2012 United States presidential election in Illinois explained

See main article: 2012 United States presidential election.

Election Name:	2012 United States presidential election in Illinois
Country:	Illinois
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2008 United States presidential election in Illinois
Previous Year:	2008
Election Date:	November 6, 2012
Next Election:	2016 United States presidential election in Illinois
Next Year:	2016
Image1:	President Barack Obama, 2012 portrait crop.jpg
Nominee1:	Barack Obama
Party1:	Democratic Party (United States)
Home State1:	Illinois
Running Mate1:	Joe Biden
Electoral Vote1:	20
Popular Vote1:	3,019,512
Percentage1:	57.50%
President
Before Election:	Barack Obama
Before Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:	Barack Obama
After Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
Nominee2:	Mitt Romney
Party2:	Republican Party (United States)
Home State2:	Massachusetts
Running Mate2:	Paul Ryan
Electoral Vote2:	0
Popular Vote2:	2,135,216
Percentage2:	40.66%
Turnout:	69.70%

The 2012 United States presidential election in Illinois 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. Illinois voters chose 20 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. The Obama/Biden ticket won Illinois with 57.50% of the popular vote to Romney/Ryan's 40.66%, thus winning the state's twenty electoral votes by a margin of 16.84%.^[1]

Obama's victory continued a Democratic winning streak in the state — with the Democratic candidate having carried Illinois through six consecutive elections. However, despite Obama's win in 2008 and popularity in the state due to being its former U.S. Senator, his performance significantly worsened, with his margin of victory decreasing from 25.10% to 16.84% and losing 23 counties to Romney that he had won four years prior. Obama further became the first ever Democrat to win the White House without carrying Gallatin or Macoupin Counties, as well as the first since Woodrow Wilson in 1916 to win the White House without carrying Madison County. While Obama only won 23% of the counties in Illinois, most of the counties he won were heavily populated. His 17-point victory can be largely attributed to his performance in Cook County, which encompasses the Chicago Metropolitan Area. He also won the once Republican-favored collar counties (DuPage, Will and Lake). He also performed well in the East St. Louis area.

As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last time a Democrat has won Alexander, Carroll, Fulton, Henderson, Henry, Jo Daviess, Knox, Mercer, Putnam, Warren, and Whiteside counties. Also, as a result of this election, Clark, Clay, Effingham, Edwards, Iroquois, Jasper, Massac, Richland, Wabash, and Wayne are the only counties in the state that never voted for Obama in his two runs for the presidency or in his landslide election to the Senate.

Primary elections

Democratic primary

Election Name:	2012 Illinois Democratic presidential primary
Country:	Illinois
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Votes For Election:	212 Democratic National Convention delegates (189 pledged, 26 unpledged) The number of pledged delegates won is determined by the popular vote
Previous Election:	2008 Illinois Democratic presidential primary
Previous Year:	2008
Next Election:	2016 Illinois Democratic presidential primary
Next Year:	2016
Candidate1:	Barack Obama
Home State1:	Illinois
Delegate Count1:	189
Popular Vote1:	652,583
Percentage1:	99.98%
Color1:	3333FF
Map Size:	x280px

The 2012 Illinois Democratic presidential primary was held on March 20, 2012, in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Republican Party's state primaries ahead of the 2012 presidential election. Incumbent president Barack Obama won the primary. Obama was running for reelection without a major opponent.

