2012 United States presidential election

For related races, see 2012 United States elections.

"Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney" redirects here. For the Epic Rap Battles of History episode, see Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney (video).

2012 United States presidential election

* * *

| <- 2008 | November 6, 2012 | 2016 ->

|
|

* * *

538 members of the Electoral College
270 electoral votes needed to win
Opinion polls
Turnout| 58.6%[1] 3.0 pp
|  |  |

|
|

Nominee  | Barack Obama | Mitt Romney |
Party  | Democratic | Republican
Home state  | Illinois | Massachusetts
Running mate  | Joe Biden | Paul Ryan
Electoral vote  | 332 | 206
States carried  | 26 + DC | 24
Popular vote  | 65,915,795[2] | 60,933,504[2]
Percentage  | 51.1% | 47.2%

* * *

Presidential election results map. Blue denotes states won by Obama/Biden and red denotes those won by Romney/Ryan. Numbers indicate electoral votes cast by each state and the District of Columbia.

* * *

| President before election

Barack Obama
Democratic

| Elected President

Barack Obama
Democratic

|

2012 U.S. presidential election

* Timeline
* General election debates

* Electors
* Polling
* nationwide
* statewide
* Parties

Democratic Party

* Candidates
* Primaries
* Results
* Nominee
* Convention

Republican Party

* Prelude
* Candidates
* Debates and forums
* Primaries
* National polling
* Statewide polling
* Straw polls
* Results
* Nominee
* VP candidate selection
* Convention
* Endorsements

Minor parties

* Libertarian Party
* candidates
* primaries
* nominee
* convention
* Green Party
* primaries
* nominee
* convention
* Constitution Party
* nominee
* convention
* Justice Party
* nominee
* Americans Elect
* All candidates

Related races

* House
* Senate
* Governors

* Vice President
* Democratic
* Republican

| <- 2008 | 2012 | 2016 ->

|
|

* v
* t
* e

Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Biden, were elected to a second term.[3] They defeated the Republican ticket of former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney and U.S. Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.

As the incumbent president, Obama secured the Democratic nomination without serious opposition. The Republicans experienced a competitive primary. Romney was consistently competitive in the polls and won the support of many party leaders, but he faced challenges from a number of more conservative contenders. Romney secured his party's nomination in May, defeating former senator Rick Santorum, former Speaker of the House and Georgia Congressman Newt Gingrich, and Texas congressman Ron Paul, among other candidates.

The campaigns focused heavily on domestic issues, and debate centered largely around sound responses to the Great Recession along with long-term federal budget issues, the future of social insurance programs, and the Affordable Care Act. Foreign policy was also discussed, including the end of the Iraq War in 2011, military spending, the Iranian nuclear program, and appropriate counteractions to terrorism. Romney claimed Obama's domestic policies were ineffective and financially insolvent while Obama's campaign sought to characterize Romney as a plutocratic businessman who was out of touch with the average American.[4][5] The campaign was marked by a sharp rise in fundraising, including from nominally independent Super PACs.

Obama defeated Romney, winning 332 Electoral College votes and 51.1% of the popular vote to Romney's 206 electoral votes and 47.2% of the popular vote.[2] He became the third sitting president in a row (after Bill Clinton and George W. Bush) to win a second term and was the first Democrat since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win a majority of the popular vote more than once. Obama carried all 18 "blue wall" states and defeated Romney in crucial swing states that Republicans had previously won in 2000 and 2004, namely Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Ohio, and Virginia. Despite his loss, Romney managed to flip Indiana, North Carolina, and Nebraska's 2nd congressional district from the 2008 election. Ultimately, of the nine swing states identified by The Washington Post in the 2012 election, Obama won eight, losing only North Carolina.[6]

As of 2025, this is the most recent presidential election in which the Democratic candidate won Iowa, Ohio, and Florida, along with Maine's 2nd congressional district, and the most recent in which both all of Maine and Nebraska's electoral votes were won by one candidate. This also remains the most recent election in which an incumbent president won re-election to a second consecutive term, in which the incumbent presidential party won re-election, and in which neither major party's ticket included a woman. This is also the most recent election in which Donald Trump was not the Republican nominee, and the most recent election in which all 50 states were won by a majority of the vote.

## Background

[edit]

### State changes to voter registration and electoral rules

[edit]

In 2011, several state legislatures passed new voting laws, especially pertaining to voter identification, with the stated purpose of combating voter fraud; however, the laws were attacked by the Democratic Party as attempts to suppress voting among its supporters and to improve the Republican Party's presidential prospects. Florida, Georgia, Ohio,[7] Tennessee, and West Virginia's state legislatures approved measures to shorten early voting periods. Florida and Iowa barred all felons from voting. Kansas, South Carolina,[8] Tennessee, Texas,[9] and Wisconsin[10] state legislatures passed laws requiring voters to have government-issued IDs before they could cast their ballots. This meant typically that people without driver's licenses or passports had to gain new forms of ID. Former president Bill Clinton denounced them, saying, "There has never been in my lifetime, since we got rid of the poll tax and all the Jim Crow burdens on voting, the determined effort to limit the franchise that we see today".[11] He was referring to Jim Crow laws passed in southern states near the turn of the twentieth century that disenfranchised most blacks from voting and excluded them from the political process for more than six decades. Clinton said the moves would effectively disenfranchise core voter blocs that trend liberal, including college students, black people, and Latinos.[12][13]

The Obama campaign fought against the Ohio law, pushing for a petition and statewide referendum to repeal it in time for the 2012 election.[14] In addition, the Pennsylvania legislature proposed a plan to change its representation in the electoral college from the traditional winner-take-all model to a district-by-district model.[15] As the governorship and both houses of its legislature were Republican-controlled, the move was viewed by some as an attempt to reduce Democratic chances.[16][17][18] Ultimately, they did not do it, leaving their winner take all format intact as of 2020.

## Nominations

[edit]

### Democratic Party nomination

[edit]

Main article: 2012 Democratic Party presidential primaries

#### Primaries

[edit]

With an incumbent president running for re-election against token opposition, the race for the Democratic nomination was largely uneventful. The nomination process consisted of primaries and caucuses, held by the 50 states, as well as Guam, Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C., U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Democrats Abroad. Additionally, high-ranking party members known as superdelegates each received one vote in the convention. A few of the primary challengers surpassed the president's vote total in individual counties in several of the seven contested primaries, though none made a significant impact in the delegate count. Running unopposed everywhere else, Obama cemented his status as the Democratic presumptive nominee on April 3, 2012, by securing the minimum number of pledged delegates needed to obtain the nomination.[19][20]

#### Candidate

[edit]

Main article: 2012 Democratic Party presidential candidates

|  |

This article is part of
a series about

Barack Obama

|

* * *

Personal

* Early life and career
* Family
* Honors
* Public image
* Publications
* Dreams from My Father
* The Audacity of Hope
* A Promised Land
* Summer playlist
* Non-profit organizations
* Obama Foundation
* One America Appeal
* Speeches

* * *

Illinois State Senator and U.S. Senator from Illinois

* Illinois State Senate tenure
* 2004 DNC keynote address
* U.S. Senate tenure
* 2004 election
* sponsored bills

* * *

44th President of the United States

* Presidency
* timeline
* Transition
* Inaugurations
* first
* second
* Efforts to impeach
* Presidential library

* * *

Tenure

* First 100 days
* Recovery Act
* Trips
* foreign
* Russia nuclear treaty
* Nobel Peace Prize
* Affordable Care Act
* Dodd–Frank
* Iraq withdrawal
* Killing of Osama bin Laden
* 2011 debt-ceiling crisis
* Libya intervention
* Afghanistan withdrawal
* Benghazi attack
* 2013 debt-ceiling crisis
* Anti-ISIL campaign
* Iraq
* Syria
* Tan suit controversy
* Iran nuclear deal
* Cuban thaw
* Sanctions against Russia
* Selma 50th anniversary speech
* Paris Agreement

* * *

Policies

* Cannabis
* Economy
* Energy
* Foreign
* Arctic
* Europe
* East Asia
* Middle East
* South Asia
* Obama Doctrine
* Pardons
* Marine
* Native
* Social
* Space

* * *

Appointments

* Cabinet
* Judiciary
* Sotomayor
* Kagan
* Garland
* Supreme Court candidates

* * *

Presidential campaigns

* 2008
* election
* primaries
* convention
* debates
* Obama coalition
* 2012
* election
* primaries
* convention
* debates

* * *

* v
* t
* e

|  |

This article is part of
a series about

Joe Biden

|

* * *

Personal

* Early life and career
* Eponyms
* Family
* Honors
* Presidential library
* Public image
* Age and health concerns
* SNL parodies
* The Onion parody
* Bibliography
* Post-presidency

* * *

U.S. Senator from Delaware

* U.S. Senate career
* Judiciary Committee
* Bork hearings
* Thomas hearings
* 1994 Crime Bill
* Violence Against Women Act
* Foreign Relations Committee
* Elections
* 1972
* 1978
* 1984
* 1990
* 1996
* 2002
* 2008

* * *

47th Vice President of the United States

* Transition
* Tenure
* Obama administration
* Inaugurations
* first
* second
* Economic policy
* Great Recession response
* 2010 Tax Relief Act
* 2011 debt-ceiling crisis
* fiscal cliff
* Foreign policy
* Task forces
* Gun Violence
* Protect Students from Sexual Assault
* "Buy a shotgun"

* * *

Vice presidential campaigns

* 2008
* election
* selection
* convention
* debates
* 2012
* election
* convention
* debates

* * *

46th President of the United States

* Presidency
* timeline
* Transition
* COVID-19 Advisory Board
* Inauguration
* Efforts to impeach
* inquiry

* * *

Tenure

* First 100 days
* Executive actions
* proclamations
* Trips
* foreign
* '21
* '22
* '23
* '24–'25
* Ukraine visit
* Geneva summit
* COVID-19 pandemic
* Afghanistan withdrawal
* Classified documents incident
* 2023 debt-ceiling crisis

* * *

Policies

* COVID-19
* WH Response Team
* Economy
* ARP
* IIJA
* IRA
* Electoral/ethics
* Environment
* Foreign policy
* AUKUS
* Camp David Principles
* IPEF
* War in Ukraine
* War in Israel
* Immigration
* border crisis
* Social issues
* guns
* cannabis
* marriage

* * *

Appointments

* Cabinet
* Ambassadors
* Federal judges
* Jackson
* Supreme Court candidates
* Executive Office
* U.S. attorneys

* * *

Presidential campaigns

* 1988
* primaries
* 2008
* primaries
* 2020
* primaries
* election
* sexual misconduct allegation
* Ukraine conspiracy theory
* convention
* debates
* endorsements
* VP selection
* 2024
* primaries
* debate
* endorsements
* opposition
* withdrawal

* v
* t
* e

Democratic Party (United States)2012 Democratic Party ticket

Barack Obama | Joe Biden
for President | for Vice President

44th
President of the United States
(2009–2017) | 47th
Vice President of the United States
(2009–2017)
Campaign

### Republican Party nomination

[edit]

Main article: 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries

#### Primaries

[edit]

Candidates with considerable name recognition who entered the race for the Republican presidential nomination in the early stages of the primary campaign included U.S. representative and former Libertarian nominee Ron Paul, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, who co-chaired John McCain's campaign in 2008, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, the runner-up for the nomination in the 2008 cycle, and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.

The first debate took place on May 5, 2011, in Greenville, South Carolina, with businessman Herman Cain, former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, and former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum participating. Another debate took place a month later, with Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, and Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann participating, and Gary Johnson excluded. A total of thirteen debates were held before the Iowa caucuses.

