2012 United States presidential election in Washington (state)

none June 2025 2012 United States presidential election August 2021 2012 United States presidential election in Washington (state) Washington presidential no 2008 United States presidential election in Washington (state) 2008 November 6, 2012 2016 United States presidential election in Washington (state) 2016 81.25% (of registered voters) 3.36%https://results.vote.wa.gov/results/20121106/Turnout.html November 6, 2012 General Election Results Secretary of State: Kim Wyman www.sos.wa.gov May 25, 2020 x200px President Barack Obama, 2012 portrait crop.jpg Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) Illinois Joe Biden 12 1,755,396 56.16% Mitt_Romney_by_Gage_Skidmore_6_cropped.jpg Mitt Romney Republican Party (United States) Massachusetts Paul Ryan 0 1,290,670 41.29% 350px County results 350px Congressional district results 350px Precinct results Obama #B9D7FF 40–50% #86B6F2 50–60% #4389E3 60–70% #1666CB 70–80% #0645B4 80–90% #002B84 90–100% Romney #F2B3BE 40–50% #E27F90 50–60% #CC2F4A 60–70% #D40000 70–80% #AA0000 80–90% #800000 90–100% Tie/No Data #D4C4DC #808080 President Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) The 2012 United States presidential election in Washington 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. Washington voters chose 12 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. President Obama easily won the state of Washington, taking 56.16% of the vote to Mitt Romney's 41.29%, a 14.87% margin of victory.2011 General Data https://www.sos.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2023-05/2011-general-data.zip sos.wa.gov live https://web.archive.org/web/20250625074651/https://www.sos.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2023-05/2011-general-data.zip June 25, 2025 In terms of raw vote total, Obama received 1,755,396 votes to Romney's 1,290,670 votes, a 464,726 vote margin. Obama received the largest number of votes of any candidate up to that point, a record which would be broken by his then-running mate Joe Biden in 2020, when Biden broke Obama's record by 614,216 votes.https://www.sos.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/Official%2520Canvass%2520of%2520the%2520Returns%2520G2020_%2520Certification%252012%252001%25202020.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20250629114315/https://www.sos.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/Official%2520Canvass%2520of%2520the%2520Returns%2520G2020_%2520Certification%252012%252001%25202020.pdf 2025-06-29 live Canvass of the Returns of the General Election Held on November 3, 2020 Wyman Kim Kim Wyman December 1, 2020 Secretary of State of Washington July 15, 2025 Third parties collectively made up 79,450 votes, or 2.54%. Obama led in every single poll conducted, often by double digits. Washington has not voted for a Republican since Ronald Reagan carried it in his 1984 landslide, and today is considered part of the Blue Wall, a bloc of 242 electoral votes that have safely voted for the Democratic nominee since 1992. Despite being a Republican-leaning swing state in the early- to mid-20th century, the rise of cultural conservatism and resistance to social liberalism in the Republican Party pushed voters in Washington, as well as many other Blue Wall states, away from the Republicans.Cohen Micah September 25, 2012 Washington State, Women's Rights and Big Cities https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/washington-state-womens-rights-and-big-cities/ https://web.archive.org/web/20150509173456/http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/washington-state-womens-rights-and-big-cities/ dead May 9, 2015 December 5, 2020 FiveThirtyEight en-US As of the most recent election in Washington held in 2024, this is the last time in which Cowlitz County, Grays Harbor County, Mason County, and Pacific County voted Democratic, and also the last in which Whitman County voted Republican. Caucuses Democratic caucuses As incumbent President Barack Obama ran without opposition nationwide, the non-binding primary was canceled by the Washington State Legislature. Precinct caucuses took place on April 15, legislative district caucuses on April 28, county conventions on April 29, and congressional district caucuses on May 30. The Washington state convection took place from June 1 to 3, and according to The