Obama won all 189 of the state's bound delegates (the state also had 26 superdelegates).^[2]

Colspan=4	2012 Illinois Democratic presidential primary^[3]
Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Delegates
Barack Obama (incumbent)	652,583	99.98%	189
Randall Terry	134	0.02%	0
Totals	652,717	100.00%	189

Republican primary

Election Name:	2012 Illinois Republican presidential primary
Country:	Illinois
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2008 Illinois Republican presidential primary
Previous Year:	2008
Next Election:	2016 Illinois Republican presidential primary
Next Year:	2016
Image1:	Mitt_Romney_by_Gage_Skidmore_6_cropped.jpg
Candidate1:	Mitt Romney
Home State1:	Massachusetts
Delegate Count1:	42
Popular Vote1:	435,859
Percentage1:	46.69%
Candidate2:	Rick Santorum
Home State2:	Pennsylvania
Delegate Count2:	12
Popular Vote2:	326,778
Percentage2:	35.01%
Image4:	Ron Paul by Gage Skidmore 3 (crop 2).jpg
Candidate4:	Ron Paul
Home State4:	Texas
Delegate Count4:	0
Popular Vote4:	87,044
Percentage4:	9.32%
Image5:	Newt Gingrich by Gage Skidmore 3 (cropped).jpg
Candidate5:	Newt Gingrich
Home State5:	Georgia
Delegate Count5:	0
Popular Vote5:	74,482
Percentage5:	7.98%
Map Size:	x280px
Color1:	ff6600
Color2:	008000
Color4:	ffcc00
Color5:	800080

The 2012 Illinois Republican presidential primary was held on March 20, 2012, in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Republican Party's state primaries ahead of the 2012 presidential election.^{[4] [5]} For the state-run primaries (Democratic and Republican), turnout was 21.72%, with 1,586,171 votes cast.^[3]

2012 Illinois Republican presidential primary

Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Projected delegate count
			NYT	CNN ^[6]	FOX
Mitt Romney	435,859	46.69%	42	41	42
Rick Santorum	326,778	35.01%	12	10	12
Ron Paul	87,044	9.32%	0	0	0
Newt Gingrich	74,482	7.98%	0	0	0
Rick Perry (withdrawn)	5,568	0.60%	0	0	0
Buddy Roemer (withdrawn)	3,723	0.40%	0	0	0
Unprojected delegates:			0	3	0
Total:	933,454	100.00%	54	54	54

Green

Election Name:	2012 Illinois Green Party convention
Country:	Illinois
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Votes For Election:	31 Green National Convention delegates
Previous Election:	2008 Illinois Green Party presidential primary
Previous Year:	2008
Next Election:	2016 Illinois Green Party presidential primary
Next Year:	2016
Candidate1:	Jill Stein
Party1:	Green Party of the United States
Home State1:	Massachusetts
Delegate Count1:	22
Popular Vote1:	109
Percentage1:	71.24%
Candidate2:	Roseanne Barr
Party2:	Green Party of the United States
Home State2:	Hawaii
Delegate Count2:	2
Popular Vote2:	27
Percentage2:	17.65%
Candidate3:	Kent Mesplay
Party3:	Green Party of the United States
Home State3:	California
Delegate Count3:	2
Popular Vote3:	8
Percentage3:	5.23%
Map Size:	150px

The 2012 Illinois Green Party Convention was held on February 24, and saw a binding presidential preference vote cast, awarding delegates, as part of the Green Party's state primaries ahead of the 2012 presidential election.

Unlike the primaries for the major parties, this primary was run by the Green Party of Illinois itself, rather than by the state.

Illinois Green Party Primary, February 24, 2012^{[7] [8]}

Candidate	Votes	Percentage	National delegates
Jill Stein	109	71.24%	22
Roseanne Barr (write-in)	27	17.65%	5
Kent Mesplay	8	5.23%	2
Uncommitted	8	5.23%	2
Others	1	0.65%	0
Total	153	100%	31

General election

Results

2012 United States presidential election in Illinois^[9]
Party		Candidate	Running mate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Democratic	Barack Obama (Incumbent)	Joe Biden (Incumbent)	3,019,512	57.50%	20
	Republican	Mitt Romney	Paul Ryan	2,135,216	40.66%	0
	Libertarian	Gary Johnson	James P. Gray	56,229	1.07%	0
	Green	Jill Stein	Howie Hawkins	30,222	0.58%	0
	Write-ins	Write-ins		835	0.02%	0
Totals				5,242,014	100.00%	20

