2012 North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction election
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The 2012 North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction election was held on November 6, 2012, to elect the North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction, concurrently with the 2012 presidential election, as well as elections to the U.S. House of Representatives, governor, the Council of State, and other state, local, and judicial elections. Primary elections were held on May 8, 2012, with a Republican primary runoff election being held on July 17.[1] A debate was held on October 15, 2012.[2]
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November 6, 2012
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  Atkinson: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Tedesco: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | ||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Democratic state superintendent June Atkinson ran for re-election to a third term in office, becoming the Democratic nominee uncontested. Republican Wake County School Board member John Tedesco won a heavily contested Republican primary, defeating teacher Richard Alexander in a July primary runoff and several other candidates in the May primary election.[3] Atkinson won the general election by around 9 percentage points.[4][5]
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- June Atkinson, incumbent state superintendent (2004–present)[2]
Withdrew before primary
- Rick Glazier, state representative from the 44th district (2003–2005) and 45th district (2005–present)[6]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | June Atkinson (incumbent) | Unopposed | ||
| Total votes | N/a | 100.0 | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- John Tedesco, member of the Wake County School Board[8]
Eliminated in primary runoff
- Richard Alexander, special education teacher[8]
Eliminated in primary
- Mark Crawford, former member of the North Carolina House of Representatives[6]
- Ray Ernest Martin, teacher[9]
- David Scholl, member of the Union County School Board[9]
Endorsements
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
John Tedesco |
Richard Alexander |
Mark Crawford |
Ray Ernest Martin |
David Scholl |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling[11] | May 5–6, 2012 | 469 (LV) | ± 4.5% | 16% | 14% | 12% | 6% | 6% | 45% |
| Civitas Institute/National Research[12] | April 30–May 2, 2012 | 400 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 16% | 7% | 2% | – | 7% | 67%[b] |
| Public Policy Polling[13] | April 27–29, 2012 | 486 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 16% | 13% | 8% | 5% | 6% | 52% |
| Civitas Institute/SurveyUSA[14] | April 20–23, 2012 | – (V) | ± 5.0% | 21% | 9% | 10% | 5% | 8% | 47% |
| Public Policy Polling[15] | April 20–22, 2012 | 521 (V) | ± 4.3% | 16% | 13% | 6% | 5% | 4% | 57% |
| Public Policy Polling[16] | February 29–March 1, 2012 | 411 (LV) | ± 4.8% | 12% | 7% | 6% | 4% | 5% | 66% |
Results
- 20–30%
- 30–40%
- 40–50%
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 20–30%
- 30–40%
- 40–50%
- 20–30%
- 30–40%
- 40–50%
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
- 80–90%
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Tedesco | 195,352 | 28.35% | |
| Republican | Richard Alexander | 167,354 | 24.28% | |
| Republican | Mark Crawford | 150,404 | 21.82% | |
| Republican | Ray Ernest Martin | 90,889 | 13.19% | |
| Republican | David Scholl | 85,145 | 12.36% | |
| Total votes | 689,144 | 100.00% | ||
| Runoff election | ||||
| Republican | John Tedesco | 75,780 | 54.42% | |
| Republican | Richard Alexander | 63,461 | 45.58% | |
| Total votes | 139,241 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Endorsements
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
June Atkinson (D) |
John Tedesco (R) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling[20] | October 23–25, 2012 | 880 (LV) | ± 3.3% | 42% | 40% | 18% |
| Public Policy Polling[21] | September 27–30, 2012 | 981 (LV) | ± 3.1% | 44% | 34% | 22% |
| Public Policy Polling[22] | August 2–5, 2012 | 813 (LV) | ± 3.4% | 44% | 37% | 19% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | June Atkinson (incumbent) | 2,336,441 | 54.24% | |
| Republican | John Tedesco | 1,971,049 | 45.76% | |
| Total votes | 4,307,490 | 100.00% | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
By congressional district
Despite losing the state, Tedesco won nine of 13 congressional districts, including one that elected a Democrat, with the remaining four going to Atkinson, including one that elected a Republican.[24]
| District | Atkinson | Tedesco | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 77% | 23% | G. K. Butterfield |
| 2nd | 49% | 51% | Renee Ellmers |
| 3rd | 47% | 53% | Walter B. Jones Jr. |
| 4th | 75% | 25% | David Price |
| 5th | 45% | 55% | Virginia Foxx |
| 6th | 48% | 52% | Howard Coble |
| 7th | 48% | 52% | Mike McIntyre |
| 8th | 49% | 51% | Larry Kissell |
| Richard Hudson | |||
| 9th | 45% | 55% | Sue Myrick |
| Robert Pittenger | |||
| 10th | 46% | 54% | Patrick McHenry |
| 11th | 44% | 56% | Heath Shuler |
| Mark Meadows | |||
| 12th | 80% | 20% | Mel Watt |
| 13th | 52% | 48% | Brad Miller |
| George Holding |