2012 United States presidential election in Mississippi explained

See main article: 2012 United States presidential election.

Election Name:2012 United States presidential election in Mississippi
Country:Mississippi
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2008 United States presidential election in Mississippi
Previous Year:2008
Election Date:November 6, 2012
Next Election:2016 United States presidential election in Mississippi
Next Year:2016
Image1:Mitt_Romney_by_Gage_Skidmore_6_cropped.jpg
Nominee1:Mitt Romney
Party1:Republican Party (United States)
Home State1:Massachusetts
Running Mate1:Paul Ryan
Electoral Vote1:6
Popular Vote1:710,746
Percentage1:55.29%
Nominee2:Barack Obama
Party2:Democratic Party (United States)
Home State2:Illinois
Running Mate2:Joe Biden
Electoral Vote2:0
Popular Vote2:562,949
Percentage2:43.79%
Map Size:300px
President
Before Election:Barack Obama
Before Party:Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:Barack Obama
After Party:Democratic Party (United States)
Flag Year:2001

The 2012 United States presidential election in Mississippi took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 general election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Mississippi voters chose six 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 and Ryan won Mississippi with 55.29% of the popular vote to Obama and Biden's 43.79%, thus winning the state's six electoral votes by an 11.50% margin.[1] Mississippi was one of just six states where Obama improved on his 2008 performance. According to exit polls, the black vote share in Mississippi increased from 33% in 2008 to 36% in 2012, likely explaining Obama's gains.[2] This was the strongest showing for a Democratic presidential candidate in Mississippi since native Southerner Bill Clinton's 44.08% in 1996. Obama carried Warren County, becoming the first Democrat to do so since John F. Kennedy in 1960.[3] He also managed to flip Benton County and improved his margins in Democratic counties throughout the state. As of the 2020 presidential election, this was the last time a Democratic presidential candidate has carried Benton, Chickasaw, and Panola counties. Obama's 562,949 votes is the highest total received by a Democratic presidential candidate in the state's history.

Primary elections

Democratic primary

Incumbent President Obama ran unopposed in the Mississippi primary and therefore received 100% of the vote.[4]

Republican primary

Election Name:Mississippi Republican primary, 2012
Flag Image:Flag of Mississippi (2001–2020).svg
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:Mississippi Republican primary, 2008
Previous Year:2008
Next Election:Mississippi Republican primary, 2016
Next Year:2016
Image1:Rick Santorum by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Candidate1:Rick Santorum
Home State1:Pennsylvania
Delegate Count1:13
Popular Vote1:96,258
Percentage1:32.73%
Map Size:250px
Candidate2:Newt Gingrich
Home State2:Georgia
Delegate Count2:12
Popular Vote2:91,612
Percentage2:31.15%
Color1:008000
Color2:800080
Candidate3:Mitt Romney
Color3:ff6600
Delegate Count3:12
Home State3:Massachusetts
Image3:Mitt_Romney_by_Gage_Skidmore_6_cropped.jpg
Percentage3:30.66%
Popular Vote3:90,161

The Republican primary took place on March 13, 2012, the same day as the Alabama Republican primary and the Hawaii Republican caucuses.[5] [6] After the open election, 37 bound delegates and three unbound delegates will go to the Republican National Convention.[7]

Mississippi Republican primary, 2012[8] [9]
CandidateVotesPercentageDelegates
Rick Santorum96,25832.73%13
Newt Gingrich91,61231.15%12
Mitt Romney90,16130.66%14
Ron Paul12,9554.40%0
Rick Perry1,350 0.46%0
Michele Bachmann9710.33%0
Jon Huntsman, Jr.4130.14%0
Gary Johnson3920.13%0
Unprojected delegates:3
Total:294,112100%40

General election

Results

2012 United States presidential election in Mississippi
PartyCandidateRunning mateVotesPercentageElectoral votes
RepublicanMitt RomneyPaul Ryan710,74655.29%6
DemocraticBarack Obama (incumbent)Joe Biden (incumbent)562,94943.79%0
LibertarianGary JohnsonJim Gray6,6760.52%0
ConstitutionVirgil GoodeJim Clymer2,6090.20%0
GreenJill SteinCheri Honkala1,5880.12%0
ReformBarbara Dale WasherCathy L. Toole1,0160.08%0
Totals1,285,584100.00%6

