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2012 United States Senate election in California

none

Field	Value
election_name	2012 United States Senate election in California
country	California
type	presidential
ongoing	no
previous_election	2006 United States Senate election in California
previous_year	2006
next_election	2018 United States Senate election in California
next_year	2018
turnout	55.2% (voting eligible)
election_date	November 6, 2012
image_size	x150px
image1	File:Dianne Feinstein, official Senate photo 2 (cropped).jpg
candidate1	Dianne Feinstein
party1	Democratic Party (United States)
popular_vote1	7,864,624
percentage1	62.52%
image2	Elizabeth Emken (cropped).jpg
candidate2	Elizabeth Emken
party2	Republican Party (United States)
popular_vote2	4,713,887
percentage2	37.48%
map_image
map_caption	Feinstein:

title	U.S. Senator
before_election	Dianne Feinstein
before_party	Democratic Party (United States)
after_election	Dianne Feinstein
after_party	Democratic Party (United States)

Emken:
The 2012 United States Senate election in California took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

The primary election on June 5 took place under California's new blanket primary law, 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 Democratic U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein announced her intention to run for a fourth full term in April 2011 and 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 ultimately defeated Emken in the general election on November 6, winning 62.5% of the vote to Emken's 37.5%. Feinstein's total of 7.86 million popular votes was the most ever received by a candidate for U.S. Senate in American history until Adam Schiff won the same seat with over 9 million votes in 2024. For a full decade, Emken was the only Republican candidate to have advanced to a general U.S. Senate election in California, as only Democratic candidates advanced to the general election in 2016 and 2018; however, this streak was broken 10 years later in 2022.

Primary

Candidates

Democratic Party

Dianne Feinstein, incumbent U.S. senator
Colleen Shea Fernald
David Levitt, computer scientist and engineer
Nak Shah, environmental health consultant
Diane Stewart, businesswoman
Mike Strimling, attorney and former U.S. Peace Corps legal adviser

Republican Party

John Boruff, businessman
Oscar Alejandro Braun, businessman and rancher
Greg Conlon, businessman and CPA
Elizabeth Emken, candidate for the 11th congressional district in 2010
Rogelio Gloria, U.S. Naval Officer
Dan Hughes, businessman
Dennis Jackson
Dirk Konopik, former congressional aide
Donald Krampe
Robert Lauten
Al Ramirez, businessman
Nachum Shifren, rabbi and state senate candidate in 2010
Orly Taitz, dentist, Birther movement activist and candidate for California Secretary of State in 2010
Rick Williams, business attorney

Libertarian

Gail Lightfoot, retired nurse

Peace and Freedom

Kabiruddin Karim Ali, businessman
Marsha Feinland, retired teacher

American Independent

Don J. Grundmann, chiropractor Despite Don J. Grundmann running, the American Independent Party gave their party endorsement to Republican Robert Lauten.

Polling

Results

Primary results by county:

]]

Election contest

In July 2012, Taitz sued to block the certification of the primary election results, alleging "rampant election fraud", but her suit was denied.

General election

Fundraising

Candidate (party)	Receipts	Disbursements	Cash on hand	Debt
	Dianne Feinstein (D)	$12,673,306	$12,105,960	$865,541	$373,734
	Elizabeth Emken (R)	$1,114,350	$1,110,209	$4,140	$4,479
Source: Federal Election Commission

Top contributors

Dianne Feinstein	Contribution	Elizabeth Emken	Contribution
Pacific Gas and Electric Company	$120,700	Thomas H. Lee Partners	$10,000
JStreetPAC	$82,171	DevicePharm, Inc.	$7,500
General Atomics	$56,750	Troy Group	$7,500
Edison International	$54,250	Jelly Belly	$5,500
General Dynamics	$43,500	Autism Advocate	$5,000
BAE Systems	$40,000	Geier Group	$5,000
Diamond Foods	$31,599	Generations Healthcare	$5,000
Northrop Grumman	$30,800	Gingery Development	$4,000
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees	$30,000	MIR3, Inc.	$3,000
Wells Fargo	$27,250	Northrop Grumman	$2,800
Source: OpenSecrets

Top industries

Dianne Feinstein	Contribution	Elizabeth Emken	Contribution
Lawyers/Law Firms	$565,129	Retired	$63,849
Retired	$463,058	Republican/Conservative	$35,800
Agribusiness	$367,132	Financial Institutions	$26,100
Real Estate	$334,321	Real Estate	$19,200
Lobbyists	$324,196	Business Services	$16,000
Financial Institutions	$321,744	Misc Finance	$12,750
Electric Utilities	$313,450	Printing & Publishing	$8,000
Entertainment Industry	$300,321	Food & Beverage	$6,000
Women's Issues	$207,449	Petroleum Industry	$6,000
High-Tech Industry	$205,789	Lawyers/Law Firms	$5,458
Source: OpenSecrets

Candidates

Dianne Feinstein (D), incumbent U.S. Senator
Elizabeth Emken (R), former Vice President of Autism Speaks

Debates

No debates were scheduled. Senator Feinstein decided to focus on her own campaign rather than debate her challenger.