The first major event of the campaign was the Ames Straw Poll, which took place in Iowa on August 13, 2011. Michele Bachmann won the straw poll (this ultimately proved to be the acme of her campaign).[21] Pawlenty withdrew from the race after a poor showing in the straw poll, as did Thaddeus McCotter, the only candidate among those who qualified for the ballot who was refused entrance into the debate.[22]

It became clear at around this point in the nomination process that while Romney was considered to be the likely nominee by the Republican establishment, a large segment of the conservative primary electorate found him to be too moderate for their political views. As a result, a number of potential "anti-Romney" candidates were put forward,[23][24] including future president Donald Trump,[25] former Alaska governor and 2008 vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin,[26] New Jersey governor Chris Christie,[27] and Texas governor Rick Perry,[28] the last of whom decided to run in August 2011. Perry did poorly in the debates, however, and Herman Cain and then Newt Gingrich came to the fore in October and November.

Due to a number of scandals, Cain withdrew just before the end of the year, after having ballot placement in several states.[29] Around the same time, Johnson, who had been able to get into only one other debate, withdrew to seek the Libertarian Party nomination.[30]

For the first time in modern Republican Party history, three different candidates won the first three state contests in January (the Iowa caucuses, the New Hampshire primary, and the South Carolina primary).[31] Although Romney had been expected to win in at least Iowa and New Hampshire, Rick Santorum won the non-binding poll at caucus sites in Iowa by 34 votes, as near as could be determined from the incomplete tally, earning him a declaration as winner by state party leaders, although vote totals were missing from eight precincts.[32][33] The election of county delegates at the caucuses would eventually lead to Ron Paul earning 22 of the 28 Iowa delegates to the Republican National Convention.[34] Newt Gingrich won South Carolina by a surprisingly large margin,[35] and Romney won only in New Hampshire.

A number of candidates dropped out at this point in the nomination process. Bachmann withdrew after finishing sixth in the Iowa caucuses,[36] Huntsman withdrew after coming in third in New Hampshire, and Perry withdrew when polls showed him drawing low numbers in South Carolina.[37]

Mitt Romney on the campaign trail

Santorum, who had previously run an essentially one-state campaign in Iowa, was able to organize a national campaign after his surprising victory there. He unexpectedly carried three states in a row on February 7 and overtook Romney in nationwide opinion polls, becoming the only candidate in the race to effectively challenge the notion that Romney was the inevitable nominee.[38] However, Romney won all of the other contests between South Carolina and the Super Tuesday primaries, and regained his first-place status in nationwide opinion polls by the end of February.

The Super Tuesday primaries took place on March 6. Romney carried six states, Santorum carried three, and Gingrich won only in his home state of Georgia.[39] Throughout the rest of March, 266 delegates were allocated in 12 events, including the territorial contests and the first local conventions that allocated delegates (Wyoming's county conventions). Santorum won Kansas and three Southern primaries, but he was unable to make any substantial gain on Romney, who became a formidable frontrunner after securing more than half of the delegates allocated in March.

On April 10, Santorum suspended his campaign due to a variety of reasons, such as a low delegate count, unfavorable polls in his home state of Pennsylvania, and his daughter's health, leaving Mitt Romney as the undisputed front-runner for the presidential nomination and allowing Gingrich to claim that he was "the last conservative standing" in the campaign for the nomination.[40] After disappointing results in the April 24 primaries (finishing second in one state, third in three, and fourth in one), Gingrich dropped out on May 2 in a move that was seen as an effective end to the contest for the nomination.[41] After Gingrich's spokesman announced his upcoming withdrawal, the Republican National Committee declared Romney the party's presumptive nominee.[42] Ron Paul officially remained in the race, but he stopped campaigning on May 14 to focus on state conventions.

On May 29, after winning the Texas primary, Romney had received a sufficient number of delegates to clinch the party's nomination with the inclusion of unpledged delegates. After winning the June 5 primaries in California and several other states, Romney had received more than enough pledged delegates to clinch the nomination without counting unpledged delegates, making the June 26 Utah Primary, the last contest of the cycle, purely symbolic. CNN's final delegate estimate, released on July 27, 2012, put Romney at 1,462 pledged delegates and 62 unpledged delegates, for a total estimate of 1,524 delegates. No other candidate had unpledged delegates. The delegate estimates for the other candidates were Santorum at 261 delegates, Paul at 154, Gingrich at 142, Bachmann at 1, Huntsman at 1, and all others at 0.[43]

On August 28, 2012, delegates at the Republican National Convention officially named Romney the party's presidential nominee.[44] Romney formally accepted the delegates' nomination on August 30, 2012.[45]

#### Candidate

[edit]

Main article: 2012 Republican Party presidential candidates

|  |

This article is part of
a series about

Mitt Romney

|

* * *

Personal

* Business career
* Salt Lake Organizing Committee
* Political positions
* Electoral history
* Public image
* Bibliography
* Turnaround
* No Apology
* Anti-Trump speech

* * *

Governor of Massachusetts

* Governorship
* 2002 election
* Health care reform

* * *

Presidential campaigns

* 2008
* Primaries
* Convention

* 2012
* Primaries
* Convention
* Debates
* "Binders full of women"
* Election
* Endorsements
* Planned presidential transition

* * *

U.S. Senator from Utah

* 2018 election

* * *

* v
* t
* e

Republican Party (United States)2012 Republican Party ticket

Mitt Romney | Paul Ryan
for President | for Vice President

70th
Governor of Massachusetts
(2003–2007) | U.S. Representative
from Wisconsin
(1999–2019)
Campaign
[46][47]

#### Withdrawn candidates

[edit]

Candidates in this section are sorted by popular vote from the primaries

Rick Santorum | Newt Gingrich | Ron Paul | Jon Huntsman Jr. | Rick Perry | Michele Bachmann
|  |  |  |  |
U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania
(1995–2007) | 50th
Speaker
of the United States
House of Representatives
(1995–1999) | U.S. Representative
from Texas
(1997–2013) | U.S. Ambassador
to China
(2009–2011) | 47th
Governor of
Texas
(2000–2015) | U.S. Representative
from Minnesota
(2007–2013)
|  |  |  |  |
Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign
W: April 10
3,816,110 votes | W: May 2
2,737,442 votes | W: N/A
2,017,957 votes | W: Jan 16
83,173 votes | W: Jan 19
42,251 votes | W: Jan 4
35,089 votes
[48][49][50] | [51][52] | [53] | [54][55] | [56][57] | [58][59][60]
Buddy Roemer | Herman Cain | Fred Karger | Gary Johnson | Thaddeus McCotter | Tim Pawlenty
|  |  |  |  |
52nd
Governor of
Louisiana
(1988–1992) | Chair of the
Federal Reserve
Bank of Kansas City
(1995–1996) | Political
Consultant | 29th
Governor of
New Mexico
(1995–2003) | U.S. Representative
from Michigan
(2003–2012) | 39th
Governor of
Minnesota
(2003–2011)
|  |  |  |  |
Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign
W: Feb 22
33,212 votes | W: Dec 3, 2011
13,538 votes | W: June 29, 2012
12,776 votes | W: Dec 28, 2011
4,286 votes | W: Sep 22, 2011
0 votes | W: Aug 14, 2011
0 votes
[61][62] | [63][64] | [65] | [66][67] | [68][69] | [70][71]

### Third party and other nominations

[edit]

Main article: Third-party and independent candidates for the 2012 United States presidential election

Four 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

[edit]

Main articles: Libertarian Party (United States), 2012 Libertarian National Convention, and Gary Johnson 2012 presidential campaign

* Gary Johnson, former governor of New Mexico.[72] Vice-presidential nominee: Jim Gray, retired state court judge, from California.[73]

#### Green Party

[edit]

Main articles: Green Party of the United States, 2012 Green National Convention, and Jill Stein 2012 presidential campaign

* Jill Stein, medical doctor from Massachusetts.[74][75] Vice-presidential nominee: Cheri Honkala, social organizer, from Pennsylvania.[76]

#### Constitution Party

[edit]

Main articles: Constitution Party (United States), 2012 Constitution Party National Convention, and Virgil Goode 2012 presidential campaign

* Virgil Goode, former representative from Virginia.[77] Vice-presidential nominee: Jim Clymer from Pennsylvania.[78]

#### Justice Party

[edit]

Main articles: Justice Party (United States) and Rocky Anderson

* Rocky Anderson, former mayor of Salt Lake City and founding member of the Justice Party, from Utah. Vice-presidential nominee: Luis J. Rodriguez from California.[79][80]

#### Candidates gallery

[edit]

* Gary Johnson
(campaign)

* Jill Stein
(campaign)

* Virgil Goode
(campaign)

* Rocky Anderson
(campaign)

## Campaigns

[edit]

See also: Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign, Mitt Romney 2012 presidential campaign, Gary Johnson 2012 presidential campaign, Jill Stein 2012 presidential campaign, and Virgil Goode 2012 presidential campaign

### Ballot access

[edit]

Presidential ticket  | Party  | Ballot access[81] | Votes  | Percentage

|
|
|
|

States  | Electors  | % of voters
Obama / Biden | Democratic | 50 + DC | 538 | 100% | 65,915,795 | 51.1%
Romney / Ryan | Republican | 50 + DC | 538 | 100% | 60,933,504 | 47.2%
Johnson / Gray | Libertarian | 48 + DC | 515 | 95.1% | 1,275,971 | 1.0%
Stein / Honkala | Green | 36 + DC | 436 | 83.1% | 469,627 | 0.4%
Goode / Clymer  | Constitution  | 26  | 257  | 49.9%  | 122,388  | 0.1%
Anderson / Rodriguez  | Justice  | 15  | 145  | 28.1%  | 43,018  | nil
Lindsay / Osorio  | Socialism & Liberation  | 13  | 115  | 28.6%  | 7,791  | nil

Candidates in bold were on ballots representing 270 electoral votes.

All other candidates were on the ballots of fewer than 10 states, 100 electors, and less than 20% of voters nationwide.

### Financing and advertising

[edit]

The United States presidential election of 2012 broke new records in financing, fundraising, and negative campaigning. Through grassroots campaign contributions, online donations, and Super PACs, Obama and Romney raised a combined total of more than $2 billion.[82] Super PACs constituted nearly one-fourth of the total financing, with most coming from pro-Romney PACs.[83] Obama raised $690 million through online channels, beating his record of $500 million in 2008.[84] Most of the advertising in the 2012 presidential campaign was decidedly negative—80% of Obama's ads and 84% of Romney's ads were negative.[85] The tax-exempt non-profit Americans for Prosperity, a so-called "outside group", that is, a political advocacy group that is not a political action committee or super-PAC, ran a television advertising campaign opposing Obama described by The Washington Post as "early and relentless".[86][87] Americans for Prosperity spent $8.4 million in swing states on television advertisements denouncing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 loan guarantee to Solyndra, a manufacturer of solar panels that went bankrupt,[88] an advertising campaign described by The Wall Street Journal in November 2011 as "perhaps the biggest attack on Mr. Obama so far".[89][90]

### Party conventions

[edit]

Charlotte

Tampa

Nashville

Las Vegas

Baltimore

class=notpageimage|

Sites of the 2012 national party conventions

* April 18–21, 2012: 2012 Constitution Party National Convention held in Nashville, Tennessee;[91] Virgil Goode won the nomination.
* May 3–6, 2012: 2012 Libertarian National Convention held in Las Vegas, Nevada;[92] Gary Johnson won the nomination.[93]
* July 13–15, 2012: 2012 Green National Convention held in Baltimore, Maryland;[94] Jill Stein won the nomination.[74]
* August 27–30, 2012: 2012 Republican National Convention held in Tampa, Florida;[95] Mitt Romney won the nomination.
* September 3–6, 2012: 2012 Democratic National Convention held in Charlotte, North Carolina;[96] Barack Obama won the nomination.