By county

CountyMitt Romney
Republican
Barack Obama
Democratic
Various candidates
Other parties
MarginTotal
%%%%
Adams6,29340.74%9,06158.66%930.60%-2,768-17.92%15,447
Alcorn11,11174.92%3,51123.67%2081.41%7,60051.25%14,830
Amite4,41457.28%3,24242.07%500.65%1,17215.21%7,706
Attala5,12656.38%3,92743.19%390.43%1,19913.19%9,092
Benton2,04149.59%2,05149.83%240.58%-10-0.24%4,116
Bolivar4,70130.47%10,58268.59%1450.94%-5,881-38.12%15,428
Calhoun4,41262.42%2,58636.59%700.99%1,82625.83%7,068
Carroll3,96066.09%2,00733.49%250.42%1,95332.60%5,992
Chickasaw3,99446.97%4,37851.49%1311.54%-384-4.52%8,503
Choctaw2,81265.81%1,42833.42%330.77%1,38432.39%4,273
Claiborne62511.40%4,83888.22%210.38%-4,213-76.82%5,484
Clarke5,04961.18%3,11137.70%931.12%1,93823.48%8,253
Clay4,29138.76%6,71260.62%690.62%-2,421-21.86%11,072
Coahoma2,71225.71%7,79273.86%450.43%-5,080-48.15%10,549
Copiah6,28244.48%7,74954.87%920.65%-1,467-10.39%14,123
Covington5,40557.82%3,87841.48%650.70%1,52716.34%9,348
DeSoto43,55966.21%21,57532.79%6601.00%21,98433.42%65,794
Forrest16,57454.82%13,27243.89%3901.29%3,30210.93%30,236
Franklin2,73560.87%1,72638.42%320.71%1,00922.45%4,493
George8,37684.98%1,35913.79%1211.23%7,01771.19%9,856
Greene4,53176.51%1,32522.37%661.12%3,20654.14%5,922
Grenada5,98652.81%5,28846.65%610.54%6986.16%11,335
Hancock12,96475.52%3,91722.82%2861.66%9,04752.70%17,167
Harrison39,47062.33%23,11936.51%7391.16%16,35125.82%63,328
Hinds29,66427.86%76,11271.47%7150.67%-46,448-43.61%106,491
Holmes1,43515.45%7,81284.11%410.44%-6,377-68.66%9,288
Humphreys1,29324.81%3,90374.88%160.31%-2,610-50.07%5,212
Issaquena30238.37%47960.86%60.77%-177-22.49%787
Itawamba7,39379.34%1,70618.31%2192.35%5,68761.03%9,318
Jackson35,74766.62%17,29932.24%6091.14%18,44834.38%53,655
Jasper4,19344.89%5,09754.57%500.54%-904-9.68%9,340
Jefferson46810.56%3,95189.13%140.31%-3,483-78.57%4,433
Jefferson Davis2,50736.52%4,26762.16%901.32%-1,760-25.64%6,864
Jones20,68768.59%9,21130.54%2610.87%11,47638.05%30,159
Kemper1,78935.41%3,23964.11%240.48%-1,450-28.70%5,052
Lafayette11,07556.78%8,09141.48%3391.74%2,98415.30%19,505
Lamar19,10176.74%5,49422.07%2941.19%13,60754.67%24,889
Lauderdale18,70057.05%13,81442.15%2630.80%4,88614.90%32,777
Lawrence4,19262.59%2,46836.85%380.56%1,72425.74%6,698
Leake4,86354.14%4,07945.41%410.45%7848.73%8,983
Lee22,41563.49%12,56335.58%3280.93%9,85227.91%35,306
Leflore3,58728.08%9,11971.39%670.53%-5,532-43.31%12,773
Lincoln10,83966.04%5,47133.33%1040.63%5,36832.71%16,414
Lowndes13,51849.78%13,38849.30%2520.92%1300.48%27,158
Madison28,50757.51%20,72241.80%3420.69%7,78515.71%49,571
Marion8,23764.71%4,39334.51%990.78%3,84430.20%12,729
Marshall6,47339.86%9,65059.42%1170.72%-3,177-19.56%16,240
Monroe9,72357.47%7,05641.71%1390.82%2,66715.76%16,918
Montgomery2,94752.21%2,67547.39%230.40%2724.82%5,645
Neshoba7,83771.15%3,08928.04%890.81%4,74843.11%11,015
Newton6,39465.40%3,31933.95%640.65%3,07531.45%9,777
Noxubee1,32521.15%4,92078.54%190.31%-3,595-57.39%6,264
