The 2012 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 6, 2012, alongside a presidential election, other elections to the United States Senate in other states, as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Casey, Jr. ran for and won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican nominee Tom Smith, and Libertarian nominee Rayburn Smith. The requisite primary elections occurred on April 24, 2012, during which the Republicans and Democrats selected nominees for the general election. The Republican primary was a five-way contest. Tom Smith, the eventual nominee, faced David A. Christian, Sam Rohrer, Marc Scaringi, and Steve Welch. The Democratic primary was not heavily contested. Incumbent Bob Casey, Jr., defeated Joseph Vodvarka by a wide margin. The Libertarian Party nominated Rayburn Smith. Casey led most pre-election polls and eventually defeated his opponents to win re-election to a second term in the U.S. Senate. In so doing, Casey became the first Democratic senator from Pennsylvania elected to a second term in 50 years. Background On November 7, 2006, Bob Casey, Jr., the State Treasurer and son of former Governor Bob Casey, Sr., defeated two-term incumbent Republican Senator Rick Santorum with 58.64% of votes cast. Santorum's margin of defeat was the largest for an incumbent Republican Senator in Pennsylvania history; it was also the first time a Democrat was elected to a full Senate term from Pennsylvania since Joseph Clark was re-elected in 1962. The 2012 election would also become the first time a Democrat won re-election to the U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania since the 1962 election. Pennsylvania is considered a battleground state; since the 1970 election of Governor Milton Shapp, partisan control of the governorship has alternated between Democratic and Republican. Additionally, Republicans have controlled the State Senate since 1995, while Democrats assumed control of the State House following the 2006 election, only to lose control in the 2010 election. Democrats had won the state in every presidential election from 1992 to 2012. As of 2021, this is the last time that Fayette County and Luzerne County voted Democratic in a Senate election. Democratic primary Candidates Bob Casey, Jr., incumbent U.S. Senator Joseph Vodvarka, spring maker Results Republican primary Candidates On ballot David Christian, businessman and veterans' advocate John Kensinger, pharmacist Sam Rohrer, former state representative Marc Scaringi, attorney and former legislative aide to