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

2012 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic Party (United States), Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Bi ...

in which all 50 states plus the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

participated.

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

voters chose nine electors to represent them in the

Electoral College An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...

via a popular vote pitting incumbent 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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

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

and his running mate,

Vice President A vice president or 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 vi ...

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

, against Republican challenger and former

Massachusetts Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The governor is the chief executive, head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonw ...

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

and his running mate,

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

Paul Ryan Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member of the ...

. Obama and Biden carried Colorado with 51.48% of the popular vote to Romney's and Ryan's 46.12%, thus winning the state's nine electoral votes by a 5.36% margin. Obama's 2012 victory in the state, on the heels of his 2008 victory, marked the first time that the Democrats had carried Colorado in two consecutive elections since the landslide re-election of

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

and the first time since

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 Patria ...

that a sitting Democratic president carried Colorado. This was the first time since 1964 that Democrats carried a majority of the state's congressional districts. As of the

2024 presidential election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. *2024 United Nations Security Council election *2024 national electoral calendar *2024 local electoral ...

, this is the last election in which Conejos, Huerfano, and Las Animas counties have voted for the Democratic candidate.

Caucuses

Democratic caucuses

Incumbent President

ran unopposed in the Colorado Democratic caucuses.

Republican caucuses

The 2012 Colorado Republican presidential caucuses took place on 7 February 2012. It was part of the

2012 Republican Party presidential primaries Voters of the Republican Party elected state delegations to the 2012 Republican National Convention in presidential primaries. The national convention then selected its nominee to run for President of the United States in the 2012 president ...

. The race was widely expected to be won by

even on the day of the caucus, but a strong surge by

Rick Santorum Richard John Santorum Sr. ( ; born May 10, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, author, and political commentator who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1995 to 2007. He was the Senate's Chairman of the United Sta ...

across all three races that day carried him to a close victory; however, the delegates were not legally bound to follow voter preferences and most voted for Romney.

General election

Ballot access

* Virgil Goode/Jim Clymer, Constitution * Barack Obama/Joseph Biden, Democratic * Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan, Republican * Gary Johnson/James P. Gray, Libertarian * Jill Stein/Cheri Honkala, Green * Stewart Alexander/Alex Mendoza, Socialist * Rocky Anderson/Luis J. Rodriguez, Justice * Roseanne Barr/Cindy Shehan, Peace and Freedom * James Harris/Alyson Kennedy, Socialist Workers * Tom Hoefling/J.D. Ellis, America's * Gloria La Riva/Filberto Ramirez Jr., Socialism and Liberation * Merlin Miller/Harry V. Bertram, American Third Position * Jill Reed/Tom Cary,

Twelve Visions Party Twelve or 12 may refer to: * 12 (number) * December, the twelfth and final month of the year * Dozen, a group of twelve. Years * 12 BC * AD 12 * 1912 * 2012 Film * ''Twelve'' (2010 film), based on the 2002 novel * ''12'' (2007 film), by Russi ...

* Thomas Robert Stevens/Alden Link, Objectivist * Shella "Samm" Tittle/Matthew A. Turner, We the People * Jerry White/Phyllis Scherrer, Socialist Equality

Polling

Incumbent Barack Obama started off with a wide lead in polls ranging from 1 to 13 points, which continued throughout the early summer of 2012. On August 6, Romney won his first poll, 50% to 45%. Throughout the rest of the summer, and September, with the exception of a few points, Obama won almost every poll but narrowly. Romney gained momentum in October, and the race was essentially tied, with neither candidate taking a significant lead. The last week before the election, Obama gained momentum and won each of the 4 pre-election polls. The average of the last 3 pre-election polls showed Obama leading Romney 49.7% to 46.3%. The final pre-election poll showed Obama leading Romney 52% to 46%, which was accurate compared to the results. Washington Post rated this race "Toss-Up."

Predictions

Results

By county

;Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic * Chaffee (largest city: Salida)

By congressional district

Obama won 4 of 7 congressional districts including one held by a Republican.

References

External links

* of the

The Green Papers
for Colorado
The Green Papers
Major state elections in chronological order {{U.S. presidential primaries

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

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...