Results by county

County	Barack Obama Democratic		Mitt Romney Republican		Various candidates Other parties		Margin		Total votes cast
		%		%		%		%
	Adams		9,648		31.43%		20,416		66.51%		633		2.06%		-10,768		-35.08%		30,697
	Alexander		1,965		56.13%		1,487		42.47%		49		1.40%		478		13.66%		3,501
	Bond		3,020		40.95%		4,095		55.53%		260		3.52%		-1,075		-14.58%		7,375
	Boone		9,883		46.09%		11,096		51.75%		462		2.16%		-1,213		-5.66%		21,441
	Brown		787		33.29%		1,513		64.00%		64		2.71%		-726		-30.71%		2,364
	Bureau		8,134		48.75%		8,164		48.93%		388		2.32%		-30		-0.18%		16,686
	Calhoun		1,080		41.93%		1,440		55.90%		56		2.17%		-360		-13.97%		2,576
	Carroll		3,665		49.49%		3,555		48.00%		186		2.51%		110		1.49%		7,406
	Cass		2,053		42.09%		2,707		55.49%		118		2.42%		-654		-13.40%		4,878
	Champaign		40,831		51.94%		35,312		44.92%		2,466		3.14%		5,519		7.02%		78,609
	Christian		5,494		37.31%		8,885		60.33%		348		2.36%		-3,391		-23.02%		14,727
	Clark		2,591		32.86%		5,144		65.23%		151		1.91%		-2,553		-32.37%		7,886
	Clay		1,584		26.81%		4,190		70.92%		134		2.27%		-2,606		-44.11%		5,908
	Clinton		5,596		33.95%		10,524		63.86%		361		2.19%		-4,928		-29.91%		16,481
	Coles		9,262		43.21%		11,631		54.26%		544		2.53%		-2,369		-11.05%		21,437
	Cook		1,488,537		73.88%		495,542		24.59%		30,740		1.53%		992,995		49.29%		2,014,819
	Crawford		2,858		33.11%		5,585		64.69%		190		2.20%		-2,727		-31.58%		8,633
	Cumberland		1,641		30.99%		3,509		66.27%		145		2.74%		-1,868		-35.28%		5,295
	DeKalb		21,207		51.42%		18,934		45.91%		1,100		2.67%		2,273		5.51%		41,241
	DeWitt		2,601		35.30%		4,579		62.15%		188		2.55%		-1,978		-26.85%		7,368
	Douglas		2,430		30.68%		5,334		67.34%		157		1.98%		-2,904		-36.66%		7,921
	DuPage		199,460		49.73%		195,046		48.63%		6,575		1.64%		4,414		1.10%		401,081
	Edgar		2,565		32.74%		5,132		65.50%		138		1.76%		-2,567		-32.76%		7,835
	Edwards		754		23.36%		2,405		74.50%		69		2.14%		-1,651		-51.14%		3,228
	Effingham		3,861		23.24%		12,501		75.25%		251		1.51%		-8,640		-52.01%		16,613
	Fayette		2,853		31.66%		5,951		66.03%		208		2.31%		-3,098		-34.37%		9,012
	Ford		1,656		27.49%		4,229		70.20%		139		2.31%		-2,573		-42.71%		6,024
	Franklin		7,254		40.49%		10,267		57.31%		393		2.20%		-3,013		-16.82%		17,914
	Fulton		8,328		54.04%		6,632		43.03%		451		2.93%		1,696		11.01%		15,411
	Gallatin		1,029		39.99%		1,492		57.99%		52		2.02%		-463		-18.00%		2,573
	Greene		2,023		35.89%		3,451		61.22%		163		2.89%		-1,428		-25.33%		5,637
	Grundy		9,451		44.34%		11,343		53.22%		519		2.44%		-1,892		-8.88%		21,313
	Hamilton		1,269		32.20%		2,566		65.11%		106		2.69%		-1,297		-32.91%		3,941
