page_title: 2012 United States Senate election in Wisconsin
section_title: Republican primary
hierarchical_section_title: 2012 United States Senate election in Wisconsin / Republican primary
caption_attribution_description: English: Wisconsin Republican Senatorial Primary Results, 2012
context_page_description: The 2012 United States Senate election in Wisconsin took place on November 6, 2012, alongside a U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic Senator Herb Kohl retired instead of running for re-election to a fifth term. This was the first open Senate seat in Wisconsin since 1988, when Kohl won his first term.
  Primary elections were held on August 14, 2012. Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. The Republican nominee was former Governor of Wisconsin and Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, who won with a plurality in a four-way race. In the general election, Baldwin defeated Thompson and won the open seat. She became the first woman elected to represent Wisconsin in the Senate and the first openly gay U.S. Senator in history. This is also the first time Thompson lost a statewide race.
context_section_description: Congressman and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan had stated he would not run against Kohl if Kohl sought reelection, but would contemplate a run if Kohl retired. Ryan later stated that he was "95 percent sure" that he would not run.
  Six candidates declared for the seat, although two later withdrew. The contest turned out to be a four-way fight and although a large majority of Republican primary voters consistently expressed a preference for a nominee "more conservative" than Tommy Thompson, Eric Hovde and Mark Neumann split the conservative vote and Thompson narrowly prevailed with a plurality of the vote.
caption: Results of the 2012 Wisconsin Republican Senatorial Primary with winner indicated by county.
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