2012 United States presidential election in Iowa

← 2008 November 6, 2012 2016 →

Nominee Barack Obama Mitt Romney Party Democratic Republican Home state Illinois Massachusetts Running mate Joe Biden Paul Ryan Electoral vote 6 0 Popular vote 822,544 730,617 Percentage 51.99% 46.18%

County results Congressional district results Precinct results Obama   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   90–100% Romney   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   90–100% Tie

President before election Barack Obama Democratic Elected President Barack Obama Democratic

Elections in Iowa
Federal government U.S. Presidential elections 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Presidential caucuses Democratic 1976 1980 1984 1992 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Republican 1980 1996 2000 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 U.S. Senate elections 1848 1849 1852 1855 1857 sp 1858 1860 1864 1866 1866 sp 1870 1870 sp 1872 1878 1882 1882 sp 1884 1888 1890 1894 1896 1900 1902 1902 sp 1907 1908 1908 sp 1909 1911 sp 1913 1914 1918 1920 1922 sp 1924 1926 1926 sp 1930 1932 1936 1936 sp 1938 1942 1944 1948 1950 1954 1956 1960 1962 1966 1968 1972 1974 1978 1980 1984 1986 1990 1992 1996 1998 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 2016 2020 2022 2026 2028 U.S. House of Representatives elections 1846 1847 1848 1850 1st sp 1852 1854 1856 1858 1860 1861 1st sp 1862 1864 1866 1868 1870 2nd sp 1872 1874 1876 1878 1879 5th sp 1880 1882 1883 6th sp 1884 7th sp 1886 1888 1890 7th sp 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 10th sp 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1911 9th sp 1912 11th sp 1914 2nd sp 1916 1918 1920 1921 5th sp 1922 1923 8th sp 1924 1926 1928 9th sp 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 6th sp 1942 9th sp 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1959 4th sp 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026
State government General elections 2009 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2025 2026 Gubernatorial elections 1846 1850 1854 1857 1859 1861 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1875 1877 1879 1881 1883 1885 1887 1889 1891 1893 1895 1897 1899 1901 1903 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 Secretary of State elections 2018 2022 2026 Attorney General elections 2014 2018 2022 2026 State Treasurer elections 2018 2022 2026 State Auditor elections 2018 2022 2026 Secretary of Agriculture elections 2018 Senate elections 1846 1848 1850 1852 1854 1856 1857 1859 1861 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1875 1877 1879 1881 1883 1885 1887 1889 1891 1893 1895 1897 1899 1901 1903 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 Special elections House of Representatives elections 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 Territorial Council elections 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845
Ballot measures 2020 Question 1 2022 Amendment 1
Cedar Rapids Mayoral elections 2021 2025
Des Moines Mayoral elections 1997 sp 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
v t e

The2012 United States presidential election in Iowa took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the2012 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus theDistrict of Columbia participated.Iowa voters chose six 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,CongressmanPaul Ryan.

Obama won Iowa with 51.99% of the vote to Romney's 46.18%, a Democratic victory margin of 5.81% – a markedly closer result than in2008, when the Democrats won Iowa with a margin of 9.54%. Romney picked up wins in 16 counties that Obama had won in 2008, most of which were in the western half of the state, while only one county, (Woodbury), flipped in the opposite direction. Obama became the first Democrat to win the White House without winningPalo Alto County sinceGrover Cleveland in1892 and the first to win without winningCarroll County sinceFranklin D. Roosevelt in1944. Iowa is also one of only three states that backed Obama twice that would go on to vote against his vice president Joe Biden in2020, the other two beingFlorida andOhio.

As of the2024 presidential election, this is the last time that a Democratic presidential nominee has carried Iowa, any of its congressional districts, or the following counties:Allamakee,Boone,Bremer,Buchanan,Cedar,Cerro Gordo,Chickasaw,Clarke,Clayton,Clinton,Des Moines,Dubuque,Fayette,Floyd,Howard,Jackson,Jasper,Jefferson,Jones,Lee,Louisa,Marshall,Mitchell,Muscatine,Poweshiek,Tama,Union,Wapello,Webster,Winneshiek,Woodbury, andWorth.

