2012 United States Senate elections

← 2010 November 6, 2012 2014 →
← 2006 Class 1 2018 →
33 of the 100 seats in theUnited States Senate 51 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Harry Reid Mitch McConnell Party Democratic Republican Leader's seat Nevada Kentucky Seats before 51 47 Seats after 53 45 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 49,988,282[1] 39,128,301[1] Percentage 53.4% 41.8% Seats up 21 10 Races won 23 8   Third party   Party Independent Seats before 2[a] Seats after 2[b] Seat change Popular vote 961,284[1] Percentage 1.0% Seats up 2 Races won 2
Results of the elections:      Democratic gain     Republican gain     Independent gain      Democratic hold     Republican hold     Independent hold      No election
Majority Leader before election Harry Reid Democratic ElectedMajority Leader Harry Reid Democratic

The2012 United States Senate elections were held on November 6, 2012, with 33 of the 100 seats in theSenate, allClass 1 seats, being contested in regular elections whose winners would serve 6-year terms beginning January 3, 2013, with the113th Congress.Democrats had 21 seats up for election, plus 1independent, and 1independent Democrat, while theRepublicans only had ten seats up for election. The presidential election,elections to the House of Representatives,elections for governors in 14 states and territories, and many state and local elections were also held on the same day.

The Democrats gained Republican-held seats inMassachusetts andIndiana and one from an Independent Democrat inConnecticut, leaving them with a total of 53 seats. Additionally, they held open seats inHawaii,New Mexico,North Dakota,Virginia, andWisconsin. The Republicans, despite losing 2 of their seats, picked an open seat inNebraska up and retained open seats inArizona andTexas, ending with a total of 45 seats. The Independents retained a seat inVermont and gained an additional seat from the Republicans inMaine, bringing their total to 2 seats. Both Independents would caucus with the Democrats, forming a majority caucus with a combined total of 55 seats.

As of 2024^[update], this was the last time the Democrats won seats inFlorida, Indiana,Missouri, and North Dakota. It was also the last time the Republican Party won a seat inNevada. The Democrats would not win control of the Senate again until2020^[c] and would not win an outright majority again until2022.

Additionally, this was the first time since1936 that a 2-term Democratic presidential candidate had Senate coattails on both occasions. (Although Franklin Roosevelt won third and fourth terms in 1940 and 1944, respectively, he lost Senate seats on both occasions.) This was also the first time since1964 in which either party had to defend more than two-thirds of the Senate seats up for grabs but managed to make net gains.^[2][3] As of 2025^[update], this is the last election cycle in which an elected incumbent senator lost renomination (Richard Lugar of Indiana)^[d].

Shading indicates party with largest share of that line.

Parties									Total
		Democratic	Republican	Independent	Libertarian	Independence	Green	Others
Before these elections		51	47	2	—	—	—	—	100
Not up		30	37	—	—	—	—	—	67
	Class 2 (2008→2014)	20	13	—	—	—	—	—	33
	Class 3 (2010→2016)	10	24	—	—	—	—	—	34
Up		21	10	2	—	—	—	—	33
	Class 1	21	10	2	—	—	—	—	33
Incumbent retired		6	3	1	—	—	—	—	10
	Held by same party	5	2	—	—	—	—	—	7
	Replaced by other party	1 Independent replaced by 1 Democrat 1 Republican replaced by 1 Independent 1 Democrat replaced by 1 Republican			—	—	—	—	3
	Result	6	3	1	—	—	—	—	10
Incumbent ran		15	7[e][f]	1	—	—	—	—	23
	Won re-election	15	5	1	—	—	—	—	21
	Lost re-election	1 Republican replaced by 1 Democrat		—	—	—	—	—	1
	Lost renomination but held by same party	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	Lost renomination and party lost	1 Republican replaced by 1 Democrat		—	—	—	—	—	1
	Result	17	5	1	—	—	—	—	23
Total elected		23	8	2	—	—	—	—	33
Net gain/loss		2	2		—	—	—	—	2
Nationwide vote		49,988,282	39,128,301	961,284	956,745	211,794	195,200	2,119,714	93,561,320[1]
	Share	53.43%	41.82%	1.03%	1.02%	0.23%	0.21%	2.27%	100%
Result		53	45	2	—	—	—	—	100
End ofthis Congress		51	47	2	—	—	—	—	100

There were no special elections during the 112th Congress.