### Presidential debates

[edit]

Main article: 2012 United States presidential debates

The Commission on Presidential Debates held four debates during the last weeks of the campaign: three presidential and one vice-presidential. The major issues debated were the economy and jobs, the federal budget deficit, taxation and spending, the future of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, healthcare reform, education, social issues, immigration, and foreign policy.

Debate schedule:[97][98]

Debates among candidates for the 2012 U.S. presidential election No.  | Date  | Host  | City  | Moderator  | Participants  |

Viewership
(million)

|
|
|
|
|
|

P1  | Wednesday, October 3, 2012  | University of Denver | Denver, Colorado | Jim Lehrer |

* Barack Obama
* Mitt Romney

| 67.2[99]
VP  | Thursday, October 11, 2012  | Centre College | Danville, Kentucky | Martha Raddatz |

* Joe Biden
* Paul Ryan

| 51.4[99]
P2  | Tuesday, October 16, 2012  | Hofstra University | Hempstead, New York | Candy Crowley |

* Barack Obama
* Mitt Romney

| 65.6[99]
P3  | Monday, October 22, 2012  | Lynn University | Boca Raton, Florida | Bob Schieffer |

* Barack Obama
* Mitt Romney

| 59.2[99]
President Obama talks with Ron Klain during presidential debate preparations. Senator John Kerry, at podium, played the role of Mitt Romney during the preparatory sessions.

An independent presidential debate featuring minor party candidates took place on Tuesday, October 23 at the Hilton Hotel in Chicago, Illinois.[100][101] The debate was moderated by Larry King[102] and organized by the Free & Equal Elections Foundation.[101] The participants were Gary Johnson (Libertarian), Jill Stein (Green), Virgil Goode (Constitution), and Rocky Anderson (Justice).[101][102] A second debate between Stein and Johnson took place on Sunday, November 4, and was moderated by Ralph Nader.[103]

### Notable expressions, phrases, and statements

[edit]

* Severely conservative – In a speech he made at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February 2012, Romney claimed that he had been a "severely conservative Republican governor". Romney's description of his record as "severely conservative" was widely criticized by political commentators as both rhetorically clumsy and factually inaccurate.[104][105][106] Later, the phrase "severely conservative" was frequently brought up by Democrats to make fun of Romney's willingness to associate himself with the far-right of the Republican Party as well as his apparent lack of sincerity while doing so.[107] Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, who played the clip on his radio show, said: "I have never heard anybody say, 'I'm severely conservative.' "[108]
* You didn't build that – A portion of a statement that Obama made in a July 2012 campaign speech in Roanoke, Virginia. Obama said that businesses depend on government-provided infrastructure to succeed, but critics of his remarks argued that he was underplaying the work of entrepreneurs and giving the government credit for individuals' success. The Romney campaign immediately used the statement in an effort to contrast Romney's economic policies with Obama's and to appeal to small business owners/employees. A major theme of the 2012 Republican National Convention was "We Built It".
* 47 percent – An expression Romney used at a private campaign fundraising event, which was secretly recorded and publicly released. At the private event, Romney said that 47 percent of the people would vote for Barack Obama no matter what Romney said or did because those people "...are dependent upon government... I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives." Ironically, Romney received almost exactly 47% of the vote.
* The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back – A portion of a statement that Obama made in an October 2012 debate. In the debate, Obama was deriding an earlier Romney statement in the campaign that Russia is "without question, our No. 1 geopolitical foe."[109]
* Binders full of women – A phrase that Romney used in the second presidential debate to refer to the long list of female candidates that he considered when choosing his cabinet members as Governor of Massachusetts.
* Horses and bayonets – After Romney said in the third presidential debate that the U.S. Navy was smaller than at any time since 1917, Obama replied, "We have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military's changed."[110]
* Shovel-ready jobs – a phrase used to describe some stimulus projects promoted by the administration. During the debate on September 23, 2011, Gary Johnson quipped, "My next-door neighbor's two dogs have created more shovel-ready jobs than this president."[111]
* Romnesia – A term coined by a blogger in April 2011 and used by Obama late in the campaign to describe Romney's alleged inability to take responsibility for his past statements.[112][113]
* $10,000 bet – During a Republican debate, Romney facetiously bet Texas governor Rick Perry $10,000 that he (Perry) was wrong about Romney's position on the individual mandate under the Affordable Healthcare Act. The statement was vilified by Democrats as exemplary of Romney being out of touch with working-class and middle-class Americans.
* Romneyshambles – a word used by the British press after Romney criticized British preparations for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The word is a play on omnishambles, and it became a popular hashtag on Twitter. It was subsequently chosen as one of Collins English Dictionary's words of the year.[114][115]
* Malarkey – a word used by Joe Biden in his debate with Paul Ryan to mean bullshit. Biden later used the word in his own campaign in 2020.[116]

### Electoral College forecasts

[edit]

Elections analysts and political pundits issue probabilistic forecasts of the composition of the Electoral College. These forecasts use a variety of factors to estimate the likelihood of each candidate winning the Electoral College electors for that state. Most election predictors use the following ratings:

* "tossup": no advantage
* "tilt" (used by some predictors): advantage that is not quite as strong as "lean"
* "lean" or "leans": slight advantage
* "likely": significant, but surmountable, advantage
* "safe" or "solid": near-certain chance of victory

Below is a list of states considered by one or more forecast to be competitive; states that are deemed to be "safe" or "solid" by forecasters RealClearPolitics, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and FiveThirtyEight.

State  | EVs | RealClearPolitics
November 6,
2012[117] | Sabato's Crystal Ball
November 6,
2012[118] | 538
November 6,
2012[119]

|
|
|
|

Arizona | 11  | Lean R  | Solid R  | Safe R
Colorado | 9  | Tossup  | Lean D  | Likely D
Florida | 29  | Tossup  | Lean R (flip) | Lean D
Iowa | 6  | Tossup  | Lean D  | Likely D
Indiana | 11  | Lean R (flip) | Solid R (flip) | Likely R (flip)
Maine | 1  | Lean D  | Likely D  | Safe D
Michigan | 16  | Tossup  | Likely D  | Safe D
Minnesota | 10  | Lean D  | Likely D  | Safe D
Missouri | 11  | Lean R  | Solid R  | Safe R
Nevada | 6  | Tossup  | Likely D  | Safe D
New Hampshire | 4  | Tossup  | Lean D  | Likely D
New Mexico | 5  | Lean D  | Likely D  | Safe D
North Carolina | 15  | Tossup  | Likely R (flip) | Lean R (flip)
Ohio | 18  | Tossup  | Lean D  | Safe D
Oregon | 7  | Lean D  | Likely D  | Safe D
Pennsylvania | 20  | Tossup  | Lean D  | Safe D
Washington | 12  | Lean D  | Solid D  | Safe D
Virginia | 13  | Tossup  | Lean R  | Likely D
Wisconsin | 10  | Tossup  | Lean D  | Safe D

## Timeline

[edit]

Main article: Timeline of the 2012 United States presidential election

## Results

[edit]

### Electoral results

[edit]

On the day of the election, spread betting firm Spreadex offered an Obama Electoral College Votes spread of 296–300 to Romney's 239–243.[120] In fact Obama's victory over Romney was greater, winning 332 electoral votes to Romney's 206. Obama received 51 percent of the national popular vote to Romney's 47 percent[121][122] and carried eight of the nine states considered to be electoral battlegrounds.

Altogether, Obama won in 26 states plus the District of Columbia, while Romney carried 24 states. Of the 3,154 counties/districts/independent cities making returns, Romney won the most popular votes in 2,447 (77.58%) while Obama carried 707 (22.42%).

The results of the electoral vote were certified by Congress on January 4, 2013.[123]

Popular vote totals are from the Federal Election Commission report.[2]

Electoral results  Presidential candidate  | Party  | Home state  | Popular vote  | Electoral
vote  | Running mate

|
|
|
|
|

Count  | Percentage  | Vice-presidential candidate  | Home state  | Electoral vote
Barack Obama (incumbent) | Democratic | Illinois | 65,915,795  | 51.06%  | 332  |  Joe Biden (incumbent) | Delaware | 332
Mitt Romney | Republican | Massachusetts | 60,933,504  | 47.20%  | 206  |  Paul Ryan | Wisconsin | 206
Gary Johnson | Libertarian | New Mexico | 1,275,971  | 0.99%  | 0  |  Jim Gray | California | 0
Jill Stein | Green | Massachusetts | 469,627  | 0.36%  | 0  |  Cheri Honkala | Minnesota | 0
Virgil Goode | Constitution | Virginia | 122,389  | 0.09%  | 0  |  James N. Clymer | Pennsylvania | 0
Roseanne Barr | Peace and Freedom | Hawaii | 67,326  | 0.05%  | 0  |  Cindy Sheehan | California | 0
Rocky Anderson | Justice | Utah | 43,018  | 0.03%  | 0  |  Luis J. Rodriguez | Texas | 0
Tom Hoefling | America's  | Nebraska | 40,628  | 0.03%  | 0  |  J.D. Ellis | Tennessee | 0
Other | 217,152  | 0.17%  | —  | Other | —
Total  | 129,085,410  | 100%  | 538  |  | 538
Needed to win  | 270  |  | 270
President Obama casts his ballot at the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center in Chicago.

| Popular vote

|  |
Obama |

| 51.06%
Romney |

| 47.20%
Johnson |

| 0.99%
Stein |

| 0.36%
Others |

| 0.39%

| Electoral vote

|  |
Obama |

| 61.71%
Romney |

| 38.29%

### Results by state

[edit]

The table below displays the official vote tallies by each state's Electoral College voting method. The source for the results of all states, except those that amended their official results, is the official Federal Election Commission report.[2] The column labeled "Margin" shows Obama's margin of victory over Romney (the margin is negative for every state that Romney won).

Legend  States/districts won by Obama/Biden

States/districts won by Romney/Ryan
† | At-large results (for states that split electoral votes)

State or
district

| Obama/Biden
Democratic  | Romney/Ryan
Republican  | Johnson/Gray
Libertarian  | Stein/Honkala
Green  | Others  | Margin  | Margin
Swing[a] | Total
votes  |

