The 2012 Indiana gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2012. Incumbent governor Mitch Daniels was term-limited and unable to seek a third term. The Republican candidate, Congressman Mike Pence; the Democratic candidate, former Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives John R. Gregg; and the Libertarian candidate, youth mentor, small business owner and reality TV personality, Rupert Boneham, were all unopposed in their respective primaries or conventions and contested the general election. This is the first open Indiana gubernatorial election since 1996 and the first gubernatorial election since 1972 without the incumbent governor or lieutenant governor as a nominee.

When the polls closed, the election was very close, and continued to stay close throughout the night. Gregg performed well in Marion County (Indianapolis) and Lake County (Gary), which were Democratic strongholds. Pence performed well in the Indianapolis suburbs and the Fort Wayne area. At 12:34 am EST, the Associated Press called the race for Pence. At 1:06 am, Gregg called Pence to concede, realizing there were not enough votes left to overtake him. Pence ultimately won the election and took office on January 14, 2013. This was the closest race for governor since 1960.

Primaries Democratic John R. Gregg, former Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives

Results

Libertarian Rupert Boneham, four-time contestant on Survivor and founder of Rupert's Kids. Boneham was nominated by delegates at his party's state convention.

General election

Candidates Mike Pence (Republican), U.S. Representative Running mate: Sue Ellspermann, state Representative John Gregg (Democratic), former Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives Running mate: Vi Simpson, state Senate Minority Leader Rupert Boneham (Libertarian), four-time contestant on Survivor and founder of Rupert's Kids Running mate: Brad Klopfenstein, former executive director of the Libertarian Party of Indiana Donnie Harold Harris (Public Party) (write-in) Running mate: George Fish

Debates The Indiana Debate Commission organized three televised debates between Indiana Gubernatorial candidates Republican Mike Pence, Democrat John R. Gregg and Libertarian Rupert Boneham. Debate schedule The first debate was held on Wednesday, October 10, 2012, at the Zionsville Performing Arts Center in Zionsville, Indiana and was moderated by former Indianapolis Star editor Dennis Ryerson. Complete video of debate, October 10, 2012 - C-SPAN

The second debate was held on Wednesday, October 17, 2012, at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center in South Bend, Indiana and was moderated by Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute president John Ketzenberger. Complete video of debate, October 17, 2012 - C-SPAN

The third debate was held on Thursday, October 25, 2012, at the WFWA PBS 39 studio in Fort Wayne, Indiana and was moderated by DePauw University Executive Director of Media Relations Ken Owen. Complete video of debate, October 25, 2012 - YouTube

Predictions Source Ranking As of The Cook Political Report November 1, 2012 Sabato's Crystal Ball November 5, 2012 Rothenberg Political Report November 2, 2012 Real Clear Politics November 5, 2012

Polling Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Margin oferror MikePence (R) John R.Gregg (D) RupertBoneham (L) Other UndecidedHowey Politics/DePauw October 28–30, 2012 800 ± 3.5% 47% 40% 5% — —Benenson Strategy Group October 18–21, 2012 701 ± 3.7% 44% 38% 6% — 12%YouGov October 4–11, 2012 470 ± 5.6% 49% 38% — — 13%Howey Politics/DePauw University September 19–23, 2012 800 ± 3.5% 47% 34% 5% — 14%Market Research InsightMarket Research Insight August 6–9, 2012 600 ± 4% 50% 32% 3% — 15%Market Research InsightMarket Research Insight March 26–27, 2012 503 ± 4.5% 44% 31% 5% — 20%