In these elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 2013; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.

Elections with a margin less than 10.0%.

The table below gives an overview of some final predictions of the November general elections by several well-known institutes and people. While there were very few mistakes (predictions in the wrong direction; essentially only Montana and North Dakota, by both Sabato's Crystal Ball and FiveThirtyEight), FiveThirtyEight and Princeton Election Consortium had 2-4 races in the Lean categories and no tossups, whereas all other sources had at least eleven races in the middle three categories, and in particular many Tossup races.

Six Democrats, one independent Democrat, and three Republicans retired instead of seeking re-election.

Two Republicans sought re-election but lost in either the primary or general election.

One Democrat died before the start of the 113th Congress on December 17, 2012. One Democrat died during the 113th Congress on June 3, 2013. Two Democrats and one Republican resigned. All were replaced, at least initially, by appointees. InNew Jersey andMassachusetts, special elections were held prior to the2014 Senate elections for the remainder of the Class 2 terms, where Democrat Cory Booker won the New Jersey special election to succeed Republican appointee Jeffrey Chiesa, who did not seek election; and in Massachusetts, where Ed Markey won to succeed Democratic appointee Mo Cowan, who did not seek election.

Arizona election

← 2006 2018 →
Turnout	52.9% (voting eligible)[23]
Nominee Jeff Flake Richard Carmona Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,104,457 1,036,542 Percentage 49.2% 46.2%
Flake:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70% Carmona:     50–60%     60–70%
U.S. senator before election Jon Kyl Republican Elected U.S. senator Jeff Flake Republican

Three-term incumbent andSenate Minority Whip RepublicanJon Kyl, whowas re-elected in 2006 with 53% of the vote, announced he would not seek a fourth term in 2012.^[5][24]Republican representativeJeff Flake^[25] won the August 28 primary with 69.1% of the vote, against three contenders, including real estate investor Wil Cardon^[26] who polled 21.2%.On the Democratic side, formerU.S. Surgeon GeneralRichard Carmona^[27] won the primary election, which was held August 28, 2012.

Preliminary general election results showed Flake leading 49.7%-45.7%, but 439,961 early votes had yet to be counted.^[29] The official results, as tabulated by the secretary of state, showed a slightly smaller win for Flake. Flake won the election with 49.7% of the vote against Carmona's 46.2% and Victor's 4.6%.^[30]

California election

← 2006 2018 →
Turnout	55.2% (voting eligible)[23]
Nominee Dianne Feinstein Elizabeth Emken Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 7,864,624 4,713,887 Percentage 62.5% 37.5%
Feinstein:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Emken:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
U.S. senator before election Dianne Feinstein Democratic Elected U.S. senator Dianne Feinstein Democratic

Incumbent DemocratDianne Feinstein was re-elected. The primary election on June 5 took place under California's new blanket primary, where all candidates appear on the same ballot, regardless of party. In the primary, voters voted for any candidate listed, or write-in any other candidate. The top two finishers — regardless of party — advanced to the general election in November, even if a candidate managed to receive a majority of the votes cast in the June primary. In the primary, less than 15% of the total 2010 census population voted. Incumbent DemocratDianne Feinstein finished first in the blanket primary with 49.5% of the vote. The second-place finisher was Republican candidate and autism activist Elizabeth Emken, who won 12.7% of the vote.