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

#  | %  | EV | #  | %  | EV | #  | %  | EV | #  | %  | EV | #  | %  | EV | #  | %  | %
Alabama | 795,696 | 38.36% | – | 1,255,925 | 60.55% | 9 | 12,328 | 0.59% | – | 3,397 | 0.16% | – | 6,992 | 0.33% | – | −460,229 | −22.19% | −0.61% | 2,074,338 | AL
Alaska | 122,640 | 40.81% | – | 164,676 | 54.80% | 3 | 7,392 | 2.46% | – | 2,917 | 0.97% | – | 2,870 | 0.96% | – | −42,036 | −13.99% | 7.55% | 300,495 | AK
Arizona | 1,025,232 | 44.59% | – | 1,233,654 | 53.65% | 11 | 32,100 | 1.39% | – | 7,816 | 0.34% | – | 452 | 0.02% | – | −208,422 | −9.06% | −0.54% | 2,299,254 | AZ
Arkansas | 394,409 | 36.88% | – | 647,744 | 60.57% | 6 | 16,276 | 1.52% | – | 9,305 | 0.87% | – | 1,734 | 0.16% | – | −253,335 | −23.69% | −3.84% | 1,069,468 | AR
California | 7,854,285 | 60.24% | 55 | 4,839,958 | 37.12% | – | 143,221 | 1.10% | – | 85,638 | 0.66% | – | 115,445 | 0.88% | – | 3,014,327 | 23.12% | −0.94% | 13,038,547 | CA
Colorado | 1,323,102 | 51.49% | 9 | 1,185,243 | 46.13% | – | 35,545 | 1.38% | – | 7,508 | 0.29% | – | 18,121 | 0.71% | – | 137,858 | 5.36% | −3.59% | 2,569,518 | CO
Connecticut | 905,083 | 58.06% | 7 | 634,892 | 40.73% | – | 12,580 | 0.81% | – | 863 | 0.06% | – | 5,542 | 0.36% | – | 270,191 | 17.33% | −5.04% | 1,558,960 | CT
Delaware | 242,584 | 58.61% | 3 | 165,484 | 39.98% | – | 3,882 | 0.94% | – | 1,940 | 0.47% | – | 31 | 0.01% | – | 77,100 | 18.63% | −6.37% | 413,921 | DE
District of ColumbiaDistrict of Columbia | 267,070 | 90.91% | 3 | 21,381 | 7.28% | – | 2,083 | 0.71% | – | 2,458 | 0.84% | – | 772 | 0.26% | – | 245,689 | 83.63% | −2.29% | 293,764 | DC
Florida | 4,237,756 | 50.01% | 29 | 4,163,447 | 49.13% | – | 44,726 | 0.53% | – | 8,947 | 0.11% | – | 19,303 | 0.22% | – | 74,309 | 0.88% | −1.94% | 8,474,179 | FL
Georgia | 1,773,827 | 45.48% | – | 2,078,688 | 53.30% | 16 | 45,324 | 1.16% | – | 1,516 | 0.04% | – | 695 | 0.05% | – | −304,861 | −7.82% | −2.61% | 3,900,050 | GA
Hawaii | 306,658 | 70.55% | 4 | 121,015 | 27.84% | – | 3,840 | 0.88% | – | 3,184 | 0.73% | – | – | – | – | 185,643 | 42.71% | −2.55% | 434,697 | HI
Idaho | 212,787 | 32.62% | – | 420,911 | 64.53% | 4 | 9,453 | 1.45% | – | 4,402 | 0.67% | – | 4,721 | 0.72% | – | −208,124 | −31.91% | −6.26% | 652,274 | ID
Illinois | 3,019,512 | 57.60% | 20 | 2,135,216 | 40.73% | – | 56,229 | 1.07% | – | 30,222 | 0.58% | – | 835 | 0.02% | – | 884,296 | 16.87% | −8.27% | 5,242,014 | IL
Indiana | 1,152,887 | 43.93% | – | 1,420,543 | 54.13% | 11 | 50,111 | 1.91% | – | 625 | 0.02% | – | 368 | 0.01% | – | −267,656 | −10.20% | −11.26% | 2,624,534 | IN
Iowa | 822,544 | 51.99% | 6 | 730,617 | 46.18% | – | 12,926 | 0.82% | – | 3,769 | 0.24% | – | 12,324 | 0.77% | – | 91,927 | 5.81% | −3.72% | 1,582,180 | IA
Kansas | 440,726 | 37.99% | – | 692,634 | 59.71% | 6 | 20,456 | 1.76% | – | 714 | 0.06% | – | 5,441 | 0.48% | – | −251,908 | −21.72% | −6.75% | 1,159,971 | KS
Kentucky | 679,370 | 37.80% | – | 1,087,190 | 60.49% | 8 | 17,063 | 0.95% | – | 6,337 | 0.35% | – | 7,252 | 0.4% | – | −407,820 | −22.69% | −6.46% | 1,797,212 | KY
Louisiana | 809,141 | 40.58% | – | 1,152,262 | 57.78% | 8 | 18,157 | 0.91% | – | 6,978 | 0.35% | – | 7,527 | 0.4% | – | −343,121 | −17.20% | 1.43% | 1,994,065 | LA
Maine† | 401,306 | 56.27% | 2 | 292,276 | 40.98% | – | 9,352 | 1.31% | – | 8,119 | 1.14% | – | 2,127 | 0.3% | – | 109,030 | 15.29% | −2.03% | 713,180 | ME–AL
ME-1Tooltip Maine's 1st congressional district | 223,035 | 59.57% | 1 | 142,937 | 38.18% | – | 4,501 | 1.2% | – | 3,946 | 1.1% | – | – | – | – | 80,098 | 21.39% | −1.43% | 374,419 | ME1
ME-2Tooltip Maine's 2nd congressional district | 177,998 | 52.94% | 1 | 149,215 | 44.38% | – | 4,843 | 1.4% | – | 4,170 | 1.2% | – | – | – | – | 28,783 | 8.56% | −2.69% | 336,226 | ME2
Maryland | 1,677,844 | 61.97% | 10 | 971,869 | 35.90% | – | 30,195 | 1.12% | – | 17,110 | 0.63% | – | 10,309 | 0.4% | – | 705,975 | 26.07% | 0.63% | 2,707,327 | MD
Massachusetts | 1,921,290 | 60.65% | 11 | 1,188,314 | 37.51% | – | 30,920 | 0.98% | – | 20,691 | 0.65% | – | 6,552 | 0.21% | – | 732,976 | 23.14% | −2.67% | 3,167,767 | MA
Michigan | 2,564,569 | 54.21% | 16 | 2,115,256 | 44.71% | – | 7,774 | 0.16% | – | 21,897 | 0.46% | – | 21,465 | 0.5% | – | 449,313 | 9.50% | −6.97% | 4,730,961 | MI
Minnesota | 1,546,167 | 52.65% | 10 | 1,320,225 | 44.96% | – | 35,098 | 1.20% | – | 13,023 | 0.44% | – | 22,048 | 0.8% | – | 225,942 | 7.69% | −2.55% | 2,936,561 | MN
Mississippi | 562,949 | 43.79% | – | 710,746 | 55.29% | 6 | 6,676 | 0.52% | – | 1,588 | 0.12% | – | 3,625 | 0.3% | – | −147,797 | −11.50% | 1.67% | 1,285,584 | MS
Missouri | 1,223,796 | 44.38% | – | 1,482,440 | 53.76% | 10 | 43,151 | 1.56% | – | – | – | – | 7,936 | 0.3% | – | −258,644 | −9.38% | −9.25% | 2,757,323 | MO
Montana | 201,839 | 41.70% | – | 267,928 | 55.35% | 3 | 14,165 | 2.93% | – | – | – | – | 116 | nil | – | −66,089 | −13.65% | −11.39% | 484,048 | MT
Nebraska†  | 302,081 | 38.03% | – | 475,064 | 59.80% | 2 | 11,109 | 1.40% | – | – | – | – | 6,125 | 0.77% | – | −172,983 | −21.77% | −6.84% | 794,379 | NE–AL
NE-1Tooltip Nebraska's 1st congressional district | 108,082 | 40.83% | – | 152,021 | 57.43% | 1 | 3,847 | 1.2% | – | – | – | – | 762 | 0.3% | – | -43,949 | -16.60% | −6.83% | 264,712 | NE1
NE-2Tooltip Nebraska's 2nd congressional district | 121,889 | 45.70% | – | 140,976 | 52.85% | 1 | 3,393 | 1.3% | – | – | – | – | 469 | 0.2% | – | -19,087 | -7.15% | −5.94% | 266,727 | NE2
NE-3Tooltip Nebraska's 3rd congressional district | 72,110 | 27.82% | – | 182,067 | 70.23% | 1 | 3,869 | 1.5% | – | – | – | – | 1,177 | 0.5% | – | −109,957 | −42.41% | −3.40% | 259,223 | NE3
Nevada | 531,373 | 52.36% | 6 | 463,567 | 45.68% | – | 10,968 | 1.08% | – | – | – | – | 9,010 | 0.89% | – | 67,806 | 6.68% | −5.81% | 1,014,918 | NV
New Hampshire | 369,561 | 51.98% | 4 | 329,918 | 46.40% | – | 8,212 | 1.16% | – | 324 | 0.05% | – | 2,957 | 0.4% | – | 39,643 | 5.58% | −4.03% | 710,972 | NH
New Jersey[124] | 2,125,101 | 58.38% | 14 | 1,477,568 | 40.59% | – | 21,045 | 0.58% | – | 9,888 | 0.27% | – | 6,690 | 0.2% | – | 647,533 | 17.79% | 2.22% | 3,640,292 | NJ
New Mexico | 415,335 | 52.99% | 5 | 335,788 | 42.84% | – | 27,788 | 3.55% | – | 2,691 | 0.34% | – | 2,156 | 0.3% | – | 79,547 | 10.15% | −4.98% | 783,758 | NM
New York[125] | 4,485,741 | 63.35% | 29 | 2,490,431 | 35.17% | – | 47,256 | 0.67% | – | 39,982 | 0.56% | – | 17,749 | 0.3% | – | 1,995,310 | 28.18% | 1.32% | 7,081,159 | NY
North Carolina | 2,178,391 | 48.35% | – | 2,270,395 | 50.39% | 15 | 44,515 | 0.99% | – | – | – | – | 12,071 | 0.27% | – | −92,004 | −2.04% | −2.37% | 4,505,372 | NC
North Dakota | 124,827 | 38.69% | – | 188,163 | 58.32% | 3 | 5,231 | 1.62% | – | 1,361 | 0.42% | – | 3,045 | 0.9% | – | −63,336 | −19.63% | −10.99% | 322,627 | ND
Ohio[126] | 2,827,709 | 50.67% | 18 | 2,661,437 | 47.69% | – | 49,493 | 0.89% | – | 18,573 | 0.33% | – | 23,635 | 0.4% | – | 166,272 | 2.98% | −1.61% | 5,580,847 | OH
Oklahoma | 443,547 | 33.23% | – | 891,325 | 66.77% | 7 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | −447,778 | −33.54% | −2.15% | 1,334,872 | OK
Oregon | 970,488 | 54.24% | 7 | 754,175 | 42.15% | – | 24,089 | 1.35% | – | 19,427 | 1.09% | – | 21,091 | 1.2% | – | 216,313 | 12.09% | −4.26% | 1,789,270 | OR
Pennsylvania | 2,990,274 | 51.97% | 20 | 2,680,434 | 46.59% | – | 49,991 | 0.87% | – | 21,341 | 0.37% | – | 11,630 | 0.2% | – | 309,840 | 5.38% | −4.94% | 5,753,670 | PA
Rhode Island | 279,677 | 62.70% | 4 | 157,204 | 35.24% | – | 4,388 | 0.98% | – | 2,421 | 0.54% | – | 2,359 | 0.5% | – | 122,473 | 27.46% | −0.35% | 446,049 | RI
South Carolina | 865,941 | 44.09% | – | 1,071,645 | 54.56% | 9 | 16,321 | 0.83% | – | 5,446 | 0.28% | – | 4,765 | 0.24% | – | −205,704 | −10.47% | −1.49% | 1,964,118 | SC
South Dakota | 145,039 | 39.87% | – | 210,610 | 57.89% | 3 | 5,795 | 1.59% | – | – | – | – | 2,371 | 0.65% | – | −65,571 | −18.02% | −9.61% | 363,815 | SD
Tennessee | 960,709 | 39.08% | – | 1,462,330 | 59.48% | 11 | 18,623 | 0.76% | – | 6,515 | 0.26% | – | 10,400 | 0.4% | – | −501,621 | −20.40% | −5.33% | 2,458,577 | TN
Texas | 3,308,124 | 41.38% | – | 4,569,843 | 57.17% | 38 | 88,580 | 1.11% | – | 24,657 | 0.31% | – | 2,647 | nil | – | −1,261,719 | −15.79% | −4.02% | 7,993,851 | TX
Utah | 251,813 | 24.75% | – | 740,600 | 72.79% | 6 | 12,572 | 1.24% | – | 3,817 | 0.38% | – | 8,638 | 0.9% | – | −488,787 | −48.04% | −19.75% | 1,017,440 | UT
Vermont | 199,239 | 66.57% | 3 | 92,698 | 30.97% | – | 3,487 | 1.17% | – | 594 | 0.20% | – | 3,272 | 1.1% | – | 106,541 | 35.60% | −1.41% | 299,290 | VT
Virginia | 1,971,820 | 51.16% | 13 | 1,822,522 | 47.28% | – | 31,216 | 0.81% | – | 8,627 | 0.22% | – | 20,304 | 0.5% | – | 149,298 | 3.88% | −2.42% | 3,854,489 | VA
Washington | 1,755,396 | 56.16% | 12 | 1,290,670 | 41.29% | – | 42,202 | 1.35% | – | 20,928 | 0.67% | – | 16,320 | 0.5% | – | 464,726 | 14.87% | −2.31% | 3,125,516 | WA
West Virginia | 238,269 | 35.54% | – | 417,655 | 62.30% | 5 | 6,302 | 0.94% | – | 4,406 | 0.66% | – | 3,806 | 0.57% | – | −179,386 | −26.76% | −13.64% | 670,438 | WV
Wisconsin[127] | 1,620,985 | 52.83% | 10 | 1,407,966 | 45.89% | – | 20,439 | 0.67% | – | 7,665 | 0.25% | – | 11,379 | 0.4% | – | 213,019 | 6.94% | −6.96% | 3,068,434 | WI
Wyoming | 69,286 | 27.82% | – | 170,962 | 68.64% | 3 | 5,326 | 2.14% | – | – | – | – | 3,487 | 1.40% | – | −101,676 | −40.82% | −8.58% | 249,061 | WY
Total | 65,915,795 | 51.06% | 332 | 60,933,504 | 47.20% | 206 | 1,275,971 | 0.99% | – | 469,627 | 0.36% | – | 490,510 | 0.4% | – | 4,982,291 | 3.86% | −4.41% | 129,085,410  |
| Obama/Biden
Democratic  | Romney/Ryan
Republican  | Johnson/Gray
Libertarian  | Stein/Honkala
Green  | Others  | Margin  | Margin
swing  | Total
votes

