2012 Pennsylvania Attorney General election

← 2008

November 6, 2012

2016 →


Nominee	Kathleen Kane	David Freed
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	3,125,557	2,313,506
Percentage	56.1%	41.6%

County results

Congressional district results

Kane: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%
Freed:
40–50% 50–60% 60–70%

Attorney General before election

Linda L. Kelly
Republican

Elected Attorney General

Kathleen Kane
Democratic

Elections in Pennsylvania

Federal government

U.S. President
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U.S. Senate
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State government

Governor
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Lieutenant Governor
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Attorney General
1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Auditor General
2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
State Treasurer
2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
State Senate
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State House of Representatives
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Elections by year

State elections
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Philadelphia

Mayoral elections
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City Council elections
2015 2019 2022–23 sp. 2023
Other municipal elections
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Pittsburgh

Mayors
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Allentown

Mayors
1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2019 sp 2021

Lancaster

Mayors
2009 2017 2021

Harrisburg

Mayors
1969 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021

Government

The Pennsylvania Attorney General election of 2012 was held on November 6, 2012. The primary election was held on April 24.^[1]^[2]

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

David Freed, Cumberland County district attorney^[3]

Withdrew

John Rafferty, state senator^[4]^[5]

Declined

Linda Kelly, incumbent Attorney General^[6]

Results

Republican primary results^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David J. Freed	659,077	100.0%
Total votes			659,077	100.0%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Kathleen Kane, prosecutor, former Lackawanna County assistant district attorney^[8]

Eliminated in primary

Patrick Murphy, former U.S. Representative (2007–2011)^[9]

Withdrew

Dan McCaffery, former Philadelphia assistant district attorney^[10]^[11]

Declined

Lynne Abraham, former Philadelphia district attorney (1991–2010)^[12]

Results

Democratic primary results^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kathleen Kane	375,500	52.82%
	Democratic	Patrick Murphy	335,438	47.18%
Total votes			710,938	100.0%

General election

Results

2012 Pennsylvania Attorney General election^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Kathleen Kane	3,125,557	56.14%	+10.44%
	Republican	David Freed	2,313,506	41.56%	-10.82%
	Libertarian	Marakay Rogers	128,140	2.30%	+0.38%
Total votes			5,567,203	100.0%
	Democratic gain from Republican

References

^ "2012 General Primary - Attorney General". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
^ "2012 General Election - Attorney General". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
^ "Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed runs alone for Republican attorney general nod". The Patriot-News. January 12, 2012.
^ "Website: Sen. Rafferty to run for state Attorney General". The Mercury. August 31, 2011.
^ "Without Corbett's Endorsement, John Rafferty Ends Run For Attorney General". CBS News Philadelphia. January 12, 2012.
^ McLane, Lauren (December 6, 2011). "DA David Freed announces run for state attorney general". The Sentinel. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "2012 General Primary - Official Returns". Pennsylvania Department of State.
^ Snyder, Sy (March 29, 2011). "PoliticsPA Exclusive: Kathleen Granahan Kane to Announce AG Candidacy on Wednesday". Politics PA.
^ Toeplitz, Shira (April 20, 2011). "Patrick Murphy to Run for Pennsylvania AG". Roll Call.
^ Gibson, Keegan (September 27, 2011). "McCaffery Announces for AG". Politics PA.
^ Campisi, Jon (January 26, 2012). "Attorney Dan McCaffery ends race for Pa. Attorney General". Pennsylvania Record.
^ "Former Philadelphia DA Lynne Abraham Won't Run For Penna. Attorney-General". CBS News Philadelphia. October 7, 2011.
^ "2012 General Election - Official Returns". Pennsylvania Department of State.