2012 United States presidential election in North Carolina

none June 2025 September 2023 2012 United States presidential election 2012 United States presidential election in North Carolina North Carolina presidential no 2008 United States presidential election in North Carolina 2008 November 6, 2012 2016 United States presidential election in North Carolina 2016 x200px Mitt Romney by Gage Skidmore 6 cropped.jpg Mitt Romney Republican Party (United States) Massachusetts Paul Ryan 15 2,270,395 50.39% 400px County results 400px Congressional district results 400px Precinct results Romney #f2b3be 40–50% #e27f90 50–60% #cc2f4a 60–70% #d40000 70–80% #aa0000 80–90% #800000 90–100% Obama #b9d7ff 40–50% #86b6f2 50–60% #4389e3 60–70% #1666cb 70–80% #0645b4 80–90% #002b84 90–100% President Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) President Barack Obama, 2012 portrait crop.jpg Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) Illinois Joe Biden 0 2,178,391 48.35% 68.40% Voter Turnout https://www.ncsbe.gov/results-data/voter-turnout#general North Carolina State Board of Elections The 2012 United States presidential election in North Carolina took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 general election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. North Carolina voters chose 15 electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, against Republican challenger and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his running mate, U.S. Representative Paul Ryan. Romney narrowly carried the state of North Carolina, winning 50.39% of the vote to Obama's 48.35%, a margin of 2.04 percentage points. North Carolina was one of just two states (along with Indiana) that flipped from voting for Obama in 2008 to voting Republican in 2012. Like Indiana, North Carolina had been a reliably Republican state prior to Obama's 2008 win, having not previously gone Democratic since 1976. Unlike Indiana, however, North Carolina was still considered a competitive swing state in 2012, and both campaigns targeted it heavily, with the Democrats holding their convention in Charlotte. Romney was the first presidential candidate since Zachary Taylor in 1848 to carry North Carolina while losing both Wake County and Mecklenburg County, the two most populous counties and home to the cities of Raleigh and Charlotte, respectively. Romney also became the third-ever Republican to carry North Carolina without winning the presidency after George H. W. Bush in 1992 and Bob Dole in 1996 and this feat would be reprised by Donald Trump in 2020. Obama became the first ever Democratic incumbent to win the state only once and then win re-election without it. Although Obama lost North Carolina to Romney, he received more votes than he received in 2008, garnering 35,740 more. Obama became the first Democrat ever to win the presidency without Caswell and Hyde counties. As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last time where the Republican presidential candidate won Watauga County and where the Democratic presidential candidate won Bladen County, Gates County, Granville County, Martin County, Richmond County, and Robeson County. Primary elections Democratic primary The 2012 North Carolina Democratic primary was held May 8, 2012. North Carolina awarded 157 delegates proportionally.North Carolina Democrat http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P12/NC-D The Green Papers November 14, 2012 No candidate ran against incumbent President Barack Obama in North Carolina's Democratic presidential preference