2012 United States presidential election in Wisconsin
2012 United States presidential election in Wisconsin Turnout 70.35% [ 1]
County Results
Congressional District results
Precinct Results
Obama
30–40%
40–50%
50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
90–100%
Romney
30–40%
40-50%
50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
90–100%
Tie/No Data
The 2012 United States presidential election in Wisconsin 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. Wisconsin voters chose 10 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 .
Obama won the state of Wisconsin with 52.83% of the vote to Romney's 45.89%, a 6.94% margin of victory.[ 2] While this represented half the victory margin of Obama's 13.91% win in 2008 , when he won 59 of 72 counties and 7 of 8 congressional districts , it is still a much stronger Democratic victory than Al Gore in 2000 , John Kerry in 2004 , or even his running mate Joe Biden in 2020 , who all won the state by less than 1% of the vote. Obama's win was also surprisingly comfortable in spite of the fact that Wisconsin was the home state of Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, making him the first Republican vice presidential nominee to lose their home state since Jack Kemp lost New York in 1996 . Obama's win was attributed to victories in Milwaukee , the state's largest city; Madison , the state capital; northeastern Wisconsin; and the Driftless Region . Romney's strength was concentrated in the loyally Republican Milwaukee suburbs, particularly the WOW counties (Ozaukee , Washington , and Waukesha ), where he carried a combined 67.03% of the vote to Obama's 32.00%. He also flipped 24 counties in the Northeast and Central Plain regions, though most of them were rural and therefore insufficient to overcome Obama's aforementioned victories.
As of the 2024 , this is the last time the Democratic presidential nominee won the following counties: Adams , Buffalo , Columbia , Crawford , Dunn , Forest , Grant , Jackson , Juneau , Kenosha , Lafayette , Lincoln , Marquette , Pepin , Price , Racine , Richland , Sawyer , Trempealeau , Vernon , and Winnebago . This remains the last time that any candidate won Wisconsin with more than 50% of the vote or by more than 1 percentage point, and the only time either of these things has occurred in the 21st century (alongside the 2008 election).[ 3]
Primary elections
Democratic primary
President Barack Obama ran unopposed in the Democratic Primary, winning 293,914 votes, or 97.89%. Uncommitted ballots received 5,092 votes, or 1.89% of the vote, while 849 votes, 0.28%, were scattered. 111 delegates, all of which were pledged to Obama were sent to the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina .[ 4]
Republican primary
2012 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary
Wisconsin results by county
Mitt Romney
Rick Santorum
The 2012 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary took place on April 3, 2012,[ 5] [ 6] the same day as the primaries in the District of Columbia and Maryland . Mitt Romney edged out a victory, with 44.03% of the vote and 33 delegates, with former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania coming in second with 36.83% of the vote and 9 delegates. No other candidates won any delegates nor counties, though representative Ron Paul of Texas's 14th district received 11.15% and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich received 5.84%. All other candidates received less than 1%. Romney's strength was concentrated in Southeast Wisconsin, carrying Milwaukee and all of its suburbs (including the Kenosha and Racine as well as the ancestrally Republican counties of Ozaukee , Washington , and Waukesha ), as well as Madison . Santorum's most significant victories were in Western Wisconsin and in Green Bay and its respective suburbs .[ 4]
General election
Predictions
Results
Although Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan was from Wisconsin, representing the 1st district in Congress, the Republican Party lost by around a seven-point margin, which was, albeit an improved loss from Obama's landslide 13.91% margin in 2008 ,[ 14] a crucial loss.
2012 United States presidential election in Wisconsin
Party
Candidate
Running mate
Votes
Percentage
Electoral votes
Democratic
Barack Obama (incumbent)
Joe Biden (incumbent)
1,620,985
52.83%
10
Republican
Mitt Romney
Paul Ryan
1,407,966
45.89%
0
Libertarian
Gary Johnson
Jim Gray
20,439
0.67%
0
Green
Jill Stein
Cheri Honkala
7,665
0.25%
0
Write-Ins
Write-Ins
5,170
0.17%
0
Constitution
Virgil Goode
Jim Clymer
4,930
0.16%
0
Socialist Equality
Jerry White
Phyllis Scherrer
553
0.02%
0
Socialism and Liberation
Gloria La Riva
Filberto Ramirez Jr.
