2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Missouri
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Missouri were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 and elected the eight U.S. Representatives from the state of Missouri, a loss 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 and an election to the U.S. Senate. Redistricting. A new congressional map was passed by the Missouri General Assembly on April 27, 2011. The map was vetoed by Democratic Governor Jay Nixon on April 30 , but Nixon's veto was overridden by the General Assembly on May 4, making the plan law. The map effectively eradicated the former 3rd district, which had been represented by Democrat Russ Carnahan since 2005, splitting it between the districts represented by Republicans Blaine Luetkemeyer and Todd Akin and Democrat William Lacy Clay, Jr. The bulk of the old 9th district became the new 3rd district. District 1. Democrat William Lacy Clay, Jr., who has represented Missouri's 1st congressional district since 2001, will run for re-election. Democratic primary. Fellow U.S. Representative Russ Carnahan, part of whose district was  drawn into the 1st district, challenged Clay in the Democratic primary on August 7, 2012 and lost heavily. Francis Slay, the mayor of St. Louis, did not run and endorsed Clay. Republican primary. Robyn Hamlin ran against Lacy Clay in 2010 and again ran for the seat in 2012. District 2. Republican Todd Akin, who had represented Missouri's 2nd congressional district since 2001, chose to run for the U.S. Senate rather than seek re-election. Democratic primary. Democrat Russ Carnahan, part of whose district was drawn into the 2nd district, ran for re-election in the 1st district. Republican  primary. Randy Jotte, an emergency room physician and former member of the Webster Groves City Council, and Ann Wagner, a former U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg and former Missouri Republican Party chairwoman, ran for the Republican nomination to succeed Akin. Wagner ruled out switching to a campaign for the U.S. Senate. Republican state senator Jane Cunningham, who had previously indicated she would run, said in July 2011 that she would instead seek re-election to the state Senate. Ed Martin, a lawyer who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in the 3rd district in 2010, had decided to run, but dropped his bid  in January 2012 in order to run for state attorney general. District 3. Republican Blaine Luetkemeyer ran in the reconfigured 3rd district, which includes most of the 9th district he had represented since 2009. Democratic primary. Democrat Eric C. Mayer, a small business owner from Camdenton, won the Democratic nomination. District 4. Republican Vicky Hartzler, who represented the 4th district since January 2011, sought re-election. In redistricting, all of Boone, Cooper, Howard, and Randolph counties, and parts of Audrain County, were added to the 4th district; while Cole, Lafayette, Ray, and Saline counties were removed from the district. Democratic  primary. Cass County Prosecuting Attorney Teresa Hensley, won the Democratic nomination. District 5. Missouri's 5th Congressional district was perhaps the one most complicated by redistricting, and the legal challenges that have ensued. Democratic incumbent Emanuel Cleaver successfully won re-election. Republican primary. Republican Jerry Nolte, who at first announced his intention to run in the 6th district decided to run in the 5th. Nolte's residence lies on the court-contested border of the two districts. Fellow Republican Jacob Turk, who unsuccessfully ran against Cleaver in 2008 and 2010, was also a candidate in 2012. Jason Greene was a  Republican newcomer born and raised in the Kansas City area who taught and coached within the Raytown community. District 6. Due to realignment following the 2010 U.S. Census, the district spanned most of the northern portion of the state, from St. Joseph to Kirksville, and also included most of the state's portion of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area north of the Missouri River. Incumbent Sam Graves, who had represented the district since 2001, won the Republican primary against Bob Gough and Christopher Ryan. Democratic primary. Kyle Yarber won the Democratic primary against Ronald W. Harris, W.A. (Bill) Hedge and  Ted Rights. Russ Lee Monchil was the Libertarian nominee. District 7. Republican Billy Long, Democrat Jim Evans, and Libertarian Kevin Craig were the nominees. District 8. Republican Jo Ann Emerson, who had represented Missouri's 8th congressional district since 1996, was challenged by Democratic nominee Jack Rushin and Libertarian nominee Rick Vandeven.