2012 United States presidential election in California Turnout 72.36% (of registered voters) 7.06 pp 55.47% (of eligible voters) 3.75 pp [1]
County Results
Obama
40-50%
50-60%
60-70%
70-80%
80-90%
Romney
40-50%
50-60%
60-70%
The 2012 United States presidential election in California 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. California voters chose 55 electors, the most out of any state, 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, every major news network considered California to be a state Obama would win or as a safe blue state. According to Secretary of State Debra Bowen's website, the President won the popular vote with 60.24 percent, with Mitt Romney in second place at 37.12%, and Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson in third place at 1.10%.[2] The Democrats have won the state in every presidential election after Republican George H. W. Bush won the state in 1988 .
As of 2020 , this is the most recent presidential election in which the nominee from the Republican Party won Orange County —a longtime, traditional bastion for the national GOP—and Nevada County . This is also the most recent election where California voted more Republican than New York , as of 2020. California voted 5.06% to the right of New York this election. With its 55 electoral votes, California was Obama's largest electoral prize in 2012.
Primaries
Democratic primary
2012 California Democratic presidenetial primary
Candidate
Barack Obama
Home state
Illinois
Delegate count
547
Popular vote
2,075,905
Percentage
100%
California results by county
Barack Obama
The 2012 California Democratic presidential primary took place on June 5, 2012, as part of the 2012 Democratic Party presidential primaries .
2012 California Democratic presidential primary[3] [4]
Candidate
Popular vote
%
Delegates
Barack Obama (incumbent)
2,075,905
100%
547.0
Darcy Richardson (write-in)
221
0.00%
0.0
Michael W.R. Meyer, Jr. (write-in)
129
0.00%
0.0
Louis Alberto Ramos, Jr. (write-in)
54
0.00%
0.0
Uncommitted
—
62.0
Total
2,076,309
100%
609
Republican primary
2012 California Republican presidential primary
California results by county
Mitt Romney
(Note:
Italicization indicates a withdrawn candidacy)
The 2012 California Republican Party presidential primary took place on June 5, 2012, as part of the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries .[5] [6] [7] 169 delegates were chosen, for a total of 172 delegates at the 2012 Republican National Convention .
As noted in the Green Papers for California, "159 district delegates are to be bound to presidential contenders based on the primary results in each of the 53 congressional districts: each congressional district is assigned 3 National Convention delegates and the presidential contender receiving the greatest number of votes in that district will receive all 3 of that district's National Convention delegates. 10 at-large delegates (10 base at-large delegates plus 0 bonus delegate) are to be bound to the presidential contender receiving the greatest number of votes in the primary statewide. In addition, 3 party leaders, the National Committeeman, the National Committeewoman, and the chairman of the California's Republican Party, will attend the convention as unpledged delegates by virtue of their position."[7]
2012 California Republican presidential primary[3] [7]
Candidate
Popular vote
%
Delegates
Mitt Romney
1,530,513
79.51%
169
Ron Paul
199,246
10.35%
0
Rick Santorum (withdrawn)
102,258
5.31%
0
Newt Gingrich (withdrawn)
72,022
3.74%
0
Charles E. "Buddy" Roemer, III (withdrawn)
12,520
0.65%
0
Fred Karger
8,393
0.44%
0
Jeremy Hannon (write-in)
11
0.00%
0
Donald James Gonzales (write-in)
5
0.00%
0
Sheldon Yeu Howard (write-in)
2
0.00%
0
Uncommitted
—
3
Total
1,924,970
100%
172
Green primary
2012 California Green Party presidential primary
The 2012 California Green Party presidential primary took place on June 5, 2012, as part of the 2012 Green Party presidential primaries .
Green Party of California presidential primary, June 5, 2012[3] [8]
Candidate
Votes
Percentage
National delegates
Jill Stein
9,165
49.36%
35
Roseanne Barr
7,399
39.85%
26
Kent Meslplay
2,005
10.80%
7
Total
18,569
100%
68
Libertarian primary
2012 California Libertarian Party presidential primary
Candidate
Gary Johnson
Barbara Joy Waymire
Scott Keller
Home state
New Mexico
Popular vote
6,780
2,118
1,208
Percentage
49.98%
15.61
8.91%
The 2012 California Libertarian Party presidential primary took place on June 5, 2012, as part of the 2012 Libertarian Party presidential primaries .
The primary was non-binding, and took place after Gary Johnson had already won the Libertarian nomination at the Party's 2012 convention .
California Libertarian presidential primary, June 5, 2012[3]
Candidate
Votes
Percentage
Gary Johnson
6,780
50.0%
Barbara Joy Waymire
2,118
15.6%
Scott Keller
1,208
8.9%
R. J. Harris
670
4.9%
Bill Still
670
4.9%
Roger Gary
559
4.1%
James Ogle
558
4.1%
Carl Person
523
3.9%
Lee Wrights
479
3.5%
Total
13,565
100%
Other parties
American Independent
The American Independent Party , a far-right and paleoconservative political party that formed when endorsing the candidacy of George Wallace in 1968 held a small presidential primary on June 5. It was won by Edward C. Noonan . However, the party would instead opt to nominate Tom Hoefling for president.
