2012 United States presidential election in Kentucky

none June 2025 September 2023 2012 United States presidential election 2012 United States presidential election in Kentucky Kentucky presidential no 2008 United States presidential election in Kentucky 2008 2016 United States presidential election in Kentucky 2016 November 6, 2012 x200px Mitt_Romney_by_Gage_Skidmore_6_cropped.jpg Mitt Romney Republican Party (United States) Massachusetts Paul Ryan 8 1,087,190 60.49% President Barack Obama, 2012 portrait crop.jpg Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) Illinois Joe Biden 0 679,370 37.80% 380px County results 380px Congressional district results Romney #e27f90 50–60% #cc2f4a 60–70% #d40000 70–80% #aa0000 80–90% Obama #b9d7ff 40–50% #86b6f2 50–60% President Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) 59.70%Summary TXT file https://elect.ky.gov/SiteCollectionDocuments/Election%20Statistics/turnout/2011-2019/2012/SUMMARYGEn12.txt The 2012 United States presidential election in Kentucky took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 General Election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Kentucky voters chose eight 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. Romney carried Kentucky by a landslide margin, winning 60.47% of the vote to Obama's 37.78%. This represented a margin of 22.69%, a great improvement for the Republican Party from 2008, when they won with a 16.22% margin. Although Kentucky had been won by Southern Democrat Bill Clinton twice in the 1990s, Obama was seen as a poor cultural fit for the state, and he did not compete here either time he ran. The Romney campaign also attacked Obama's administration as being hostile to the coal industry, historically an important part of the state's economy. Consequently, Obama suffered a historically poor showing in the traditionally staunchly Democratic coalfields of Eastern Kentucky, where many counties that had even voted by wide margins for landslide Democratic losers like George McGovern and Walter Mondale defected to the Republicans in 2012. Knott County, which had given Clinton 73% of the vote in 1996 and nearly 72% to Mondale in 1984 (despite the latter losing nationally by more than 18 percentage points and only carrying one state), gave Romney 73% of the vote in 2012. Even Elliott County, the only county in the state in which Obama had broken 60% in 2008, barely held on in 2012, giving Obama a narrow plurality win, his only victory in the region, and one of just four county wins in the entire state. This marked the first time since the county's founding that the Democratic nominee won less than 60% of the vote in Elliott County, and would prove to be the conclusion of Elliott's longest-in-the-nation, 140-year Democratic voting streak. The county would flip to the GOP by a landslide margin four years later. Wolfe County, which had returned to the Democratic Party in 2004 and 2008 after casting its first-ever Republican vote for George W. Bush in 2000, went for Romney by over twenty points. As such, Obama became the first Democrat to ever win the White House without carrying Wolfe County since its founding in 1860, Menifee County since its founding in 1869, or Henderson County since the founding of the Republican Party. The only part of the state where Obama won convincingly was Jefferson County, the most urban and populous county in the state, and home to Louisville. He also eked out a close win in Fayette County, the second-most populous county, home to Lexington. Despite losing five