Feinstein and Emken contested the general election on November 6, with Feinstein winning re-election in a landslide, by 62.5% to 37.5%. Feinstein's 7.86 million votes set the all-time record for the most votes cast for one candidate in one state in one election, beating senatorBarbara Boxer's 6.96 million votesin 2004. This record was held until the2016 presidential election in California, whenHillary Clinton won 8.75 million votes in the state.

Connecticut election

← 2006 2018 →
Turnout	60.9% (voting eligible)[23]
Nominee Chris Murphy Linda McMahon Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 815,077 637,857 Percentage 55.1% 43.3%
County results Municipality results Murphy:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% McMahon:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%
U.S. senator before election Joe Lieberman Independent Elected U.S. senator Chris Murphy Democratic

IncumbentJoe Lieberman, an independent who caucused with the Democratic Party, retired instead of running for re-election to a fifth term.^[32] Republican businesswomanLinda McMahon faced Democratic representativeChris Murphy in the general election and lost, marking two defeats in as many years.^[33]

In the2006 election, incumbentJoe Lieberman was defeated in theDemocratic primary by businessmanNed Lamont and formed his own party,Connecticut for Lieberman, winning re-election. Lieberman promised to remain in theSenate Democratic Caucus, but had clashed with Democrats on many significant issues, including his endorsement of Republican2008 presidential nomineeJohn McCain overBarack Obama.^[34] As a result, Lieberman's poll numbers among Democrats had dropped significantly.^[35][36]

Connecticut Attorney GeneralRichard Blumenthal was reportedly considering a run against Lieberman,^[37] but insteadran for and won Connecticut's other Senate seat in 2010 after U.S. senatorChristopher Dodd announced his retirement.^[38]

Lieberman had publicly floated the possibility of running as a Democrat,^[39] Republican,^[40] or an independent.^[41] However, he announced on January 19, 2011, that he would not run for another term.^[32]

Susan Bysiewicz was the first to declare herself as a candidate.^[42] However, by March 2011 Chris Murphy had raised over $1 million, while Bysiewicz had raised only $500,000. Murphy represented Connecticut's 5th congressional district, which was considered Republican-leaning, and he promoted himself as the most electable candidate against a Republican challenger. Bysiewicz, the former Secretary of the State of Connecticut, enjoyed high name recognition while a statewide officeholder, and had a formidable face-off with Murphy. William Tong, a state representative, joined the race touting his biography as the son of Chinese immigrants working at a Chinese restaurant.^[43] In January East Hartford resident Matthew John Oakes announced his candidacy. Oakes pointed to his real life experience being a disabled American, victim of crime, civil rights activist, growing up in the inner-city and being a political outsider for his candidacy.^[44]

Wide speculation continued on Linda McMahon, who had a widely publicizedrace for senator in 2010. She lost the election decisively, but had strong finances and a well-established political organization.^[43] McMahon met with her former campaign consultant to review her 2010 results, and said she was leaning towards running. She planned to make a decision regarding another run after the start of 2012. CongressmanChris Shays joined in August 2011, promoting his involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan's military contracting.^[45] Shays campaign also gained traction from a series of independent polls showing him beating or in dead heat with the top Democratic contenders in the general election, while those same polls showed McMahon losing handily to each of the top Democratic contenders.^[46] The Shays campaign has quickly capitalized on these polls, arguing for the former Congressman's electability while questioning McMahon's electability due to her loss in anopen Senate seat contest in 2010 by a large margin despite spending $50million of her own money, and also citing both her high unfavorable numbers among voters and her poor fundraising.^[47]

In July 2012, Shays declared that he would not support McMahon if she won the primary. He said that he had "never run against an opponent that I have respected less—ever—and there are a lot of candidates I have run against," adding that "I do not believe that Linda McMahon has spent the time, the energy to determine what [being] a senator really means." He also said that during the last debate he had with McMahon, "I thought she was embarrassingly clueless" and that "I think she is a terrible candidate and I think she would make a terrible senator." Although he said he would not support Chris Murphy, he expected him to win the Democratic nomination and the general election.^[48]

In September 2012, the records of the McMahons' 1976 bankruptcy and specifics of nearly $1 million unpaid debts from the proceeding were published.^[49] In days the candidate and her husband announced the "intention to reimburse all private individual creditors that can be located".^[50]

Note: Murphy also appeared on the line of theConnecticut Working Families Party and received 37,553 votes on it. His Working Families and Democratic votes have been aggregated together on this table.

