[5][24] Republican representative Jeff Flake[25] won the August 28 primary with 69.1% of the vote, against three contenders, including real estate investor Wil Cardon[26] who polled 21.2%.

The top two finishers — regardless of party — advanced to the general election in November, even if a candidate managed to receive a majority of the votes cast in the June primary.

[32] Republican businesswoman Linda McMahon faced Democratic representative Chris Murphy in the general election and lost, marking two defeats in as many years.

Oakes pointed to his real life experience being a disabled American, victim of crime, civil rights activist, growing up in the inner-city and being a political outsider for his candidacy.

Incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson won re-election to a third term, defeating Republican U.S. Representative Connie Mack IV by 13%, winning 55% to 42%.

Congressman Joe Donnelly, a moderate Democrat from Indiana's 2nd Congressional District, received his party's nomination after running unopposed in the primary contest, and then defeated both Mourdock and Libertarian Andrew Horning in the general election.

At the debate Mourdock, when asked what his position on abortion was, responded: "I know there are some who disagree and I respect their point of view but I believe that life begins at conception.

Incumbent Olympia Snowe won re-election to a third term in 2006 with 74.01% of the vote over Democrat Jean Hay Bright and independent Bill Slavick.

For the Democrats, an initial wide field of prospective candidates narrowed after the entry of Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Warren, the architect of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

[89] The Massachusetts Republican Party sued in an attempt to halt Kirk's appointment, but it was rejected by Suffolk Superior Court Judge Thomas Connolly.

[91] Brown thus became the first Republican to be elected from Massachusetts to the United States Senate since Edward Brooke in 1972 and he began serving the remainder of Kennedy's term on February 4, 2010.

[96] As the only candidate with 15% of delegate votes necessary to qualify for the primary ballot, Warren eliminated her challenger Marisa DeFranco, becoming the de facto nominee.

But part of the underlying social contract is, you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.On July 13, 2012, President Obama sparked a controversy when he echoed her thoughts[114][115] in a campaign speech saying, "Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive.

In August 2012, Rob Engstrom, political director for the United States Chamber of Commerce, claimed that "no other candidate in 2012 represents a greater threat to free enterprise than Professor Warren.

But Akin's comments about a woman's body preventing pregnancy if it was "legitimate rape" quickly shot McCaskill back up, winning her the election.

[133] Democrats believed that Todd Akin would be the weakest among the likely challengers for the Senate seat, and ads attacking him as "too conservative" were largely viewed as a veiled support for his nomination.

In an interview aired on St. Louis television station KTVI-TV, Aiken was asked his views on whether women who became pregnant due to rape should have the option of abortion.

[141] While some voices such as Iowa congressman Steve King supported Akin,[142] senior figures in both parties condemned his remarks and some Republicans called for him to resign.

Both McCaskill and incumbent governor Jay Nixon, running at the same time, were able to get a large number of votes from rural parts of the state, something President Barack Obama was not able to do.

Tester has been accused by Republican Denny Rehberg's senate campaign of depending on financial contributions from Wall Street banking executives and movie stars.

[196] Mandel's campaign was singled out by the independent fact-checking group Politifact for its "casual relationship with the truth" and its tendency to "double down" after inaccuracies were pointed out.

The fact-checking group wrote: "For all the gifts Mandel has, from his compelling personal narrative as an Iraq war veteran to a well-oiled fundraising machine, whoppers are fast becoming a calling card of his candidacy.

Pennsylvania was considered a battleground state; since the 1970 election of Governor Milton Shapp, partisan control of the governorship had alternated between Democratic and Republican.

[207] The next day Tennessee's Democratic Party disavowed the candidate over his active role in the Public Advocate of the United States, which they described as a "known hate group".

[208] One of the Democratic candidates, Larry Crim, filed a petition seeking to offer the voters a new primary in which to select a Democratic nominee among the remaining candidates the party had affirmed as bona fide and as a preliminary motion sought a temporary restraining order against certification of the results, but after a judge denied the temporary order Crim withdrew his petition[209] Kay Bailey Hutchison Republican Ted Cruz Republican Incumbent Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison retired instead of running for re-election to a fourth full term.

After the first round of primary on May 29, 2012, a runoff was held July 31, 2012, for both the Democratic and Republican parties, with Paul Sadler and Ted Cruz winning, respectively.

Courtney Lynch, former Marine Corps Officer and Fairfax business consultant[237] and Julien Modica, former CEO of the Brain Trauma Recovery & Policy Institute,[237] eventually withdrew from the election, allowing Kaine to be unopposed in the Democratic primary.

One example is how Manchin lost his long-time endorsement from West Virginians for Life because of his vote against defunding Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider.

[246] Raese wrote an op-ed in the Charleston Gazette saying about Manchin, "Yes, he'll talk like a conservative and act like he's fiscally responsible to appeal to more moderate voters, but under that outward appearance of a lovable rube is the heart of a tax-and-spend liberal.

The Republican nominee was former Governor of Wisconsin and former Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, who won with a plurality in a four-way race.