2012 United States presidential election in Nebraska

none June 2025 September 2023 2012 United States presidential election 2012 United States presidential election in Nebraska Nebraska presidential no 2008 United States presidential election in Nebraska 2008 2016 United States presidential election in Nebraska 2016 November 6, 2012 x200px Mitt_Romney_by_Gage_Skidmore_6_cropped.jpg Mitt Romney Republican Party (United States) Massachusetts Paul Ryan 5 475,064 59.80% President Barack Obama, 2012 portrait crop.jpg Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) Illinois Joe Biden 0 302,081 38.03% 350px County results 350px Congressional district results Romney #f2b3be 40–50% #e27f90 50–60% #cc2f4a 60–70% #d40000 70–80% #aa0000 80–90% Obama #86b6f2 50–60% President Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) The 2012 United States presidential election in Nebraska took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Voters chose five 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, Congressman Paul Ryan. Prior to the election, Nebraska was considered to be a state that Romney would win or a safe red state. Although statewide elections aren't competitive, Nebraska is one of only two states (along with Maine) which splits its electoral votes based on the winner of each congressional district. The winner of the statewide vote receives two electoral votes and the remaining 3 electoral votes are awarded based on the winner of each congressional district. Mitt Romney won Nebraska's statewide vote, taking 59.80% of the vote to Barack Obama's 38.03%, a margin of 21.77%, a noticeable improvement over McCain's 15% margin in 2008. Romney also won all 3 congressional districts, thus winning all 5 of the state's electoral votes. This was a change from 2008, when the state as a whole had voted for Republican John McCain but Democrat Barack Obama still won an electoral vote from the state. Nebraska's 2nd congressional district, home to Omaha, had split with the rest of the state and awarded one of Nebraska's electoral votes to a Democratic presidential nominee for the first time since 1964. Nebraska's 2nd congressional district, Indiana, and North Carolina were the only sources of electoral votes won by Obama in 2008 that Romney managed to flip. This was the first time in the 21st Century that Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District voted for the overall losing presidential candidate, a feat that would be reprised in 2024. Obama only won a single county, Thurston, largely due to its majority and increasingly politically active Native American population. He also narrowly lost three of four counties he won in 2008: Douglas, Lancaster, and Saline, home to the cities of Omaha, Lincoln, and Crete, respectively. He became the first Democrat since Grover Cleveland in 1892 to win without carrying Saline County. As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last time that the Democrat won Thurston County and the Republican won Douglas or Lancaster County. Primary elections Democratic primary The Democratic primary was not held as Barack Obama ran unopposed and had secured enough delegates for nomination.http://www.cnn.com/election/2012/primaries/state/ne Nebraska Results CNN 7 November 2012 Republican primary 2012 Nebraska Republican presidential primary Nebraska presidential no 2008 Nebraska Republican presidential primary 2008 2012 05 15 2016 Nebraska Republican presidential primary 2016 Mitt_Romney_by_Gage_Skidmore_6_cropped.jpg Mitt Romney ff6600 Massachusetts 30 131,436 70.89% Rick Santorum by Gage Skidmore.jpg Rick Santorum 008000 Pennsylvania 0 25,830 13.93% Ron Paul by Gage Skidmore 3 (crop 2).jpg Ron Paul ffcc00 Texas 2 18,508 9.98% Newt Gingrich by Gage Skidmore 3 (cropped).jpg Newt Gingrich 800080 Georgia 0 9,628 5.19% x125px Nebraska Republican primary by county, 2012.svg 300px Nebraska results by county #ff6600 Mitt Romney (Note: Italicization indicates a withdrawn candidacy) The Republican primary was on May 15, 2012.http://www.sos.ne.gov/elec/2012/pdf/canvass-report-2012-primary.pdf Archived copy 2012-08-14 2018-11-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20181108170730/http://www.sos.ne.gov/elec/2012/pdf/canvass-report-2012-primary.pdf dead This primary was purely of an advisory nature. From June 1 to June 10 caucuses county conventions caucused to elect delegates to the state convention. These delegates were not bound to vote for any candidate, but at the state convention on July 14, elected 32 bound National delegates. 