Delaware election

← 2006 2018 →
Turnout	62.7% (voting eligible)[23]
Nominee Tom Carper Kevin Wade Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 265,374 115,694 Percentage 66.4% 29.0%
Carper:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
U.S. senator before election Tom Carper Democratic Elected U.S. senator Tom Carper Democratic

Incumbent DemocratTom Carper won re-election to a third term.

Note: The ±% column reflects the change in total number of votes won by each party from the previous election. Neither the vote shares nor the turnout figures account for write-ins. Turnout percentage is the portion of registered voters (632,805 as of January 11, 2012)^[54] who voted.

Florida election

← 2006 2018 →
Turnout	63.5% (voting eligible)[23]
Nominee Bill Nelson Connie Mack IV Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 4,523,451 3,458,267 Percentage 55.2% 42.2%
County results Nelson:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Mack:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%
U.S. senator before election Bill Nelson Democratic Elected U.S. senator Bill Nelson[55] Democratic

The primary election was held August 14, 2012. Incumbent DemocratBill Nelson won re-election to a third term, defeating Republican U.S. RepresentativeConnie Mack IV by 13%, winning 55% to 42%. Nelson defeated Mack by over 1 million votes.

From a long way out Nelson appeared to be vulnerable, with some earlier polls showing Mack leading. However, in the last few weeks with new polls conducted it appeared as though Nelson was headed for a victory. The last poll place him 5 percentage points ahead of Mack. In fact Nelson would win easily by 13 percentage points. Nelson performed well in Southeast Florida (the Miami area),Tampa,Gainesville, typically Democratic areas. Nelson however managed to win in areas that lean Republican. For example, Nelson won inDuval County home ofJacksonville, andVolusia County home ofDaytona Beach. Nelson's ability to outperform President Obama led to him winning the Election easily. President Obama would still winFlorida, but by just about 74,000 votes, and less than a percentage point. Nelson began his third term in the Senate on January 3, 2013.

Hawaii election

← 2006 2018 →
Turnout	44.2% (voting eligible)[23]
Nominee Mazie Hirono Linda Lingle Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 269,489 160,994 Percentage 62.6% 37.4%
County results Hirono:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
U.S. senator before election Daniel Akaka Democratic Elected U.S. senator Mazie Hirono Democratic

Incumbent DemocratDaniel Akaka retired instead of running for re-election to a fourth term.DemocraticCongresswoman Mazie Hirono defeated formerHawaii GovernorLinda Lingle in a rematch of the2002 Hawaii gubernatorial election.

2012 United States Senate election in Indiana

← 2006 2018 →
Turnout	58.5%[57]
Nominee Joe Donnelly Richard Mourdock Andrew Horning Party Democratic Republican Libertarian Popular vote 1,281,181 1,133,621 145,282 Percentage 50.0% 44.3% 5.7%
County results Donnelly:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70% Mourdock:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%
U.S. senator before election Richard Lugar Republican Elected U.S. senator Joe Donnelly Democratic

Incumbent RepublicanRichard Lugar ran for re-election to a seventh term, but was defeated in the primary byTea Party-backedRichard Mourdock. CongressmanJoe Donnelly, a moderate Democrat fromIndiana's 2nd Congressional District, received his party's nomination after running unopposed in the primary contest, and then defeated both Mourdock and Libertarian Andrew Horning in the general election.