primary. Obama received 766,079 votes, or 79.23% of the vote, with the remainder (200,810 votes, or 20.77%) going to elect delegates with "No Preference". At the North Carolina Democratic state convention, 152 delegates were awarded to Obama, with 5 delegates remaining unannounced. Democratic primary election in North Carolinahttp://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NC/36596/85942/en/summary.html NC - Election Results results.enr.clarityelections.com September 18, 2016CandidateVotesPercentageAwarded delegates Barack Obama (incumbent) 766,077 79.23% 104 No Preference 200,810 20.77% 43 Totals 966,889 100.00% 104 Republican primary Statewide opinion polling for the Republican Party presidential primaries, 2012#North Carolina (May 8) The 2012 North Carolina Republican primary was held May 8, 2012.http://www.cnn.com/election/2012/calendar.html Primary and Caucus Printable Calendar CNN January 12, 2012http://www.FEC.gov/pubrec/fe2012/2012pdates.pdf Presidential Primary Dates Federal Election Commission January 23, 2012 North Carolina awarded 55 delegates proportionally.North Carolina Republican http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P12/NC-R The Green Papers November 14, 2012 Ron Paul and Mitt Romney were the only active contenders on the ballot. By the time of the primary, Romney had already been declared the party's presumptive nominee.Memoli Michael A. RNC officially names Mitt Romney the party's 'presumptive nominee' https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2012-apr-25-la-pn-rnc-officially-names-mitt-romney-the-partys-presumptive-nominee-20120425-story.html November 3, 2016 LA Times April 25, 2012 Romney won the North Carolina GOP presidential primary with 65.62% of the vote. Paul (with 11.12% of the vote) narrowly edged out Santorum (with 10.39% of the vote), and Gingrich came in last with 7.64% of the vote. 5.23% of voters registered "no preference". The awarded delegate count from North Carolina's Republican state convention was Romney with 48 delegates and Paul with 7 delegates. Republican primary election in North CarolinaCandidateVotesPercentageAwarded delegates Mitt Romney 638,601 65.62% 48 Ron Paul 108,217 11.12% 7 Rick Santorum (withdrawn) 101,093 10.39% Newt Gingrich (withdrawn) 74,367 7.64% No Preference 50,928 5.23% Totals 973,206 100.00% 55 General election Polling Statewide opinion polling for the 2012 United States presidential election Throughout most of 2011, Obama won or tied with Romney in every poll. On September 25, 2011, Romney won a poll for the first time, 50% to 39%. Until May 2012, Obama had a consistent but narrow lead over Romney. Throughout the summer of 2012, the tide changed with Romney winning more polls than Obama. In September, Obama's momentum rose and Obama won most polls in September 2012. In October, the tide changed in Romney's favor, and Obama had not won a poll since October 1, 2012. Romney won every poll for the first three weeks in October, but then many polls came as tied between Obama and Romney. Romney led the last poll 50% to 46%, but the second last poll was tied. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/nc/north_carolina_romney_vs_obama-1784.html#polls dead https://web.archive.org/web/20110504081741/http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/nc/north_carolina_romney_vs_obama-1784.html 2011-05-04 RealClearPolitics - Election 2012 - North Carolina: Romney vs. Obama The last three polls showed an average of Romney leading 49% to 48%, which was accurate compared to the results. Predictions SourceRankingAs ofHuffington PostHuffington Post Election Dashboard HuffPost http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/2012/romney-vs-obama-electoral-map https://web.archive.org/web/20120502191502/http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/2012/romney-vs-obama-electoral-map 2012-05-02TossupNovember 6, 2012CNNAmerica's Choice 2012 Election Center: CNN Electoral Map CNN http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2012/ecalculator#?battleground dead https://archive.today/20130119130158/http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2012/ecalculator%23?battleground 2013-01-19Lean R flipNovember 6, 2012 New York TimesElection 2012 - The Electoral Map: Building a Path to Victory The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2012/electoral-map.html https://archive.today/20120708093751/http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/electoral-map 2012-07-08 Lean R flip November 6, 2012Washington Post2012 Presidential Election Results The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/election-map-2012/president/ limited live https://web.archive.org/web/20120726195644/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/election-map-2012/president/ 2012-07-26TossupNovember 6, 2012RealClearPolitics http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/2012_elections_electoral_college_map.html dead https://web.archive.org/web/20110608112207/http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/2012_elections_electoral_college_map.html 2011-06-08 RealClearPolitics - 2012 Election Maps - Battle for White HouseTossupNovember 6, 2012Sabato's Crystal Ballhttps://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/projection-obama-will-likely-win-second-term/ PROJECTION: OBAMA WILL LIKELY WIN SECOND TERM - Sabato's Crystal Ball November 5, 2012Likely R flipNovember 5, 2012FiveThirtyEighthttps://www.masslive.com/news/2012/11/nate_silvers_political_calcula.html Nate Silver's political calculations predict 2012 election outcome Leeanne Griffin November 7, 2012 massliveLean R flipNovember 6, 2012 Results 2012 United States presidential election in North Carolinahttp://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NC/42923/112059/Web01/en/summary.html North Carolina State Board of Elections November 14, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20121125212444/http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NC/42923/112059/Web01/en/summary.html 2012-11-25 dead PartyCandidateRunning mateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Republican Mitt Romney Paul Ryan 2,270,395 50.39% 15 Democratic Barack Obama (incumbent) Joe Biden (incumbent) 2,178,391 48.35% 0 Libertarian Gary Johnson Jim Gray 44,515 0.99% 0 Others (write-in) 12,071 0.27% 0 Totals 4,505,372 100.00% 15 Voter turnout (registered voters) 67.74% thumb|North Carolina 2012 presidential election by precinct|alt=|350x350px By county CountyMitt RomneyRepublicanBarack ObamaDemocraticVarious candidatesOther partiesMarginTotal#%#%#%#%Alamance38,17056.32%28,87542.60%7311.08%9,29513.72%67,776Alexander12,25371.25%4,61126.81%3321.94%7,64244.44%17,196Alleghany3,39066.90%1,58331.24%941.86%1,80735.66%5,067Anson4,16637.01%7,01962.36%710.63%−2,853−25.35%11,256Ashe8,24265.36%4,11632.64%2522.00%4,12632.72%12,610Avery5,76674.31%1,88224.26%1111.43%3,88450.05%7,759Beaufort13,97759.17%9,43539.94%2080.89%4,54219.23%23,620Bertie3,38733.46%6,69566.14%410.40%−3,308−32.68%10,123Bladen7,74848.56%8,06250.52%1470.92%−314−1.96%15,957Brunswick34,74360.57%22,03838.42%5811.01%12,70522.15%57,362Buncombe54,70142.84