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report		November 1, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball		November 5, 2012
Rothenberg Political Report		November 2, 2012
Real Clear Politics		November 5, 2012

Polling

Poll source	Date(s)
administered	Sample
size	Margin of
error	Dianne
Feinstein (D)	Elizabeth
Emken (R)	Other	Undecided
SurveyUSA	May 27–29, 2012	1,575	±2.5%	50%	34%	—	15%
The Field Poll	June 21 – July 2, 2012	848	±3.5%	51%	32%	—	17%
CBRT Pepperdine	July 30 – August 1, 2012	873	±3.3%	46%	34%	—	21%
SurveyUSA	September 9–11, 2012	524	±4.2%	55%	37%	—	9%
The Field Poll	September 6–18, 2012	902	±3.4%	57%	31%	—	12%
SurveyUSA	October 7–9, 2012	539	±4.3%	54%	35%	—	10%
Reason-Rupe	October 11–15, 2012	508	±5.1%	60%	34%	2%	5%
LA Times/USC	October 15–21, 2012	1,440	±n/a	55%	38%	1%	6%
The Field Poll	October 17–24, 2012	815	±3.6%	56%	32%	—	12%
The Field Poll	October 25–30, 2012	751	±3.6%	54%	33%	—	13%

Results

By county

County	Dianne Feinstein
Democratic	Elizabeth Emken
Republican	Margin	Total votes cast	#	%	#	%	#	%	Totals	7,864,624	62.52%	4,713,887	37.48%	3,150,737	25.05%	12,578,511
	Alameda		468,456		81.93%		103,313		18.07%		365,143		63.86%		571,769
	Alpine		409		64.11%		229		35.89%		180		28.21%		638
	Amador		7,051		40.80%		10,232		59.20%		-3,181		-18.41%		17,283
	Butte		43,681		49.27%		44,981		50.73%		-1,300		-1.47%		88,662
	Calaveras		8,878		41.57%		12,479		58.43%		-3,601		-16.86%		21,357
	Colusa		2,482		43.28%		3,253		56.72%		-771		-13.44%		5,735
	Contra Costa		300,194		70.06%		128,310		29.94%		171,884		40.11%		428,504
	Del Norte		4,065		47.45%		4,502		52.55%		-437		-5.10%		8,567
	El Dorado		35,776		41.31%		50,820		58.69%		-15,044		-17.37%		86,596
	Fresno		129,267		51.14%		123,499		48.86%		5,768		2.28%		252,766
	Glenn		3,520		38.96%		5,515		61.04%		-1,995		-22.08%		9,035
	Humboldt		36,162		65.04%		19,437		34.96%		16,725		30.08%		55,599
	Imperial		25,342		67.24%		12,346		32.76%		12,996		34.48%		37,688
	Inyo		3,333		42.58%		4,494		57.42%		-1,161		-14.83%		7,827
	Kern		92,252		42.29%		125,906		57.71%		-33,654		-15.43%		218,158
	Kings		13,304		42.61%		17,916		57.39%		-4,612		-14.77%		31,220
	Lake		13,543		58.97%		9,424		41.03%		4,119		17.93%		22,967
	Lassen		3,150		29.89%		7,390		70.11%		-4,240		-40.23%		10,540
	Los Angeles		2,183,654		71.53%		868,924		28.47%		1,314,730		43.07%		3,052,578
	Madera		15,997		41.08%		22,942		58.92%		-6,945		-17.84%		38,939
	Marin		105,153		80.11%		26,105		19.89%		79,048		60.22%		131,258
	Mariposa		3,551		40.27%		5,268		59.73%		-1,717		-19.47%		8,819
	Mendocino		24,254		70.35%		10,224		29.65%		14,030		40.69%		34,478
	Merced		32,955		54.97%		27,000		45.03%		5,955		9.93%		59,955
	Modoc		1,188		30.08%		2,761		69.92%		-1,573		-39.83%		3,949
	Mono		2,600		51.96%		2,404		48.04%		196		3.92%		5,004
	Monterey		84,585		69.61%		36,930		30.39%		47,655		39.22%		121,515
	Napa		37,122		66.52%		18,682		33.48%		18,440		33.04%		55,804
	Nevada		25,495		50.41%		25,078		49.59%		417		0.82%		50,573
	Orange		515,902		47.48%		570,574		52.52%		-54,672		-5.03%		1,086,476
	Placer		68,599		41.39%		97,139		58.61%		-28,540		-17.22%		165,738
	Plumas		4,162		42.81%		5,560		57.19%		-1,398		-14.38%		9,722
	Riverside		327,698		51.90%		303,651		48.10%		24,047		3.81%		631,349
	Sacramento		302,078		60.72%		195,412		39.28%		106,666		21.44%		497,490
	San Benito		11,389		61.09%		7,255		38.91%		4,134		22.17%		18,644
	San Bernardino		298,067		54.05%		253,433		45.95%		44,634		8.09%		551,500
	San Diego		622,781		54.41%		521,884		45.59%		100,897		8.81%		1,144,665
	San Francisco		305,126		88.52%		39,589		11.48%		265,537		77.03%		344,715
	San Joaquin		113,706		57.00%		85,787		43.00%		27,919		13.99%		199,493
	San Luis Obispo		62,216		50.80%		60,262		49.20%		1,954		1.60%		122,478
	San Mateo		213,503		77.22%		62,979		22.78%		150,524		54.44%		276,482
	Santa Barbara		93,921		59.62%		63,599		40.38%		30,322		19.25%		157,520
	Santa Clara		454,647		72.93%		168,722		27.07%		285,925		45.87%		623,369
	Santa Cruz		91,109		78.16%		25,463		21.84%		65,646		56.31%		116,572
	Shasta		27,155		36.53%		47,184		63.47%		-20,029		-26.94%		74,339
	Sierra		677		38.58%		1,078		61.42%		-401		-22.85%		1,755
	Siskiyou		8,196		41.97%		11,334		58.03%		-3,138		-16.07%		19,530
	Solano		98,251		65.99%		50,634		34.01%		47,617		31.98%		148,885
	Sonoma		154,892		73.71%		55,256		26.29%		99,636		47.41%		210,148
	Stanislaus		78,470		51.79%		73,060		48.21%		5,410		3.57%		151,530
	Sutter		12,395		41.17%		17,715		58.83%		-5,320		-17.67%		30,110
	Tehama		8,349		36.96%		14,241		63.04%		-5,892		-26.08%		22,590
	Trinity		2,658		47.46%		2,943		52.54%		-285		-5.09%		5,601
	Tulare		42,395		42.87%		56,499		57.13%		-14,104		-14.26%		98,894
	Tuolumne		10,336		42.78%		13,823		57.22%		-3,487		-14.43%		24,159
	Ventura		171,483		54.42%		143,603		45.58%		27,880		8.85%		315,086
	Yolo		49,148		67.68%		23,468		32.32%		25,680		35.36%		72,616
	Yuba		7,896		40.97%		11,376		59.03%		-3,480		-18.06%		19,272

