The 2012 United States presidential election in Ohio took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the

2012 United States presidential election The 2012 United States presidential election was the 57th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Biden, were re-e ...

in which all 50 states plus the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

participated.

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

voters chose 18 electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

Democratic

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

and his running mate,

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

Joe Biden, against

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

challenger and former

Massachusetts Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachuset ...

Mitt Romney and his running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan. This election continued Ohio's bellwether streak, as the state voted for the winner of the presidency in every election from

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

. President Obama won the popular vote in Ohio with 50.67% of the vote over Mitt Romney in second place at 47.69%, a Democratic victory margin of 2.98%. Obama's performance was a decline from 2008 when he won the state by a 4.57% margin over U.S. Senator John McCain, and he narrowly lost five counties that he won in 2008. However, he narrowly improved his margins in Cuyahoga County and Franklin County, home to the second largest city,

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, and the state's capital and largest city, Columbus, respectively, allowing him to carry the state. Obama became the first Democrat to win the White House without Belmont County since

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies fo ...

and the first to win without neighboring Jefferson County since

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * J ...

. As of the 2020 United States presidential election, this is the last time the Democratic presidential nominee won Ohio, as well as the last time Wood County, Ottawa County, Sandusky County, Erie County, Stark County, Portage County,

Trumbull County Trumbull County is a county in the far northeast portion of U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 201,977. Its county seat is Warren, which developed industry along the Mahoning River. Trumbull County is part of the ...

, and Ashtabula County have voted Democratic.

Primaries

Democratic

The Democratic primary was held on March 6, 2012, the same day as the Republican primary. Incumbent President Barack Obama ran unopposed, and thus won all 151 of the state's delegates.

Republican

The 2012 Ohio Republican presidential primary took place on March 6, 2012. Ohio has 66 delegates to the Republican National Convention. Three party officials (also known as "superdelegates") are not bound by the primary result. Forty-eight delegates are generally awarded winner-take-all by Congressional district. Another 15 delegates are awarded to the candidate who gets an outright majority statewide, or are allocated proportionately among candidates winning at least 20% of the vote if no candidate wins a majority. Despite an early lead in the vote count and having won most counties, Santorum's lead was reduced and overcome by Romney as

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

and Cuyahoga County results came in. Romney also won areas such as

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

Youngstown Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, which ...

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

and Columbus. These and other highly populated counties would eventually go to Obama in November. Notes: 1. In the six congressional districts where Rick Santorum submitted only a partial slate of district delegates and district alternates by the late December 2011 deadline, he will be automatically awarded only the number of delegates he submitted, assuming he wins the particular district. The Ohio Republican Party said on March 2, 2012, that the remaining delegates in such districts will be "considered unbound" until a panel composed of three members of the Ohio GOP's central committee decides which campaign (if any) is permitted to appoint such delegates. 2. In three congressional districts ( OH-6, OH-9 and OH-13), Rick Santorum did not make the district-specific portion of the ballot. 3. In every district, each of the 6 candidates listed above appears on the "at-large" portion of the ballot. The results of the at-large ballot will determine the allocation of fifteen national convention delegates.

General election

Campaign

Ohio was considered a key battleground state throughout the general election campaign, and both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney campaigned extensively in the state.

Results

Results by county

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

* Belmont (largest city: Martins Ferry) * Jefferson (largest city:

Steubenville Steubenville is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Ohio River 33 miles west of Pittsburgh, it had a population of 18,161 at the 2020 census. The city's name is derived from Fort Steuben, a ...

) *

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

(largest city:

Mentor Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

) * Monroe (largest city: Woodsfield) * Tuscarawas (largest city: New Philadelphia)

By congressional district

Despite losing the state, Romney won 12 of 16 congressional districts.

Analysis

Obama's victory in Ohio was enough to push him over the 270 electoral vote line allowing him to win the election. At first the Romney campaign contested the call, but conceded at about 1:00 A.M. Obama's victory in Ohio can be attributed to several factors. Obama only won 17 out of Ohio's 88 counties. However, those 17 counties combined account for 56.56% of the state's total population. Romney did do well in most rural areas of the state, particularly in western Ohio. Romney also won all but one county in the Appalachia region, becoming the first Republican since

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

’s 2,900-plus-county landslide in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

to carry Belmont, Jefferson and Monroe Counties, and losing only Athens County, home of

Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subseq ...

. He also managed to flip the swing counties of

and Tuscarawas. Romney also did well in the northern Columbus suburbs. For Romney, most of his wins came from smaller populated counties. Obama won by comfortable margins in Franklin,

, and Lucas counties, home to the cities of Columbus,

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, and Toledo, respectively. Obama's greatest support came from northeast Ohio, centered in Cuyahoga and Summit counties, home to the cities of

and

, respectively, the second and fourth largest cities in the state. The surrounding Cleveland–Akron–Canton metropolitan area and the Lake Erie shore went mostly to Obama, allowing him to carry the state as a whole by a fairly comfortable 2.98% margin. In February 2013, nineteen cases of

voter fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

were investigated in Hamilton County. Three individuals were charged with voter fraud the following month, with one individual alleged to have voted six times. These incidents would not have affected the outcome of the Ohio race as President Obama ultimately carried the state by 166,272 votes. Some experts believe that the popularity of the auto industry bailout put in place under President Obama helped him take the state.

References

External links

The Green Papers
for Ohio
The Green Papers
Major state elections in chronological order {{2012 United States presidential election

United States president The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

General election

Campaign

Results

Results by county

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

By congressional district

Analysis

See also

References

External links