3 party leaders attended the National Convention unbound, making a total of 35 voting delegates going to the national convention from Nebraska. 2012 Nebraska Republican primary Candidate Votes Percentage Delegates Mitt Romney 131,436 70.89% 30 Rick Santorum 25,830 13.93% 0 Ron Paul 18,508 9.98% 2 Newt Gingrich 9,628 5.19% 0 Unpledged delegates: 3 Total: 185,402 100.0% 35 Key: Withdrew prior to contest Convention The State Convention was held in Grand Island on July 14, 2012. Convention Resultshttp://www.tacoma2012.com/ Archived copy 2012-07-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20120610063704/http://www.tacoma2012.com/ 2012-06-10 dead https://www.thegreenpapers.com/P12/NE-R Nebraska Republican Delegation 2012Candidate1st2nd3rdStatePartyleadersTotal14pxMitt Romney31323232Ron Paul020002Unknown000011Total923335 General election Predictions SourceRankingAs ofHuffington PostHuffington Post Election Dashboard HuffPost http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/2012/romney-vs-obama-electoral-map https://archive.today/20130813173708/http://web.archive.org/web/20120502191502/http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/2012/romney-vs-obama-electoral-map 2013-08-13Safe RNovember 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 2013-01-19Safe RNovember 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 July 8, 2012 Safe R 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/ 2012-07-26Safe RNovember 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 HouseSolid RNovember 6, 2012Sabato's Crystal Ballhttps://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/projection-obama-will-likely-win-second-term/ PROJECTION: OBAMA WILL LIKELY WIN SECOND TERM Larry J. Sabato, Kyle Kondik, and Geoffrey Skelley November 5, 2012Solid RNovember 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 massliveSolid RNovember 6, 2012 Source1st district2nd district3rd districtAs of New York Times Safe R Lean R flip Safe R November 6, 2012Sabato's Crystal Ball Safe R Lean R flip Safe RNovember 5, 2012 Results 2012 United States presidential election in NebraskaPartyCandidateRunning mateVotesPercentageElectoral votesRepublicanMitt RomneyPaul Ryan475,06459.80%5DemocraticBarack Obama (incumbent)Joe Biden (incumbent) 302,081 38.03% 0LibertarianGary JohnsonJim Gray 11,109 1.40% 0 Write-Ins 3,717 0.47% 0 IndependentRandall Terry Missy Smith 2,408 0.30% 0Totals794,379100.00%5 By county CountyMitt RomneyRepublicanBarack ObamaDemocraticVarious candidatesOther partiesMarginTotal#%#%#%#%Adams8,31665.64%4,06232.06%2922.30%4,25433.58%12,670Antelope2,59680.32%57117.67%652.01%2,02562.65%3,232Arthur22786.64%3011.45%51.91%19775.19%262Banner34684.18%5513.38%102.44%29170.80%411Blaine26888.45%299.57%61.98%23978.88%303Boone2,13876.19%61521.92%531.89%1,52354.27%2,806Box Butte2,86960.98%1,69235.96%1443.06%1,17725.02%4,705Boyd87381.51%18817.55%100.94%68563.96%1,071Brown1,30283.73%22414.41%291.86%1,07869.32%1,555Buffalo13,57069.76%5,36527.58%5182.66%8,20542.18%19,453Burt2,02960.12%1,29138.25%551.63%73821.87%3,375Butler2,73870.95%1,04527.08%761.97%1,69343.87%3,859Cass7,55662.04%4,36735.85%2572.11%3,18926.19%12,180Cedar3,27875.63%95822.10%982.27%2,32053.53%4,334Chase1,58484.84%25413.60%291.56%1,33071.24%1,867Cherry2,55783.45%43614.23%712.32%2,12169.22%3,064Cheyenne3,44974.19%1,08423.32%1162.49%2,36550.87%4,649Clay2,23275.74%66722.63%481.63%1,56553.11%2,947Colfax2,05166.83%96931.57%491.60%1,08235.26%3,069Cuming2,87672.33%1,03125.93%691.74%1,84546.40%3,976Custer4,29678.14%1,08319.70%1192.16%3,21358.44%5,498Dakota3,09450.42%2,92247.62%1201.96%1722.80%6,136Dawes2,47866.47%1,13230.36%1183.17%1,34636.11%3,728Dawson5,46069.47%2,19927.98%2002.55%3,26141.49%7,859Deuel76375.02%21521.14%393.84%54853.88%1,017Dixon1,74564.97%87032.39%712.64%87532.58%2,686Dodge8,99560.17%5,67337.95%2821.88%3,32222.22%14,950Douglas113,22050.56%106,45647.54%4,2511.90%6,7643.02%223,927Dundy79280.41%17617.87%171.72%61662.54%985Fillmore2,00769.71%80728.03%652.26%1,20041.68%2,879Franklin1,11272.40%38425.00%402.60%72847.40%1,536Frontier1,00777.16%27120.77%272.