|[[File:California counties shift 2006-2012 senate.svg|300px]]|Shift by county |[[File:California counties trend 2006-2012 senate.svg|300px]]|Trend by county | | | | | | | | | | |}}|

Democratic Republican

;Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Butte (largest city: Chico)
Del Norte (largest community: Crescent City)
Trinity (largest community: Weaverville)

By congressional district

Feinstein won 41 of the 53 congressional districts, including three held by Republicans.

District	Feinstein	Representative
42%	58%	Doug LaMalfa
73%	27%	Jared Huffman
56%	44%	John Garamendi
41%	59%	Tom McClintock
72%	28%	Mike Thompson
71%	29%	Doris Matsui
53%	47%	Ami Bera
43%	57%	Paul Cook
60%	40%	Jerry McNerney
52%	48%	Jeff Denham
72%	28%	George Miller
89%	11%	Nancy Pelosi
91%	9%	Barbara Lee
79%	21%	Jackie Speier
71%	29%	Eric Swalwell
59%	41%	Jim Costa
75%	25%	Mike Honda
72%	28%	Anna Eshoo
74%	26%	Zoe Lofgren
73%	27%	Sam Farr
56%	44%	David Valadao
43%	57%	Devin Nunes
38%	62%	Kevin McCarthy
56%	44%	Lois Capps
49%	51%	Buck McKeon
56%	44%	Julia Brownley
65%	35%	Judy Chu
73%	27%	Adam Schiff
78%	22%	Tony Cárdenas
69%	31%	Brad Sherman
59%	41%	Gary Miller
67%	33%	Grace Napolitano
65%	35%	Henry Waxman
85%	15%	Xavier Becerra
68%	32%	Gloria Negrete McLeod
54%	46%	Raul Ruiz
86%	14%	Karen Bass
67%	33%	Linda Sánchez
49%	51%	Ed Royce
81%	19%	Lucille Roybal-Allard
63%	37%	Mark Takano
43%	57%	Ken Calvert
78%	22%	Maxine Waters
85%	15%	Janice Hahn
44%	56%	John B. T. Campbell III
63%	37%	Loretta Sánchez
61%	39%	Alan Lowenthal
45%	55%	Dana Rohrabacher
47%	53%	Darrell Issa
40%	60%	Duncan Hunter
70%	30%	Juan Vargas
54%	46%	Scott Peters
63%	37%	Susan Davis

