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 County results Congressional district resultsForest: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Coleman: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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The2012 North Carolina lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the otherelections to theCouncil of State and thegubernatorial election.Primary elections were held May 8. The offices ofGovernor andLieutenant Governor are elected separately. The incumbent, Lieutenant GovernorWalter H. Dalton, announced on January 26, 2012 that he wouldrun for Governor.[1]
In the general election, RepublicanDan Forest won 50.08% of the vote, narrowly defeating DemocratLinda Coleman.[2] The election result was in doubt for almost two weeks after Election Day, and was within the margin in which Coleman could ask for a recount, but she chose not to do so on November 19.[3]
When he took office in January 2013, Forest became the state's first Republican lieutenant governor sinceJim Gardner left office two decades earlier.
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Linda Coleman | Eric Mansfield | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling[8] | May 5–6, 2012 | 500 | ± 3.1% | 41% | 23% | 36% |
| Survey USA[9] | April 26–30, 2012 | 560 | ± 4.2% | 41% | 23% | 36% |
| Public Policy Polling[10] | April 27–29, 2012 | 500 | ± 4.4% | 39% | 18% | 43% |
| Public Policy Polling[11] | April 20–22, 2012 | 500 | ± 4.4% | 28% | 16% | 56% |
| Public Policy Polling[12] | March 23–25, 2012 | 505 | ± 4.36% | 26% | 14% | 59% |
| Public Policy Polling[13] | February 29 – March 1, 2012 | 499 | ± 4.4% | 25% | 15% | 61% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Linda Coleman | 483,905 | 56.1 | |
| Democratic | Eric Mansfield | 378,635 | 43.9 | |
| Total votes | 862,540 | 100.0 | ||
Declared
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Dale Folwell | Dan Forest | Tony Gurley | Grey Mills | Arthur Rich | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling[20] | May 5–6, 2012 | 496 | ± 4.4% | 22% | 17% | 18% | 9% | 2% | 32% |
| Survey USA[21] | April 26–30, 2012 | 451 | ± 4.7% | 13% | 17% | 12% | 11% | 5% | 41% |
| Public Policy Polling[22] | April 27–29, 2012 | 486 | ± 4.4% | 20% | 15% | 11% | 10% | 3% | 40% |
| Public Policy Polling[23] | April 20–22, 2012 | 521 | ± 4.3% | 15% | 12% | 12% | 8% | 2% | 51% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dan Forest | 251,885 | 32.9 | |
| Republican | Tony Gurley | 189,954 | 24.9 | |
| Republican | Dale Folwell | 185,535 | 24.3 | |
| Republican | Grey Mills | 112,063 | 14.7 | |
| Republican | Arthur Jason Rich | 25,015 | 3.3 | |
| Total votes | 764,452 | 100.0 | ||
Under state law, if no candidate receives 40 percent of the vote in the primary, the second-place candidate can request asecond primary (runoff).[25] According to unofficial May 8 primary election results, Gurley came in second, and he announced that he would request such a runoff.[26]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dan Forest | 101,428 | 67.9 | |
| Republican | Tony Gurley | 47,978 | 32.1 | |
| Total votes | 149,406 | 100.0 | ||
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Linda Coleman (D) | Dan Forest (R) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling[28] | November 3–4, 2012 | 926 | ± 3.2% | 44% | 45% | 11% |
| Public Policy Polling[29] | October 29–31, 2012 | 730 | ± 3.6% | 41% | 43% | 16% |
| Public Policy Polling[30] | October 12–14, 2012 | 1,084 | ± 3% | 37% | 38% | 26% |
| Civitas/National Research, Inc.[31] | September 18–19, 2012 | 600 | ± 4% | 43% | 39% | 18% |
| Public Policy Polling[32] | August 31 – September 1, 2012 | 1,012 | ± 3.1% | 41% | 39% | 20% |
| Public Policy Polling[33] | August 2–5, 2012 | 813 | ± 3.4% | 37% | 38% | 26% |
| Public Policy Polling[34] | May 10–13, 2012 | 666 | ± 3.8% | 41% | 40% | 20% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dan Forest | 2,187,728 | 50.08% | |
| Democratic | Linda Coleman | 2,180,870 | 49.92% | |
| Total votes | 4,368,598 | 100.00% | ||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | ||||
Forest won ten of the state's 13 congressional districts, including one that elected a Democrat.[36]
| District | Forest | Coleman | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 26% | 74% | G. K. Butterfield |
| 2nd | 57% | 43% | Renee Ellmers |
| 3rd | 56% | 44% | Walter B. Jones Jr. |
| 4th | 28% | 72% | David Price |
| 5th | 59% | 41% | Virginia Foxx |
| 6th | 57% | 43% | Howard Coble |
| 7th | 57% | 43% | Mike McIntyre |
| 8th | 56% | 44% | Larry Kissell |
| Richard Hudson | |||
| 9th | 58% | 42% | Sue Myrick |
| Robert Pittenger | |||
| 10th | 58% | 42% | Patrick McHenry |
| 11th | 60% | 40% | Heath Shuler |
| Mark Meadows | |||
| 12th | 21% | 79% | Mel Watt |
| 13th | 56% | 44% | Brad Miller |
| George Holding |
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