The 2012 United States presidential election in California 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.

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

voters chose 55 electors, the most out of any state, 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 The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

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,

Congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

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 ...

. Prior to the election, every major news network considered California to be a state Obama would win or a safe

blue state Starting with the 2000 United States presidential election, the terms "red state" and "blue state" have referred to US states whose voters vote predominantly for one party—the Republican Party in red states and the Democratic Party in bl ...

. According to Secretary of State Debra Bowen's website, the President won the popular vote with 60.24%, with Mitt Romney in second place at 37.12%, and Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson in third at 1.10%. The Democrats have won the state in every presidential election after Republican

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

won the state in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

. 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 presidential election in which the nominee from the Republican Party won Orange County—a longtime, traditional bastion for the national GOP—and Nevada County. With its 55 electoral votes, California was Obama's largest electoral prize in 2012.

Primary elections

Democratic primary

The 2012 California Democratic presidential primary took place on June 5, 2012, as part of the

2012 Democratic Party presidential primaries From January 3 to June 5, 2012, voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for president in the 2012 United States presidential election. President Barack Obama won the Democratic Party nomination by securing more than the required 2, ...

. , - ! Candidate ! Popular vote ! % ! Delegates , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

(incumbent) , 2,075,905 , 100% , 547.0 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Darcy Richardson ''(write-in)'' , 221 , 0.00% , 0.0 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Michael W.R. Meyer, Jr. ''(write-in)'' , 129 , 0.00% , 0.0 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Louis Alberto Ramos, Jr. ''(write-in)'' , 54 , 0.00% , 0.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", Uncommitted , colspan="2" , 62.0 , - ! Total ! 2,076,309 ! 100% ! 609

Republican primary

The 2012 California Republican Party presidential primary took place on June 5, 2012, as 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 ...

. 169 delegates were chosen, for a total of 172 delegates at the

2012 Republican National Convention The 2012 Republican National Convention was a gathering held by the Republican Party (United States), U.S. Republican Party during which Delegate (American politics), delegates officially nominated former Governor of Massachusetts, Massachuset ...

. As noted in the Green Papers for California, "159 district delegates are to be bound to presidential contenders based on the primary results in each of the 53 congressional districts: each congressional district is assigned 3 National Convention delegates and the presidential contender receiving the greatest number of votes in that district will receive all 3 of that district's National Convention delegates. 10 at-large delegates (10 base at-large delegates plus 0 bonus delegate) are to be bound to the presidential contender receiving the greatest number of votes in the primary statewide. In addition, 3 party leaders, the National Committeeman, the National Committeewoman, and the chairman of the California's Republican Party, will attend the convention as unpledged delegates by virtue of their position." , - ! Candidate ! Popular vote ! % ! Delegates , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 1,530,513 , 79.51% , 169 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977, and again from 1979 to 1985, as well as for Texas' ...

, 199,246 , 10.35% , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

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 ...

(withdrawn) , 102,258 , 5.31% , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...

(withdrawn) , 72,022 , 3.74% , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Charles E. "Buddy" Roemer, III (withdrawn) , 12,520 , 0.65% , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

Fred Karger Fred S. Karger (born January 31, 1950) is an American political consultant, gay rights activist and watchdog, and former actor. His unsuccessful candidacy for the Republican nomination for the 2012 US presidential election made him the first o ...

, 8,393 , 0.44% , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Jeremy Hannon ''(write-in)'' , 11 , 0.00% , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Donald James Gonzales ''(write-in)'' , 5 , 0.00% , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Sheldon Yeu Howard ''(write-in)'' , 2 , 0.00% , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;", Uncommitted , colspan="2" , 3 , - ! Total ! 1,924,970 ! 100% ! 172

Green primary

The 2012 California

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

presidential primary took place on June 5, 2012, as part of the 2012 Green Party presidential primaries.

Libertarian primary

The 2012 California Libertarian Party presidential primary took place on June 5, 2012, as part of the

2012 Libertarian Party presidential primaries The 2012 Libertarian Party presidential primaries allowed voters to indicate non-binding preferences for the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate. These differed from the Republican or Democratic presidential primaries and caucuse ...

. The primary was non-binding, and took place after

Gary Johnson Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 29th List of governors of New Mexico, governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republica ...

had already won the Libertarian nomination at the Party's 2012 convention.

Other parties

American Independent

The

American Independent Party The American Independent Party (AIP) is an American political party that was established in 1967. The American Independent Party is best known for its nomination of Democratic then-former Governor George Wallace of Alabama, who carried five s ...

, a

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

and

paleoconservative Paleoconservatism is a political philosophy and a strain of conservatism in the United States stressing American nationalism, Christian ethics, regionalism, traditionalist conservatism, and non-interventionism. Paleoconservatism's concerns over ...

political party that formed when endorsing the candidacy of

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who was the 45th and longest-serving governor of Alabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979; 1983–1987), and the List of longest-serving governors of U.S. s ...

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

held a small presidential primary on June 5. It was won by Edward C. Noonan. However, the party would instead opt to nominate

Tom Hoefling Thomas Conrad Hoefling (born December 20, 1960) is an American activist and politician, who was the founder and national chairman of America's Party. Hoefling was the party's 2012 and 2016 presidential nominee, after seeking the nomination of the ...

for president.

