2012 Pennsylvania Attorney General election
(Redirected from Pennsylvania Attorney General election, 2012)
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November 6, 2012
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  Kane: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Freed: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Pennsylvania |
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 Government |
The 2012 Pennsylvania Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2012. The primary election was held on April 24.[1][2]
Kane became the first Democrat and the first woman to be elected Attorney General of Pennsylvania. She later resigned in 2016 due to an e-mail scandal, and Solicitor General Bruce Castor became acting Attorney General.[3][4]
Republican primary
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Nominee
[edit]- David Freed, Cumberland County District Attorney[5]
Withdrew
[edit]Declined
[edit]- Linda Kelly, incumbent Attorney General[8]
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | David J. Freed | 659,077 | 100.0% | |
| Total votes | 659,077 | 100.0% | ||
Democratic primary
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Nominee
[edit]- Kathleen Kane, prosecutor, former Lackawanna County assistant district attorney[10]
Eliminated in primary
[edit]- Patrick Murphy, former U.S. Representative (2007–2011)[11]
Withdrew
[edit]- Dan McCaffery, former Philadelphia assistant district attorney[12][13]
Declined
[edit]- Lynne Abraham, former Philadelphia district attorney (1991–2010)[14]
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kathleen Kane | 375,500 | 52.82% | |
| Democratic | Patrick Murphy | 335,438 | 47.18% | |
| Total votes | 710,938 | 100.0% | ||
General election
[edit]Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kathleen Kane | 3,125,557 | 56.14% | +10.44% | |
| Republican | David Freed | 2,313,506 | 41.56% | −10.82% | |
| Libertarian | Marakay Rogers | 128,140 | 2.30% | +0.38% | |
| Total votes | 5,567,203 | 100.0% | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | |||||
By congressional district
[edit]Kane won 13 of the 18 congressional districts, including eight that elected Republicans.[16]
| District | Kane | Freed | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 83% | 16% | Bob Brady |
| 2nd | 90% | 9% | Chaka Fattah |
| 3rd | 48% | 49% | Mike Kelly |
| 4th | 45% | 52% | Jason Altmire |
| Scott Perry | |||
| 5th | 47.8% | 48.4% | Glenn Thompson |
| 6th | 50% | 47% | Jim Gerlach |
| 7th | 50% | 49% | Pat Meehan |
| 8th | 51% | 47% | Mike Fitzpatrick |
| 9th | 46% | 51% | Bill Shuster |
| 10th | 45% | 53% | Tom Marino |
| 11th | 50% | 48% | Lou Barletta |
| 12th | 50% | 47% | Mark Critz |
| Keith Rothfus | |||
| 13th | 68% | 31% | Allyson Schwartz |
| 14th | 72% | 25% | Mike Doyle |
| 15th | 52% | 46% | Charlie Dent |
| 16th | 49.0% | 48.7% | Joe Pitts |
| 17th | 62% | 36% | Tim Holden |
| Matt Cartwright | |||
| 18th | 49% | 48% | Tim Murphy |
References
[edit]- ^ "2012 General Primary - Attorney General". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
- ^ "2012 General Election - Attorney General". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
- ^ "Attorney General Kathleen Kane: Charges Tied To Porn Emails". CBS News. August 12, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
- ^ "Pa. Attorney General Kathleen Kane To Step Down After Perjury Conviction". NPR. August 17, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
- ^ "Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed runs alone for Republican attorney general nod". The Patriot-News. January 12, 2012.
- ^ "Website: Sen. Rafferty to run for state Attorney General". The Mercury. August 31, 2011.
- ^ "Without Corbett's Endorsement, John Rafferty Ends Run For Attorney General". CBS News Philadelphia. January 12, 2012.
- ^ McLane, Lauren (December 6, 2011). "DA David Freed announces run for state attorney general". The Sentinel. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023.
- ^ a b "2012 General Primary - Official Returns". Pennsylvania Department of State.
- ^ Snyder, Sy (March 29, 2011). "PoliticsPA Exclusive: Kathleen Granahan Kane to Announce AG Candidacy on Wednesday". Politics PA.
- ^ Toeplitz, Shira (April 20, 2011). "Patrick Murphy to Run for Pennsylvania AG". Roll Call.
- ^ Gibson, Keegan (September 27, 2011). "McCaffery Announces for AG". Politics PA.
- ^ Campisi, Jon (January 26, 2012). "Attorney Dan McCaffery ends race for Pa. Attorney General". Pennsylvania Record.
- ^ "Former Philadelphia DA Lynne Abraham Won't Run For Penna. Attorney-General". CBS News Philadelphia. October 7, 2011.
- ^ "2012 General Election - Official Returns". Pennsylvania Department of State.
- ^ "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts". Daily Kos. Retrieved July 13, 2024.