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2012 United States Senate election in Arizona
none
none
Field
Value
election_name
2012 United States Senate election in Arizona
country
Arizona
type
presidential
ongoing
no
previous_election
2006 United States Senate election in Arizona
previous_year
2006
next_election
2018 United States Senate election in Arizona
next_year
2018
turnout
52.9% (voting eligible)
election_date
November 6, 2012
image_size
x150px
image1
File:Jeff Flake, official portrait, 112th Congress 2 (cropped).jpg
nominee1
Jeff Flake
party1
Republican Party (United States)
popular_vote1
1,104,457
percentage1
49.23%
image2
File:Richard Carmona (cropped 2).jpg
nominee2
Richard Carmona
party2
Democratic Party (United States)
popular_vote2
1,036,542
percentage2
46.20%
map_image
map_caption
Flake:
Carmona:
Tie:
title
U.S. Senator
before_election
Jon Kyl
before_party
Republican Party (United States)
after_election
Jeff Flake
after_party
Republican Party (United States)
Carmona: Tie:
The 2012 United States Senate election in Arizona was held on November 6, 2012, alongside a presidential election, other elections to the United States Senate in other states, as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Incumbent Senator Jon Kyl, a Republican and the Senate Minority Whip, decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. U.S. Representative Jeff Flake won the open seat.
As of 2026, this was the last time that a Republican won Arizona's Class 1 Senate seat.
Republican primary
The filing deadline for Republican candidates was June 1, 2012, and the primary election took place on August 28, 2012.
Candidates
Declared
Wil Cardon, CEO of a real estate investment firm
Jeff Flake, U.S. Representative from the 6th district
Bryan Hackbarth, former mayor of Youngtown
Clair Van Steenwyk, conservative radio host
Withdrew
Doug McKee, businessman
Declined
Fife Symington III, former Arizona governor
Joe Arpaio, Maricopa County sheriff (running for re-election as Sheriff)
Jan Brewer, Arizona governor
Trent Franks, U.S. representative
J. D. Hayworth, former U.S. representative
Jon Kyl, incumbent U.S. senator
Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska (2006–2009) and nominee for Vice President of the United States in 2008
Ben Quayle, U.S. representative
David Schweikert, U.S. representative
John Shadegg, former U.S. representative
Endorsements
Former Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK)
Governor Bobby Jindal (R-LA)
Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) & Senate Conservatives Fund
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT)
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)
Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA)
Senator John McCain (R-AZ)
Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI)
Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX)
Arizona Association of Realtors
Arizona Farm Bureau
Arizona Home Builders
Arizona Right to Life
Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife
Citizens Against Government Waste
Club for Growth
FreedomWorks
GING PAC
GOProud
NRA Political Victory Fund
National Taxpayers Union
Rick Santorum, former U.S. Senator (R-PA)
Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ)
State Senator Don Shooter (R-AZ)
State Senator Steve Smith (R-AZ)
State Senator Al Melvin (R-AZ)
State Senator Judy Burges (R-AZ)
State Representative Steve Montenegro (R-AZ)
State Representative John Fillmore (R-AZ)
Mayor Scott Smith of Mesa
Mayor Elaine Scruggs of Glendale
Americans for Legal Immigration
Polling
Poll source
Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Wil
Cardon
Jeff
Flake
Bryan
Hackbarth
Doug
McKee
Clair
Van Steenwyk
Other
Undecided
Public Policy Polling
May 17–20, 2012
421
± 4.8%
20%
42%
3%
1%
2%
—
33%
Public Policy Polling
February 17–19, 2012
412
± 4.8%
7%
56%
5%
1%
1%
—
31%
Public Policy Polling
November 17–20, 2011
400
± 4.9%
7%
53%
5%
1%
2%
—
33%
Magellan Strategies
November 14–15, 2011
722
± 3.6%
4%
52%
1%
1%
2%
8%
32%
Results
Results by county:
]]
Democratic primary
Former Surgeon General Richard Carmona was the only candidate for the Democratic nomination, receiving all 289,881 votes cast in the primary election.
Candidates
Declared
Richard Carmona, former Surgeon General of the United States
Withdrew
Don Bivens, former chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party
David Ruben, physician{{cite web|last=Sanders |first=Rebekah |url=https://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2012/05/21/20120521jeff-flake-signatures-primary.html
Declined
Dennis Burke, United States Attorney
Phil Gordon, Mayor of Phoenix
Ed Pastor, U.S. Representative
Warren Stewart, civil rights leader
Gabby Giffords, former U.S. Representative
Mark Kelly, astronaut and husband of Gabrielle Giffords, (later elected to Arizona's Class 3 Senate seat in 2020).
Janet Napolitano, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security and former Arizona governor
Jim Pederson, former Arizona Democratic Party chairman and 2006 Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate
Polling
Poll source
Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Dennis
Burke
Rodney
Glassman
Terry
Goddard
Phil
Gordan
Harry
Mitchell
Ed
Pastor
Felecia
Rotellini
Other/
Undecided
Public Policy Polling
April 28 – May 1, 2011
300
± 5.7%
2%
5%
50%
8%
11%
5%
6%
14%
Results
General election
Candidates
Jeff Flake (Republican), U.S. Representative
Richard Carmona (Democratic), former U.S. Surgeon General
Michael F. Meyer (independent)
Marc J. Victor (Libertarian), attorney
Debates
There were three debates before the election. The first was in Phoenix on October 10, 2012, the second in Tucson on October 15 and the last was in Yuma on October 25.
External links
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