Maine and Nebraska each allow for their election results votes to be split between candidates. The winner within each congressional district gets one electoral vote for the district. The winner of the statewide vote gets two additional electoral votes. In the 2012 election, all four of Maine's electoral votes were won by Obama and all five of Nebraska's electoral votes were won by Romney.[128][129]

#### States and EV districts that flipped from Democratic to Republican

[edit]

* Indiana
* Nebraska's 2nd congressional district
* North Carolina

### Close states

[edit]

Swing from 2008 to 2012 in each state. Only six states swung more Democratic in 2012: Alaska, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, and New York. The arrows to the right represent how many places up or down on the list the state moved since 2008. States are listed by (increasing) percentage of Democratic votes.

Red denotes states (or congressional districts that contribute an electoral vote) won by Republican Mitt Romney; blue denotes those won by Democrat Barack Obama.

State where the margin of victory was under 1% (29 electoral votes):

1. Florida, 0.88% (74,309 votes)

States where the margin of victory was under 5% (46 electoral votes):

1. North Carolina, 2.04% (92,004 votes)
2. Ohio, 2.98% (166,272 votes)
3. Virginia, 3.88% (149,298 votes)

States/districts where the margin of victory was between 5% and 10% (120 electoral votes):

1. Colorado, 5.36% (137,858 votes) (tipping point state)
2. Pennsylvania, 5.38% (309,840 votes)
3. New Hampshire, 5.58% (39,643 votes)
4. Iowa, 5.81% (91,927 votes)
5. Nevada, 6.68% (67,806 votes)
6. Wisconsin, 6.94% (213,019 votes)
7. Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, 7.15% (19,087 votes)
8. Minnesota, 7.69% (225,942 votes)
9. Georgia, 7.82% (304,861 votes)
10. Maine's 2nd Congressional District, 8.56% (28,783 votes)
11. Arizona, 9.06% (208,422 votes)
12. Missouri, 9.38% (258,644 votes)
13. Michigan, 9.50% (449,313 votes)

#### Statistics

[edit]

[130]

Counties with highest percent of vote (Democratic)

1. Shannon County, South Dakota 93.39%
2. Kalawao County, Hawaii 92.59%
3. Bronx County, New York 91.45%

Counties with highest percent of vote (Republican)

1. King County, Texas 95.86%
2. Madison County, Idaho 93.29%
3. Sterling County, Texas 92.91%
4. Franklin County, Idaho 92.77%
5. Roberts County, Texas 92.13%

### Romney's concession

[edit]

Obama takes a phone call from Romney conceding the election early Wednesday morning in Chicago.

After the networks called Ohio (the state that was arguably the most critical for Romney, as no Republican had ever won the presidency without carrying it) for Obama at around 11:15 pm EST on Election Day, Romney was ready to concede the race, but hesitated when Karl Rove strenuously objected on Fox News to the network's decision to make that call.[131][132] However, after Colorado and Nevada were called for the President (giving Obama enough electoral votes to win even if Ohio were to leave his column), in tandem with Obama's apparent lead in Florida and Virginia (both were eventually called for Obama), Romney acknowledged that he had lost and conceded at around 1:00 am EST on November 7.

Despite public polling showing Romney behind Obama in the swing states of Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, and New Hampshire, tied with Obama in Virginia, and just barely ahead of Obama in Florida, the Romney campaign said they were genuinely surprised by the loss, having believed that public polling was oversampling Democrats.[133] The Romney campaign had already set up a transition website, and had scheduled and purchased a fireworks display to celebrate in case he won the election.[134][135]

On November 30, 2012, it was revealed that shortly before the election, internal polling done by the Romney campaign had shown Romney ahead in Colorado and New Hampshire, tied in Iowa, and within a few points of Obama in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Ohio.[136] In addition, the Romney campaign had assumed that they would win Florida, North Carolina and Virginia.[137] The polls had made Romney and his campaign team so confident of their victory that Romney did not write a concession speech until Obama's victory was announced.[138][139]

### Reactions

[edit]

Foreign leaders reacted with both positive and mixed messages. Most world leaders congratulated and praised Obama on his re-election victory. However, Venezuela and some other states had tempered reactions. Pakistan commented that Romney's defeat had made Pakistan-United States relations safer. Stock markets fell noticeably after Obama's re-election, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, NASDAQ, and the S&P 500 each declining over two percent the day after the election.[140]

All 50 states had a petition on the White House website We The People calling for their state to secede from the union. These petitions were created by individual people, with some gaining thousands of signatures.[141]

## Voter demographics

[edit]

2012 presidential election by demographic subgroup

Demographic subgroup  | Obama  | Romney  | Other  | % of
total vote
Total vote  | 51  | 47  | 2  | 100
Ideology
Liberals | 86  | 11  | 3  | 25
Moderates | 56  | 41  | 3  | 41
Conservatives | 17  | 82  | 1  | 35
Party
Democrats | 92  | 7  | 1  | 38
Republicans | 6  | 93  | 1  | 32
Independents | 45  | 50  | 5  | 29
Gender
Men  | 45  | 52  | 3  | 47
Women  | 55  | 44  | 1  | 53
Marital status
Married  | 42  | 56  | 2  | 60
Unmarried  | 62  | 35  | 3  | 40
Sex by marital status
Married men  | 38  | 60  | 2  | 29
Married women  | 46  | 53  | 1  | 31
Single men  | 56  | 40  | 4  | 18
Single women  | 67  | 31  | 2  | 23
Race/ethnicity
White | 39  | 59  | 2  | 72
Black | 93  | 6  | 1  | 13
Asian | 73  | 26  | 1  | 3
Other  | 58  | 38  | 4  | 2
Hispanic | 71  | 27  | 2  | 10
Religion
Protestant or other Christian  | 42  | 57  | 1  | 53
Catholic | 50  | 48  | 2  | 25
Mormon | 21  | 78  | 1  | 2
Jewish | 69  | 30  | 1  | 2
Muslim | 85  | 4  | 11  | 1
Other  | 74  | 23  | 3  | 7
None | 70  | 26  | 4  | 12
Religious service attendance
More than once a week  | 36  | 63  | 1  | 14
Once a week  | 41  | 58  | 1  | 28
A few times a month  | 55  | 44  | 1  | 13
A few times a year  | 56  | 42  | 2  | 27
Never  | 62  | 34  | 4  | 17
White evangelical or born-again Christian?
White evangelical or born-again Christian | 21  | 78  | 1  | 26
Everyone else  | 60  | 37  | 3  | 74
Age
18–24 years old  | 60  | 36  | 4  | 11
25–29 years old  | 60  | 38  | 2  | 8
30–39 years old  | 55  | 42  | 3  | 17
40–49 years old  | 48  | 50  | 2  | 20
50–64 years old  | 47  | 52  | 1  | 28
65 and older  | 44  | 56  | 0  | 16
Age by race
Whites 18–29 years old  | 44  | 51  | 5  | 11
Whites 30–44 years old  | 38  | 59  | 3  | 18
Whites 45–64 years old  | 38  | 61  | 1  | 29
Whites 65 and older  | 39  | 61  | n/a  | 14
Blacks 18–29 years old  | 91  | 8  | 1  | 3
Blacks 30–44 years old  | 94  | 5  | 1  | 4
Blacks 45–64 years old  | 93  | 7  | n/a  | 4
Blacks 65 and older  | 93  | 6  | 1  | 1
Latinos 18–29 years old  | 74  | 23  | 3  | 4
Latinos 30–44 years old  | 71  | 28  | 1  | 3
Latinos 45–64 years old  | 68  | 31  | 1  | 3
Latinos 65 and older  | 65  | 35  | n/a  | 1
Others  | 67  | 31  | 2  | 5
LGBT
Yes | 76  | 22  | 2  | 5
No  | 49  | 49  | 2  | 95
Education
Not a high school graduate  | 64  | 35  | 1  | 3
High school graduate  | 51  | 48  | 1  | 21
Some college education  | 49  | 48  | 3  | 29
College graduate  | 47  | 51  | 2  | 29
Postgraduate education | 55  | 42  | 3  | 18
Family income
Under $30,000  | 63  | 35  | 2  | 20
$30,000–49,999  | 57  | 42  | 1  | 21
$50,000–99,999  | 46  | 52  | 2  | 31
$100,000–199,999  | 44  | 54  | 2  | 21
$200,000–249,999  | 47  | 52  | 1  | 3
Over $250,000  | 42  | 55  | 3  | 4
Union households
Union | 58  | 40  | 2  | 18
Non-union  | 49  | 48  | 3  | 82
Issue regarded as most important
Economy | 47  | 51  | 2  | 59
Federal budget deficit | 32  | 66  | 2  | 15
Foreign policy | 56  | 33  | 11  | 5
Health care | 75  | 24  | 1  | 18
Region
Northeast | 59  | 40  | 1  | 18
Midwest | 50  | 48  | 2  | 24
South | 46  | 53  | 1  | 36
West | 54  | 43  | 3  | 22
Community size
Big cities (population over 500,000)  | 69  | 29  | 2  | 11
Mid-sized cities (population 50,000 to 500,000)  | 58  | 40  | 2  | 21
Suburbs  | 48  | 50  | 2  | 47
Towns (population 10,000 to 50,000)  | 42  | 56  | 2  | 8
Rural areas  | 37  | 61  | 2  | 14

### Hispanic vote

[edit]

The United States has a population of 50 million Hispanic and Latino Americans, 27 million of whom are citizens eligible to vote (13% of total eligible voters). Traditionally, only half of eligible Hispanic voters vote (around 7% of voters); of them, 71% voted for Barack Obama (increasing his percentage of the vote by 5%); therefore, the Hispanic vote was an important factor in Obama's re-election, since the vote difference between the two main parties was only 3.9%[142][143][144][145]