counties he won in 2008, he managed to flip Franklin County, home to the state capital of Frankfort, which he had narrowly lost in 2008. As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last time that Elliott and Franklin Counties voted for a Democrat in a presidential election. Obama is the only Democrat to ever win two terms without carrying the state at least once. Primary elections Democratic primary Kentucky Democratic primary, 2012 Kentucky presidential no Kentucky Democratic primary, 2008 2008 Kentucky Democratic primary, 2016 2016 2012 05 22 President Barack Obama, 2012 portrait crop.jpg Barack Obama Illinois 39 119,293 57.85% Uncommitted grey n/a 34 86,925 42.15% 300px#1E90FF Barack Obama #000000 Uncommitted #666666 Tie County Winner 300pxObama: #8db8e2 50–60% #679fd7 60–70%#4187cd 70–80% #336aa2 80–90% Uncommitted: #a9a9a9 50–60% #8d8d8d 60–70% #737373 70–80% Vote share 1 300px Kentucky results by county 1E90FF 000000 Barack Obama's only "opponent" in the primary was the "Uncommitted" ballot option, which garnered more than 42% of the primary vote, making Kentucky one of Obama's worst contested primary results.Dougherty Michael Brendan 2012-05-22 Obama Is Getting Humiliated In The Kentucky Primary, 40 Percent Of Democrats Voted For 'Uncommitted' Business Insider https://www.businessinsider.com/obama-is-getting-humiliated-in-the-kentucky-primary-by-uncommitted-2012-5 2019-07-09 Kentucky Democratic primary, 2012May 22, 2012 Kentucky Secretary of State http://elect.ky.gov/SiteCollectionDocuments/Election%20Results/2010-2019/2012/2012offpriresults.pdf June 19, 2016 elect.ky.gov Candidate Votes Percentage Delegates 14px Barack Obama (incumbent) 119,293 57.85% 39 Uncommitted 86,925 42.15% 34 Republican primary Kentucky Republican primary, 2012 Kentucky presidential no Kentucky Republican primary, 2008 2008 2016_United_States_presidential_election_in_Kentucky#Republican_caucus 2016 2012 05 22 Mitt_Romney_by_Gage_Skidmore_6_cropped.jpg Mitt Romney Massachusetts 42 117,621 66.77% Ron Paul by Gage Skidmore 3 (crop 2).jpg Ron Paul Texas 0 22,074 12.53% Kentucky Republican Presidential Primary Election Results by County, 2012.svg 300px Kentucky results by county #ff6600 Mitt Romney (Note: Italicization indicates a withdrawn candidacy) Rick Santorum Newt Gingrich 008000 800080 Rick Santorum by Gage Skidmore.jpg Newt Gingrich by Gage Skidmore 3 (cropped).jpg 8.87% 5.95% Georgia Pennsylvania 0 0 ff6600 ffcc00 Uncommitted 000000 0 N/A 15,629 10,357 10,479 5.88% x125px|link=|alt= x125px The Republican primary occurred on May 22, 2012.Primary and Caucus Printable Calendar CNN http://www.cnn.com/election/2012/calendar.html January 11, 2012Presidential Primary Dates Federal Election Commission http://www.FEC.gov/pubrec/fe2012/2012pdates.pdf January 23, 2012 42 delegates were chosen, all of which were allocated to and pledged to vote for Mitt Romney at the 2012 Republican National Convention. Three delegates remain unpledged to any candidate. All Republicans in Kentucky were allowed to participate in the primary. A Republican primary was also held in Arkansas on this day. Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich withdrew from the presidential race on April 10 and May 2, 2012, respectively. Both endorsed Romney as the Republican nominee. Kentucky Republican primary, 2012Kentucky State Board of Elections http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/KY/38672/83427/en/summary.html Candidate Votes Percentage Delegates 14px Mitt Romney 117,621 66.8% 42 Ron Paul 22,074 12.53% 0 Rick Santorum 15,629 8.87% 0 Newt Gingrich 10,479 5.95% 0 Uncommitted 10,357 5.88% 0 Unpledged delegates: 3 Total: 176,160 100.00% 45 Key: Withdrew prior to contest 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 Ball https://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/projection-obama-will-likely-win-second-term/ PROJECTION: OBAMA WILL LIKELY WIN SECOND TERMSolid RNovember 5, 2012FiveThirtyEight https://www.masslive.com/news/2012/11/nate_silvers_political_calcula.html Nate Silver's political calculations predict 2012 election outcomeSolid RNovember 6, 2012 Results United States presidential election in Kentucky, 2012Kentucky State Board of Elections http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/KY/43107/111254/en/reports.html# Kentucky State Board of ElectionsPartyCandidateRunning mateVotesPercentageElectoral votesRepublicanMitt RomneyPaul Ryan1,087,19060.47%8DemocraticBarack Obama (incumbent)Joe Biden (incumbent) 679,370 37.78% 0LibertarianGary JohnsonJim Gray 17,063 0.95% 0 IndependentRandall Terry Missy Smith 6,872 0.38% 0GreenJill SteinCheri Honkala 6,337 0.35% 0 Others 380 0.02% 0Totals1,797,212100.00%8 Voter turnout (registered voters) 59.24% By county CountyMitt RomneyRepublicanBarack ObamaDemocraticVarious candidatesOther partiesMarginTotal#%#%#%#%Adair5,84176.86%1,66021.84%991.30%4,18155.02%7,600Allen5,18473.01%1,80825.46%1081.53%3,37647.55%7,100Anderson6,82266.10%3,31532.12%1831.78%3,50733.98%10,320Ballard2,64767.96%1,18930.53%591.51%1,45837.43%3,895Barren10,92265.92%5,40032.59%2461.49%5,52233.33%16,568Bath2,27555.19%1,77042.94%771.87%50512.25%4,122Bell7,12775.16%2,22423.45%1311.39%4,90351.71%9,482Boone35,92268.41%15,62929.76%9601.83%20,29338.65%52,511Bourbon4,69259.22%3,07538.81%1561.97%1,61720.41%7,923Boyd10,88457.14%7,77640.82%3892.04%3,10816.32%19,049Boyle7,70362.26%4,47136.14%1991.60%3,23226.12%12,373Bracken2,02962.78%1,14735.49%561.73%88227.29%3,232Breathitt3,31866.25%1,56231.19%1282.56%1,75635.06%5,008Breckinridge5,02563.06%2,82535.45%1191.49%2,20027.61%7,969Bullitt21,30667.04%9,97131.38%5021.58%11,33535.66%31,779Butler3,71673.44%1,29325.55%511.01%2,42347.89%5,060Caldwell3,90466.62%1,85231.60%1041.78%2,05235.02%5,860Calloway9,44062.63%5,31735.28%3152.09%4,12327.35%15,072Campbell24,24060.33%15,08037.53%8572.14%9,16022.80%40,177Carlisle1,83570.06%75028.64%341.30%1,08541.42%2,619Carroll1,99954.32%1,62944.27%521.41%37010.05%3,680Carter5,27959.26%3,38337.98%2462.76%1,89621.28%8,908Casey4,90480.51%1,08617.83%1011.66%3,81862.68%6,091Christian13,47561.38%8,25237.59%2281.03%5,22323.79%21,955Clark9,93164.42%5,22833.91%2571.67%4,70330.51%15,416Clay6,17683.65%1,11115.05%961.30%5,06568.60%7,383Clinton3,56981.24%75217.12%721.64%2,81764.12%4,393Crittenden2,83973.66%96024.91%551.43%1,87948.75%3,854Cumberland2,21677.65%59920.99%391.36%1,61756.66%2,854Daviess25,09259.62%16,20838.51%7871.87%8,88421.11%42,087Edmonson3,23269.24%1,37429.43%621.33%1,85839.81%4,668Elliott1,12646.94%1,18649.44%873.62%-60-2.50%2,399Estill3,74972.32%1,35626.16%791.52%2,39346.16%5,184Fayette60,79548.30%62,08049.32%2,9912.38%-1,285-1.02%125,866Fleming3,78065.38%1,91133.05%911.57%1,86932.33%5,782Floyd9,78465.71%4,73331.79%3732.50%5,05133.92%14,890Franklin11,34548.61%11,53549.43%4571.96%-190-0.82%23,337Fulton1,42557.44%1,02241.19%341.37%40316.25%2,481Gallatin1,75857.43%1,23840.44%652.13%52016.99%3,061Garrard5,31075.03%1,66123.47%1061.50%3,64951.56%7,077Grant5,66465.80%2,81032.64%1341.56%2,85433.16%8,608Graves10,69969.01%4,54729.33%2571.66%6,15239.68%15,503Grayson6,40469.08%2,74429.60%1231.32%3,66039.48%9,271Green3,63