%70,62555.31%2,3701.85%−15,924−12.47%127,696Burke22,26760.93%13,70137.49%5761.58%8,56623.44%36,544Cabarrus49,55759.30%32,84939.31%1,1601.39%16,70819.99%83,566Caldwell23,22966.88%10,89831.38%6051.74%12,33135.50%34,732Camden3,10966.09%1,50832.06%871.85%1,60134.03%4,704Carteret24,77569.76%10,30129.00%4411.24%14,47440.76%35,517Caswell5,59450.67%5,34848.45%970.88%2462.22%11,039Catawba44,53863.99%24,06934.58%9941.43%20,46929.41%69,601Chatham16,66547.03%18,36151.82%4081.15%−1,696−4.79%35,434Cherokee9,27872.11%3,37826.25%2111.64%5,90045.86%12,867Chowan3,89151.85%3,55647.38%580.77%3354.47%7,505Clay3,97370.42%1,57927.99%901.59%2,39442.43%5,642Cleveland25,79359.51%17,06239.37%4851.12%8,73120.14%43,340Columbus12,94153.38%11,05045.58%2521.04%1,8917.80%24,243Craven26,92858.32%18,76340.64%4791.04%8,16517.68%46,170Cumberland50,66639.69%75,79259.38%1,1830.93%−25,126−19.69%127,641Currituck7,49666.31%3,56231.51%2462.18%3,93434.80%11,304Dare10,24857.02%7,39341.13%3331.85%2,85515.89%17,974Davidson49,38369.62%20,62429.07%9281.31%28,75940.55%70,935Davie14,68771.05%5,73527.75%2481.20%8,95243.30%20,670Duplin11,41655.44%9,03343.87%1430.69%2,38311.57%20,592Durham33,76923.01%111,22475.80%1,7421.19%−77,455−52.79%146,735Edgecombe8,54631.68%18,31067.89%1160.43%−9,764−36.21%26,972Forsyth79,76845.83%92,32353.04%1,9781.13%−12,555−7.21%174,069Franklin14,60351.44%13,43647.33%3501.23%1,1674.11%28,389Gaston56,13862.04%33,17136.66%1,1741.30%22,96725.38%90,483Gates2,56447.52%2,78651.63%460.85%−222−4.11%5,396Graham2,75069.67%1,11928.35%781.98%1,63141.32%3,947Granville12,40547.21%13,59851.75%2721.04%−1,193−4.54%26,275Greene4,41153.56%3,77845.87%470.57%6337.69%8,236Guilford104,78941.28%146,36557.66%2,6981.06%−41,576−16.38%253,852Halifax8,76333.60%17,17665.86%1400.54%−8,413−32.26%26,079Harnett25,56558.89%17,33139.92%5191.19%8,23418.97%43,415Haywood15,63355.88%11,83342.30%5081.82%3,80013.58%27,974Henderson32,99462.98%18,64235.58%7561.44%14,35227.40%52,392Hertford3,00727.54%7,84371.84%680.62%−4,836−44.30%10,918Hoke6,81939.90%10,07658.96%1941.14%−3,257−19.06%17,089Hyde1,19350.06%1,16348.80%271.14%301.26%2,383Iredell49,29964.56%26,07634.15%9901.29%23,22330.41%76,365Jackson8,25449.42%8,09548.47%3522.11%1590.95%16,701Johnston48,42763.15%27,29035.58%9741.27%21,13727.57%76,691Jones2,83754.24%2,35244.97%410.79%4859.27%5,230Lee13,15854.28%10,80144.56%2801.16%2,3579.72%24,239Lenoir13,98049.78%13,94849.66%1580.56%320.12%28,086Lincoln25,26768.71%11,02429.98%4841.31%14,24338.73%36,775Macon10,83564.26%5,71233.88%3141.86%5,12330.38%16,861Madison5,40453.44%4,48444.34%2252.22%9209.10%10,113Martin5,99547.38%6,58352.03%740.59%−588−4.65%12,652McDowell11,77565.06%6,03133.32%2931.62%5,74431.74%18,099Mecklenburg171,66838.24%272,26260.65%4,9701.11%−100,594−22.41%448,900Mitchell5,80674.77%1,83823.67%1211.56%3,96851.10%7,765Montgomery6,40457.02%4,70641.90%1211.08%1,69815.12%11,231Moore29,49563.55%16,50535.56%4150.89%12,99027.99%46,415Nash23,84249.17%24,31350.14%3370.69%−471−0.97%48,492New Hanover53,38551.52%48,66846.96%1,5751.52%4,7174.56%103,628Northampton3,48332.38%7,23267.24%410.38%−3,749−34.86%10,756Onslow32,24362.69%18,49035.95%7021.36%13,75326.74%51,435Orange21,53928.06%53,90170.22%1,3171.72%−32,362−42.16%76,757Pamlico4,05159.91%2,64739.15%640.94%1,40420.76%6,762Pasquotank7,63342.15%10,28256.78%1921.07%−2,649−14.63%18,107Pender14,61759.60%9,63239.27%2781.13%4,98520.33%24,527Perquimans3,82257.46%2,75941.48%711.06%1,06315.98%6,652Person10,49654.94%8,41844.06%1921.00%2,07810.88%19,106Pitt36,21445.92%41,84353.06%7991.02%−5,629−7.14%78,856Polk6,23660.03%4,01338.63%1401.34%2,22321.40%10,389