Exit polls were conducted by Edison Research of Somerville, New Jersey, for the National Election Pool, a consortium which at the time consisted of ABC News, Associated Press, CBS News, CNN,[146] Fox News,[147] and NBC News.[148]

## Analysis

[edit]

Combined with the re-election victories of his two immediate predecessors, Bill Clinton (1996) and George W. Bush (2004), Obama's victory in the 2012 election marked only the second time in American history that three consecutive presidents were each elected to two full terms after the consecutive two-term presidencies of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe ending in 1820, which is the only other time any two-term president succeeded another.[149] Eight years later, Obama's successor, Donald Trump, also ran for his own re-election in 2020, but was ultimately defeated by Joe Biden, who served as vice president under Obama. Subsequently, Trump ran for re-election again in 2024 and became the second president to be reelected to a non-consecutive second term after Grover Cleveland in 1892, defeating Biden's vice president, Kamala Harris. This was also the first election since 1928 in which neither of the major candidates had any military experience.[150] The election was arguably decided by three counties: Miami-Dade County (Florida); Cuyahoga County (Ohio) and Philadelphia (Pennsylvania). If these three counties had cast zero votes, Obama would have lost all three states and the election.[151]

The 2012 election marked the first time since Franklin D. Roosevelt's last two re-elections in 1940 and 1944 that the Democrats won a majority of the popular vote in two consecutive elections.[152] Obama was also the first president of either party to secure a majority of the popular vote in two elections since Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984.[153] Obama is the third Democratic president to secure at least 51% of the vote twice, after Andrew Jackson and Franklin D. Roosevelt.[154] Romney won the popular vote in 226 congressional districts making this the first time since 1960 that the winner of the election did not win the popular vote in a majority of the congressional districts.[155] This is the last time that the Democrats won a majority of states in a presidential election.

Romney lost his home state of Massachusetts, becoming the first major party presidential candidate to lose his home state since Democrat Al Gore lost his home state of Tennessee to Republican George W. Bush in the 2000 election.[156] Romney lost his home state by more than 23%, the worst losing margin for a major party candidate since John Frémont in 1856.[157] Even worse than Frémont, Romney failed to win a single county in his home state, something last seen by Theodore Roosevelt in 1912.[158][159] In addition, since Obama carried Ryan's home state of Wisconsin, the Romney–Ryan ticket was the first major party ticket since the 1972 election to have both of its nominees lose their home states.[160] Romney won the popular vote in every county of three states: Utah, Oklahoma, and West Virginia; Obama did so in four states: Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Hawaii.[161]

Romney's loss prompted the Republican National Committee to try to appeal to the American Latino population by concentrating on different approaches to immigration. These were short-lived due to activity and anger from the Republican base and may have contributed to the selection of Donald Trump as their presidential candidate four years later.[162]

Gary Johnson's popular vote total set a Libertarian Party record, and his popular vote percentage was the second-best showing for a Libertarian in a presidential election, trailing only Ed Clark's in 1980.[163] Johnson would go on to beat this record in the 2016 presidential election, winning the most votes for the Libertarian ticket in history. At the time, Green Party candidate Jill Stein's popular vote total made her the most successful female presidential candidate in a general election in United States history.[164][165] This was later surpassed by Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.

Obama became only the fifth Democratic president in history to win a second consecutive term after Andrew Jackson, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton. This presidential election was the most recent in which no state split its electoral votes, and the most recent in which a candidate received over 60% of the Electoral College vote. This is the most recent election in which two major party nominees would go on to become president (namely, Obama and Biden).

Obama's vote total was the fourth most votes received (behind Obama's 2008 victory and both major candidates in 2020) and the most ever for a reelected president prior to 2024. The 2012 election marked the first time since 1988 in which no state was won by a candidate with a plurality of the state's popular vote. Furthermore, it is the only post-World War II presidential election in which no states were won by margins smaller than 30,000 votes. Obama's narrowest victories were in New Hampshire by 39,643 votes, followed by Florida by 74,309 votes. Every other presidential election in modern history has seen states narrowly won by several thousand votes. So far, this is the only presidential election in history where both the Republican and Democratic vice presidential candidates are practicing Roman Catholics. It is also the only presidential election where there are no white Protestants on a major party ticket. This is the most recent election where any party won consecutive elections.

Obama was the most recent of just four presidents in United States history to win re-election with a lower percentage of the electoral vote than in their prior elections, the other three were James Madison in 1812, Woodrow Wilson in 1916 and Franklin Roosevelt in 1940 and 1944. Additionally, Obama was the fifth of only five presidents to win re-election with a smaller percentage of the popular vote than in prior elections, the other four are James Madison in 1812, Andrew Jackson in 1832, Grover Cleveland in 1892, and Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940 and 1944.

All four major candidates for president and vice president went on to hold significant public office after this election. Obama and Biden served their second terms as president and vice president, respectively. Biden initially retired from politics after leaving office, but later ran against Donald Trump in 2020 and won the election to serve one term. Romney moved to Utah in 2014 and was elected to the Senate there in 2018, succeeding Orrin Hatch, and served one term. Ryan served three more terms in the House and eventually served as Speaker from 2015 until his retirement from politics in 2019.

## Maps

[edit]

* Results by state, shaded according to winning candidate's percentage of the vote

* Results by state and the District of Columbia, scaled by number of electors per state

* Cartogram of the electoral vote results, with each square representing one electoral vote

* Results by county.[b] Blue denotes counties that went to Obama; red denotes counties that went to Romney. Hawaii, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont had all counties go to Obama. Oklahoma, Utah, and West Virginia had all counties go to Romney.

* Results by county,[b] shaded according to winning candidate's percentage of the vote

* Results by county flips from 2008 to the 2012 presidential election[b]

* County swing from 2008 to 2012[b]

* Popular vote by county shaded on a scale from red/Republican to blue/Democratic

* Cartogram of popular vote by county shaded on a scale from red/Republican to blue/Democratic where each county has been rescaled in proportion to its population

* Results by congressional district

* Results by state with pie charts for the electoral college and popular vote.

* Treemap of the popular vote by county, state, and locally predominant recipient

## Gallery

[edit]

* The Empire State Building in New York City was lit blue when CNN called Ohio for Obama, projecting him the winner of the election. Likewise, red would have been used if Romney won.[166]

* The Obamas and the Bidens embrace following the television announcement of their victory.

* The Obamas and the Bidens walk on stage at the election night victory celebration at McCormick Place in Chicago.

* Former governor Mitt Romney meets with President Barack Obama at the White House after the 2012 presidential election.

## See also

[edit]

* United States portal
* Politics portal
* 2010s portal

* Planned presidential transition of Mitt Romney
* 2012 United States Senate elections
* 2012 United States House of Representatives elections
* 2012 United States gubernatorial elections
* Nationwide opinion polling for the 2012 United States presidential election
* Statewide opinion polling for the 2012 United States presidential election
* Timeline of the 2012 United States presidential election
* Second inauguration of Barack Obama

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Percentage point difference in margin from the 2008 election
2. ^ a b c d Alaska and Louisiana do not have counties. Alaska's boroughs and census areas and Louisiana's parishes are pictured.

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[edit]

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138. ^ Rucker, Phillip (November 7, 2012). "Romney's belief in himself never wavered". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 12, 2012. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
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141. ^ Ryan, Danielle (November 14, 2012). "White House receives secession pleas from all 50 states". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 10, 2023. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
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153. ^ Giroux, Greg (January 4, 2013). "Final Tally Shows Obama First Since '56 to Win 51% Twice". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
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164. ^ Wood, Daniel (November 30, 2015). "Harvard Grad Jill Stein Faces Uphill Battle for Presidency". The Harvard Crimson. Archived from the original on June 20, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
165. ^ Herzog, Katie (March 14, 2016). "Meet the presidential candidate who makes Bernie Sanders look conservative". Grist Magazine. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
166. ^ Wells, Charlie (November 6, 2012). "Empire State Building lights up to broadcast election results". Daily News. New York. Archived from the original on November 9, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2012.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Balz, Dan (2013). Collision 2012: Obama vs. Romney and the Future of Elections in America. New York: Viking Press. ISBN 978-0670025947.
* Gardner, Liz, et al. "Press Coverage of the 2012 US Presidential Election: A Multinational, Cross-Language Comparison". in Die US-Präsidentschaftswahl 2012 (Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, 2016). pp 241–267.
* Hansen, Wendy L., Michael S. Rocca, and Brittany Leigh Ortiz. "The effects of Citizens United on corporate spending in the 2012 presidential election". Journal of Politics 77.2 (2015): 535–545. in JSTOR Archived November 7, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
* Heilemann, John; Halperin, Mark (2013). Double Down: Game Change 2012. New York: Penguin Press. ISBN 978-1594204401.
* Masket, Seth, John Sides, and Lynn Vavreck. "The Ground Game in the 2012 Presidential Election". Political Communication (2015) 33#2 pp: 1–19.
* Mayer, William G.; Bernstein, Jonathan, eds. (2012). The Making of the Presidential Candidates, 2012. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-1170-4. Scholars explore nominations in the post-public-funding era, digital media and campaigns, television coverage, and the Tea Party.
* Miller, William J., ed. The 2012 Nomination and the Future of the Republican Party: The Internal Battle (Lexington Books; 2013) 265 pages; essays by experts on Romney and each of his main rivals
* Nelson, Michael, ed. The Elections of 2012 (2013) excerpt and text search Archived March 17, 2021, at the Wayback Machine; topical essays by experts
* Sides, John, and Lynn Vavreck. The Gamble: Choice and Chance in the 2012 Presidential Election (Princeton U.P. 2013) excerpt and text search Archived August 28, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
* Stempel III, Guido H. and Thomas K. Hargrove, eds. The 21st-Century Voter: Who Votes, How They Vote, and Why They Vote (2 vol. 2015).

## External links

[edit]

2012 U.S. presidential election at Wikipedia's sister projects

* Media from Commons
* News from Wikinews

* The 9 Swing States of 2012
* 2012 Presidential Form 2 Filers at the Federal Election Commission (FEC)
* Election 2012 Presidential Primaries, Caucuses, and Conventions
* 2012 Interactive Electoral Map
* Election of 2012 in Counting the Votes Archived August 28, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
* "The Choice 2012". Frontline. Season 30. Episode 21. October 9, 2012. PBS. WGBH. Retrieved November 28, 2024.

