2012 United States Senate election in Nevada

Ensign was re-elected to the United States Senate in 2006 against Jack Carter, son of former president Jimmy Carter, 55% to 41%. His re-election campaign was expected to be complicated after it was revealed in 2009 that he had been involved in an extramarital affair with the wife of one of his campaign staffers, allegedly made payments to the woman's family and arranged work for her husband to cover himself. The Senate Ethics Committee was to investigate Ensign, and his poll numbers declined significantly. There was speculation that he might resign before the election, but he initially said he would run for reelection. On March 7, 2011, Ensign announced that he would not seek reelection, and on April 22, he announced that he would resign effective May 3. Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval appointed U.S. Representative Dean Heller to fill the vacancy created by Ensign's resignation. Heller took office on May 9, 2011. ==Republican primary==

Candidates Nominated • Dean Heller, incumbent U.S. senator, former U.S. representative, former Nevada secretary of state and former state assemblyman Eliminated in primary • Sherry Brooks, retired secretary • Richard Charles • John Chachas, businessman • John Ensign, former U.S. senator • Brian Krolicki, lieutenant governor • Jon Porter, former U.S representative • Danny Tarkanian, businessman, nominee for Secretary of State of Nevada in 2006 and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010 (running for the 4th district) Polling Primary Appointment preference Primaries with Ensign Results ==Democratic primary==

Candidates Nominated • Shelley Berkley, U.S. representative Eliminated in primary • Steve Brown, businessman • Louis Macias, art dealer Declined • Catherine Cortez Masto, Nevada Attorney General • Dina Titus, former U.S. Representative and nominee for Governor in 2006 (running for the 1st district) Polling Results ==General election==

Candidates • Shelley Berkley (D), U.S. representative • Dean Heller (R), incumbent U.S. senator • David Lory VanDerBeek (Independent American Party of Nevada), therapist Campaign On July 9, the United States House Committee on Ethics voted unanimously to form an investigative subcommittee to see whether Berkley used her official position to advocate for policy that benefited her family's financial situation. More specifically, Berkley was accused of pushing healthcare legislation that would benefit her husband's medical practice as well as she was blamed for her efforts to block the closure of a kidney transplant center where her husband was employed. Debates The first Berkley-Heller debate was on September 27, 2012. They met again in Las Vegas on October 11 and on Jon Ralston's "Face to Face" program on October 15. • Complete video of debate, September 27, 2012 - C-SPAN • Complete video of debate, October 11, 2012 - C-SPAN Fundraising Top contributors Top industries Polling with John Ensign Predictions Results On election day, Heller edged out Berkley by just over a point; at the same time Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney by 6.7%, becoming the only Republican in 2012 to win a Senate seat in a state that voted for Obama in the presidential election. {{align|right| By county Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic • Clark (largest municipality: Las Vegas) By congressional district Heller won two of four congressional districts. ==See also==