California American Independent presidential primary, June 5, 2012[3]
Candidate
Votes
Percentage
Edward C. Noonan
16,926
38.7%
Laurie Roth
16,326
37.4%
Mad Max Riekse
10,430
23.9%
Raymond Delmond Smith (write-in)
6
0.0%
Andrew Abe Diaz (write-in)
4
0.0%
Total
43,692
100%
Peace and Freedom
California Peace and Freedom presidential primary, June 5, 2012[3]
Candidate
Votes
Percentage
Ross C. "Rocky" Anderson
1,589
43.4%
Stewart Alexander
1,094
29.9%
Stephen Durham
971
26.5%
Shelley Upchurch (write-in)
4
0.1%
Ronald Clinton Forbes (write-in)
2
0.1%
Leon Leo Ray (write-in)
2
0.1%
Total
3,662
100%
General election
Candidate Ballot Access:
Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan, Republican
Barack Obama/Joseph Biden, Democratic
Gary Johnson/James P. Gray, Libertarian
Jill Stein/Cheri Honkala, Green
Tom Hoefling/Robert Ornelas, Independent
Roseanne Barr/Cindy Sheehan, Peace and Freedom
Write-In Candidate Access:
Virgil Goode/Jim Clymer, Constitution
Rocky Anderson/Luis J. Rodriguez, Justice
James Harris/Maura DeLuca, Socialist Workers
Stewart Alexander/Alejandro Mendoza, Socialist
Jerry White/Phyllis Scherrer, Socialist Equality
Stephen Durham/Christina Lopez, Freedom Socialist
Ron Paul/Andrew Napolitano [9]
Final results
2012 United States presidential election in California[10]
Party
Candidate
Running mate
Votes
Percentage
Electoral votes
Democratic
Barack Hussein Obama (Incumbent)
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (Incumbent)
7,854,285
60.24%
55
Republican
Willard Mitt Romney
Paul Davis Ryan
4,839,958
37.12%
0
Libertarian
Gary Johnson
Jim Gray
143,221
1.10%
0
Green
Jill Stein
Cheri Honkala
85,638
0.66%
0
Peace and Freedom
Roseanne Barr
Cindy Sheehan
53,824
0.41%
0
American Independent
Thomas Hoefling
Robert Ornelas
38,372
0.29%
0
Independent
Ron Paul (write-in )
Andrew Napolitano
21,461
0.16%
0
Independent
Rocky Anderson (write-in)
Luis Rodriguez
992
0.01%
0
Independent
Virgil Goode (write-in)
Jim Clymer
503
0.00%
0
Independent
Stewart Alexander (write-in)
Alejandro Mendoza
82
0.00%
0
Independent
Jerry White (write-in)
Phyllis Scherrer
79
0.00%
0
Independent
James Harris (write-in)
Maura DeLuca
72
0.00%
0
Independent
Stephen Durham (write-in)
Christina López
54
0.00%
0
Independent
Sheila Tittle (write-in)
Matthew Turner
6
0.00%
0
Valid votes
13,038,547
98.76%
—
Invalid or blank votes
163,611
1.24%
—
Totals
13,202,158
100.00%
55
Voter turnout
72.35%
—
By county
County
Obama
Votes
Romney
Votes
Others
Votes
Total
Alameda
78.9%
469,684
18.2%
108,182
3.0%
17,776
595,642
Alpine
59.6%
389
36.1%
236
4.3%
28
653
Amador
38.7%
6,830
58.3%
10,281
3.3%
538
17,649
Butte
47.0%
42,669
49.0%
44,479
4.0%
3,604
90,752
Calaveras
39.8%
8,670
56.8%
12,365
3.4%
751
21,786
Colusa
38.3%
2,314
59.7%
3,601
2.0%
119
6,034
Contra Costa
66.4%
290,824
31.2%
136,517
2.5%
10,885
438,226
Del Norte
43.2%
3,791
52.6%
4,614
4.2%
365
8,770
El Dorado
39.6%
35,166
57.4%
50,973
3.0%
2,635
88,774
Fresno
49.9%
129,129
48.1%
124,490
2.0%
5,208
258,827
Glenn
35.8%
3,301
61.1%
5,632
3.0%
278
9,211
Humboldt
60.0%
34,457
32.8%
18,825
7.3%
4,188
57,470
Imperial
65.2%
25,136
33.1%
12,777
1.7%
652
38,565
Inyo
42.6%
3,422
54.0%
4,340
3.4%
274
8,036
Kern
40.4%
89,495
57.2%
126,618
2.4%
5,359
221,472
Kings
41.3%
12,979
56.2%
17,671
2.4%
768
31,418
Lake
56.3%
13,163
39.3%
9,200
4.4%
1,028
23,391
Lassen
28.6%
3,053
68.3%
7,296
3.1%
334
10,683
Los Angeles
69.7%
2,216,903
27.8%
885,333
2.5%
78,831
3,181,067
Madera
40.2%
16,018
57.3%
22,852
2.5%
996
39,866
Marin