526
0.02%
0
Justice
Rocky Anderson
Luis J. Rodriguez
112
0.00%
0
Peace & Freedom
Roseanne Barr
Cindy Sheehan
88
0.00%
0
Totals
3,068,434
100.00%
10
By county
County
Barack Obama Democratic
Mitt Romney Republican
Various candidates Other parties
Margin
Total votes cast
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
Adams
5,552
53.87%
4,644
45.14%
101
0.99%
898
8.73%
10,287
Ashland
5,399
64.49%
2,820
33.68%
153
1.83%
2,579
30.81%
8,372
Barron
10,890
47.99%
11,443
50.43%
359
1.58%
-553
-2.44%
22,692
Bayfield
6,033
61.64%
3,603
36.81%
152
1.55%
2,430
24.83%
9,788
Brown
62,526
48.50%
64,836
50.29%
1,566
1.21%
-2,310
-1.79%
128,928
Buffalo
3,570
50.72%
3,364
47.79%
105
1.49%
206
2.93%
7,039
Burnett
3,986
45.94%
4,550
52.44%
141
1.62%
-564
-6.50%
8,677
Calumet
11,489
43.49%
14,539
55.03%
392
1.48%
-3,050
-11.54%
26,420
Chippewa
15,237
49.26%
15,322
49.53%
373
1.21%
-85
-0.27%
30,932
Clark
6,172
44.72%
7,412
53.71%
217
1.57%
-1,240
-8.99%
13,801
Columbia
17,175
56.23%
13,026
42.64%
345
1.13%
4,149
13.59%
30,546
Crawford
4,629
59.22%
3,067
39.24%
121
1.54%
1,562
19.98%
7,817
Dane
216,071
71.03%
83,644
27.50%
4,466
1.47%
132,427
43.53%
304,181
Dodge
18,762
42.17%
25,211
56.67%
515
1.16%
-6,449
-14.50%
44,488
Door
9,357
52.95%
8,121
45.96%
193
1.09%
1,236
6.99%
17,671
Douglas
14,863
64.92%
7,705
33.66%
326
1.42%
7,158
31.26%
22,894
Dunn
11,316
51.46%
10,224
46.49%
452
2.05%
1,092
4.97%
21,992
Eau Claire
30,666
55.95%
23,256
42.43%
884
1.62%
7,410
13.52%
54,806
Florence
953
36.30%
1,645
62.67%
27
1.03%
-692
-26.37%
2,625
Fond du Lac
22,379
41.91%
30,355
56.84%
668
1.25%
-7,976
-14.93%
53,402
Forest
2,425
52.17%
2,172
46.73%
51
1.10%
253
5.44%
4,648
Grant
13,594
56.06%
10,255
42.29%
399
1.65%
3,339
13.77%
24,248
Green
11,206
58.00%
7,857
40.66%
259
1.34%
3,349
17.34%
19,322
Green Lake
3,793
39.20%
5,782
59.76%
100
1.04%
-1,989
-20.56%
9,675
Iowa
8,105
64.66%
4,287
34.20%
142
1.14%
3,818
30.46%
12,534
Iron
1,784
49.12%
1,790
49.28%
58
1.60%
-6
-0.16%
3,632
Jackson
5,298
56.89%
3,900
41.88%
115
1.23%
1,398
15.01%
9,313
Jefferson
20,158
45.52%
23,517
53.11%
606
1.37%
-3,359
-7.59%
44,281
Juneau
6,242
52.78%
5,411
45.75%
174
1.47%
831
7.03%
11,827
Kenosha
44,867
55.46%
34,977
43.24%
1,053
1.30%
9,890
12.22%
80,897
Kewaunee
5,153
46.69%
5,747
52.07%
137
1.24%
-594
-5.38%
11,037
La Crosse
36,693
57.82%
25,751
40.58%
1,018
1.60%
10,942
17.24%
63,462
Lafayette
4,536
57.04%
3,314
41.68%
102
1.28%
1,222
15.36%
7,952
Langlade
4,573
43.47%
5,816
55.29%
130
1.24%
-1,243
-11.82%
10,519
Lincoln
7,563
49.70%
7,455
48.99%
198
1.31%
108
0.71%
15,216
Manitowoc
20,403
47.88%
21,604
50.69%
610
1.43%
-1,201
-2.81%
42,617
Marathon
32,363
46.32%
36,617
52.41%
882
1.27%
-4,254
-6.09%
69,862
Marinette
9,882
47.56%
10,619