Due to Lugar's unpopularity among someTea Party voters on his positions regarding illegal immigration, voting to confirm then-U.S. Supreme Court nomineesSonia Sotomayor andElena Kagan, theDREAM Act, theSTART Treaty, somegun control bills, andcongressional earmarks, he was challenged by a Tea Party-backed candidate.^[58][59]

The Indiana Debate Commission's GOP primary debate with Sen. Richard Lugar and State Treasurer Richard Mourdock was set to air at 7 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 11.^[60] In a widely published poll taken March 26 to 28, Lugar was still in the lead, but by the time of a second published poll from April 30 to May 1, Mourdock was leading 48% to 38% for Lugar.

Mourdock defeated senator Lugar in the Republican primary on May 8, 2012.^[61][62]

According to Indiana law, Lugar's defeat meant that he would not be permitted to run in the election either as a third party or an independent candidate after he lost the primary.^[63]

Mourdock became embroiled in a controversy after stating thatpregnancy from rape is "something that God intended". His remarks were made during a debate on October 23, 2012, while explaining his opposition toabortion even in the case ofrape. At the debate Mourdock, when asked what his position on abortion was, responded:

"I know there are some who disagree and I respect their point of view but I believe that life begins at conception. The only exception I have to have an abortion is in that case of the life of the mother. I just struggled with it myself for a long time but I came to realize: "Life is that gift from God that I think even if life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen."^[65]

Media speculated that this could affect the outcome of the Senate race and Presidential race,^[66] and multiple sources noted the similarities with therape and pregnancy statement controversies in the 2012 United States elections.^[67][68]

Responding to the criticism, Mourdock issued a statement saying: "God creates life, and that was my point. God does not want rape, and by no means was I suggesting that he does. Rape is a horrible thing, and for anyone to twist my words otherwise is absurd and sick."^[69] He was later quoted at a press conference also saying: "I believe God controls the universe. I don't believe biology works in an uncontrolled fashion."^[70] He however refused to issue an apology, even while prominent Republicans, including Sen.John McCain, called for him to do so.^[71]

On election night Donnelly won by about six percent. He performed well inMarion County, home ofIndianapolis. Donnelly also won areas with major college campuses, such asIndiana University inBloomington,Purdue University inLafayette. Mourdock performed well, as expected in the Indianapolis suburbs, such asHamilton County. Mourdock conceded defeat to Donnelly at around 11:30 P.M. EST.

2012 United States Senate election in Maine

← 2006 2018 →

Nominee Angus King Charlie Summers Party Independent Republican Popular vote 368,724 214,114 Percentage 52.9% 30.7%   Nominee Cynthia Dill Party Democratic Popular vote 91,635 Percentage 13.2%

County results Municipality results King:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     >90% Summers:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     >90% Dill:     40–50%     60–70%     >90% Tie:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%

U.S. senator before election Olympia Snowe Republican Elected U.S. senator Angus King Independent

Despite initially being in the race early on and poised to easily win, popular RepublicanOlympia Snowe suddenly retired instead of running for re-election to a fourth term. Former Independent GovernorAngus King won the open seat. Following senatorJoe Lieberman's retirement from the Senate in 2013, King became the second Independent incumbent senator, afterVermont'sBernie Sanders.

IncumbentOlympia Snowe won re-election to a third term in 2006 with 74.01% of the vote over Democrat Jean Hay Bright and independent Bill Slavick. Due to the unpopularity of some of Snowe's votes among conservative voters, namely for theAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and initial support of thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act, there was speculation that she would face competition in the 2012 Republican primary from more conservative challengers.^[73] TheTea Party Express had promised to aid in a primary against Snowe.^[74] There had also been speculation that Snowe would switch parties, though she has always denied this.^[75][76][77] By June 2011, Snowe had officially entered her name with signatures to run in the Republican primary, saying, she "would never switch parties".

