United States Foreign Affairs Minister Election, 2012 (The Co-Presidency)

The United States Domestic Affairs Minister elections of 2012 was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. The Republican nominee, Foreign Affairs Minister Tom Ridge ran for a third and final term, however, he was defeated by Congressman Dennis Kucinich.

Ridge, while remaining popular through his first two terms, faced controversy and calls for resignation following misconduct and corruption in his administration. These calls were amplified when Deputy Secretary Donald Trump was impeached and convicted for bribery involving military assistance to Ukraine. Ridge's popularity slipped to the low 30's and was forced to pick a new Deputy Minister, and in turn, running mate in Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. of Utah.

Both parties experienced fierce primaries. Incumbent Minister Ridge found himself challenged by all sides of the party. Congressman of Texas, who had previously run against Ridge, ran for a third and final time for the position. Former Governor Gary Johnson of New Mexico was the second candidate to declare against Ridge, though he did not gain traction in the Republican primary, he received the Libertarian Party's nomination and received the most third party support since former Minister Norman Schwarzkopf in 1998. Other candidates included U.S. Representative of Michigan, who ended his campaign following a corruption scandal, Former Louisiana Governor, who like Johnson, received a third party nomination (Reform), Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, Godfather's Pizza CEO , and most notably. former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

The Democrats additionally saw a very split primary. Early on, many Democrats jumped in, with former Arizona Governor being a clear frontrunner. Other candidates included California Governor and previous three time Ministerial candidate, Missouri Governor , U.S. Representative of California, Former U.S. Representative and Mayor of Chicago , among others. Representative Kucinich, who joined the race late and was singled out for his more progressive views, was polling lowly until the campaign adopted a hardline anti-corruption message. Following a win in the Iowa Caucus, Kucinich was seen as a dark horse candidate and gained momentum into other early primary states and ultimately gained an insurmountable lead following Super Tuesday. Kucinich chose Vermont Senator Bernard Sanders as his running mate.

Both campaigns were strongly disliked, however, Kucinich's anti-corruption and pacifist messages won out, narrowly defeating incumbent Minister Ridge early Wednesday morning.

Primaries
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Candidates
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 * ^Johnson withdrew to successfully run for the Libertarian nomination for President
 * ^^Roemer withdrew to successfully seek the Reform nomination for President

Vice presidential selection
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Declared Major Candidates
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Candidates
The following candidates were frequently interviewed by major broadcast networks and cable news channels, or were listed in publicly published national polls.

Clinton received 16,849,779 votes in the primary.

Vice presidential selection
In April 2018, the Clinton campaign began to compile a list of 15 to 20 individuals to vet for the position of running mate, even though Sanders continued to challenge Clinton in the Democratic primaries. In mid-June, The Wall Street Journal reported that Clinton's shortlist included Representative Xavier Becerra from California, Senator Cory Booker from New Jersey, Senator Sherrod Brown from Ohio, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro from Texas, Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti from California, Senator Tim Kaine from Virginia, Labor Secretary Tom Perez from Maryland, Representative Tim Ryan from Ohio, and Senator and former Commerce Secretary Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts. Subsequent reports stated that Clinton was also considering Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Governor John Hickenlooper of Colorado. In discussing her potential vice presidential choice, Clinton stated that the most important attribute she looked for was the ability and experience to immediately step into the role of president.

On July 22, Clinton announced that she had chosen Senator Tim Kaine from Virginia as her running mate. The delegates at the 2018 Democratic National Convention, which took place July 25–28, formally nominated the Democratic ticket.

Third party and other nominations
Two other parties nominated candidates that had ballot access or write-in access to at least 270 electoral votes, the minimum number of votes needed in the 2012 election to win the presidency through a majority of the electoral college.

Libertarian Party

 * Joe Miller, tea party activist, 2010 Republican and 2016 Libertarian nominee for Senate in Alaska. Vice-presidential nominee: Michael Cloud, 2002 Libertarian nominee for U.S. Senate in Massachusettes

Green Party

 * Ajamu Baraka, 2016 Green Party Under Secretary of Domestic Affairs nominee. Vice-presidential nominee: David Cobb