Green Papers, Obama ran unopposed in the caucuses, receiving 114 delegates in the Democratic National Convention floor vote. The other 6 delegates' votes were unannounced.Washington Democratic Delegation 2012 https://www.thegreenpapers.com/P12/WA-D December 5, 2020 The Green Papers Republican caucuses 2012 Washington Republican presidential caucuses thumb|275px|Results of the non-binding strawpoll by county. Orange indicates a county won by Romney, gold by Paul, dark green by Santorum. The Republican caucuses were held on March 3, 2012.Grygiel Chris September 27, 2011 Washington state GOP to hold presidential caucus March 3 Seattle Post-Intelligencer Hearst Corporation http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2011/09/27/washington-state-gop-told-presidential-caucus-march-3/ January 10, 2011 0745-970X 3734418 The additional preferential primary, as held since 1992, was canceled this year for budgetary reasons, as was the one in 2004.March 3, 2012 GOP candidates vie for delegates in Washington, feet planted in Ohio https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-candidates-vie-for-delegates-in-washington-feet-planted-in-ohio/ March 3, 2012 Fox News Caucus participants, however, did not allocate national delegates to the candidates – they only elected delegates to the county conventions and took part in a nonbinding straw poll. Only the state convention from May 31 to June 2, 2012, legally pledged delegates to the national convention to specific candidates. Results With 3,677,919 registered voters as of February 29,Elections & Voting https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/default.aspx March 4, 2012 Washington Secretary of State – Elections Division the turnout was 1.4%.Washington Republican – The Green Papers Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney won the caucuses with a plurality, receiving 19,111 votes or 37.65%. Ron Paul, representative from Texas's 14th district, narrowly won second place with 24.81% of the vote against former Senator from Pennsylvania Rick Santorum's 23.81%. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich placed fourth, with 5,221 votes, or 10.28%. The other 3.44% of votes were uncommitted or write-ins. + Washington state Republican caucuses nonbinding strawpoll Candidate Votes Percentage Mitt Romney 19,111 37.65%Ron Paul 12,594 24.81% Rick Santorum 12,089 23.81% Newt Gingrich 5,221 10.28% Uncommitted 1,656 3.26% Total Write-Ins 93 0.18% Totals 50,764 100.00% Convention At the Republican National Convention, Romney received all 3 delegates from the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, and 10th districts. Ron Paul received 2 delegates from the 3rd district and all 3 from the 7th. The 3rd district also allocated 1 delegate to Rick Santorum. All 10 state delegates were allocated to Romney, as were the 3 superdelegates. Convention ResultsArchived copy http://www.tacoma2012.com/ dead https://web.archive.org/web/20120610063704/http://www.tacoma2012.com/ June 10, 2012 July 19, 2012Washington Republican Delegation 2012 https://www.thegreenpapers.com/P12/WA-R209025914649067520 FHQ Includes the 3 automatic delegates... June 2, 2012Candidate1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10thStatePartyleadersTotalMitt Romney330333033310337Ron Paul0020003000005Rick Santorum0010000000001Total3010343 General election Polling Statewide opinion polling for the 2012 United States presidential election#Washington President Obama consistently led in polling up until election day: at one point, a SurveyUSA poll conducted from September 28 to 30 had him leading by 20 points. In only two polls did Obama lead by single digits: a Public Policy Polling poll conducted October 15 to 16 had him leading by 5 points, and another conducted November 1 to 3 had him up 7. An average of all polls conducted before election day had Obama leading by 13.6 percentage points. Poll sourceDate administeredDemocrat%Republican%Lead marginSample SizeMargin of errorYouGovYouGovOctober 31 – November 3, 2012Barack Obama54%Mitt Romney40%14837 LV±--%Public Policy PollingPublic Policy PollingNovember 1–3, 2012Barack Obama53%Mitt Romney46%7932 LV±3.2%Survey USASurvey USAOctober 28–31, 2012Barack Obama54%Mitt Romney40%14555 LV±4.2%University of Washingtonhttp://www.washingtonpoll.org/results/kcts9wapoll_oct31.pdf University of Washington December 5, 2020 November 4, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20121104012915/http://www.washingtonpoll.org/results/kcts9wapoll_oct31.pdf dead October 18–31, 2012Barack Obama57%Mitt Romney36%21632 LV±3.9%Strategies 360Strategies 360October 17–20, 2012Barack Obama52%Mitt Romney39%13500 LV±4.4%Public Policy PollingPublic Policy PollingOctober 15–16, 2012Barack Obama50%Mitt Romney45%5574 LV±--%The Washington PollThe Washington PollOctober 1–16, 2012Barack Obama52%Mitt Romney41%11782 LV±3.5%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen ReportsOctober 14, 2012Barack Obama55%Mitt Romney42%13500 LV±4.5%SurveyUSASurveyUSAOctober 12–14, 2012Barack Obama54%Mitt Romney40%14543 LV±4.3%SurveyUSASurveyUSASeptember 28–30, 2012Barack Obama56%Mitt Romney36%20540 LV±4.3%Rasmussen ReportsSeptember 26, 2012Barack Obama52%Mitt Romney41%11500 LV±4.5%Gravis MarketingGravis MarketingSeptember 21–22, 2012Barack Obama56%Mitt Romney39%17625 RV±4.6%ElwayElwaySeptember 9–12, 2012Barack Obama53%Mitt Romney36%17405 RV±5.0%Public Policy PollingPublic Policy PollingSeptember 7–9, 2012Barack Obama53%Mitt Romney42%11563±n/a%KING5NEWS/SurveyUSAKING5NEWS/SurveyUSASeptember 7–9, 2012Barack Obama54%Mitt Romney38%16700±4.4% Predictions SourceRankingAs ofHuffington PostHuffington Post Election Dashboard HuffPost https://elections.huffingtonpost.com/2012/romney-vs-obama-electoral-map https://archive.today/20130813173708/http://web.archive.org/web/20120502191502/https://elections.huffingtonpost.com/2012/romney-vs-obama-electoral-map 2013-08-13Lean DNovember 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 DNovember 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 D 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 DNovember 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 HouseLean DNovember 6, 2012Sabato's Crystal Ball https://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/projection-obama-will-likely-win-second-term/ PROJECTION: OBAMA WILL LIKELY WIN SECOND TERMSolid DNovember 5, 2012FiveThirtyEight https://www.masslive.com/news/2012/11/nate_silvers_political_calcula.html Nate Silver's political calculations predict 2012 election outcomeSolid DNovember 6, 2012 Candidate ballot access Barack Hussein Obama / Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., Democratic Willard Mitt Romney / Paul Davis Ryan, Republican Gary Earl Johnson / James Polin Gray, Libertarian Virgil Hamlin Good Jr. / James N. Clymer, Constitution Jill Ellen Stein / Cheri Lynn Honkala, Green Peta Lindsay / Yari Osorio, Socialism and Liberation James Harris / Alyson Kennedy, Socialist Workers Ross Carl "Rocky" Anderson / Luis Javier Rodriguez, Justice https://results.vote.wa.gov/results/20121106/president-vice-president.html https://web.archive.org/web/20250521024651/https://results.vote.wa.gov/results/20121106/president-vice-president.html May 21, 2025 live President/Vice President Reed Sam Sam Reed November 6, 2012 Secretary of State of Washington October 18, 2025 Results 2012 United States presidential election in Washington Democratic Party (United States) Barack ObamaJoe Biden 1,755,396 56.16% −1.49% Republican Party (United States) Mitt RomneyPaul Ryan 1,290,670 41.29% +0.81% Libertarian Party (United States) Gary JohnsonJim Gray 42,202 1.35% +0.93% Green Party (United States) Jill SteinCheri Honkala 20,928 0.67% +0.54% Constitution Party (United States) Virgil GoodeJim Clymer 8,851 0.28% −0.03% Justice Party (United States) Rocky AndersonLuis J. Rodriguez 4,946 0.16% N/A Party for Socialism and Liberation Peta LindsayYari Osorio 1,318 0.04% +0.02% Socialist Workers Party (United States) James HarrisAlyson Kennedy 1,205 0.04% +0.02% 3,125,516 100.00% N/A By county Countyhttps://results.vote.wa.gov/results/20121106/president-vice-president_bycounty.html https://web.archive.org/web/20260419081234/https://results.vote.wa.gov/results/20121106/president-vice-president_bycounty.html April 19, 2026 live President/Vice President - County Results Reed Sam Sam Reed November 6, 2012 Secretary of State of Washington September 2, 2026Barack ObamaDemocraticMitt RomneyRepublicanVarious candidatesOther partiesMarginTotal#%#%#%#% Adams 1,540 32.13% 3,171 66.16% 82 1.71% -1,631 -34.03% 4,793 Asotin 4,003 40.43% 5,654 57.11% 244 2.46% -1,651 -16.68% 9,901 Benton 28,145 35.38% 49,461 62.17% 1,953 2.45% -21,316 -26.79% 79,559 Chelan 13,112 40.66% 18,402 57.06% 736 2.28% -5,290 -16.40% 32,250 Clallam 18,580 48.81% 18,437 48.43% 1,049 2.76% 143 0.38% 38,066 Clark 93,382 48.94% 92,951 48.72% 4,472 2.34% 431 0.23% 190,805 Columbia 645 28.55% 1,568 69.41% 46 2.04% -923 -40.86% 2,259 Cowlitz 22,726 50.93% 20,746 46.49% 1,148 2.57% 1,980 4.44% 44,620 Douglas 5,166 34.57% 9,425 63.08% 351 2.35% -4,259 -28.50% 14,942 Ferry 1,294 37.62% 1,995 57.99% 151 4.39% -701 -20.38% 3,440 Franklin 8,398 37.09% 13,748 60.72% 497 2.19% -5,350 -23.63% 22,643 Garfield 336 26.29% 913 71.44% 29 2.27% -577 -45.15% 1,278 Grant 8,950 32.48% 17,852 64.78% 756 2.74% -8,902 -32.30% 27,558 Grays Harbor 15,960 55.64% 11,914 41.54% 810 2.82% 4,046 14.11% 28,684 Island 21,478 51.02% 19,605 46.57% 1,016 2.41% 1,873 4.45% 42,099 Jefferson 12,739 64.24% 6,405 32.30% 685 3.45% 6,334 31.94% 19,829 King 668,004 69.07% 275,700 28.51% 23,450 2.42% 392,304 40.56% 967,154 Kitsap 67,277 54.53% 52,846 42.84% 3,244 2.63% 14,431 11.70% 123,367 Kittitas 7,949 43.75% 9,782 53.83% 440 2.42% -1,833 -10.09% 18,171 Klickitat 4,598 44.75% 5,316 51.74% 360 3.50% -718 -6.99% 10,274 Lewis 12,664 37.20% 20,452 60.08% 928 2.73% -7,788 -22.88% 34,044 Lincoln 1,673 28.49% 4,063 69.19% 136 2.32% -2,390 -40.70% 5,872 Mason 14,764 52.29% 12,761 45.20% 710 2.51% 2,003 7.09% 28,235 Okanogan 7,108 42.19% 9,221 54.74% 517 3.07% -2,113 -12.54% 16,846 Pacific 5,711 54.27% 4,499 42.75% 314 2.98% 1,212 11.52% 10,524 Pend Oreille 2,508 37.61% 3,952 59.27% 208 3.12% -1,444 -21.66% 6,668 Pierce 186,430 54.37% 148,467 43.30% 8,013 2.34% 37,963 11.07% 342,910 San Juan 7,125 67.26% 3,111 29.37% 358 3.38% 4,014 37.89% 10,594 Skagit 28,688 51.91% 25,071 45.36% 1,510 2.73% 3,617 6.54% 55,269 Skamania 2,628 48.08% 2,687 49.16% 151 2.76% -59 -1.08% 5,466 Snohomish 188,516 57.16% 133,016 40.33% 8,285 2.51% 55,500 16.83% 329,817 Spokane 102,295 45.70% 115,285 51.51% 6,250 2.79% -12,990 -5.80% 223,830 Stevens 7,762 35.03% 13,691 61.78% 708 3.19% -5,929 -26.75% 22,161 Thurston 74,037 58.27% 49,287 38.79% 3,739 2.94% 24,750 19.48% 127,063 Wahkiakum 1,094 47.69% 1,119 48.78% 81 3.53% -25 -1.09% 2,294 Walla Walla 9,768 38.90% 14,648 58.34% 692 2.76% -4,880 -19.44% 25,108 Whatcom 57,089 55.41% 42,703 41.45% 3,237 3.14% 14,386 13.96% 103,029 Whitman 8,037 46.94% 8,507 49.69% 577 3.37% -470 -2.75% 17,121 Yakima 33,217 43.15% 42,239 54.88% 1,517 1.97% -9,022 -11.72% 76,973Totals1,755,39656.16%1,290,67041.29%79,4502.54%464,72614.87%3,125,516 Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Klickitat (largest city: Goldendale) Skamania (largest community: Carson) Wahkhiakum (largest community: Puget Island) Whitman (largest city: Pulman) right 275px Swing by county Legend #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% 275px Trend relative to the state by county Legend #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% 275px County flips Legend Democratic #92c5de Hold Republican #f48882 Hold #ca0120 Flip By congressional district President Obama won seven of ten congressional districts, including one that elected a Republican.2012 General Data https://www.sos.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/2012-general-data2.zip sos.wa.gov live https://web.archive.org/web/20240910015641/https://www.sos.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/2012-general-data2.zip 2024-09-10 DistrictBarack ObamaDemocraticMitt RomneyRepublicanRepresentativeWashington 1 1st54.1%43.3%Jay Inslee (111th Congress)Suzan DelBene (112th Congress)Washington 2 2nd59.2%38.0%Rick LarsenWashington 3 3rd47.9%49.6%Jaime Herrera BeutlerWashington 4 4th37.9%59.7%Doc HastingsWashington 5 5th43.7%53.5%Cathy McMorris RodgersWashington 6 6th56.1%41.2%Norm Dicks (111th Congress)Derek Kilmer (112th Congress)Washington 7 7th79.2%18.1%Jim McDermottWashington 8 8th49.7%48.1%Dave ReichertWashington 9 9th68.3%29.6%Adam SmithWashington 10 10th56.3%41.1%Denny Heck Analysis As with all other Pacific states, Washington politics are dominated by its progressive metropolitan areas. Washington itself is one of the most progressive states in the country, most notably on women's issues: it was one of the first states to loosen abortion restrictions and is the United States' 7th most secular state.Lipka Michael Wormald Benjamin February 29, 2016 Most and least religious U.S. states https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/02/29/how-religious-is-your-state/ December 5, 2020 Pew Research