However, on February 28, 2012, Snowe announced that she would be retiring from the U.S. Senate at the end of her term, citing the "atmosphere of polarization and 'my way or the highway' ideologies has become pervasive in campaigns and in our governing institutions" as the reason for her retirement.^[78] Her announcement opened the door for candidates from all parties and creating a much more contested 2012 election.^[79]

The primary election was held June 12.^[80]

Maryland election

← 2006 2018 →

Nominee Ben Cardin Dan Bongino Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,402,092 674,649 Percentage 55.4% 26.7%   Nominee Rob Sobhani Party Independent Popular vote 420,554 Percentage 16.6%

County results Cardin:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%      70–80%     80–90% Bongino:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election Ben Cardin Democratic Elected U.S. senator Ben Cardin Democratic

Incumbent DemocratBen Cardin won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican nomineeDan Bongino and independentRob Sobhani.

In both 2010 and 2009,National Journal magazine rated Cardin as tied for most liberal senator, based on his voting record. As of June 30, Cardin had $1.8 million in his campaign account.^[85]

2012 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

← 2010 (special) 2018 →

Nominee Elizabeth Warren Scott Brown Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,696,346 1,458,048 Percentage 53.7% 46.2%

County results Municipality results Warren:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Brown:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

U.S. senator before election Scott Brown Republican Elected U.S. senator Elizabeth Warren Democratic

Incumbent RepublicanScott Brown ran for re-election to a first full term. He had been elected in aspecial election in 2010 following the death of incumbent DemocratTed Kennedy. Brown faced no challengers from his own party. For the Democrats, an initial wide field of prospective candidates narrowed after the entry ofHarvard Law School ProfessorElizabeth Warren, the architect of theConsumer Financial Protection Bureau. Warren clinched near-unanimous party support, with all but one of the other Democratic candidates withdrawing following her entrance. After winning her party's nomination, eliminating any need for a primary, she faced Brown in the general election.

The election was one of the most-followed races in 2012 and cost approximately $82 million, which made it the most expensive election in Massachusetts history and the second-most expensive in the entire2012 election cycle, next tothat year's presidential election. This was despite the two candidates' having agreed not to allowoutside money to influence the race. Opinion polling indicated a close race for much of the campaign, though Warren opened up a small but consistent lead in the final few weeks. She went on to defeat Brown by over 236,000 votes, 54% to 46%.

Democratic U.S. senatorTed Kennedy was re-elected in2006, and died on August 25, 2009, from amalignantbrain tumor.^[87] On September 24, 2009,Massachusetts GovernorDeval Patrick appointed longtime friend of Kennedy and formerDemocratic National Committee ChairmanPaul G. Kirk to succeed Kennedy until a special election could be held.^[88] Kirk's appointment was especially controversial, as the Governor's ability to appoint an interim senator was removed during theRomney administration by the Democratic-controlledlegislature, as a precaution if senator andpresidential nomineeJohn Kerry was electedPresident in 2004. Laws surrounding Senate appointment were quickly changed following Kennedy's death.^[89] TheMassachusetts Republican Party sued in an attempt to halt Kirk's appointment, but it was rejected bySuffolk Superior Court Judge Thomas Connolly.^[90]

In thespecial election held January 19, 2010, RepublicanState senatorScott Brown defeated DemocraticState Attorney GeneralMartha Coakley in an upset victory.^[91] Brown thus became the first Republican to be elected from Massachusetts to the United States Senate sinceEdward Brooke in1972 and he began serving the remainder of Kennedy's term on February 4, 2010.^[92][93]

Incumbent Scott Brown faced no challenges from within his party. Thepolitical action committee National Republican Trust, a group integral to Brown's election in 2010, vowed to draft a challenger for Brown but were unable to find one.^[94]

TheMassachusetts Democratic Convention was held June 2, 2012, where Warren received 95.77% of delegate votes.^[96] As the only candidate with 15% of delegate votes necessary to qualify for the primary ballot, Warren eliminated her challenger Marisa DeFranco, becoming thede facto nominee. The Democratic primary was held September 6, 2012, with Warren running unopposed.^[97]

Brown ran as a moderate, stressing his ability to cross party lines and highlighting his votes for theDodd-Frank financial reform law and to repeal "don't ask, don't tell".^[99] Warren campaigned on a platform championing themiddle class, and supportingWall Street regulation. Warren criticized Brown for continually voting with Republican leadership, and argued that he was not the bipartisan moderate he claimed to be.^[100][101] A staple of Brown's attack tactics against Warren was his consistent reference to her as "Professor Warren", in attempt to portray her as anelitist academic.^[102] Brown faced blowback after the second debate, during which he claimed conservativeAntonin Scalia was a "model"Supreme CourtJustice, prompting boos from the debate audience.^[103]

Warren spoke at the2012 Democratic National Convention immediately beforeBill Clinton on the penultimate night of the convention. Warren contrasted President Obama's economic plan withMitt Romney's in the2012 election and rebuked the Republican Party's economic policy stating: "Their vision is clear: 'I've got mine, and the rest of you are on your own.'" Warren positioned herself as a champion of a beleaguered middle class that, as she said, "has been chipped, squeezed and hammered."^{[104][105][106]} Brown attended the2012 Republican National Convention, but was not a speaker there. According to Brown, he had rejected an offer to play a larger role, and limited his attendance to a single day because of scheduling demands.^[107][108]

FollowingTodd Akin's controversial"legitimate rape" comments, Brown was the first sitting senator to demand he drop out of theMissouri U.S. Senate race.^[109] He also called on his Party to "recognize in its platform that you can be pro-choice and still be a good Republican."^[109] Brown's campaign had been endorsed by manyMassachusetts Democrats, many of whom were prominently featured in his campaign ads.^[110]

In September 2011, a video of Warren explaining her approach to economic policy gained popularity on the internet.^[111] In the video, Warren rebuts the charge that asking the rich to pay more taxes is "class warfare", pointing out that no one grew rich in America without depending on infrastructure paid for by the rest of society, stating:^[112][113]

There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. ... You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for; you hired workers the rest of us paid to educate; you were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn't have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory, and hire someone to protect against this, because of the work the rest of us did. Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific, or a great idea. God bless. Keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is, you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.

On July 13, 2012, President Obamasparked a controversy when he echoed her thoughts^[114][115] in a campaign speech saying, "Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business—you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."^[116][117]

Warren encountered significant opposition from business interests. In August 2012, Rob Engstrom, political director for theUnited States Chamber of Commerce, claimed that "no other candidate in 2012 represents a greater threat to free enterprise than Professor Warren."^[118] She nonetheless raised $39 million for her campaign, the most of any Senate candidate in 2012.^[119]

Despite President Obama's winning the state easily, and winning all of the state's counties, this race was fairly close. As expected, Warren performed very well inSuffolk County, which is home to the state's largest city and its capitalBoston. Brown performed well in the southern part of the state nearCape Cod. Warren made history by becoming the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate in the state ofMassachusetts.

Massachusetts general election^[120]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Elizabeth Warren	1,696,346	53.74%	6.6%
	Republican	Scott Brown(incumbent)	1,458,048	46.19%	4.9%
	All others		2,159	0.07%	0.9%
Majority			236,139	7.48%
Turnout			3,156,553
	Democraticgain fromRepublican		Swing	6.2%

Michigan election

← 2006 2018 →

Nominee Debbie Stabenow Pete Hoekstra Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,735,826 1,767,386 Percentage 58.80% 37.98%

Stabenow:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Hoekstra:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election Debbie Stabenow Democratic Elected U.S. senator Debbie Stabenow Democratic

Incumbent DemocratDebbie Stabenow was re-elected to a third term after being unopposed in the Democratic primary. The Republican nominee was former CongressmanPete Hoekstra. Stabenow defeated Hoekstra by a landslide 21% margin and by almost one million votes.

The GOP primary campaign was mainly a battle between Hoekstra and Durant as they were the most visible in running campaign ads. Despite Durant's attack ads, Hoekstra was leading in the polls for the Republican nomination.^[121]