During the 2012 presidential primaries, 51 individuals sought the nomination of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. Incumbent President Barack Obama won the nomination unanimously at the

2012 Democratic National Convention The 2012 Democratic National Convention was a gathering, held from September 3–6, 2012, at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina, in which delegates of the Democratic Party nominated President Barack Obama and Vice Presid ...

and was re-elected as president in the general election by defeating Republican nominee

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

. As expected for the incumbent president, Obama won every

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

, but faced more difficulty than projected. Fifteen additional candidates appeared on primary ballots, and of these, four appeared on more than one ballot. Four qualified for convention delegates including: attorney John Wolfe, Jr., prison inmate Keith Russell Judd, perennial candidate Jim Rogers, and anti-abortion activist Randall Terry. Each of these had their delegates stripped prior to the convention due to technicalities. Thirty-four additional candidates filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to run for president, but either withdrew from the race before the primaries or did not appear on any primary ballots.

Candidates

The following individuals formally announced their campaigns for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 2012 and/or filed as a candidate for such with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

Incumbent

Challengers

On multiple primary ballots

The following candidates appeared on more than one primary ballot.

On one primary ballot

The following candidates appeared on only one primary ballot.

FEC-filed candidates

The following presidential candidates filed with the FEC, but either did not appear on any primary ballots or withdrew before the primary elections. * Warren Roderick Ashe
FEC Filing
* George Ballard
FEC Filing
* Will Blakley
FEC Filing
* James Carroll
FEC Filing
* Willie Carter
FEC Filing
,
Website
* Perry Duwhile Coleman
FEC Filing
* Anthony Joseph Cronin Jr.
FEC filing
* Darren Dunsmoor
FEC filing
* Mills Wrenal Godwin
FEC filing
* Patrice Eloise Hardcastle
FEC filing
* Raphael Herman
FEC filing
* Princess Khadajah M. Jacob-Fambro
FEC filing
* Cody Judy
FEC filing
,
Website
* Dennis Knill
FEC filing
,
Website
* Leah Lax
FEC filing
,
Website
* Kip Lee
FEC filing
* Mark Levetin
FEC filing
* James A. Miller
FEC filing
* Mike Moloney
FEC filing
* Dave Montgomery
FEC filing
* Deonia Neveu
FEC filing
,
Website
* Jennifer Ney
FEC filing
* Dean A. Phillips
FEC filing
* Jeff Proud
FEC filing
,
Website
* Sarah Rockefeller
FEC filing
* Philip Rogone
FEC filing
* Wil Stand
FEC filing
* Gary Stephens
FEC filing
* Dr. Damian Stone
FEC filing
* George Washington Williams
FEC filing
* Michael Yost
FEC filing

Speculated

The following individuals were the object of presidential speculation in past media reports, but did not signal an interest in running. File:Mike Gravel.jpg, Former

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Mike Gravel of Alaska File:Alan Grayson Updated Headshot (cropped).jpg, Former

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Alan Grayson of Florida

Declined to run

The following individuals speculated to run for the Democratic Party's 2012 presidential nomination, announced they would not run. File:Hillary Rodham Clinton and Usama al-Nujayfi (cropped).jpg, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

File:Howard Dean addresses the Lib Dem Conference (3341865771) (cropped).jpg, Former Governor Howard Dean of Vermont File:US Special Envoy to the Great Lakes (9782991231) (cropped).jpg, Former

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Russ Feingold of Wisconsin File:AlvinGreene1 (cropped).jpg, Former Senate nominee

Alvin Greene Alvin Michael Greene (born August 30, 1977) is an American political candidate from the state of South Carolina. He was the Democratic Party's nominee in the 2010 United States Senate election in South Carolina, and was defeated by incumbent Re ...

of South Carolina File:Dennis Kucinich, Official Portrait, 112th Congress.jpg,

Dennis Kucinich Dennis John Kucinich (; born October 8, 1946) is an American politician. A U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1997 to 2013, he was also a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States in 2004 and 2008. He ran for ...

of Ohio File:Ralph Nader (8136349614) (cropped).jpg, Consumer advocate Ralph Nader of Connecticut File:Bernie Sanders 113th Congress.jpg,

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

of Vermont

References

External links

2012 Presidential Form 2 Filers
at the Federal Election Commission (FEC) {{DEFAULTSORT:Democratic Party (United States) presidential candidates, 2012 Democratic Party (United States) politicians 2012 United States Democratic presidential primaries