2012 United States presidential election in Wisconsin explained

See main article: 2012 United States presidential election.

Election Name:	2012 United States presidential election in Wisconsin
Country:	Wisconsin
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2008 United States presidential election in Wisconsin
Previous Year:	2008
Election Date:	November 6, 2012
Next Election:	2016 United States presidential election in Wisconsin
Next Year:	2016
Turnout:	70.35% ^[1]
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:	10
Popular Vote1:	1,620,985
Percentage1:	52.83%
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:	1,407,966
Percentage2:	45.89%

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 2020 presidential election, 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, that the state weighed in as more Democratic than the nation as a whole, or that a Republican won greater than 60% of the vote in the traditional Republican strongholds of Waukeusha and Ozaukee counties, or that Wisconsin voted to the left of Pennsylvania.

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.^[3]

Republican primary

Election Name:	2012 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary
Country:	Wisconsin
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2008 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary
Previous Year:	2008
Next Election:	2016 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary
Next Year:	2016
Image1:	Mitt_Romney_by_Gage_Skidmore_6_cropped.jpg
Candidate1:	Mitt Romney
Home State1:	Massachusetts
Delegate Count1:	33
Popular Vote1:	346,876
Percentage1:	44.03%
Map Size:	250px
Candidate2:	Rick Santorum
Home State2:	Pennsylvania
Delegate Count2:	9
Popular Vote2:	290,139
Percentage2:	36.83%
Image4:	Ron Paul by Gage Skidmore 3 (crop 2).jpg
Candidate4:	Ron Paul
Home State4:	Texas
Delegate Count4:	0
Popular Vote4:	87,858
Percentage4:	11.15%
Image5:	Newt Gingrich by Gage Skidmore 3 (cropped).jpg
Candidate5:	Newt Gingrich
Home State5:	Georgia
Delegate Count5:	0
Popular Vote5:	45,978
Percentage5:	5.83%
Color1:	ff6600
Color2:	008000
Color4:	ffcc00
Color5:	800080

The 2012 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary took place on April 3, 2012,^[4] ^[5] 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.

2012 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary
Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Delegates
Mitt Romney	346,876	44.03%	33
Rick Santorum	290,139	36.83%	9
Ron Paul	87,858	11.15%	0
Newt Gingrich	45,978	5.84%	0
Michele Bachmann	6,045	0.77%	0
Jon Huntsman	5,083	0.65%	0
Uninstructed	4,200	0.53%	0
Scattering	1,668	0.21%	0
Total:	787,847	100%	42

General election

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,^[6] 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		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
			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

Results by county

County	Barack Obama Democratic		Mitt Romney Republican		Various candidates Other parties		Margin		Total votes cast
County		%		%		%		%	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

Counties that flipped Democratic to Republican

Barron (largest city: Rice Lake)
Brown (largest city: Green Bay)
Burnett (largest village: Grantsburg)
Calumet (largest city: Chilton)
Chippewa (largest city: Chippewa Falls)
Clark (largest city: Neillsville)
Iron (largest city: Hurley)
Jefferson (largest city: Watertown)
Kewaunee (largest city: Algoma)
Langlade (largest city: Antigo)
Manitowoc (largest city: Manitowoc)
Marathon (largest city: Wausau)
Marinette (largest city: Marinette)
Monroe (largest city: Sparta)
Oconto (largest city: Oconto)
Oneida (largest city: Rhinelander)
Outagamie (largest city: Appleton)
Pierce (largest city: River Falls)
Rusk (largest city: Ladysmith)
Shawano (largest city: Shawano)
Washburn (largest city: Spooner)
Waupaca (largest city: New London)
Waushara (largest city: Berlin)
Wood (largest city: Marshfield)

By congressional districts

Despite losing the state, Romney won 5 of the 8 congressional districts.^[7]

Obama	Representative
51.65%	47.44%	Paul Ryan
30.46%	68.3%
43.82%	54.82%
23.78%	75.33%
61.31%	37.75%	Jim Sensenbrenner
53.1%	45.77%
50.92%	47.83%
51.26%	47.56%	Reid Ribble

External links

The Green Papers

for Wisconsin

The Green Papers

Major state elections in chronological order

Notes and References

Web site: Wisconsin Voter Turnout Statistics | Wisconsin Elections Commission.
Web site: Wisconsin Gov Accountability Board. January 16, 2013.
Web site: April 3, 2012. Canvass Results for 2012 Presidential Preferenrce and Spring Election - 4/3/2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160315040639/http://gab.wi.gov/sites/default/files/Percentage%20Results_Spring%20Election%20and%20Presidential%20Preference_4.3.12.pdf. March 15, 2016. January 11, 2021. Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. Wayback Machine.
News: Primary and Caucus Printable Calendar. CNN. January 12, 2012.
News: Presidential Primary Dates. Federal Election Commission. January 23, 2012.
Web site: Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20060412092323/http://www.uselectionatlas.org:80/RESULTS/index.html . 2006-04-12 . January 1, 2021. Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
Web site: Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts. Daily Kos. 11 August 2020.