	Hancock		3,650		40.06%		5,271		57.85%		190		2.09%		-1,621		-17.79%		9,111
	Hardin		742		31.85%		1,535		65.88%		53		2.27%		-793		-34.03%		2,330
	Henderson		1,978		55.44%		1,541		43.19%		49		1.37%		437		12.25%		3,568
	Henry		12,332		50.53%		11,583		47.46%		490		2.01%		749		3.07%		24,405
	Iroquois		3,413		26.64%		9,120		71.19%		278		2.17%		-5,707		-44.55%		12,811
	Jackson		13,319		55.26%		9,864		40.92%		921		3.82%		3,455		14.34%		24,104
	Jasper		1,436		28.48%		3,514		69.68%		93		1.84%		-2,078		-41.20%		5,043
	Jefferson		6,089		37.31%		9,811		60.12%		420		2.57%		-3,722		-22.81%		16,320
	Jersey		3,667		36.67%		6,039		60.38%		295		2.95%		-2,372		-23.71%		10,001
	Jo Daviess		5,667		49.58%		5,534		48.42%		228		2.00%		133		1.16%		11,429
	Johnson		1,572		27.61%		3,963		69.60%		159		2.79%		-2,391		-41.99%		5,694
	Kane		90,332		49.71%		88,335		48.61%		3,058		1.68%		1,997		1.10%		181,725
	Kankakee		21,595		47.30%		23,136		50.68%		923		2.02%		-1,541		-3.38%		45,654
	Kendall		22,471		47.39%		24,047		50.71%		900		1.90%		-1,576		-3.32%		47,418
	Knox		13,451		57.59%		9,408		40.28%		497		2.13%		4,043		17.31%		23,356
	Lake		153,757		53.48%		129,764		45.14%		3,972		1.38%		23,993		8.34%		287,493
	LaSalle		23,073		48.67%		23,256		49.06%		1,076		2.27%		-183		-0.39%		47,405
	Lawrence		2,011		33.58%		3,857		64.40%		121		2.02%		-1,846		-30.82%		5,989
	Lee		6,937		45.20%		8,059		52.51%		352		2.29%		-1,122		-7.31%		15,348
	Livingston		5,020		33.30%		9,753		64.69%		304		2.01%		-4,733		-31.39%		15,077
	Logan		3,978		32.91%		7,844		64.89%		266		2.20%		-3,866		-31.98%		12,088
	Macon		22,780		46.46%		25,309		51.62%		941		1.92%		-2,529		-5.16%		49,030
	Macoupin		9,464		44.89%		10,946		51.92%		673		3.19%		-1,482		-7.03%		21,083
	Madison		58,922		47.95%		60,608		49.32%		3,355		2.73%		-1,686		-1.37%		122,885
	Marion		6,225		39.35%		9,248		58.46%		347		2.19%		-3,023		-19.11%		15,820
	Marshall		2,455		41.83%		3,290		56.06%		124		2.11%		-835		-14.23%		5,869
	Mason		2,867		45.54%		3,265		51.86%		164		2.60%		-398		-6.32%		6,296
	Massac		2,092		32.21%		4,278		65.87%		125		1.92%		-2,186		-33.66%		6,495
	McDonough		5,967		47.91%		6,147		49.36%		340		2.73%		-180		-1.45%		12,454
	McHenry		59,797		44.55%		71,598		53.34%		2,842		2.11%		-11,801		-8.79%		134,237
	McLean		31,883		43.40%		39,947		54.37%		1,639		2.23%		-8,064		-10.97%		73,469
	Menard		2,100		34.14%		3,948		64.18%		103		1.68%		-1,848		-30.04%		6,151
	Mercer		4,507		52.60%		3,876		45.24%		185		2.16%		631		7.36%		8,568
	Monroe		6,215		35.53%		10,888		62.24%		391		2.23%		-4,673		-26.71%		17,494
	Montgomery		5,058		41.50%		6,776		55.60%		354		2.90%		-1,718		-14.10%		12,188
