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 2012 U.S. presidential election |
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The2012 United States presidential election in New Hampshire took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the2012 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus theDistrict of Columbia participated.New Hampshire voters chose four electors to represent them in theElectoral College via a popular vote pittingincumbentDemocraticPresidentBarack Obama and his running mate,Vice PresidentJoe Biden, againstRepublican challenger and formerMassachusetts GovernorMitt Romney and his running mate,U.S. RepresentativePaul Ryan.
New Hampshire voters chose to re-elect President Barack Obama, giving him 51.98% of the vote to Mitt Romney's 46.40%, a Democratic victory margin of 5.58%. Despite Obama winning all of the state's counties in 2008, he lost three of them to Romney this election:Belknap,Carroll, andRockingham.
As of the2024 presidential election, this is the last time in which the Democratic candidate wonCoös County, and the last election whereNew Castle voted Republican.
New Hampshire held its primaries on January 10, 2012. The state is historically the first in the nation to hold presidential primaries, and moved its date up from February afterFlorida movedits primary date to January 31. Because New Hampshire has a proportional-delegate primary, the state's 12 national delegates will be allocated in proportion to candidates' percent of the popular vote.[1][2]
Incumbent presidentBarack Obama won all the delegates and was renominated.
A Democratic presidential candidates debate, held atSaint Anselm College in December 2011, was attended by seven candidates; Obama did not participate.[3]
60,659 votes were cast in the primary. Obama won with 49,080 votes. The total votes cast were more than 30% fewer than in 1996, the last time that a Democratic president ran for re-election without significant opposition.[4]
| Candidate | Votes[5] | Percentage | Delegates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barack Obama(incumbent) | 49,080 | 80.91% | 10 | |
| Ron Paul (write-in) | 2,289 | 3.77% | - | |
| Mitt Romney (write-in) | 1,814 | 2.99% | - | |
| Jon Huntsman (write-in) | 1,238 | 2.04% | - | |
| Ed Cowan | 945 | 1.56% | - | |
| Vermin Supreme | 833 | 1.37% | - | |
| Randall Terry | 446 | 1% | - | |
| Scatter (write-in) | 772 | 1.27% | - | |
| John D. Haywood | 423 | 0.70% | - | |
| Craig Freis | 400 | 0.66% | - | |
| Rick Santorum (write-in) | 302 | 0.50% | - | |
| Bob Ely | 287 | 0.47% | - | |
| Newt Gingrich (write-in) | 276 | 0.46% | - | |
| Cornelius Edward O'Connor | 265 | 0.44% | - | |
| Darcy Richardson | 264 | 0.44% | - | |
| John Wolfe, Jr. | 245 | 0.40% | - | |
| Edward T. O'Donnell | 222 | 0.37% | - | |
| Bob Greene | 213 | 0.35% | - | |
| Robert B. Jordan | 155 | 0.26% | - | |
| Aldous C. Tyler | 106 | 0.17% | - | |
| Buddy Roemer (write-in) | 29 | 0.05% | - | |
| Fred Karger | 26 | 0.04% | - | |
| Rick Perry (write-in) | 17 | 0.03% | - | |
| Stewart Greenleaf (write-in) | 4 | 0.01% | - | |
| Gary Johnson (write-in) | 4 | 0.01% | - | |
| Michael Meehan | 4 | 0.01% | - | |
| Michele Bachmann (write-in) | 2 | 0.00% | - | |
| Herman Cain (write-in) | 1 | 0.00% | - |
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 New Hampshire results by county Mitt Romney Ron Paul | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Republican primary took place on Tuesday, January 10, 2012.[7] FormerMassachusettsGovernorMitt Romney won the primary.
Former Massachusetts GovernorMitt Romney, Texas CongressmanRon Paul, FormerUtah GovernorJon Huntsman, Former Speaker of the HouseNewt Gingrich, and Former Pennsylvania SenatorRick Santorum were heavily contesting and campaigning in the New Hampshire primary. Santorum won the Iowa Caucus on January 3, but no one knew that yet, and believed Romney had won by 8 votes.
Televised debates in New Hampshire were held on January 7, 2012, onABC News atSaint Anselm College and the following morning on January 8, 2012, onNBC'sMeet the Press andMSNBC. All major Republican candidates attended both debates.
