2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia

The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, and elected the 14 U.S. Representatives from the state, one from each of the state's 14 congressional districts, an increase of one seat following the 2010 United States census. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election. The party primary elections were held on July 31, 2012, and the run-off on August 21, 2012.

The new congressional map, drawn and passed by the Republican-controlled Georgia General Assembly, was signed into law by Governor Nathan Deal on September 7, 2011. The new district, numbered the 9th, is based in Hall County. The map also makes the 12th district, currently represented by Democrat John Barrow, much more favorable to Republicans.

By district
Results of the 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia by district:

District 1
Republican incumbent Jack Kingston, who has represented Georgia's 1st congressional district since 1993, is running for re-election.

Nominee

 * Jack Kingston, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Lesli Rae Messinger, businesswoman,

Eliminated in primary

 * Nathan Russo, retired businessman

District 2
Democratic incumbent Sanford Bishop, who has represented Georgia's 2nd congressional district since 1993, is running for re-election. In redistricting, the 2nd district was made majority-African American and Macon was moved from the 8th district to the 2nd. The Hill ranked Bishop at fourth in its list of house members most helped by redistricting.

Nominee

 * Sanford Bishop, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * John House, Army veteran

Eliminated in primary

 * Rick Allen, businessman and candidate for this seat in 2010
 * Ken DeLoach, pastor and Christian school dean and candidate for Georgia's 8th congressional district in 2010

District 3
Republican incumbent Lynn Westmoreland, who has represented Georgia's 3rd congressional district since 2007, and had previously represented the 8th district from 2005 to 2007, is running for re-election.

Nominee

 * Lynn Westmoreland, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Chip Flanegan, business owner
 * Kent Kingsley, former chair of the Lamar County Commission and retired Army lieutenant colonel

District 4
Democratic incumbent Hank Johnson, who has represented Georgia's 4th congressional district since 2007, is running for re-election.

Nominee

 * Hank Johnson, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Courtney Dillard, candidate for Rockdale County Board of Commissioners in 2010
 * Lincoln Nunnally, business consultant,

Nominee

 * Chris Vaughn, pastor and motivational speaker

Eliminated in primary

 * Greg Pallen, businessman

Nominee

 * Cynthia McKinney, former U.S. Representative and Green Party Presidential nominee in 2008

District 5
Democratic incumbent John Lewis, who has represented Georgia's 5th congressional district since 1987, is running for re-election.

Nominee

 * John Lewis, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Michael Johnson, former Fulton County superior court judge

Nominee

 * Howard Stopeck, retired attorney

District 6
Republican incumbent Tom Price, who has represented Georgia's 6th congressional district since 2005, is running for re-election. In redistricting, the 6th district was made slightly less favorable to Republicans: Cherokee County was removed from the district, while parts of DeKalb County were added to it.

Nominee

 * Tom Price, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Jeff Kazanow, business consultant

Eliminated in primary

 * Robert Montigel, businessman

District 7
Republican incumbent Rob Woodall, who has represented Georgia's 7th congressional district since January 2011, is running for re-election.

Nominee

 * Rob Woodall, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * David Hancock, software company executive

Nominee

 * Steve Reilly, attorney

District 8
Republican incumbent Austin Scott, who was first elected to represent Georgia's 8th congressional district in 2010, is running unopposed in the primary as well as the general election. In redistricting, most of Macon—the heart of the 8th and its predecessors for over a century—was shifted to the neighboring 2nd, thereby making the 8th district more favorable to Republicans, which prompted The Hill to rank Scott at fifth in its list of house members most helped by redistricting.

Nominee

 * Austin Scott, incumbent U.S. Representative

Declined

 * Jim Marshall, former U.S. Representative
 * DuBose Porter, minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives

District 9
In redistricting, the new 9th district is centered around Gainesville and has no incumbent.

Democratic primary

 * Jody Cooley, attorney

Nominee

 * Doug Collins, state representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Roger Fitzpatrick, school principal
 * Martha Zoller, radio personality

Declined

 * Hunter Bicknell, chair of the Jackson County Commission;
 * Jim Butterworth, State senator
 * Casey Cagle, Lieutenant governor
 * Bill Cowsert, state senator
 * Clifton McDuffie, former chief executive officer of the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce,

Runoff results
Collins defeated Zoller in an August runoff election.