Results

By county Source

Mike PenceRepublican John R. GreggDemocratic Rupert BonehamLibertarian Margin Total County Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % VotesAdams8,10862.60%4,51534.86%3292.54%3,59327.74%12,952Allen78,65754.69%61,36542.67%3,7902.64%17,29212.02%143,812Bartholomew17,41459.74%10,60736.39%1,1303.88%6,80723.35%29,151Benton1,94454.81%1,37438.74%2296.46%57016.07%3,547Blackford2,43252.23%2,01243.21%2124.55%4209.02%4,656Boone17,41556.43%8,70931.59%1,0193.70%8,70631.58%27,565Brown3,77340.30%3,40744.52%4555.95%3664.78%7,653Carroll4,16453.62%3,13240.33%4706.05%1,03213.29%7,766Cass7,10450.19%6,24644.13%8035.67%8586.06%14,153Clark24,32252.90%20,10843.73%1,5483.37%4,2149.17%45,978Clay5,52550.98%4,74743.80%5655.21%7787.18%10,837Clinton5,41154.93%3,87539.34%5655.74%1,53615.59%9,851Crawford2,09646.63%2,26650.41%1332.96%-170-3.78%4,495Daviess5,38653.52%4,39643.68%2812.79%9909.84%10,063Dearborn14,35366.64%6,21028.83%9744.52%8,14337.81%21,537Decatur6,47963.04%3,18230.96%6165.99%3,29732.08%10,277DeKalb9,58359.89%5,84736.54%5713.57%3,73623.35%16,001Delaware19,97845.56%21,90149.95%1,9674.49%-1,923-4.39%43,846Dubois10,93159.64%6,95837.97%4382.39%3,97321.68%18,327Elkhart38,96957.91%26,34039.15%1,9782.94%12,62918.77%67,287Fayette4,57352.64%3,66242.15%4525.20%91110.49%8,687Floyd18,98254.74%14,73842.50%9542.75%4,24412.24%34,674Fountain3,76053.27%2,88440.86%4145.87%87612.41%7,058Franklin6,96767.89%2,85827.84%4394.28%4,10940.03%10,264Fulton4,53256.03%3,19439.49%3624.48%1,33816.54%8,088Gibson7,73152.86%6,50844.50%3872.65%1,2238.36%14,626Grant13,82455.15%10,31341.14%9313.71%3,51114.01%25,068Greene5,48641.74%7,30755.60%3502.66%-1,821-13.86%13,143Hamilton88,06265.19%41,76130.91%5,2653.90%46,30134.27%135,088Hancock20,28862.17%10,46432.07%1,8795.76%9,82430.11%32,631Harrison9,98757.07%6,95939.77%5543.17%3,02817.30%17,500Hendricks40,24261.33%22,11533.70%3,2574.96%18,12727.63%65,614Henry9,43749.63%8,27743.53%1,3016.84%1,1606.10%19,015Howard17,76849.24%16,51545.77%1,8024.99%1,2533.47%36,085Huntington9,62362.68%5,21233.95%5173.37%4,41128.73%15,352Jackson9,61357.78%6,37738.33%6483.89%3,23619.45%16,638Jasper6,98756.10%5,05540.59%4123.31%1,93215.51%12,454Jay4,32455.05%3,18340.52%3484.43%1,14114.53%7,855Jefferson6,71552.76%5,61044.08%4033.17%1,1058.68%12,728Jennings5,64855.76%4,02339.72%4584.52%1,62516.04%10,129Johnson35,80562.67%18,09731.68%3,2315.66%17,70830.99%57,133Knox5,03133.11%9,91165.23%2531.67%-4,880-32.12%15,195Kosciusko20,52769.01%8,30027.90%9193.09%12,22741.10%29,746LaGrange5,65361.01%3,25735.15%3553.83%2,39625.86%9,265Lake55,75030.70%122,25167.32%3,5841.97%-66,501-36.62%181,585LaPorte16,15938.48%24,18657.59%1,6533.94%-8,027-19.11%41,998Lawrence10,09457.14%6,83038.67%7404.19%3,26418.48%17,664Madison24,04846.06%25,39248.64%2,7655.30%-1,344-2.57%52,205Marion129,12536.27%209,32558.80%17,5184.92%-80,200-22.53%355,968Marshall9,90056.22%7,11240.39%5983.40%2,78815.83%17,610Martin2,47152.36%2,05043.44%1984.20%4218.92%4,719Miami6,88254.48%4,98239.28%7676.07%1,90015.04%12,631Monroe14,53036.76%22,98158.14%2,0195.11%-8,451-21.38%39,530Montgomery8,10556.41%5,48238.16%7805.43%2,62318.26%14,367Morgan17,07960.81%9,29533.10%1,7116.09%7,78427.72%28,085Newton3,01554.28%2,28741.17%2534.55%72813.11%5,555Noble9,40558.78%6,04737.80%5473.42%3,35820.99%15,999Ohio1,55456.57%1,08439.46%1093.97%47017.11%2,747Orange4,11253.85%3,27342.86%2513.29%83910.99%7,636Owen4,16451.43%3,45642.69%4765.88%7088.75%8,096Parke3,36651.78%2,81843.35%3164.86%5488.43%6,500Perry3,13240.04%4,52357.82%1682.15%-1,391-17.78%7,823Pike2,66145.18%3,06652.05%1632.77%-405-6.88%5,890Porter29,32141.06%39,89355.86%2,1983.08%-10,572-14.80%71,412Posey6,45553.30%5,34044.10%3152.60%1,1159.21%12,110Pulaski2,80953.88%2,18941.99%2154.12%62011.89%5,213Putnam7,55055.03%5,30738.68%8646.30%2,24316.35%13,721Randolph5,70856.51%3,93939.00%4544.49%1,76917.51%10,101Ripley7,01864.99%3,22429.85%5575.16%3,79435.13%10,799Rush4,12059.20%2,37034.05%4706.75%1,75025.14%6,960St. Joseph47,20843.11%59,41054.25%2,8972.65%-12,202-11.14%109,515Scott4,06947.26%4,28749.79%2542.95%-218-2.53%8,610Shelby9,64357.70%5,99435.87%1,0846.49%3,64921.83%16,712Spencer5,05952.38%4,38545.40%2152.23%6746.98%9,659Starke3,82845.27%4,29150.75%3373.99%-463-5.48%8,456Steuben7,77257.19%5,30839.06%5093.75%2,46418.13%13,589Sullivan2,94835.33%5,17962.06%2182.61%-2,231-26.73%8,345Switzerland1,66650.73%1,48945.34%1293.93%1775.39%3,284Tippecanoe25,70945.70%27,61549.09%2,9295.21%-1,906-3.39%56,253Tipton4,13656.74%2,57235.29%4015.50%1,56421.46%7,289Union1,96364.40%94030.84%1454.76%1,02333.56%3,048Vanderburgh36,45951.16%32,83046.07%1,9692.76%3,6295.09%71,258Vermillion2,61739.76%3,63955.29%3264.95%-1,022-15.53%6,582Vigo15,01337.98%22,98858.15%1,5283.87%-7,975-20.18%39,529Wabash7,52460.41%4,45935.80%4713.78%3,06524.61%12,454Warren2,01353.25%1,57941.77%1884.97%43411.48%3,780Warrick13,65456.25%10,03041.32%5882.42%3,62414.93%24,272Washington6,12957.71%4,10838.68%3833.61%2,02119.03%10,620Wayne13,89154.66%10,26140.38%1,2624.97%3,63014.28%25,414Wells8,51766.18%3,99731.06%3552.76%4,52035.12%12,869White5,03250.93%4,27943.31%5705.77%7537.62%9,881Whitley9,08461.44%5,20935.23%4933.33%3,87526.21%14,786 Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Delaware (largest city: Muncie) Greene (Largest city: Linton) Madison (largest city: Anderson) Marion (Largest city: Indianapolis) Scott (Largest city: Scottsburg) Tippecanoe (largest city: Lafayette) Vigo (largest city: Terre Haute)

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Switzerland (Largest city: Vevay)

By congressional district Pence won six of nine congressional districts; while Gregg won three including one, the 8th district, that elected a Republican. District Pence Gregg Representative1st33.61%63.98%Pete Visclosky2nd50.63%46.15%Joe Donnelly (112th Congress)Jackie Walorski (113th Congress)3rd58.24%38.77%Marlin Stutzman4th53.82%40.87%Todd Rokita5th55.34%40.44%Dan Burton (112th Congress)Susan Brooks (113th Congress)6th56.56%38.49%Mike Pence (112th Congress)Luke Messer (113th Congress)7th33.07%61.73%André Carson8th48.28%48.69%Larry Bucshon9th53.08%42.70%Todd Young

References

External links Election Division at the Indiana Secretary of State office Indiana gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2012 at Ballotpedia

Campaign websites (archived) Rupert Boneham for Governor John R. Gregg for Governor Mike Pence for Governor