	Morgan		5,806		41.06%		7,972		56.37%		364		2.57%		-2,166		-15.31%		14,142
	Moultrie		2,144		35.29%		3,784		62.29%		147		2.42%		-1,640		-27.00%		6,075
	Ogle		9,514		40.72%		13,422		57.44%		431		1.84%		-3,908		-16.72%		23,367
	Peoria		40,209		51.28%		36,774		46.90%		1,428		1.82%		3,435		4.38%		78,411
	Perry		3,819		39.99%		5,507		57.67%		223		2.34%		-1,688		-17.68%		9,549
	Piatt		3,090		35.35%		5,413		61.92%		239		2.73%		-2,323		-26.57%		8,742
	Pike		2,278		31.20%		4,860		66.56%		164		2.24%		-2,582		-35.36%		7,302
	Pope		650		29.25%		1,512		68.05%		60		2.70%		-862		-38.80%		2,222
	Pulaski		1,389		46.12%		1,564		51.93%		59		1.95%		-175		-5.81%		3,012
	Putnam		1,559		49.60%		1,502		47.79%		82		2.61%		57		1.81%		3,143
	Randolph		5,759		39.89%		8,290		57.42%		389		2.69%		-2,531		-17.53%		14,438
	Richland		2,362		32.44%		4,756		65.31%		164		2.25%		-2,394		-32.87%		7,282
	Rock Island		39,157		60.04%		24,934		38.23%		1,126		1.73%		14,223		21.81%		65,217
	Saline		3,701		34.52%		6,806		63.49%		213		1.99%		-3,105		-28.97%		10,720
	Sangamon		42,107		44.65%		50,225		53.26%		1,965		2.09%		-8,118		-8.61%		94,297
	Schuyler		1,727		44.26%		2,069		53.02%		106		2.72%		-342		-8.76%		3,902
	Scott		910		35.44%		1,587		61.80%		71		2.76%		-677		-26.36%		2,568
	Shelby		3,342		32.01%		6,843		65.55%		254		2.44%		-3,501		-33.54%		10,439
	St. Clair		67,285		56.15%		50,125		41.83%		2,417		2.02%		17,160		14.32%		119,827
	Stark		1,095		41.13%		1,528		57.40%		39		1.47%		-433		-16.27%		2,662
	Stephenson		10,165		48.11%		10,512		49.75%		451		2.14%		-347		-1.64%		21,128
	Tazewell		24,438		39.88%		35,335		57.66%		1,509		2.46%		-10,897		-17.78%		61,282
	Union		3,137		37.71%		4,957		59.59%		224		2.70%		-1,820		-21.88%		8,318
	Vermilion		12,878		42.36%		16,892		55.57%		630		2.07%		-4,014		-13.21%		30,400
	Wabash		1,590		30.97%		3,478		67.74%		66		1.29%		-1,888		-36.77%		5,134
	Warren		4,044		51.73%		3,618		46.28%		156		1.99%		426		5.45%		7,818
	Washington		2,450		32.95%		4,792		64.45%		193		2.60%		-2,342		-31.50%		7,435
	Wayne		1,514		19.67%		5,988		77.80%		195		2.53%		-4,474		-58.13%		7,697
	White		2,188		30.90%		4,731		66.80%		163		2.30%		-2,543		-35.90%		7,082
	Whiteside		14,833		57.43%		10,448		40.45%		547		2.12%		4,385		16.98%		25,828
	Will		144,229		51.85%		128,969		46.36%		4,967		1.79%		15,260		5.49%		278,165
	Williamson		10,647		36.40%		17,909		61.22%		698		2.38%		-7,262		-24.82%		29,254
	Winnebago		61,732		51.70%		55,138		46.18%		2,527		2.12%		6,594		5.52%		119,397
	Woodford		5,572		29.42%		12,961		68.44%		405		2.14%		-7,389		-39.02%		18,938
Totals	3,019,512	57.50%	2,135,216	40.66%	96,704	1.84%	884,296	16.84%	5,251,432