Peace and Freedom

General election

Candidate ballot access

* Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan, Republican * Barack Obama/Joseph Biden, Democratic * Gary Johnson/James P. Gray, Libertarian * Jill Stein/Cheri Honkala, Green * Tom Hoefling/Robert Ornelas, Independent * Roseanne Barr/Cindy Sheehan, Peace and Freedom Write-In Candidate Access: * Virgil Goode/Jim Clymer, Constitution * Rocky Anderson/Luis J. Rodriguez, Justice * James Harris/Maura DeLuca, Socialist Workers * Stewart Alexander/Alejandro Mendoza, Socialist * Jerry White/Phyllis Scherrer, Socialist Equality * Stephen Durham/Christina Lopez, Freedom Socialist * Ron Paul/Andrew Napolitano

Predictions

Results

By county

;Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican *

Butte In geomorphology, a butte ( ) is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from the French l ...

(largest city: Chico) *

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

(largest town:

Truckee Truckee is an incorporated town in Nevada County, California, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 16,180, reflecting an increase of 2,316 from the 13,864 counted in the 2000 Census. History Name Truckee's ...

) *

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

(largest community: Weaverville)

By city

Official winners by city. Cities & Unincorporated Areas that flipped from Democratic to Republican *

Sutter Creek Sutter Creek (formerly spelled Sutter's Creek and Suttercreek; formerly named Suttersville) is a city in Amador County, California, United States. The population was 2,646 at the 2020 census, up from 2,501 at the 2010 census. It is accessible v ...

( Amador) * Placerville (

El Dorado El Dorado () is a mythical city of gold supposedly located somewhere in South America. The king of this city was said to be so rich that he would cover himself from head to foot in gold dust – either daily or on certain ceremonial occasions � ...

) *

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

( Inyo) *

Hidden Hills ''Hidden Hills'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from September 24, 2002, to January 21, 2003, during the 2002 fall line-up. Based on the book ''Surviving Suburbia'', the series was created by Peter Segal and Ric Sw ...

(

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

) *

La Canada Flintridge LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

(

) *

Westlake Village Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County, California, on its western border with Ventura County. Upon its incorporation in 1981, Westlake Village became the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks We ...

(

) * Dos Palos (

Merced Merced (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 86,333, up ...

) *

Aliso Viejo Aliso Viejo (Spanish for "Old Sycamore") is a city in the San Joaquin Hills of southern Orange County, California. It had a population of 52,176 as of the 2020 census, up from 47,823 as of the 2010 census. It became Orange County's 34th city ...

(

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

) *

Costa Mesa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge o ...

(

) *

Laguna Woods Laguna Woods (''Laguna'' being ) is a city in Orange County, California, United States. The population was 17,644 at the 2020 census, up from 16,192 at the 2010 census, with a median age of 74.5 (as of 2021). Laguna Woods became Orange Coun ...

(

) * Auburn ( Placer) * Colfax ( Placer) *

Lake Elsinore Lake Elsinore is a natural freshwater lake in Riverside County, California, United States, located east of the Santa Ana Mountains and fed by the San Jacinto River. Originally named ''Laguna Grande'' by Spanish explorers, it was renamed for t ...

( Riverside) * Unincorporated Area of San Benito *

Rancho Cucamonga Rancho Cucamonga was a Ranchos of California, Mexican land grant in present-day San Bernardino County, California, given in 1839 to the dedicated soldier, smuggler and politician Tiburcio Tapia by Mexican governor Juan Bautista Alvarado. The gra ...

(

San Bernardino San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

) *

Carlsbad Carlsbad may refer to: Geographical locations * Carlsbad, California, San Diego County, United States ** Carlsbad Santa Fe Depot, NRHP ID No. 93001016 * Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States ** Carlsbad Caverns National Park ** Carlsbad Irriga ...

(

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

) *

Pismo Beach Pismo Beach (Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''Pismuʔ'') is a city in the southern portion of San Luis Obispo County, California, San Luis Obispo County, in the Central Coast (California), Central Coast area of California, United States. Its esti ...

(

San Luis Obispo ; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...

) * Atherton ( San Mateo) * Hillsborough ( San Mateo) * Buellton ( Santa Barbara) * Unincorporated Area of

Moorpark Moorpark is a city in Ventura County in Southern California. Moorpark was founded in 1900. The town grew from just over 4,000 citizens in 1980 to over 25,000 by 1990. In 2006, Moorpark was one of the fastest-growing cities in Ventura County. Th ...

( Ventura) *

Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, located in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles. Approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown Los Angeles, it is named after the many oak trees pr ...

( Ventura) Cities & Unincorporated Areas that flipped from Republican to Democratic * Unincorporated Area of Imperial *

La Mirada La Mirada is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California United States, and is one of the Gateway Cities, on the border with Orange County. The population was 48,008 at the 2020 census. The La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts and ...

(

) * Vernon (

) * Garden Grove (

) *

La Palma La Palma (, ), also known as ''La isla bonita'' () and historically San Miguel de La Palma, is the most northwesterly island of the Canary Islands, a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in Macaronesia in the North Atlantic Ocean. La Pa ...

(

) *

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

(

) *

Blythe The name Blythe ( or ) derives from Old English ''bliþe'' ("joyous, kind, cheerful, pleasant"; modern ''blithe''), and further back from Proto-Germanic ''*blithiz'' ("gentle, kind"). People *Blythe (given name), including a list of people named ...

( Riverside) * Needles (

)

By congressional district

Obama won 41 of 53 congressional districts, including three held by Republicans.

Notes

References

External links

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

U.S. 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 Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

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 ...