Randolph45,16074.38%14,77324.33%7821.29%30,38750.05%60,715Richmond9,33248.06%9,90451.01%1810.93%−572−2.95%19,417Robeson17,51040.77%24,98858.18%4481.05%−7,478−17.41%42,946Rockingham25,22760.04%16,35138.91%4421.05%8,87621.13%42,020Rowan38,77562.23%22,65036.35%8871.42%16,12525.88%62,312Rutherford18,95466.04%9,37432.66%3741.30%9,58033.38%28,702Sampson14,42255.10%11,56644.19%1860.71%2,85610.91%26,174Scotland5,83141.19%8,21558.03%1100.78%−2,384−16.84%14,156Stanly19,90469.31%8,43129.36%3821.33%11,47339.95%28,717Stokes15,23770.48%6,01827.84%3641.68%9,21942.64%21,619Surry19,92367.60%9,11230.92%4351.48%10,81136.68%29,470Swain2,97651.96%2,61845.71%1342.33%3586.25%5,728Transylvania9,63457.47%6,82640.72%3031.81%2,80816.75%16,763Tyrrell93052.16%83746.94%160.90%935.22%1,783Union61,10764.51%32,47334.28%1,1481.21%28,63430.23%94,728Vance7,42935.62%13,32363.89%1020.49%−5,894−28.27%20,854Wake211,59643.50%267,26254.94%7,5691.56%−55,666−11.44%486,427Warren3,14030.90%6,97868.67%440.43%−3,838−37.77%10,162Washington2,62240.34%3,83358.98%440.68%−1,211−18.64%6,499Watauga13,86150.09%13,00246.98%8112.93%8593.11%27,674Wayne27,64153.83%23,31445.40%3970.77%4,3278.43%51,352Wilkes20,51570.39%8,14827.96%4821.65%12,36742.43%29,145Wilson17,95445.91%20,87553.38%2800.71%−2,921−7.47%39,109Yadkin12,57874.81%3,95723.54%2781.65%8,62151.27%16,813Yancey5,27855.85%3,98142.12%1922.03%1,29713.73%9,451Totals2,270,39550.39%2,178,39148.35%56,5861.26%92,0042.04%4,505,372 right 300px Swing by county 300px Trend relative to the state by county Legend #77e3ff Democratic — +5-7.5% #aaeeff Democratic — +2.5-5% #d5f6ff Democratic — +0-2.5% #ffd5d5 Republican — +0-2.5% #ffaaaa Republican — +2.5-5% #ff8080 Republican — +5-7.5% #ff5555 Republican — +7.5-10% #ff2a2a Republican — +10-12.5% #ff0000 Republican — +12.5-15% 300px County flips Legend Democratic #92c5de Hold #0671b0 Flip Republican #f48882 Hold #ca0120 Flip Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Caswell (largest town: Yanceyville) Hyde (largest community: Ocracoke) Jackson (largest town: Cullowhee) Watauga (largest town: Boone) Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Nash (largest city: Rocky Mount) By congressional district Romney won ten of the state's 13 congressional districts, including one that elected a Democrat.https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HZWeHJXb5vBHA62zMa2ja_HJkxuLtQ7a9NJfDXMUNb8/edit?gid=0&usp=embed_facebook north carolina 2012 pres-by-cd Google Docs District Romney Obama RepresentativeNorth Carolina 1 1st 28% 72%G. K. ButterfieldNorth Carolina 2 2nd 57% 42%Renee EllmersNorth Carolina 3 3rd 58% 41%Walter B. JonesNorth Carolina 4 4th 27% 71%David PriceNorth Carolina 5 5th 59% 40%Virginia FoxxNorth Carolina 6 6th 58% 41%Howard CobleNorth Carolina 7 7th 59% 40%Mike McIntyreNorth Carolina 8 8th58%41%Larry KissellRichard HudsonNorth Carolina 9 9th56%43%Sue MyrickRobert PittengerNorth Carolina 10 10th 58% 41%Patrick McHenryNorth Carolina 11 11th61%38%Heath ShulerMark MeadowsNorth Carolina 12 12th 21% 79%Mel WattNorth Carolina 13 13th55%44%Brad MillerGeorge Holding See also 2012 Republican Party presidential debates and forums 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries Results of the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries North Carolina Republican Party References External links North Carolina State Board of Elections North Carolina Democratic Party North Carolina Republican Party The Green Papers: for North Carolina The Green Papers: Major state elections in chronological order expanded United States president North Carolina 2012