07%73656.39%1,305Furnas1,78279.55%42318.88%351.57%1,35960.67%2,240Gage5,51357.06%3,90340.40%2452.54%1,61016.66%9,661Garden82975.99%24222.18%201.83%58753.81%1,091Garfield76981.81%14915.85%222.34%62065.96%940Gosper73475.05%23023.52%141.43%50451.53%978Grant32288.71%308.26%113.03%29280.45%363Greeley82069.20%34028.69%252.11%48040.51%1,185Hall12,64662.51%7,16135.40%4222.09%5,48527.11%20,229Hamilton3,60073.91%1,14623.53%1252.56%2,45450.38%4,871Harlan1,39578.46%35419.91%291.63%1,04158.55%1,778Hayes47688.31%519.46%122.23%42578.85%539Hitchcock1,17878.80%27418.33%432.87%90460.47%1,495Holt3,92279.41%88217.86%1352.73%3,04061.55%4,939Hooker33083.54%5914.94%61.52%27168.60%395Howard1,89065.85%91431.85%662.30%97634.00%2,870Jefferson2,16662.86%1,19534.68%852.46%97128.18%3,446Johnson1,22559.38%79038.29%482.33%43521.09%2,063Kearney2,34973.87%77324.31%581.82%1,57649.56%3,180Keith3,04475.01%92822.87%862.12%2,11652.14%4,058Keya Paha39381.20%8016.53%112.27%31364.67%484Kimball1,23573.21%39523.41%573.38%84049.80%1,687Knox2,88571.48%1,05926.24%922.28%1,82645.24%4,036Lancaster62,43449.02%62,01548.69%2,9062.29%4190.33%127,355Lincoln10,72868.53%4,45028.43%4773.06%6,27840.10%15,655Logan35682.60%6815.78%71.62%28866.82%431Loup29081.01%6217.32%61.67%22863.69%358Madison10,06272.47%3,48525.10%3382.43%6,57747.37%13,885McPherson23781.44%4114.09%134.47%19667.35%291Merrick2,49071.37%92526.51%742.12%1,56544.86%3,489Morrill1,68176.76%45520.78%542.46%1,22655.98%2,190Nance1,10668.23%48129.67%342.10%62538.56%1,621Nemaha2,01262.60%1,12835.10%742.30%88427.50%3,214Nuckolls1,57471.84%56825.92%492.24%1,00645.92%2,191Otoe4,25860.99%2,56136.68%1632.33%1,69724.31%6,982Pawnee89967.04%40029.83%423.13%49937.21%1,341Perkins1,13581.42%23817.07%211.51%89764.35%1,394Phelps3,40077.63%88020.09%1002.28%2,52057.54%4,380Pierce2,70778.90%63718.57%872.53%2,07060.33%3,431Platte10,06174.68%3,14823.37%2641.95%6,91351.31%13,473Polk1,89076.92%52821.49%391.59%1,36255.43%2,457Red Willow3,89178.83%95219.29%931.88%2,93959.54%4,936Richardson2,44365.34%1,19131.85%1052.81%1,25233.49%3,739Rock67285.17%10313.05%141.78%56972.12%789Saline2,55751.57%2,28946.17%1122.26%2685.40%4,958Sarpy43,21360.45%26,67137.31%1,6062.24%16,54223.14%71,490Saunders6,77065.65%3,30732.07%2352.28%3,46333.58%10,312Scotts Bluff9,64867.53%4,32730.29%3122.18%5,32137.24%14,287Seward5,00366.06%2,38631.51%1842.43%2,61734.55%7,573Sheridan2,02181.76%39015.78%612.46%1,63165.98%2,472Sherman92760.59%55236.08%513.33%37524.51%1,530Sioux62484.44%10113.67%141.89%52370.77%739Stanton1,94973.71%61423.22%813.07%1,33550.49%2,644Thayer1,87470.48%72827.38%572.14%1,14643.10%2,659Thomas36088.24%4210.29%61.47%31877.95%408Thurston93942.39%1,24756.30%291.31%-308-13.91%2,215Valley1,65775.49%49822.69%401.82%1,15952.80%2,195Washington6,89967.33%3,13230.57%2152.10%3,76736.76%10,246Wayne2,49367.71%1,07429.17%1153.12%1,41938.54%3,682Webster1,25872.22%44225.37%422.41%81646.85%1,742Wheeler34577.01%9320.76%102.23%25256.25%448York4,87476.70%1,37321.61%1081.69%3,50155.09%6,355Totals475,06459.80%302,08138.03%17,2342.17%172,98321.77%794,379 Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Douglas (largest city: Omaha) Lancaster (largest city: Lincoln) Saline (largest city: Crete) right 300px Swing by county 300px Trend relative to the state by county Legend #00bdec Democratic — +12.5-15% #4bdbff Democratic — +7.5-10% #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% #d40000 Republican — +>15% 300px County flips Legend Democratic #92c5de Hold Republican #f48882 Hold #ca0120 Flip By congressional district Romney won all three of Nebraska's congressional districts.Official Results of Nebraska General Election - November 6, 2012 https://sos.nebraska.gov/sites/default/files/doc/elections/2012/2012-general-canvass.pdf February 1, 2025 District Romney Obama RepresentativeNebraska 1 1st 57% 41%Jeff FortenberryNebraska 2 2nd 53% 46%Lee TerryNebraska 3 3rd 70% 28%Adrian Smith See also United States presidential elections in Nebraska 2012 Republican Party presidential debates and forums 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries Results of the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries Nebraska Republican Party References External links The Green Papers: for Nebraska The Green Papers: Major state elections in chronological order Nebraska United States president 2012