Oktibbeha8,76148.36%9,09550.20%2611.44%-334-1.84%18,117
Panola7,62945.34%9,07953.96%1180.70%-1,450-8.62%16,826
Pearl River17,54978.96%4,36619.65%3091.39%13,18359.31%22,224
Perry4,13772.30%1,52726.69%581.01%2,61045.61%5,722
Pike8,18145.52%9,65053.69%1430.79%-1,469-8.17%17,974
Pontotoc9,44876.13%2,80422.59%1591.28%6,64453.54%12,411
Prentiss7,07570.52%2,81728.08%1411.40%4,25842.44%10,033
Quitman1,11628.05%2,83771.30%260.65%-1,721-43.25%3,979
Rankin48,44475.52%14,98823.37%7131.11%33,45652.15%64,145
Scott6,08954.36%5,03144.91%820.73%1,0589.45%11,202
Sharkey73729.11%1,78270.38%130.51%-1,045-41.27%2,532
Simpson7,42460.61%4,72338.56%1020.83%2,70122.05%12,249
Smith6,04974.69%1,97924.44%710.87%4,07050.25%8,099
Stone5,42071.96%2,00326.59%1091.45%3,41745.37%7,532
Sunflower2,92926.09%8,19973.02%1000.89%-5,270-46.93%11,228
Tallahatchie2,49938.43%3,95960.88%450.69%-1,460-22.45%6,503
Tate7,33259.10%4,93339.76%1411.14%2,39919.34%12,406
Tippah6,71773.30%2,31725.28%1301.42%4,40048.02%9,164
Tishomingo6,13377.28%1,64320.70%1602.02%4,49056.58%7,936
Tunica88320.15%3,47579.30%240.55%-2,592-59.15%4,382
Union8,49874.77%2,74224.13%1251.10%5,75650.64%11,365
Walthall4,05153.65%3,42245.32%781.03%6298.33%7,551
Warren10,45748.89%10,78650.42%1480.69%-329-1.53%21,391
Washington5,65128.66%13,98170.92%830.42%-8,330-42.26%19,715
Wayne6,11159.15%4,14840.15%730.70%1,96319.00%10,332
Webster3,99276.27%1,19022.74%520.99%2,80253.53%5,234
Wilkinson1,41529.16%3,41270.31%260.53%-1,997-41.15%4,853
Winston5,16852.58%4,60746.87%540.55%5615.71%9,829
Yalobusha3,27651.56%3,03047.69%480.75%2463.87%6,354
Yazoo4,94142.52%6,60356.82%760.66%-1,662-14.30%11,620
Totals710,74655.29%562,94943.79%11,8890.92%147,79711.50%1,285,584

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

By congressional district

Romney won 3 of 4 congressional districts.[10]

DistrictRomneyObamaRepresentative
61.87%37%Alan Nunnelee
33%66.4%Bennie Thompson
60%39.1%Gregg Harper
67.6%31.24%Steven Palazzo

See also

External links

for Mississippi

Major state elections in chronological order

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2012 Presidential Election Results - Mississippi . 5 January 2013.
  2. Web site: 2012 Exit Polls - Mississippi . . 5 January 2013.
  3. Web site: Kestenbaum . Lawrence . Lawrence Kestenbaum . Warren County, Mississippi . 2022-12-29 . The Political Graveyard.
  4. Web site: Mississippi Democratic Delegation 2012 . 2019-08-01 . The Green Papers.
  5. News: Primary and Caucus Printable Calendar . . January 11, 2012.
  6. News: Presidential Primary Dates . . January 23, 2012.
  7. Web site: Mississippi Republican Delegation 2012 . www.thegreenpapers.com.
  8. Web site: Republican%20Certification_2012%20Primary.pdf .
  9. News: Mississippi Republican Primary - Election Results - Election 2012 . The New York Times .
  10. Web site: Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts. Daily Kos. 11 August 2020.