^[10]

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Boone (largest city: Belvidere)
• Bureau (largest city: Princeton)
• Calhoun (largest village: Hardin)
• Cass (largest city: Beardstown)
• Coles (largest city: Charleston)
• Gallatin (largest city: Shawneetown)
• Grundy (largest city: Morris)
• Kankakee (largest city: Kankakee)
• Kendall (largest village: Oswego)
• LaSalle (largest city: Ottawa)
• Macon (largest city: Decatur)
• Mason (largest city: Havana)
• Macoupin (largest city: Carlinville)
• Madison (largest city: Granite City)
• McDonough (largest city: Macomb)
• McHenry (largest city: Crystal Lake)
• McLean (largest city: Bloomington)
• Montgomery (largest city: Litchfield)
• Pulaski (largest city: Mounds)
• Sangamon (largest city: Springfield)
• Schuyler (largest city: Rushville)
• Stephenson (largest city: Freeport)
• Vermilion (largest city: Danville)

By congressional district

Obama won 12 of 18 congressional districts.^[11]

District	Romney	Obama	Representative
		20.25%	78.94%		Bobby Rush
		18.53%	80.7%		Jesse Jackson Jr.
		42.98%	55.93%		Dan Lipinski
		17.06%	80.9%		Luis Gutierrez
		31.81%	66%		Mike Quigley
		53.31%	45.1%		Peter Roskam
		11.79%	87.22%		Danny K. Davis
		40.94%	57.39%		Tammy Duckworth
		33.29%	65%		Jan Schakowsky
		41.14%	57.52%		Brad Schneider
		40.64%	57.82%		Bill Foster
		48.13%	49.74%		William Enyart
		48.95%	48.64%		Rodney Davis
		54.2%	44.18%		Randy Hultgren
		63.94%	34.06%		John Shimkus
		52.89%	45.17%		Adam Kinzinger
		40.64%	57.58%		Cheri Bustos
		60.66%	37.4%		Aaron Schock

See also

• United States presidential elections in Illinois
• Illinois Republican Party
• 2012 Republican Party presidential debates and forums
• 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries
• Results of the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries

External links

• The Green Papers

for Illinois

• The Green Papers

Major state elections in chronological order

Notes and References

1. Book: Borgsmiller, Rupert T. (Executive Director). Official Canvass of the Illinois 2012 General Election. December 12, 2012. January 16, 2024. Illinois State Board of Elections. Springfield, Illinois.
2. Web site: Illinois Democratic Delegation 2012 . www.thegreenpapers.com . The Green Papers . 24 March 2020.
3. Book: Borgsmiller, Rupert T. (Executive Director). Official Canvass of the Illinois 2012 Primary Election. March 20, 2012. January 16, 2024. Illinois State Board of Elections. Springfield, Illinois.
4. News: Primary and Caucus Printable Calendar. CNN. January 11, 2012.
5. News: Presidential Primary Dates. Federal Election Commission. January 23, 2012.
6. http://www.cnn.com/election/2012/primaries/state/IL Illinois - CNN
7. Web site: 2012 Illinois Green Primary. 24 February 2012 . 6 August 2020.
8. Web site: 2012 Illinois Green Primary results . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20121116153059/http://www.ilgp.org/blog/online-primary-info/ . 2012-11-16 .
9. Book: Borgsmiller, Rupert T. (Executive Director). Official Canvass of the Illinois 2012 General Election. December 12, 2012. January 16, 2024. Illinois State Board of Elections. Springfield, Illinois.
10. Web site: 2012 Presidential General Election Data Graphs - Illinois . uselectionatlas.org.
11. Web site: Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts. Daily Kos. 11 August 2020.