51.11%
276
1.33%
-737
-3.55%
20,777
Marquette
4,014
49.52%
3,992
49.25%
99
1.23%
22
0.27%
8,105
Menominee
1,191
86.49%
179
13.00%
7
0.51%
1,012
73.49%
1,377
Milwaukee
332,438
67.49%
154,924
31.45%
5,214
1.06%
177,514
36.04%
492,576
Monroe
9,515
48.83%
9,675
49.65%
295
1.52%
-160
-0.82%
19,485
Oconto
8,865
44.64%
10,741
54.09%
253
1.27%
-1,876
-9.45%
19,859
Oneida
10,452
48.27%
10,917
50.42%
283
1.31%
-465
-2.15%
21,652
Outagamie
45,659
48.27%
47,372
50.08%
1,565
1.65%
-1,713
-1.81%
94,596
Ozaukee
19,159
34.32%
36,077
64.63%
581
1.05%
-16,918
-30.31%
55,817
Pepin
1,876
50.72%
1,794
48.50%
29
0.78%
82
2.22%
3,699
Pierce
10,235
48.69%
10,397
49.46%
388
1.85%
-162
-0.77%
21,020
Polk
10,073
44.62%
12,094
53.58%
406
1.80%
-2,021
-8.96%
22,573
Portage
22,075
56.12%
16,615
42.24%
647
1.64%
5,460
13.88%
39,337
Price
3,887
49.20%
3,884
49.16%
130
1.64%
3
0.04%
7,901
Racine
53,008
51.28%
49,347
47.74%
1,009
0.98%
3,661
3.54%
103,364
Richland
4,969
57.41%
3,573
41.28%
113
1.31%
1,396
16.13%
8,655
Rock
49,219
61.00%
30,517
37.82%
954
1.18%
18,702
23.18%
80,690
Rusk
3,397
47.24%
3,676
51.12%
118
1.64%
-279
-3.88%
7,191
St. Croix
19,910
43.07%
25,503
55.17%
812
1.76%
-5,593
-12.10%
46,225
Sauk
18,736
58.68%
12,838
40.21%
353
1.11%
5,898
18.47%
31,927
Sawyer
4,486
49.71%
4,442
49.22%
97
1.07%
44
0.49%
9,025
Shawano
9,000
44.38%
11,022
54.35%
257
1.27%
-2,022
-9.97%
20,279
Sheboygan
27,918
44.56%
34,072
54.38%
661
1.06%
-6,154
-9.82%
62,651
Taylor
3,763
39.56%
5,601
58.88%
148
1.56%
-1,838
-19.32%
9,512
Trempealeau
7,605
56.41%
5,707
42.33%
169
1.26%
1,898
14.08%
13,481
Vernon
8,044
56.37%
5,942
41.64%
283
1.99%
2,102
14.73%
14,269
Vilas
5,951
42.99%
7,749
55.98%
142
1.03%
-1,798
-12.99%
13,842
Walworth
22,552
43.12%
29,006
55.46%
745
1.42%
-6,454
-12.34%
52,303
Washburn
4,447
47.88%
4,699
50.60%
141
1.52%
-252
-2.72%
9,287
Washington
23,166
29.42%
54,765
69.55%
811
1.03%
-31,599
-40.13%
78,742
Waukesha
78,779
32.31%
162,798
66.76%
2,279
0.93%
-84,019
-34.45%
243,856
Waupaca
11,578
44.81%
14,002
54.19%
260
1.00%
-2,424
-9.38%
25,840
Waushara
5,335
44.28%
6,562
54.47%
151
1.25%
-1,227
-10.19%
12,048
Winnebago
45,449
50.97%
42,122
47.24%
1,602
1.79%
3,327
3.73%
89,173
Wood
18,581
47.77%
19,704
50.65%
615
1.58%
-1,123
-2.88%
38,900
Totals
1,620,985
52.83%
1,407,966
45.89%
39,483
1.29%
213,019
6.94%
3,068,434
County Flips: Democratic Hold
Republican Hold
Gain from Democratic
Counties that flipped Democratic to Republican
By congressional district
Despite losing the state, Romney won 5 of the 8 congressional districts.[ 15]
See also
References
^ "Wisconsin Voter Turnout Statistics | Wisconsin Elections Commission" .
^ "Wisconsin Gov Accountability Board" (PDF) . Retrieved January 16, 2013 .
