# 2012 United States House of Representatives election in North Dakota

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The 2012 United States House of Representatives election in North Dakota was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the U.S. representative from the state's at-large congressional district. The election coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election and an election to the U.S. Senate. A primary election was held on June 12, 2012; a candidate must receive at least 300 votes to appear on the general election ballot in November.
Rick Berg, a member of the Republican Party who was first elected to represent the at-large district in 2010, had announced that he would not seek re-election and would instead run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Kent Conrad. Republican Kevin Cramer won the open House seat.

## Republican primary

The North Dakota Republican Party endorsed Public Service Commissioner Brian Kalk at their state convention, though general election ballot access is determined by a statewide primary election held on June 12, 2012. In contrast to state political tradition, fellow Public Service Commissioner Kevin Cramer did not seek the party endorsement, instead attempting to defeat Kalk on the June primary ballot.

### Candidates
#### Nominee

* Kevin Cramer, Public Service Commissioner

#### Eliminated in primary

* Brian Kalk, Public Service Commissioner and state party endorsed candidate

#### Withdrew

* Shane Goettle, U.S. Senator John Hoeven's state director
* Bette Grande, state representative
* DuWayne Hendrickson, perennial candidate
* Kim Koppelman, state representative

#### Declined

* Rick Berg, incumbent U.S. Representative
* Al Carlson, state House Majority Leader
* Tony Clark, Public Service Commissioner
* Cory Fong, North Dakota State Tax Commissioner
* Tony Grindberg, state senator
* Robert Harms, Tea Party activist and former treasurer of the North Dakota Republican Party
* Kelly Schmidt, North Dakota State Treasurer

### Debate

The North Dakota Republican Party held a candidates' debate on December 14 at the campus of Valley City State University. All five GOP candidates declared at the time—Cramer, Goettle, Grande, Kalk, and Koppelman—participated.

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Kevin Cramer | Brian Kalk | Undecided |
| Mason Dixon | June 4–6, 2012 | 625 | ± 4% | 60% | 21% | 19% |
| Forum Communications Co. | May 3–8, 2012 | 500 | ± 4.3% | 38% | 25% | 27% |

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Kevin Cramer | 54,405 | 54.4 |
| | Republican | Brian Kalk | 45,415 | 45.5 |
| | n/a | Write-ins | 113 | 0.1 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 99,933 | 100.0 |

## Democratic primary
### Candidates
#### Nominee

* Pam Gulleson, former state representative

#### Declined

* Ben Vig, former state representative

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic–NPL | Pam Gulleson | 51,750 | 99.9 |
| | Democratic–NPL | Write-in | 74 | 0.1 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 51,824 | 100.0 |

## Libertarian nomination

The Libertarian Party of North Dakota has selected small business owner Eric Olson as their nominee at a state meeting.

## General election
### Endorsements

Organizations
* National Republican Congressional Committee "Young Guns" Program
Organizations
* Blue Dog Coalition
* Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee "Red to Blue" Program

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Kevin Cramer (R) | Pam Gulleson (D) | Eric Olson (L) | Undecided |
| Mason Dixon | October 26–28, 2012 | 625 | ± 4.0% | 50% | 40% | 2% | 8% |
| Forum/Essman | October 12–15, 2012 | 500 | ± 4% | 52% | 32% | 1% | 15% |
| Mason-Dixon | October 3–5, 2012 | 625 | ± 4% | 49% | 37% | 2% | 12% |
| Mason Dixon | June 4–6, 2012 | 625 | ± 4% | 49% | 35% | 4% | 12% |
| Forum Communications Co. | May 3–8, 2012 | 500 | ± 4.3% | 61% | 23% | – | 15% |

### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Likely R | November 5, 2012 |
| Rothenberg | Safe R | November 2, 2012 |
| Roll Call | Likely R | November 4, 2012 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Likely R | November 5, 2012 |
| NY Times | Safe R | November 4, 2012 |
| RCP | Likely R | November 4, 2012 |
| The Hill | Likely R | November 4, 2012 |

### Results

North Dakota's at-large congressional district, 2012 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Kevin Cramer | 173,585 | 54.89% | +0.15% |
| | Democratic–NPL | Pam Gulleson | 131,870 | 41.70% | −3.23% |
| | Libertarian | Eric Olson | 10,261 | 3.24% | N/A |
| | n/a | Write-ins | 508 | 0.16% | −0.17% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 316,224 | 100.0% | N/A |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

#### Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

* Barnes (largest city: Valley City)
* Grand Forks (largest city: Grand Forks)
* Name (Largest city: Stanley)
* Ramsey (Largest city: Devils Lake)
* Towner (Largest city: Cando)

#### Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Richland (largest city: Wahpeton)