* v
* t
* e

(← 2008) 2012 United States presidential election (2016 →)

* Fundraising
* National polls
* Statewide polls (pre-2012, early 2012)
* Timeline
* General election debates
* Newspaper endorsements
* Hurricane Sandy

Democratic Party|

* Convention
* Primaries
* Results

Candidates|

* Incumbent nominee: Barack Obama
* campaign
* endorsements
* positions
* Incumbent VP nominee: Joe Biden
* positions

Challengers
Bob Ely
Keith Judd
Warren Mosler
Vermin Supreme
Randall Terry
John Wolfe

Republican Party|

* Convention
* Primaries
* Debates
* Statewide polls
* National polls
* Straw polls

Candidates|

* Nominee: Mitt Romney
* campaign
* endorsements
* positions
* VP nominee: Paul Ryan
* positions

Other candidates
Michele Bachmann

campaign
Herman Cain

campaign
positions
Mark Callahan
Jack Fellure
Newt Gingrich

campaign
positions
Stewart Greenleaf
John Davis
Jon Huntsman

campaign
Gary Johnson

campaign
Fred Karger
Andy Martin
Thaddeus McCotter

campaign
Jimmy McMillan
Roy Moore
Ron Paul

campaign
positions
Tim Pawlenty

campaign
Rick Perry

campaign
positions
Buddy Roemer

campaign
Rick Santorum

campaign

Libertarian Party|

* Convention

Candidates|

* Nominee: Gary Johnson
* campaign
* VP nominee: Jim Gray

Other candidates
Carl Person
Sam Sloan

Green Party|

* Convention
* Primaries

Candidates|

* Nominee: Jill Stein
* campaign
* VP nominee: Cheri Honkala

* Other candidates: Stewart Alexander
* Roseanne Barr

Other third-party and independent candidates

American Independent Party|

* Nominee: Tom Hoefling
* Other candidates: Wiley Drake
* Virgil Goode
* campaign
* Edward C. Noonan
* Laurie Roth

American Third Position Party|

* Nominee: Merlin Miller
* VP nominee: Virginia Abernethy

Constitution Party|

* Convention
* Nominee: Virgil Goode
* campaign
* VP nominee: Jim Clymer
* Other candidates: Laurie Roth
* Robby Wells

Freedom Socialist Party|

* Nominee: Stephen Durham

Grassroots Party|

Nominee
Jim Carlson

Justice Party|

* Nominee: Rocky Anderson
* VP nominee: Luis J. Rodriguez

Socialism and Liberation|

* Nominee: Peta Lindsay

Peace and Freedom Party|

* Nominee: Roseanne Barr
* VP nominee: Cindy Sheehan
* Other candidates: Stewart Alexander
* Rocky Anderson
* Peta Lindsay

Prohibition Party|

* Nominee: Jack Fellure
* Other candidates: James Hedges

Reform Party|

* Nominee: Andre Barnett
* Other candidates: Laurence Kotlikoff
* Buddy Roemer
* campaign
* Robby Wells

Socialist Equality Party|

Nominee
Jerry White

Socialist Workers Party|

* Nominee: James Harris

Socialist Party|

* Nominee: Stewart Alexander
* campaign
* VP nominee: Alejandro Mendoza

Independents and others|

Objectivist Party
Tom Stevens
Independents
Lee Abramson
Randy Blythe
Jeff Boss
Robert Burck
Terry Jones
Joe Schriner
Michael Bloomberg

attempt to draft

* Other 2012 elections:
* House
* Senate
* Gubernatorial

* v
* t
* e

State and district results of the 2012 United States presidential election

* Alabama
* Alaska
* Arizona
* Arkansas
* California
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* District of Columbia
* Florida
* Georgia
* Hawaii
* Idaho
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Iowa
* Kansas
* Kentucky
* Louisiana
* Maine
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey
* New Mexico
* New York
* North Carolina
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Oklahoma
* Oregon
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* Utah
* Vermont
* Virginia
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin
* Wyoming

* v
* t
* e

(2011 ←)  2012 United States elections (→ 2013)

U.S.
President|

* Alabama
* Alaska
* Arizona
* Arkansas
* California
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* District of Columbia
* Florida
* Georgia
* Hawaii
* Idaho
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Iowa
* Kansas
* Kentucky
* Louisiana
* Maine
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey
* New Mexico
* New York
* North Carolina
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Oklahoma
* Oregon
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* Utah
* Vermont
* Virginia
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin
* Wyoming
* Guam (straw poll)

U.S.
Senate|

* Arizona
* California
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* Florida
* Hawaii
* Indiana
* Maine
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Jersey
* New Mexico
* New York
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Island
* Tennessee
* Texas
* Utah
* Vermont
* Virginia
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin
* Wyoming

U.S.
House
(Election
ratings)|

* Alabama
* Alaska
* American Samoa
* Arizona
* 8th sp
* Arkansas
* California
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* District of Columbia
* Florida
* Georgia
* Guam
* Hawaii
* Idaho
* Illinois
* 2nd sp
* Indiana
* Iowa
* Kansas
* Kentucky
* 4th sp
* Louisiana
* Maine
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* 11th
* 11th sp
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey
* 10th sp
* New Mexico
* New York
* North Carolina
* North Dakota
* Northern Mariana Islands
* Ohio
* Oklahoma
* Oregon
* 1st sp
* Pennsylvania
* Puerto Rico
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* Utah
* Vermont
* Virginia
* U.S. Virgin Islands
* Washington
* 1st sp
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin
* Wyoming

Governors|

* American Samoa
* Delaware
* Lt. Gov
* Indiana
* Missouri
* Lt. Gov
* Montana
* New Hampshire
* North Carolina
* Lt. Gov
* North Dakota
* Puerto Rico
* Utah
* Vermont
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin (recall)

Attorneys
general|

* Missouri
* North Carolina
* Pennsylvania
* Washington

Other
statewide
elections|

* Wisconsin
* Lieutenant Governor (recall)

State
legislatures|

* Alaska
* Senate
* Arizona
* Senate
* California
* Assembly
* Senate
* Connecticut
* Senate
* Delaware
* House
* Senate
* Florida
* House
* Hawaii
* House
* Senate
* Illinois
* House
* Senate
* Iowa
* Senate
* Michigan
* House
* Minnesota
* House
* Senate
* Montana
* House
* New Mexico
* House
* Senate
* New York
* Senate
* North Carolina
* House
* Senate
* Oregon
* Legislative Assembly
* Pennsylvania
* House
* Senate
* Texas
* House
* Senate
* Washington
* House
* Senate
* Wisconsin
* Assembly
* Senate
* recalls
* Wyoming
* Senate

Mayoral|

* Alexandria, VA
* Anchorage, AK
* Augusta, GA
* Austin, TX
* Bakersfield, CA
* Baton Rouge, LA
* Cheyenne, WY
* Corpus Christi, TX
* Fort Lauderdale, FL
* Fresno, CA
* Glendale, AZ
* Honolulu, HI
* Huntsville, AL
* Irvine, CA
* Juneau, AK
* Lubbock, TX
* Mesa, AZ
* Miami-Dade County, FL
* Milwaukee, WI
* Orlando, FL
* Portland, OR
* Richmond, VA
* Riverside, CA
* Sacramento, CA
* San Diego, CA
* San Juan, PR
* Santa Ana, CA
* Stockton, CA
* Virginia Beach, VA
* Wilmington, DE

Local|

* Bay County, MI
* Executive
* DeKalb County, GA
* Chief Executive Officer
* Milwaukee County, WI
* Executive
* New Castle County, DE
* Executive
* Oakland County, MI
* Executive
* Summit County, OH
* Executive
* Will County, IL
* Executive
* Volusia County, FL
* Chair

States and
territories|

* Alabama
* Alaska
* American Samoa
* Arizona
* Arkansas
* California
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* Florida
* Georgia
* Guam
* Hawaii
* Idaho
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Iowa
* Kansas
* Kentucky
* Louisiana
* Maine
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey
* New Mexico
* New York
* North Carolina
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Oklahoma
* Oregon
* Pennsylvania
* Puerto Rico
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* U.S. Virgin Islands
* Utah
* Vermont
* Virginia
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin
* Wyoming

* v
* t
* e

United States presidential elections

Elections by year|

* 1788–89
* 1792
* 1796
* 1800
* 1804
* 1808
* 1812
* 1816
* 1820
* 1824
* 1828
* 1832
* 1836
* 1840
* 1844
* 1848
* 1852
* 1856
* 1860
* 1864
* 1868
* 1872
* 1876
* 1880
* 1884
* 1888
* 1892
* 1896
* 1900
* 1904
* 1908
* 1912
* 1916
* 1920
* 1924
* 1928
* 1932
* 1936
* 1940
* 1944
* 1948
* 1952
* 1956
* 1960
* 1964
* 1968
* 1972
* 1976
* 1980
* 1984
* 1988
* 1992
* 1996
* 2000
* 2004
* 2008
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020
* 2024
* 2028

Elections by state|

* Alabama
* Alaska
* Arizona
* Arkansas
* California
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* District of Columbia
* Florida
* Georgia
* Hawaii
* Idaho
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Iowa
* Kansas
* Kentucky
* Louisiana
* Maine
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey
* New Mexico
* New York
* North Carolina
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Oklahoma
* Oregon
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* Utah
* Vermont
* Virginia
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin
* Wyoming

Primaries and caucuses|

* Iowa caucuses
* New Hampshire presidential primary
* Nevada presidential caucuses
* South Carolina presidential primary
* Super Tuesday

Nominating conventions|

* List of nominating conventions
* Brokered convention
* Convention bounce
* Superdelegate

Electoral College
and popular vote|

* Results
* summary
* elections in which the winner lost the popular vote
* Electoral College margins
* Electoral College results by state
* electoral vote changes between elections
* electoral vote recipients
* popular votes received
* popular-vote margins
* Electoral Count Act
* Certificate of ascertainment
* Certificate of vote
* Contingent election
* Faithless elector
* Unpledged elector
* Voter turnout

Related|

* Campaign slogans
* Election Day
* Election recount (2000)
* Historical election polling
* Major party tickets
* Major party losers
* Presidential debates
* Presidential straw polls
* Guam
* Puerto Rico
* October surprise
* Red states and blue states
* Swing state
* Tipping-point state
* Vice presidential confirmations
* 1973
* 1974

* House elections
* Senate elections
* Gubernatorial elections

* v
* t
* e

Barack Obama

* 44th President of the United States (2009–2017)
* U.S. Senator from Illinois (2005–2008)
* Illinois Senator from the 13th district (1997–2004)

| Life and
politics|

* Early life and career
* Illinois Senate career
* 2004 Democratic National Convention
* U.S. Senate career
* Political positions
* Administration foreign policy
* Cannabis
* Mass surveillance
* Social
* Space
* 2009 Nobel Peace Prize
* West Wing Week

|

Presidency
(timeline)|

* Transition
* Inaugurations
* 2009
* 2013
* First 100 days
* Timeline
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* January 2017
* Foreign policy
* Middle East
* Afghanistan withdrawal
* Iraq withdrawal
* Killing of Osama bin Laden
* Benghazi attack
* Return to Iraq
* War in Syria
* Relations with Iran
* Iran nuclear deal
* Pivot to Asia
* Cuban thaw
* Obama Doctrine
* Europe
* Economic policy
* Affordable Care Act
* American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
* Dodd–Frank Act
* Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009
* Energy/Environmental
* Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act
* Marine policy
* New Energy for America
* Regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act
* Clean Power Plan
* Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014
* Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act
* New START
* MAP-21st Century Act
* FAST Act
* Pardons
* Presidential trips
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016–17
* international
* Judicial appointments
* Supreme Court
* Sotomayor
* Kagan
* Garland
* controversies
* Cabinet
* Biden vice presidency
* Presidential Library and Center
* Executive actions
* Executive orders
* Memoranda
* Proclamations
* Trump transition
* Plantation Estate

Books|

* Dreams from My Father (1995)
* The Audacity of Hope (2006)
* Of Thee I Sing (2010)
* A Promised Land (2020)

Speeches|

* "The Audacity of Hope" (2004)
* "Yes We Can" (2008)
* "A More Perfect Union" (2008)
* "Change Has Come to America" (2008)
* "A New Birth of Freedom" (2009)
* Joint session of Congress (2009)
* "A New Beginning" (2009)
* Joint session of Congress (health care reform) (2009)
* State of the Union Address
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* Tucson memorial speech (2011)
* Joint session of Congress (jobs) (2011)
* "You didn't build that" (2012)
* Selma 50th anniversary (2015)
* Farewell address (2017)

Elections|

| Illinois|

* State Senate
* 1996
* 1998
* 2002
* U.S. House of Representatives
* 2000

|

U.S. Senate|

* 2004

Presidential|

* 2008 campaign
* endorsements
* GOP/conservative support
* staff members
* primaries
* primary campaign
* running mate selection
* convention
* debates
* election
* 2012 campaign
* endorsements
* primaries
* convention
* debates
* election