^ Brownstein, Ronald (September 16, 2024). "Why these three states are the most consistent tipping point in American politics" . CNN. Retrieved September 16, 2024 .
^ a b c "Canvass Results for 2012 Presidential Preferenrce and Spring Election - 4/3/2012" (PDF) . Wisconsin Government Accountability Board . April 3, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 15, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2021 – via Wayback Machine .
^ "Primary and Caucus Printable Calendar" . CNN . Retrieved January 12, 2012 .
^ "Presidential Primary Dates" (PDF) . Federal Election Commission . Retrieved January 23, 2012 .
^ "Huffington Post Election Dashboard" . HuffPost . Archived from the original on August 13, 2013.
^ "America's Choice 2012 Election Center: CNN Electoral Map" . CNN . Archived from the original on January 19, 2013.
^ "Election 2012 - The Electoral Map: Building a Path to Victory" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on July 8, 2012.
^ "2012 Presidential Election Results" . The Washington Post . Archived from the original on July 26, 2012.
^ "RealClearPolitics - 2012 Election Maps - Battle for White House" . Archived from the original on June 8, 2011.
^ "PROJECTION: OBAMA WILL LIKELY WIN SECOND TERM" .
^ "Nate Silver's political calculations predict 2012 election outcome" .
^ a b "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections" . Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections . Archived from the original on April 12, 2006. Retrieved January 1, 2021 .
^ "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts" . Daily Kos . Retrieved August 11, 2020 .
External links
U.S. President U.S. Senate U.S. House (Election ratings ) Governors Attorneys general Other statewide elections State legislatures
Arizona
California
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Hawaii
Illinois
Iowa
Michigan
Minnesota
Montana
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Texas
Washington
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Mayoral
Alexandria, VA
Anchorage, AK
Augusta, GA
Austin, TX
Bakersfield, CA
Baton Rouge, LA
Cheyenne, WY
Corpus Christi, TX
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Fresno, CA
Glendale, AZ
Honolulu, HI
Huntsville, AL
Irvine, CA
Juneau, AK
Lubbock, TX
Mesa, AZ
Miami-Dade County, FL
Milwaukee, WI
Orlando, FL
Portland, OR
Richmond, VA
Riverside, CA
Sacramento, CA
San Diego, CA
San Juan, PR
Santa Ana, CA
Stockton, CA
Virginia Beach, VA
Wilmington, DE
States and territories
Democratic Party
Republican Party
Libertarian Party
Green Party
Election timelines National opinion polling State opinion polling Fundraising Debates and forums Straw polls Major events Caucuses and primaries
Results breakdown National conventions
Reforms