474.84%1,16523.99%571.17%2,46950.85%4,856Greenup8,85558.38%6,02739.73%2861.89%2,82818.65%15,168Hancock2,21253.51%1,83344.34%892.15%3799.17%4,134Hardin23,35759.56%15,21438.79%6471.65%8,14320.77%39,218Harlan8,65281.19%1,83017.17%1751.64%6,82264.02%10,657Harrison4,55663.60%2,47134.50%1361.90%2,08529.10%7,163Hart4,25764.29%2,28334.48%821.23%1,97429.81%6,622Henderson10,29655.29%8,09143.45%2351.26%2,20511.84%18,622Henry3,94059.79%2,53038.39%1201.82%1,41021.40%6,590Hickman1,43166.90%68632.07%221.03%74534.83%2,139Hopkins13,68169.21%5,78929.29%2971.50%7,89239.92%19,767Jackson4,36586.25%61212.09%841.66%3,75374.16%5,061Jefferson148,42343.60%186,18154.69%5,8081.71%-37,758-11.09%340,412Jessamine14,23368.98%6,00129.08%3991.94%8,23239.90%20,633Johnson7,09578.53%1,72319.07%2172.40%5,37259.46%9,035Kenton41,38961.13%24,92036.81%1,3952.06%16,46924.32%67,704Knott4,13072.55%1,42024.94%1432.51%2,71047.61%5,693Knox8,46776.28%2,48422.38%1491.34%5,98353.90%11,100LaRue3,91167.85%1,73330.07%1202.08%2,17837.78%5,764Laurel18,15181.00%3,90517.43%3521.57%14,24663.57%22,408Lawrence3,99571.44%1,52027.18%771.38%2,47544.26%5,592Lee1,97775.37%59522.68%511.95%1,38252.69%2,623Leslie4,43989.62%4338.74%811.64%4,00680.88%4,953Letcher6,81177.77%1,70219.43%2452.80%5,10958.34%8,758Lewis3,32669.74%1,34228.14%1012.12%1,98441.60%4,769Lincoln6,41670.10%2,58228.21%1541.69%3,83441.89%9,152Livingston3,08968.48%1,34629.84%761.68%1,74338.64%4,511Logan6,89965.64%3,46933.01%1421.35%3,43032.63%10,510Lyon2,41262.83%1,37335.76%541.41%1,03927.07%3,839Madison21,12863.41%11,51234.55%6822.04%9,61628.86%33,322Magoffin3,39169.12%1,43329.21%821.67%1,95839.91%4,906Marion3,80051.93%3,41846.71%1001.36%3825.22%7,318Marshall10,40266.17%5,02231.95%2951.88%5,38034.22%15,719Martin3,18083.16%57415.01%701.83%2,60668.15%3,824Mason4,19760.99%2,59237.67%921.34%1,60523.32%6,881McCracken19,97965.40%10,06232.94%5101.66%9,91732.46%30,551McCreary4,56479.97%1,06918.73%741.30%3,49561.24%5,707McLean2,70564.40%1,43234.10%631.50%1,27330.30%4,200Meade6,60660.52%4,12237.76%1881.72%2,48422.76%10,916Menifee1,48457.12%1,04840.34%662.54%43616.78%2,598Mercer6,82068.62%2,96629.84%1531.54%3,85438.78%9,939Metcalfe2,67663.96%1,42534.06%831.98%1,25129.90%4,184Monroe3,76279.27%93619.72%481.01%2,82659.55%4,746Montgomery6,39862.43%3,70136.11%1491.46%2,69726.32%10,248Morgan3,02167.55%1,36930.61%821.84%1,65236.94%4,472Muhlenberg7,76260.93%4,77137.45%2061.62%2,99123.48%12,739Nelson10,67357.59%7,61141.07%2491.34%3,06216.52%18,533Nicholas1,58361.33%94836.73%501.94%63524.60%2,581Ohio6,47067.07%2,98730.97%1891.96%3,48336.10%9,646Oldham20,17967.52%9,24030.92%4651.56%10,93936.60%29,884Owen2,97165.20%1,50132.94%851.86%1,47032.26%4,557Owsley1,27980.95%28317.91%181.14%99663.04%1,580Pendleton3,55664.26%1,85933.59%1192.15%1,69730.67%5,534Perry8,04078.51%2,04719.99%1541.50%5,99358.52%10,241Pike17,59074.42%5,64623.89%4001.69%11,94450.53%23,636Powell2,76661.73%1,62036.15%952.12%1,14625.58%4,481Pulaski20,71479.66%4,97619.14%3131.20%15,73860.52%26,003Robertson57961.93%34036.36%161.71%23925.57%935Rockcastle5,02880.89%1,09717.65%911.46%3,93163.24%6,216Rowan4,03552.64%3,43844.85%1922.51%5977.79%7,665Russell6,34680.24%1,44518.27%1181.49%4,90161.97%7,909Scott12,67961.63%7,53236.61%3621.76%5,14725.02%20,573Shelby11,79063.17%6,63435.55%2391.28%5,15627.62%18,663Simpson4,35561.40%2,65037.36%881.24%1,70524.04%7,093Spencer5,72667.92%2,54930.23%1561.85%3,17737.69%8,431Taylor7,55168.96%3,28530.00%1141.04%4,26638.96%10,950Todd3,24768.82%1,40329.74%681.44%1,84439.08%4,718Trigg4,52067.04%2,11531.37%1071.59%2,40535.67%6,742Trimble2,13360.20%1,35538.24%551.56%77821.96%3,543Union3,95566.15%1,94232.48%821.37%2,01333.67%5,979Warren26,38460.10%16,80538.28%7141.62%9,57921.82%43,903Washington3,49566.97%1,66931.98%551.05%1,82634.99%5,219Wayne5,28973.36%1,85525.73%660.91%3,43447.63%7,210Webster3,60765.94%1,76532.27%981.79%1,84233.67%5,470Whitley10,23278.27%2,68320.52%1571.21%7,54957.75%13,072Wolfe1,54260.26%97638.14%411.60%56622.12%2,559Woodford7,21958.54%4,88339.60%2301.86%2,33618.94%12,332Totals1,087,19060.47%679,37037.78%31,4881.75%407,82022.69%1,798,048 Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Hancock (largest city: Lewisport) Henderson (largest city: Henderson) Menifee (largest city: Frenchburg) Rowan (largest city: Morehead) Wolfe (largest city: Campton) Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Franklin (largest city: Frankfort) right 300px Swing by county 300px Trend relative to the state by county Legend #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 #0671b0 Flip Republican #f48882 Hold #ca0120 Flip By congressional district Romney won five of six congressional districts.https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2013/07/09/1220127/-Daily-Kos-Elections-2012-election-results-by-congressional-and-legislative-districts Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts Daily Kos 11 August 2020 District Romney Obama RepresentativeKentucky 1 1st 66.40% 32.10%Ed WhitfieldKentucky 2 2nd 63.28% 35.15%Brett GuthrieKentucky 3 3rd 42.80% 55.73%John YarmuthKentucky 4 4th 63.38% 34.83%Thomas MassieKentucky 5 5th 75.02% 23.25%Hal RogersKentucky 6 6th 55.79% 42.16%Andy Barr Analysis On election night, Kentucky went as expected to the Republican candidate, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, over incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama of bordering Illinois. Obama was reelected but nonetheless, lost Kentucky. In most recent years, Democrats have maintained their lead in registered voters compared to Republicans.Registration Statistics – State Board of Elections https://elect.ky.gov/statistics/Pages/registrationstatistics.aspx dead https://web.archive.org/web/20180101191201/https://elect.ky.gov/statistics/Pages/registrationstatistics.aspx 2018-01-01 2017-12-02 elect.ky.gov en However, Kentucky is known as a highly conservative state with a populist streak. In most recent presidential elections in Kentucky, Democrats usually achieve lower 40 or upper 30% margins. Obama performed significantly worse in 2012 than he did in 2008. Appalachian Kentucky used to be a place were Democrats thrived because of working-class people, particularly unionized coal miners.Appalachia Used To Be A Democratic Stronghold. Here's How To Make It One Again. en https://thinkprogress.org/appalachia-used-to-be-a-democratic-stronghold-heres-how-to-make-it-one-again-300952ae296d/ 2017-12-02 However, this region has become increasingly Republican in recent years. Romney performed, for the most part, very well statewide. Obama won four counties. Obama was, however, able to maintain a solid performance in perhaps the most Democratic place in the state, Jefferson County (Louisville Metro). The other counties Obama won were Franklin, Elliott and Fayette. See also Republican Party presidential debates, 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, 2012 Results of the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries Kentucky Republican Party References External links The Green Papers: for Kentucky The Green Papers: major state elections in chronological order United States President 2012