2012 Pennsylvania Attorney General election

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

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

Kane became the first Democrat and the first woman to be elected Attorney General of Pennsylvania. She later resigned in 2016 due to an e-mail scandal, and Solicitor General Bruce Castor became acting Attorney General.^[3][4]

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• David Freed, Cumberland County District Attorney^[5]

Withdrew

• John Rafferty, state senator^[6][7]

Declined

• Linda Kelly, incumbent Attorney General^[8]

Results

Republican primary results^[9]

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^[10]

Eliminated in primary

• Patrick Murphy, former U.S. Representative (2007–2011)^[11]

Withdrew

• Dan McCaffery, former Philadelphia assistant district attorney^[12][13]

Declined

• Lynne Abraham, former Philadelphia district attorney (1991–2010)^[14]

Results

Democratic primary results^[9]

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^[15]

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

By congressional district

Kane won 13 of the 18 congressional districts, including eight that elected Republicans.^[16]

District	Kane	Freed	Representative
1st	83%	16%	Bob Brady
2nd	90%	9%	Chaka Fattah
3rd	48%	49%	Mike Kelly
4th	45%	52%	Jason Altmire
			Scott Perry
5th	47.8%	48.4%	Glenn Thompson
6th	50%	47%	Jim Gerlach
7th	50%	49%	Pat Meehan
8th	51%	47%	Mike Fitzpatrick
9th	46%	51%	Bill Shuster
10th	45%	53%	Tom Marino
11th	50%	48%	Lou Barletta
12th	50%	47%	Mark Critz
			Keith Rothfus
13th	68%	31%	Allyson Schwartz
14th	72%	25%	Mike Doyle
15th	52%	46%	Charlie Dent
16th	49.0%	48.7%	Joe Pitts
17th	62%	36%	Tim Holden
			Matt Cartwright
18th	49%	48%	Tim Murphy

References

1. "2012 General Primary - Attorney General". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
2. "2012 General Election - Attorney General". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
3. "Attorney General Kathleen Kane: Charges Tied To Porn Emails". CBS News. August 12, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
4. "Pa. Attorney General Kathleen Kane To Step Down After Perjury Conviction". NPR. August 17, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
5. "Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed runs alone for Republican attorney general nod". The Patriot-News. January 12, 2012.
6. "Website: Sen. Rafferty to run for state Attorney General". The Mercury. August 31, 2011.
7. "Without Corbett's Endorsement, John Rafferty Ends Run For Attorney General". CBS News Philadelphia. January 12, 2012.
8. McLane, Lauren (December 6, 2011). "DA David Freed announces run for state attorney general". The Sentinel. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023.
9. "2012 General Primary - Official Returns". Pennsylvania Department of State.
10. Snyder, Sy (March 29, 2011). "PoliticsPA Exclusive: Kathleen Granahan Kane to Announce AG Candidacy on Wednesday". Politics PA.
11. Toeplitz, Shira (April 20, 2011). "Patrick Murphy to Run for Pennsylvania AG". Roll Call.
12. Gibson, Keegan (September 27, 2011). "McCaffery Announces for AG". Politics PA.
13. Campisi, Jon (January 26, 2012). "Attorney Dan McCaffery ends race for Pa. Attorney General". Pennsylvania Record.
14. "Former Philadelphia DA Lynne Abraham Won't Run For Penna. Attorney-General". CBS News Philadelphia. October 7, 2011.
15. "2012 General Election - Official Returns". Pennsylvania Department of State.
16. "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts". Daily Kos. Retrieved July 13, 2024.