In 2012, a record 33 Republican candidates filed to appear on the ballot in New Hampshire, including varioussingle-issue activists,protest candidates, andperennial candidates.[8] For instance,Stewart Greenleaf, who had no interest in becoming president, registered for the ballot to promote the issue of government spending in the Republican Party.[9] Under New Hampshire's lenientballot access laws, a candidate is only required to pay $1,000 to the state's treasury, and needs no party approval or petitions for placement.[10]
Various newspapers that circulate widely in New Hampshire made endorsements ahead of the New Hampshire primary.[11] While the conservativeUnion Leader, the only statewide newspaper, endorsed Gingrich, various newspapers endorsed Huntsman, with theValley News stating that Huntsman was "a candidate whose views are solidly conservative, but not myopically so" and criticizing Romney and Gingrich, stating that "The former has raised theflip-flop to an art form, while the latter has done the same forhypocrisy" and endorsing Huntsman "in the hopes that the cooler heads will prevail in New Hampshire and elsewhere." Romney also received support, including from thePortsmouth Herald of theSeacoast Region.[12]
Romney led the field in endorsements from New Hampshire Republican elected officials.[26] TheNew York Times reported that after losing New Hampshire in the 2008 primary toJohn McCain, Romney devoted considerable time and money to gain the support of New Hampshire Republican figures.[26] Romney's political action committee (PAC) "spread thousands of dollars" to New Hampshire Republican campaigns, including that of youthful Republican state RepresentativeD.J. Bettencourt of the Republican-heavySalem area, elected state House majority leader in 2011, who is one of Romney's most active supporters.[26] Romney's PAC also donated $25,000 to theNew Hampshire Republican State Committee under the chairmanship of prominent New Hampshire party playerJohn H. Sununu, a former governor andWhite House Chief of Staff.[26] Republican candidates for state Senate and state House, small-town Republicancommittees, andcounty sheriffs anddistrict attorneys were all "recipients of [Romney's] largesse."[27] Romney was criticized by some as "buying" endorsements, who referenced "blatantly transactional terms that lie behind the announcements."[28] A large number of officials endorsing Romney, in New Hampshire and in other early primary states, had received contributions first.[29]
By December 11, Romney had already received the endorsement ofTed Gatsas,mayor of Manchester (New Hampshire's largest city) and formerstate Senate president, and 58 endorsements fromstate representatives.[30] According to prominent Romney supporter Thomas D. Rath, a formerstate attorney general described as a Republican power broker, on the eve of the primary the Romney campaign had been endorsed by 11 of 19 Republicans in the State Senate, 73 or 74 of the Republican state representatives, and eight of the 10 sheriffs, as well as the mayor of the largest city.[26] TheNew York Times reported that so many officials endorsed Romney that it took a three-page pamphletmailed to New Hampshire Republicans to list them all. The Times reported that Romney-supporting officials "introduce him at virtually every campaign stop, flood gyms and seniors centers with crowds on short notice and attack his Republican rivals."[26]
Of the three Republicans in New Hampshire's congressional delegation, SenatorKelly Ayotte and RepresentativeCharles Bass endorsed Romney, whileFrank Guinta declined to endorse a candidate.[31]Executive Council membersRaymond S. Burton (who has represented northern New Hampshire since the 1970s),[26] Christopher T. Sununu, andRaymond Wieczorek;State Senate Majority LeaderJeb Bradley, state Senators David Boutin,John Barnes, Jr., Jim Rausch, and Chuck Morse; and former state Senate President Tom Eaton endorsed Romney before December 7.[32] Douglas Dutile, the sheriff ofGrafton County, also endorsed Romney.[26]
SenatorJohn McCain ofArizona, who won the New Hampshire Republican primary in 2000 and 2008 and was the Republican nominee for president in 2008, endorsed Romney following the Iowa caucuses and ahead of the New Hampshire primary at a Manchester rally on January 4,[33] despite prior tension between the two in the 2008 primary race.[34][35]
After Iowa but before the New Hampshire primaries,tea party movement-alignedBuffalo, New York businessmanCarl Paladino, the2010 gubernatorial candidate in nearbyNew York, supported Gingrich and sharply criticized the rest of the candidates.[36]
New Hampshire House SpeakerWilliam L. (Bill) O'Brien endorsed Gingrich, while former House speakers George Roberts, Howard Burns, John Tucker, Donna Sytek, and Doug Scamman endorsed Romney.[37][38][39] State Senators Jim Forsythe,Andy Sanborn, and Ray White endorsed Ron Paul.
Notably, former PA Sen. Rick Santorum gained a disproportionately high number of endorsements (when compared to his pre-Iowa polling in the single digits) in the run up to and including the NH Primary. At one point Santorum led the entire field of GOP candidates in total number of endorsements (until the entrance of Romney and Perry), and finished with more endorsees than even Huntsman who finished third in the race. This was due in large part to the efforts of Santorum's State Co-chairs: Rep. Dan Tamburello, a current member of the NH House of Representatives from Londonderry who spearheaded the effort, Hon. Bill Cahill, a former Governor's Councilor and member of the NH House, and Claira Monier, a notable Republican party activist who was instrumental in Reagan's NH victory in 1980. Sen Santorum's national campaign manager was by Mike Biundo, who was the architect of former Manchester mayor Frank Guinta's surprising 2010 primary upset for the NH 1st Congressional district; Guinta went on to win the NH-1 district in November 2010 in a decisive victory over Democrat Carol-Shea Porter, who never conceded the race. Other notable endorsements for the Senator included Sen. Jim Luther, Sen. Fenton Groen, former candidate for Governor Karen Testerman, Rep Susan DeLemus, and NH Tea-Party luminary Jerry DeLemus. Testerman and the DeLemus' endorsed Rick after having defected from the Bachmann camp.