Center en-US Economically, while Washington was historically a socially liberal and economically conservative state, it has become more dominated by leftism in the past few years at the presidential, congressional, and local level.Savicki Drew June 1, 2020 The Road to 270: Washington https://www.270towin.com/news/2020/06/01/the-road-to-270-washington_1031.html December 5, 2020 270toWin Thus, an Obama win was near guaranteed. He dominated the Seattle–Tacoma metropolitan area, winning 69.07% of the vote (a 40.56% margin) in King County, the largest in the state and home to Seattle. King County alone casts 29% of the state's ballots, and the Seattle metropolitan area (as defined by the United States Census Bureau) comprised 69.66% of the state's population in 2012.State Population Totals: 2010–2019 https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2010s-state-total.html December 5, 2020 The United States Census Bureau EN-USCounty Population Totals: 2010–2019 https://www.census.gov/data/datasets/time-series/demo/popest/2010s-counties-total.html December 5, 2020 The United States Census Bureau EN-US This area of Washington also has the highest minority composition with a 15% Asian, 9% Hispanic, and 7% African American population, and is dominated by diverse, well-educated voters. The Seattle LGBT community is one of the largest in the country. Thurston County, the 6th largest county in the state and home to the state capital of Olympia, gave Obama 58.27% of the vote, a 19.48% margin. The Democratic ticket also won by great margins in the counties of (in decreasing order of margin) Snohomish (Everett), Whatcom (Bellingham), Kitsap (Bremerton), and Pierce (Tacoma). Clark County, home to Vancouver, in the southwest of the state, was won by the president with a 431-vote margin. Overall, Western Washington voted 7.7% more Democratic than the state overall. Meanwhile, Romney's best performance was in the east of the state, which is mostly rural and sparse and has an economy dominated by agriculture. Washington's geographic divide resembles that of California and Oregon: voters east of the Cascade Mountains are the most conservative in Washington, and Eastern Washington voted 28.5% more Republican than the state as a whole. While comprising most of the counties in the state, this area casts only one-fifth of the ballots. Though many of these counties the Republicans won with over 60% of the vote, these victories were not able to offset Obama's landslide margins in the Seattle–Tacoma metro. Romney's biggest prize was Spokane County, which gave him over 115,000 votes and a 5.81% margin of victory. He also won Yakima County. However, he was able to flip four counties that Obama won in 2008: Klickitat, Skamania, Wahkhiakum, and Whitman. Obama thus became the first Democrat to win the White House without carrying Skamania or Wahkiakum Counties since Woodrow Wilson in 1916 and the first to do so without carrying Klickitat County since John F. Kennedy in 1960. This election continued Clallam County's bellwether streak, marking the 9th election since 1980 that it voted for the winner of the nationwide election. Clallam's streak would eventually become the longest of any county in 2020.Farley Josh November 7, 2020 What does Clallam County know? Voters just chose a winner for the tenth straight election https://www.kitsapsun.com/story/news/2020/11/07/clallam-county-extends-three-decade-streak-picking-president-elect/6182335002/ December 5, 2020 Kitsap Sun en-US Washington weighed in as 11.01% more Democratic than the national average in 2012. As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last presidential election in which the Republican nominee won Whitman County and the Democratic nominee won Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Mason, and Pacific Counties. This is also the last time a Republican received more than 40% of the vote in Washington. See also United States presidential elections in Washington (state) 2012 Democratic Party presidential primaries 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries Results of the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries 2012 Republican Party presidential debates and forums Notes References External links The Green Papers: for Washington The Green Papers: Major state elections in chronological order expanded 2012 United States President Washington