74.3%
99,896
23.0%
30,880
2.8%
3,740
134,516
Mariposa
38.9%
3,498
57.1%
5,140
4.0%
362
9,000
Mendocino
66.2%
23,193
27.6%
9,658
6.2%
2,166
35,017
Merced
53.2%
33,005
44.4%
27,581
2.4%
1,471
62,057
Modoc
27.9%
1,111
69.7%
2,777
2.5%
98
3,986
Mono
52.8%
2,733
44.1%
2,285
3.1%
163
5,181
Monterey
67.1%
82,920
30.3%
37,390
2.6%
3,208
123,518
Napa
63.0%
35,870
34.3%
19,526
2.8%
1,572
56,968
Nevada
47.7%
24,663
48.4%
24,986
3.9%
2,027
51,676
Orange
45.6%
512,440
51.9%
582,332
2.5%
27,892
1,122,664
Placer
39.0%
66,818
58.3%
99,921
2.7%
4,583
171,322
Plumas
40.1%
4,026
56.9%
5,721
3.0%
300
10,047
Riverside
49.7%
329,063
48.1%
318,127
2.2%
14,717
661,907
Sacramento
58.1%
300,503
39.2%
202,514
2.7%
13,792
516,809
San Benito
59.2%
11,276
38.6%
7,343
2.2%
425
19,044
San Bernardino
52.5%
305,109
45.1%
262,358
2.4%
14,050
581,517
San Diego
52.6%
626,957
45.0%
536,726
2.4%
28,599
1,192,282
San Francisco
83.5%
301,723
13.0%
47,076
3.4%
12,410
361,209
San Joaquin
55.8%
114,121
42.0%
86,071
2.2%
4,505
204,697
San Luis Obispo
48.8%
61,258
47.7%
59,967
3.5%
4,413
125,638
San Mateo
72.1%
206,085
25.5%
72,756
2.4%
6,879
285,720
Santa Barbara
57.6%
94,129
39.6%
64,606
2.8%
4,585
163,320
Santa Clara
69.6%
450,818
27.2%
174,843
2.7%
17,430
643,091
Santa Cruz
75.6%
90,805
20.0%
24,047
4.4%
5,243
120,095
Shasta
33.8%
25,819
63.0%
48,067
3.2%
2,449
76,335
Sierra
36.4%
653
58.8%
1,056
4.8%
86
1,795
Siskiyou
40.4%
8,046
55.6%
11,077
4.0%
787
19,910
Solano
63.5%
96,783
34.2%
52,092
2.3%
3,569
152,444
Sonoma
71.1%
153,942
25.3%
54,784
3.6%
7,782
216,508
Stanislaus
50.0%
77,724
47.3%
73,459
2.7%
4,186
155,369
Sutter
39.3%
12,192
58.4%
18,122
2.3%
712
31,026
Tehama
34.5%
7,934
62.0%
14,235
3.5%
808
22,977
Trinity
47.1%
2,674
47.9%
2,716
5.0%
284
5,674
Tulare
41.3%
41,752
56.3%
56,956
2.4%
2,392
101,100
Tuolumne
40.5%
9,998
56.2%
13,880
3.3%
809
24,687
Ventura
52.3%
170,929
45.3%
147,958
2.5%
8,087
326,974
Yolo
65.4%
48,715
31.4%
23,368
3.2%
2,392
74,475
Yuba
39.1%
7,711
57.2%
11,275
3.6%
714
19,700
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
Outcome by city
Official outcomes by city.[11]
See also
References
^ "Historical Voter Registration and Participation in Statewide General Elections 1910-2018" (PDF) . California Secretary of State . Retrieved May 5, 2022 .
^ "President - Statewide Results | General Election | California Secretary of State" . Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2012 .
^ a b c d e f "Statement of Vote June 5, 2012 Presidential Primary Election" (PDF) . California Secretary of State. Retrieved 17 May 2021 .
^ "California Democratic Delegation 2012" . www.thegreenpapers.com . Retrieved 17 May 2021 .
^ "Primary and Caucus Printable Calendar" . CNN . Retrieved January 11, 2012 .
^ "Presidential Primary Dates" (PDF) . Federal Election Commission . Retrieved January 23, 2012 .
^ a b c "California Republican Delegation 2012" . www.thegreenpapers.com . Retrieved 17 May 2021 .
^ "2012 President Green-rainbow Primary" . June 5, 2012.
^ "California Secretary of State Certified List of Write-In Candidates" (PDF) . Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-19. Retrieved 2012-11-20 .
^ "Statement of Vote: November 6, 2012 General Election" (PDF) . California Secretary of State . 2012-12-18. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 24, 2012. Retrieved 2013-01-02 .
^ "Supplement to Statement of Vote" (PDF) . California Secretary of State. Retrieved December 11, 2020 .
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