District 10
Republican incumbent Paul Broun, who has represented Georgia's 10th congressional district since 2007, ran for re-election.

Nominee

 * Paul Broun, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Stephen Simpson, businessman and retired Army officer

Declined

 * Mac Collins, former U.S. Representative

Campaign
In a leaked video of a speech given at Liberty Baptist Church Sportsman's Banquet on September 27, Broun is heard telling supporters that, "All that stuff I was taught about evolution and embryology and the Big Bang Theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of Hell." Broun also believes that the world is less than 9000 years old and that it was created in six literal days. In response to this, and as Broun is also on the House Science Committee, libertarian radio talk show host Neal Boortz spearheaded a campaign to run deceased biologist Charles Darwin against Broun as the Democratic candidate, with the intention of drawing attention to these comments from the scientific community and having him removed from his post on the House Science Committee. Darwin received nearly 4,000 write-in votes in the election, which Broun won.

District 11
Republican incumbent Phil Gingrey, who has represented Georgia's 11th congressional district since 2003, is running for re-election.

Nominee

 * Phil Gingrey, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * William Llop, certified public accountant
 * Michael Opitz, arbitrator

Nominee

 * Patrick Thompson, technology sales executive and nominee for state senate's 56th district in 2010

District 12
In redistricting, Savannah was removed from Georgia's 12th congressional district and replaced with the Augusta area, thereby making the district more favorable to Republicans. The former 12th district gave 55 per cent of its vote in the 2008 presidential election to Democratic nominee, whereas only 40 per cent of the new district's voters voted for Obama. Democratic incumbent John Barrow, who has represented the 12th district since 2005, is running for re-election.

Nominee

 * John Barrow, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Lee Anderson, state representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Rick W Allen, businessman
 * Wright McLeod, real estate lawyer and retired Navy commander
 * Maria Sheffield, attorney and candidate for State Insurance Commissioner in 2010

Declined

 * Max Burns, former U.S. Representative
 * Buddy Carter, state senator
 * Ben Harbin, state representative
 * Jeanne Seaver, Tea Party activist and candidate for this seat in 2010;
 * Tommie Williams, state senate's president pro tempore

Primary results
Anderson defeated Allen in an August runoff election, winning the Republican nomination.

Campaign
Given the increased Republican lean of his district and that his home in Savannah had been removed, Barrow faced significant political headwinds entering the general election campaign. However, his ad campaign, where he made direct-to-camera appeals was able to paint him a conservative democrat without alienating the party's liberal base. One ad featured Barrow showing off his grandfather's revolver and his father's bolt-action rifle and recounting "Long before I was born, my grandfather used this little Smith & Wesson here to help stop a lynching".

In contrast, the Anderson campaign tried to appeal to the district's largely rural base by empathizing his background as a hay farmer. His cause wasn't helped by fact that Anderson, after stumbling in some of the GOP primary debates, has refused to share a debate stage with Barrow, a Harvard-educated lawyer.

Anderson's performance during the campaign was criticised by political analyst Stuart Rothenberg stating that "This district is one that should have never been a headache for the GOP, but after getting a weak nominee in state Rep. Lee Anderson, reality is setting in for many Republican operatives. Anderson's weakness isn't the only factor in this race. Rep. John Barrow has run a good race with terrific TV ads meant to demonstrate his political independence and get voters to focus on him and not on his party."

As election day approached, Barrow expressed confidence, saying that "I'm encouraged by everything I see and hear".

District 13
Democratic incumbent David Scott, who has represented Georgia's 13th congressional district since 2003, is running for re-election.

Nominee

 * David Scott, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Shahid Malik, businessman

District 14
In redistricting, the new 14th district includes almost all of northwestern Georgia. Republican incumbent Tom Graves, who has represented the 9th district since May 2010, lives in this new district and is running for re-election here.

Nominee

 * Tom Graves, incumbent U.S. Representative for Georgia's 9th congressional district

Declined

 * Bob Barr, former U.S. Representative and Libertarian Party nominee in 2008
 * Jerry Shearin, former chair of the Paulding County Commission
 * Steve Tarvin, candidate for the 9th district in 2010

Nominee

 * Danny Grant, electrician