2012 United States presidential election

2012 United States presidential election
538 members of the Electoral College; 270 electoral votes needed to win
	Opinion polls
Turnout	58.6% 3.0 pp
	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

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 (and future Speaker of the House) 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 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. This is the most recent election in which all 50 states were won by a majority of the vote.

^ "National General Election VEP Turnout Rates, 1789-Present". United States Election Project. CQ Press. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Federal Elections 2012" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Washington, D.C. 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 2, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
^ Fahrenthold, David A. (May 18, 2023). "Obama reelected as president". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on April 17, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
^ "Obama: Romney is out of touch". The Christian Science Monitor. September 20, 2012. Archived from the original on December 11, 2022. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
^ "Romney hits Obama on deficit". Politico. May 16, 2012. Archived from the original on December 11, 2022. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
^ Cillizza, Chris (April 16, 2012). "The 9 swing states of 2012". Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.

[1] "National General Election VEP Turnout Rates, 1789-Present". United States Election Project. CQ Press. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014. Retrieved February 28, 2023.

[FEC_2013-2] "Federal Elections 2012" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Washington, D.C. 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 2, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2021.

[3] Fahrenthold, David A. (May 18, 2023). "Obama reelected as president". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on April 17, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2024.

[4] "Obama: Romney is out of touch". The Christian Science Monitor. September 20, 2012. Archived from the original on December 11, 2022. Retrieved December 11, 2022.

[5] "Romney hits Obama on deficit". Politico. May 16, 2012. Archived from the original on December 11, 2022. Retrieved December 11, 2022.

[6] Cillizza, Chris (April 16, 2012). "The 9 swing states of 2012". Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.

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