References

Dr. Michael McDonald. (February 9, 2013). "2012 General Election Turnout Rates". [[George Mason University]].
Marinucci, Carla. (April 30, 2011). "US Sen. Dianne Feinstein on nuclear energy and her 2012 re-election: "My plan is to run"". San Francisco Chronicle Politics Blog.
Mahtesian, Charles. (November 26, 2012). "Feinstein's record: 7.3 million votes".
Reston, Maeve. (October 25, 2010). "Feinstein hints she'll run again in 2012". [[Los Angeles Times]].
Milhalcik, Carrie. "Citizen candidate to challenge Dianne Feinstein in Senate race". Current TV.
Walker, Mark. (December 1, 2011). "REGION: Ramona man running against Feinstein in 2012". [[North County Times]].
Van Oot, Torey. (November 28, 2011). "Republican Elizabeth Emken to run against Sen. Dianne Feinstein". [[The Sacramento Bee]].
Merl, Jean. (February 6, 2012). "GOP businessman joins field challenging Sen. Dianne Feinstein". [[Los Angeles Times]].
Archibald }}{{Dead link, Ashley. (April 2019). "Santa Monican hopes to unseat Feinstein". [[Santa Monica Daily Press]].
Surowski, Peter. (May 18, 2011). "Rabbi Who Denounced Temecula Mosque Runs for Senate". [[Patch Media.
(November 4, 2011). "Orly Taitz Senate Campaign: 'Birther Queen' Running As GOP Candidate For U.S. Senate Seat In California". [[The Huffington Post]].
"Rick Williams for Senate".
"Voter Information Guide".
"Statement of Vote (June 5, 2012, Presidential Primary Election)". California Secretary of State.
Wisckol, Martin. (July 12, 2012). "O.C. 'birther' sues to block primary election results". [[The Orange County Register]].
Wisckol, Martin. (July 13, 2012). "O.C. 'birther' suit to block election results denied". [[The Orange County Register]].
[[Federal Election Commission]]. "2012 House and Senate Campaign Finance for California FEINSTEIN, DIANNE". fec.gov.
[[Federal Election Commission]]. "2012 House and Senate Campaign Finance for California EMKEN, ELIZABETH". fec.gov.
"Top Contributors 2012 Race: California Senate". [[OpenSecrets]].
"Top Industries 2012 Race: California Senate". [[OpenSecrets]].
"Elizabeth Emken". ElizabethEmken.com.
PaoloPhotoFilms. (September 8, 2012). ""Feinstein Walks Out On Reporter", California US Senate debate".
(November 1, 2012). "Sen. Feinstein explains decision not to debate".
"2012 Senate Race Ratings for November 1, 2012".
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"2012 Elections Map - Battle for the Senate 2012". Real Clear Politics.
[http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=da340173-97ce-40dd-b3d4-04fcbf48a74c SurveyUSA]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120905012636/http://field.com/fieldpollonline/subscribers/Rls2417.pdf The Field Poll]
[http://www.cbrt.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/CBRTPep-Topline-Test-2-FINAL.pdf CBRT Pepperdine]
[http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollPrint.aspx?g=26d4dab7-8c9c-4c48-9eea-71be8f536341&d=0 SurveyUSA]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20121101192130/http://www.field.com/fieldpollonline/subscribers/Rls2427.pdf The Field Poll]
[http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollPrint.aspx?g=b04e8f04-f3fd-4ced-9b18-5b374f5f13d8&d=0 SurveyUSA]
[http://www.reason.com/assets/db/13505849198068.pdf Reason-Rupe]
[http://www.gqrr.com/images/stories/latusc.fq.102412.pdf LA Times/USC] {{Dead link. (May 2019)
[https://web.archive.org/web/20130113202655/http://www.field.com/fieldpollonline/subscribers/Rls2433.pdf The Field Poll]
Bowen, Debra. (December 14, 2012). "Complete Statement of Vote". [[Secretary of State of California]].
Bowen, Debra. (December 14, 2012). "United States Senator by County". [[Secretary of State of California]].
(6 November 2012). "Counties by Congressional Districts for United States Senator".

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