Steve Chabot, who previously served from 1995 until 2009, since January 2011. He sought re-election in 2012.[19]
Jeff Sinnard defeated Malcolm Kantzler by a scant 56 votes for the Democratic nomination (the reference footnote 19 provides only the unofficial, election night final tally).[28]
Libertarian primary
Candidates
Nominee
Jim Berns, former Chair of Hamilton County Libertarian Party[29] and nominee for this district in
2010
The Sinnard campaign was criticized for its lack of active campaigning and for not even having a campaign website.[33] Sinnard subsequently admitted he was just doing the party a favor by putting his name on the ballot.[34]
Krikorian said in October 2011 that if he did not receive the support of the Democratic Party he would run as an
independent candidate,[42] but he did not.
The new
3rd district is based in
Columbus. Redistricting placed most of the heavily Democratic portions of Columbus into the 3rd, with much of the rest of Columbus split into the more Republican 12th and 15th districts.
Joseph Liolios had planned to run, but failed to refile after the
Ohio General Assembly modified some districts' boundaries and moved the date of the primary.[85]
Political consultant Bill Burges suggested in September 2011 that Democratic U.S. Representative
Betty Sutton, who had represented the 13th district since 2007, might have sought re-election in the 7th district;[47] however, in December 2011, she announced plans to run in the 16th district.[86]
Six candidates qualified for the ballot in the Democratic primary.
Sharen Neuhardt won the March primary with a plurality of 36% of the vote.[103] She had in 2008 run for the seat held by
Steve Austria, who defeated her 58%-42%[104] in a district McCain won 54%-45%, thus underperforming Obama by three points. However, this redrawn district McCain would have won 50%-49%.[105]
John Stephen Luchansky and Lisa Regula Meyer had also filed to seek the Democratic nomination, but both failed to refile after the
Ohio General Assembly modified some districts' boundaries and moved the date of the primary.[112]
LaTourette announced on July 31, 2012, that he was retiring at the end of the term. He officially withdrew from the ballot on August 8, allowing the party chairmen from the seven counties in the district to select a replacement nominee.[113]
^
ab"The Blade recommends". toledoblade.com. The Toledo Blade. November 4, 2012. Archived from
the original on November 16, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the 16
U.S. representatives from the state of
Ohio, a loss of two seats following the
2010 United States census. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial
presidential election and an
election to the U.S. Senate.
The
redistricting process was formally begun by a legislative panel on June 16, 2011.[1] A proposal released in September 2011 would create 12 districts favoring Republicans and four favoring Democrats. In the proposal, one district which favored Republicans would be effectively eliminated, and the homes of six of the state's
incumbents would be drawn into districts also containing the homes of other incumbents.[2] The map was passed by the
Ohio House of Representatives on September 15[3] and by the
Ohio Senate on September 21. The bill passed by the Senate included an
appropriations provision intended to prevent the bill from being placed on the 2012 ballot by
petition[4] and was passed again by the House the same day.[5]GovernorJohn Kasich signed the bill into law on September 26.[6]
On September 28, the
Ohio Democratic Party had filed suit in the
Ohio Supreme Court, seeking a ruling on the legality of the Senate's addition of an appropriations provision.[7] On October 14, the Supreme Court ruled that a
referendum on the map could go ahead. Ohioans for Fair Districts, the group calling for a referendum, asked the court to restart the 90-day time limit for the collection of signatures,[8] a request the court declined, meaning the 90-day period would begin on September 26 rather than October 14.[9] Chris Redfern, the chair of the Ohio Democratic Party, vowed to collect enough signatures to place the map on the ballot.[10]
If the map had received 66 votes in the House of Representatives, an emergency clause preventing a referendum from being held would have been invoked. As a result, in October 2011 Republicans sought the support of
African American Democrats for an alternative map.[11] Later that month members of the
Ohio Legislative Black Caucus met with Redfern, indicating they would not immediately seek to compromise with Republicans;[12] however on October 31
Bob Bennett, the former chair of the
Ohio Republican Party appointed by
House SpeakerWilliam G. Batchelder to negotiate an alternative map, said he thought the two parties were close to reaching an agreement.[13]
On November 3, Batchelder brought a slightly modified map to the floor of the House of Representatives. However, the House fell eight votes short of the 66 needed to bring the map up for a vote without a committee hearing having been held.[14]
Later in November, Ohio Democratic Party
communications directorSeth Bringman said the referendum effort had surpassed 100,000 signatures and aimed to have collected the over 230,000 signatures necessary by December 23.[15] However, a lack of funds prevented Ohioans for Fair Districts from hiring professional signature gatherers and necessitated the exclusive use of volunteers. Redfern said in December 2011 that Democrats might return to the Supreme Court to request that it reconsider its decision on the 90-day time limit. If the signature-gathering effort had failed, an
amendment to the
Ohio Constitution requiring compact and competitive districts could have been sought.[16] If the Democratic Party failed to collect enough signatures, the original map would have taken effect on Christmas Day 2011.[15]
On December 14, 2011, the House of Representatives and Senate both passed a new map, effectively resolving the situation.[17]
District 1
The
Ohio's 1st congressional district is based in
Cincinnati, stretching southwestward to Ohio's borders with
Kentucky and
Indiana. After redistricting, it lost parts of
Hamilton County and gained strongly republican
Warren Country. This turned it from a district that was 1 percentage point more Democratic than the national average, to one that was 6 percentage points more Republican than the national average.[18] It had been represented by Republican
Steve Chabot, who previously served from 1995 until 2009, since January 2011. He sought re-election in 2012.[19]
Jeff Sinnard defeated Malcolm Kantzler by a scant 56 votes for the Democratic nomination (the reference footnote 19 provides only the unofficial, election night final tally).[28]
Libertarian primary
Candidates
Nominee
Jim Berns, former Chair of Hamilton County Libertarian Party[29] and nominee for this district in
2010
The Sinnard campaign was criticized for its lack of active campaigning and for not even having a campaign website.[33] Sinnard subsequently admitted he was just doing the party a favor by putting his name on the ballot.[34]
Krikorian said in October 2011 that if he did not receive the support of the Democratic Party he would run as an
independent candidate,[42] but he did not.
The new
3rd district is based in
Columbus. Redistricting placed most of the heavily Democratic portions of Columbus into the 3rd, with much of the rest of Columbus split into the more Republican 12th and 15th districts.
Joseph Liolios had planned to run, but failed to refile after the
Ohio General Assembly modified some districts' boundaries and moved the date of the primary.[85]
Political consultant Bill Burges suggested in September 2011 that Democratic U.S. Representative
Betty Sutton, who had represented the 13th district since 2007, might have sought re-election in the 7th district;[47] however, in December 2011, she announced plans to run in the 16th district.[86]
Six candidates qualified for the ballot in the Democratic primary.
Sharen Neuhardt won the March primary with a plurality of 36% of the vote.[103] She had in 2008 run for the seat held by
Steve Austria, who defeated her 58%-42%[104] in a district McCain won 54%-45%, thus underperforming Obama by three points. However, this redrawn district McCain would have won 50%-49%.[105]
John Stephen Luchansky and Lisa Regula Meyer had also filed to seek the Democratic nomination, but both failed to refile after the
Ohio General Assembly modified some districts' boundaries and moved the date of the primary.[112]
LaTourette announced on July 31, 2012, that he was retiring at the end of the term. He officially withdrew from the ballot on August 8, allowing the party chairmen from the seven counties in the district to select a replacement nominee.[113]
^
ab"The Blade recommends". toledoblade.com. The Toledo Blade. November 4, 2012. Archived from
the original on November 16, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2023.