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Projected delegate count | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AP[41] | CNN[42] | GP[43] | |||
| Mitt Romney | 97,591 | 39.28% | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| Ron Paul | 56,872 | 22.89% | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Jon Huntsman | 41,964 | 16.89% | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Rick Santorum | 23,432 | 9.43% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Newt Gingrich | 23,421 | 9.43% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Perry | 1,764 | 0.71% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Buddy Roemer | 950 | 0.38% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michele Bachmann (withdrawn) | 350 | 0.14% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fred Karger | 345 | 0.14% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Barack Obama (write-in) | 285 | 0.11% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kevin Rubash | 250 | 0.10% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Johnson (withdrawn) | 181 | 0.07% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Herman Cain (withdrawn) | 161 | 0.06% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeff Lawman | 119 | 0.05% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Hill | 108 | 0.04% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Benjamin Linn | 83 | 0.03% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michael Meehan | 54 | 0.02% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Keith Drummond | 42 | 0.02% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rickey Story | 42 | 0.02% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bear Betzler | 29 | 0.01% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Robinson | 25 | 0.01% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stewart Greenleaf | 24 | 0.01% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Donald Trump (write-in) | 24 | 0.01% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sarah Palin (write-in) | 23 | 0.01% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Callahan | 20 | 0.01% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andy Martin | 19 | 0.01% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Linden Swift | 18 | 0.01% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Brewer | 15 | 0.01% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vern Wuensche | 15 | 0.01% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| L. John Davis | 14 | 0.01% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Crow | 12 | 0.00% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vermin Supreme (write-in) | 4 | 0.00% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| James Vestermark | 3 | 0.00% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hugh Cort | 3 | 0.00% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Write-ins[44] | 213 | 0.09% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 248,475 | 100.00% | 12 | 11 | 12 |
New Hampshire was rated as a toss-up[45][46] to Lean D[47][48] state. Polling showed a consistent single digit polling lead forPresident Obama. The average of the final 3 polls had Obama leading Romney 50% to 47.3%.[49]
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Huffington Post[50] | Lean D | November 6, 2012 |
| CNN[51] | Tossup | November 6, 2012 |
| New York Times[52] | Tossup | November 6, 2012 |
| Washington Post[53] | Tossup | November 6, 2012 |
| RealClearPolitics[54] | Tossup | November 6, 2012 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[55] | Lean D | November 5, 2012 |
| FiveThirtyEight[56] | Likely D | November 6, 2012 |
| Party | Candidate | Running mate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Barack Obama(incumbent) | Joe Biden(incumbent) | 369,561 | 51.98% | 4 | |
| Republican | Mitt Romney | Paul Ryan | 329,918 | 46.40% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson | Jim Gray | 8,212 | 1.16% | 0 | |
| Others | Others | 2,573 | 0.36% | 0 | ||
| Constitution | Virgil Goode | Jim Clymer | 708 | 0.10% | 0 | |
| Totals | 710,972 | 100.00% | 4 | |||
| County | Barack Obama Democratic | Mitt Romney Republican | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Belknap | 15,890 | 46.89% | 17,571 | 51.85% | 426 | 1.26% | -1,681 | -4.96% | 33,887 |
| Carroll | 13,977 | 48.87% | 14,207 | 49.67% | 418 | 1.46% | -230 | -0.80% | 28,602 |
| Cheshire | 25,380 | 61.36% | 15,156 | 36.64% | 824 | 2.00% | 10,224 | 24.72% | 41,360 |
| Coos | 9,095 | 57.93% | 6,342 | 40.40% | 262 | 1.67% | 2,753 | 17.53% | 15,699 |
| Grafton | 29,826 | 60.85% | 18,208 | 37.15% | 980 | 2.00% | 11,618 | 23.70% | 49,014 |
| Hillsborough | 102,303 | 49.74% | 99,991 | 48.62% | 3,373 | 1.64% | 2,312 | 1.12% | 205,667 |
| Merrimack | 44,756 | 55.59% | 34,524 | 42.88% | 1,234 | 1.53% | 10,232 | 12.71% | 80,514 |
| Rockingham | 80,142 | 47.03% | 87,921 | 51.59% | 2,360 | 1.38% | -7,779 | -4.56% | 170,423 |
| Strafford | 36,026 | 56.32% | 26,729 | 41.78% | 1,214 | 1.90% | 9,297 | 14.54% | 63,969 |
| Sullivan | 12,166 | 55.71% | 9,269 | 42.45% | 402 | 1.84% | 2,897 | 13.26% | 21,837 |
| Totals | 369,561 | 51.98% | 329,918 | 46.40% | 11,493 | 1.62% | 39,643 | 5.58% | 710,972 |
| Democratic Hold | Republican Gain from Democratic |
Obama won both congressional districts.[58]
| District | Obama | Romney | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 50.21% | 48.6% | Carol Shea-Porter |
| 2nd | 54.16% | 44.51% | Ann McLane Kuster |
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State and district results of the2012 United States presidential election | ||
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