Family|

* Michelle Obama (wife)
* Ann Dunham (mother)
* Barack Obama Sr. (father)
* Lolo Soetoro (stepfather)
* Maya Soetoro-Ng (maternal half-sister)
* Stanley Armour Dunham (maternal grandfather)
* Madelyn Dunham (maternal grandmother)
* Auma Obama (paternal half-sister)
* Malik Obama (paternal half-brother)
* Marian Robinson (mother-in-law)
* Craig Robinson (brother-in-law)
* Bo (family dog)
* Sunny (family dog)

Public image

News and
political events|

* Oprah Winfrey's endorsement
* Citizenship conspiracy theories
* litigation
* Religion conspiracy theories
* Bill Ayers controversy
* Jeremiah Wright controversy
* Republican and conservative support (2008)
* Assassination threats
* 2008 Denver
* 2008 Tennessee
* First inauguration invitations
* Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial
* Citizen's Briefing Book
* Tea Party protests
* New Energy for America
* Gates–Crowley Rose Garden meeting
* Firing of Shirley Sherrod
* Impeachment efforts
* Tan suit controversy

Books about|

* Bibliography
* Obama: From Promise to Power
* Barack Obama: Der schwarze Kennedy
* Redemption Song
* The Case Against Barack Obama
* The Obama Nation
* Culture of Corruption
* Catastrophe
* Barack and Michelle
* The Speech
* The Obama Story
* Between Barack and a Hard Place
* Game Change
* Obama Zombies
* Conservative Victory
* The Bridge
* The Obama Diaries
* The Obama Syndrome
* The Obama Identity
* O: A Presidential Novel
* Where's the Birth Certificate?
* Obama's Last Stand
* Barack Obama: The Story
* Game Change 2012
* Buyer's Remorse
* Rising Star
* Shade
* The World as It Is

Music|

* Obama Girl
* "I Got a Crush... on Obama"
* "Barack the Magic Negro"
* will.i.am
* "Yes We Can"
* "The President Sang Amazing Grace"
* "There's No One as Irish as Barack O'Bama"
* "Sí Se Puede Cambiar"
* "My President"
* "Deadheads for Obama"
* "Air and Simple Gifts"
* Change Is Now
* Hope! – Das Obama Musical
* "Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney"
* Barack's Dubs
* "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours"

Film, TV,
and stage|

* By the People: The Election of Barack Obama (2009)
* Change (2010)
* Obama Anak Menteng (2010)
* 2016: Obama's America (2012)
* The Road We've Traveled (2012)
* Southside with You (2016)
* Hillary and Clinton (2016)
* Barry (2016)
* America's Great Divide (2020)
* We the People (2021)
* Renegades: Born in the USA (2021)
* Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union (2021)
* The First Lady (2022)
* Picturing the Obamas (2022)

Other media|

* Social media use
* Artists for Obama
* "Hope" poster
* "Joker" poster
* Hair Like Mine
* Situation Room
* Iman Crosson
* The Forgotten Man (2010 painting)
* Saraswati (2013 sculpture)
* President Barack Obama (2018 portrait)
* Official White House portrait (2022)
* Obama logo
* In comics
* Barack Obama's summer playlist

Related|

* Barack Obama Day (Illinois)
* Obama Day (Kenya)
* Awards and honors
* Namesakes
* Higher Ground Productions
* "One Last Time (44 Remix)"
* Sunlight before signing

* ← George W. Bush
* Donald Trump →

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Joe Biden

* 46th President of the United States (2021–2025)
* 47th Vice President of the United States (2009–2017)
* U.S. Senator from Delaware (1973–2009)

Senator|

* Early life and career
* Classified Information Procedures Act
* Counterterrorism Act
* Violence Against Women Act
* Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act

Vice presidency|

* Obama transition
* Task forces
* Gun Violence Prevention
* Protect Students from Sexual Assault
* First Trump transition

Presidency|

| Appointments|

* Cabinet
* Harris vice presidency
* Agriculture
* Commerce
* Defense
* Education
* Energy
* Executive Office appointments
* HHS
* Homeland Security
* HUD
* Interior
* Justice
* U.S. attorneys
* Labor
* State
* ambassadors
* Transportation
* Treasury
* Veterans Affairs
* Judicial appointments
* Jackson
* Supreme Court candidates

|

Legislation|

| 2021|

* American Rescue Plan Act
* Capitol Police Emergency Assistance Act
* Consolidated Appropriations Act
* Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
* National Defense Authorization Act
* RENACER Act
* Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act

|

2022|

* Bipartisan Safer Communities Act
* CHIPS and Science Act

Consolidated Appropriations Act
* Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act
* Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act
* No TikTok on Government Devices Act
* Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
* State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act
* Emmett Till Antilynching Act
* Inflation Reduction Act
* Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act
* PACT Act
* National Defense Authorization Act
* Postal Service Reform Act
* Respect for Marriage Act
* Speak Out Act
* Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act

2023|

* COVID-19 Origin Act
* Fiscal Responsibility Act
* National Defense Authorization Act
* DCA agreement between Finland and the US

2024|

* ADVANCE Act
* Consolidated Appropriations Act
* National Defense Authorization Act
* National Security Act
* Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act

2025|

* Social Security Fairness Act

Policies|

* Cannabis
* COVID-19
* COVID-19 Advisory Board
* White House COVID-19 Response Team
* Economic
* Biden v. Nebraska
* Build Back Better Act
* Build Back Better Plan
* Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund
* Electoral and ethical
* Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court
* Summit for Democracy
* Environmental
* 2021 Leaders Summit on Climate
* Executive Order 13990
* Foreign
* Geneva summit
* 2023 Chinese balloon incident
* AUKUS
* Camp David Principles
* Afghanistan withdrawal
* killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri
* War in Ukraine
* 2022 visit by Volodymyr Zelenskyy
* 2023 visit to Ukraine
* Gaza war
* Ankara prisoner exchange
* Relations with Iran
* Immigration
* A Proclamation on Securing the Border
* Social
* 2021 National Day of Unity
* Space

Timeline|

* Transition
* Inauguration
* security
* Celebrating America
* protests
* First 100 days
* 2021
* Q1
* Q2
* Q3
* Q4
* 2022
* Q1
* Q2
* Q3
* Q4
* 2023
* Q1
* Q2
* Q3
* Q4
* 2024
* Q1
* Q2
* Q3
* Q4
* January 2025
* Second Trump transition

* Classified documents incident
* White House cocaine incident
* Efforts to impeach
* House Oversight Committee investigation
* inquiry
* Executive actions
* proclamations
* Opinion polling
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024–2025
* Presidential trips
* international
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024–2025
* Death and state funeral of Jimmy Carter

Elections|

| U.S. Senate|

* 1972
* 1978
* 1984
* 1990
* 1996
* 2002
* 2008

|

Vice presidential|

* 2008 campaign
* selection
* convention
* debate
* election
* transition
* 2012 campaign
* convention
* debate
* election

Presidential|

* 1988 campaign
* primaries
* 2008 campaign
* primaries
* debates
* 2020 campaign
* endorsements
* celebrity
* organizations
* Congress
* state and territorial officials
* municipal officials
* primaries
* endorsements
* debates
* Unity Task Forces
* running mate selection
* convention
* debates
* election
* protests
* 2024 campaign
* withdrawal
* Democratic opposition
* primaries
* endorsements
* protest vote movements
* debate

Family|

* Edward Francis Blewitt (great-grandfather)
* Neilia Hunter Biden (first wife)
* Jill Biden (second wife)
* James Biden (brother)
* Valerie Biden Owens (sister)
* Beau Biden (son)
* Hunter Biden (son)
* Ashley Biden (daughter)
* Howard Krein (son-in-law)
* Hallie Olivere Biden (daughter-in-law)
* Kathleen Buhle (former daughter-in-law)
* Melissa Cohen Biden (daughter-in-law)
* Dogs
* Champ
* Major
* Commander
* Cat
* Willow

Writings|

* Promises to Keep
* Promise Me, Dad
* Tomorrow Will Be Different (foreword)

Speeches|

* Inaugural address (2021)
* Joint session of Congress (2021)
* State of the Union Address
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* Warsaw speech (2022)
* Battle for the Soul of the Nation speech (2022)
* Farewell address (2025)

Media
depictions|

* Confirmation
* The Choice 2020
* "Intro to Political Science"
* My Son Hunter
* "One Last Ride"
* The Onion's "Diamond Joe"
* Our Cartoon President
* Saturday Night Live parodies
* Spitting Image

Related|

* Age and health concerns
* Awards
* Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot
* Biden Foundation
* Biden Presidential Library
* Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory
* Buy a shotgun
* Eponyms
* Hunter Biden laptop controversy
* I Did That!
* Let's Go Brandon
* Public image
* Sexual assault allegation
* Situation Room
* Sleepy Joe
* 2019 Trump–Zelenskyy phone call
* 2019 Trump–Ukraine scandal

* ← Donald Trump →

* ← Dick Cheney
* Mike Pence →

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Mitt Romney

* U.S. Senator from Utah (2019–2025)
* 70th Governor of Massachusetts (2003–2007)

Politics|

* 1994 senatorial election
* 2002 gubernatorial election
* Governor of Massachusetts
* health care reform
* 2008 presidential campaign
* 2012 presidential campaign
* vice presidential candidate selection
* 2012 Republican National Convention
* 2012 U.S. presidential election
* "Binders full of women"
* "Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney"
* Mitt
* 2016 anti-Trump speech
* 2018 senatorial election
* Political positions
* Electoral history
* Public image

Business|

* Bain & Company
* Bain Capital

Olympics|

* Salt Lake Organizing Committee

Bibliography|

* Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games
* No Apology: The Case for American Greatness

Family|

* Ann Romney (spouse)
* Tagg Romney (eldest son)
* George W. Romney (father)
* Lenore Romney (mother)
* Gaskell Romney (grandfather)
* Harold A. Lafount (grandfather)
* Miles Park Romney (great-grandfather)
* Milton Romney (cousin)
* Ronna Romney McDaniel (niece)

* Category
* Conservatism portal

* v
* t
* e

Paul Ryan

* 54th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (2015–2019)
* Leader of the House Republicans (2015–2019)
* U.S. Representative for Wisconsin's 1st district (1999–2019)

Politics|

* Electoral history
* Political positions
* The Path to Prosperity
* 2016 State of the Union Address
* A Better Way
* 2017 Joint Session Address
* Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
* 2018 State of the Union Address

Elections|

| U.S. House|

* 1998
* 2000
* 2002
* 2004
* 2006
* 2008
* 2010
* 2012
* 2014
* 2016

|

Vice presidential|

* 2012 campaign
* selection
* convention
* debate
* election

Speaker|

* October 2015
* 2017

Authority control databases: National |

* France
* BnF data

|

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[EV]: Electoral Votes
*[ME-1]: Maine's 1st congressional district
*[ME-2]: Maine's 2nd congressional district
*[NE-1]: Nebraska's 1st congressional district
*[NE-2]: Nebraska's 2nd congressional district
*[NE-3]: Nebraska's 3rd congressional district
*[VA]: Virginia
*[AK]: Alaska
*[GA]: Georgia
*[TX]: Texas
*[CA]: California
*[LA]: Louisiana
*[WY]: Wyoming
*[FL]: Florida
*[AZ]: Arizona
*[HI]: Hawaii
*[AL]: Alabama
*[WI]: Wisconsin
*[OR]: Oregon
*[PR]: Puerto Rico
*[DE]: Delaware
*[MI]: Michigan
*[OH]: Ohio
*[IL]: Illinois