2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Connecticut
The 2012 U.S. House of Representatives elections in Connecticut were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the five congressional representatives from the state, one from each of the state's five congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election, a U.S. Senate election, and state legislature races. Primaries to select Republican and Democratic candidates in some districts were held on Tuesday, August 14, 2012. The Democratic Party candidate won in each of the five districts on Election Day . Overview. The table below shows the total number and percentage of votes, as well as the number of seats gained and lost by each political party in the election for the United States House of Representatives in Connecticut. In addition, the voter turnout and the number of votes not valid will be listed below. District 1. Democratic incumbent John Larson, who has represented the 1st district since 1999, sought re-election John Decker, a financial planner, and Mike McDonald, a member of the Windsor Town Council, sought the Republican nomination to challenge Larson. Decker won the nomination at the Republican  state convention on May 18, garnering 69% of available delegates. Decker lost to Larson in the general election. District 2. Democratic incumbent Joe Courtney, who has represented the 2nd district since 2007, said in February 2011 that he would not run for the U.S. Senate seat to be vacated by Joe Lieberman. Courtney ran for re-election. Doug Dubitsky, a lawyer who ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for the 2nd district in 2010; Paul Formica, the First selectman of the East Lyme Board of Selectmen; and Daria Novak, a business consultant and former State Department employee who also ran  unsuccessfully in the Republican primary in 2010, all sought the Republican nomination to challenge Courtney. State Representative Christopher Coutu had also planned to run, but dropped out of the race in May 2012. At the Republican state convention on May 18, delegates in the second district endorsed Formica. Formica and Novak took part in the August 14 primary, which Formica won. Formica lost to Courtney in the general election. District 3. Democratic incumbent Rosa DeLauro, who has represented the 3rd district since 1991 ran for re-election. Motivational speaker Wayne Winsley sought the Republican nomination to challenge DeLauro. Steve Packard  also sought the Republican nomination. At the Republican state convention on May 18, delegates in the third district endorsed Winsley. Following the Republican state convention, Steve Packard announced his intention to run for the office as an independent. DeLauro was subsequently re-elected in November, beating Packard and Winsley. District 4. Democratic incumbent Jim Himes, who has represented the 4th district since 2009, said in December 2010 that he would not run for the U.S. Senate in 2012. Himes ran for re-election. Chris Meek, the founder of START Now!, a non-profit organization; Steve Obsitnik, the chair and chief  executive of Quintel Technology; David Orner, an executive with CIT Group; and Richard Wieland, a retired businessman, sought the Republican nomination to challenge Himes. Former state senator Dan Debicella, who unsuccessfully challenged Himes as the Republican nominee in 2010, did not run. At the Republican state convention on May 18, delegates in the fourth district endorsed Obsitnik. Meek met the threshold required to force a primary, but decided not to challenge the endorsed candidate. Obsitnik lost to Himes. District 5. Incumbent Democrat Chris Murphy has represented the 5th district since 2007. Murphy announced that he will not seek re-election  for a fourth term. He instead ran for the U.S. Senate to replace Independent Democrat Joe Lieberman, who retired from the Senate. Murphy won election to the Senate. Democratic primary. Prior to the Democratic primary, Donovan received the endorsement of the Connecticut Working Families Party and was granted placement on its ballot line for the general election. On August 30, Donovan withdrew his name from the Working Families line to allow the minor party to endorse Elizabeth Esty, the primary winner. Republican primary. At the Republican state convention on May 18, delegates in the fifth district endorsed Roraback. Roraback, Wilson -Foley, Bernier, and Greenberg took part in the August 14 primary. Roraback lost to Esty.