2012 United States Senate election in Nebraska
November 6, 2012
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Fischer: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Kerrey: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Nebraska |
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| Government |
The 2012 United States Senate election in Nebraska took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Incumbent Democratic senator Ben Nelson chose to retire instead of seeking a third term. Democrat Bob Kerrey, who held this seat from 1989 to 2001, and Republican state senator Deb Fischer won their respective parties' primary elections on May 15, 2012.
Fischer won the general election with 57.8% of the vote, marking the first time since 1970 that a Republican was elected to Nebraska's Class 1 Senate seat. She was the first woman to be elected in the Senate since Hazel Abel in the 1954 special election, and as well as the first woman to be elected to a full Senate term in the state's history. This was the only Republican flip of the 2012 U.S. Senate elections. Fischer was sworn in on January 3, 2013, marking the first time since Roman Hruska resigned in December 1976 that Republicans simultaneously held both of Nebraska’s U.S. Senate seats.