2012Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses

← 2008 January 3, 2012 (2012-01-03) 2016 →

Candidate Barack Obama Uncommitted Home state Illinois N/A Delegate count 62 3 SDEs 8,065 87 Percentage (of SDEs) 95% 5%

On January 3, 2012, theIowa Democratic Party held statewidecaucuses to select delegates to the county conventions.^[1] IncumbentBarack Obama ran unopposed.^[1] However, caucus goers also had the option of voting "uncommitted" rather than supporting Obama, and someOccupy movement andanti-war activists urged Democrats to vote "uncommitted" in protest of theObama administration.^[2][3][4] Of the 8,152 county convention delegates that were elected by the caucuses, 8,065 (99%) were for Obama and 87 (1%) were uncommitted.^[5] In the floor vote taken at theDemocratic National Convention, 62 Iowa state delegates voted for Obama.^[6] The other 3 of the state's 65 allocated votes were not announced.^[6]

2012Iowa Republican presidential caucuses

← 2008 January 3, 2012 (2012-01-03) 2016 →

Candidate Ron Paul Mitt Romney Rick Santorum Home state Texas Massachusetts Pennsylvania Delegate count 22 6 0 Popular vote 26,036 29,805 29,839 Percentage 21.43% 24.53% 24.56%   Candidate Newt Gingrich Rick Perry Home state Georgia Texas Delegate count 0 0 Popular vote 16,163 12,557 Percentage 13.30% 10.33%

Santorum:     20–30%     30–40%     60–70% Romney:     20–30%     30–40% Paul:     20–30%     30–40%     40–50% Perry:     20–30%     30–40% Tie:     20–30%

The 2012 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses took place on January 3, 2012.

Using the media's generally accepted definition of the Iowa Republican caucus as the non-binding secret polling at caucus sites and using the incomplete data available, the 2012 Iowa Republican caucus was the closest race inIowa caucus history with only a thirty-four vote margin (about3⁄100th of a percent) separating formerSenatorRick Santorum ofPennsylvania, who received 29,839 votes (24.56%), and formerMassachusetts governorMitt Romney, who received 29,805 votes (24.53%).RepresentativeRon Paul ofTexas ran a close third, receiving 26,036 votes (21.43%).

Trailing were formerSpeaker of the HouseNewt Gingrich (16,163 votes, 13.30%),Texas governorRick Perry (12,557 votes, 10.33%), and RepresentativeMichele Bachmann (6,046 votes, 4.98%). FormerUtah governor andambassador to ChinaJon Huntsman, Jr., who skipped campaigning in Iowa to focus on theNew Hampshire primary,^[7] received 739 votes (0.61%).^[8]

In total, 121,501 votes were recorded,^[8] setting a record for Iowa Republican caucusturnout;^[9] this record was broken in the 2016 election by more than 60,000 votes.^[10] However, this total was still far less than the all-time Iowa caucus record in the2008 Democratic Iowa caucuses, in which 239,000 Democrats voted. The 121,501 votes represent 19.8 percent of active registered Republicans in the state^[11] and just 5.4 percent of all Iowans eligible to vote.^[12]

However, the vote totals of eight precincts were never counted, so the vote totals are not really known.

The secret polling results at Republican caucus sites were unrelated to the delegate selection process in 2012, although that has been changed for the 2016 election cycle.

If the Iowa 2012 Republican caucuses were regarded as the start of the Republican delegate selection process for the2012 United States presidential election, the real caucus process was the election of Republican delegates to the county conventions, who would eventually determine the delegates at the state convention in June 2012. This would, in turn, determine the Iowa delegates who would attend theRepublican National Convention in August, 2012.

This process rewarded campaign organizations that could not only get supporters to the caucus sites, but get supporters who would be willing to serve as delegates to county conventions and beyond. As a result, Ron Paul was ultimately able to win 22 of the 28 delegates to the national convention and Mitt Romney won the other six.^[8]

The 2011–2012 pre-caucus poll results for Iowa had highly volatile results;Gallup polls showed the leading candidate in Iowa change seven times from May 2011 until the caucuses.^[13] The 2012 caucuses also set a new record for political expenditures, with $12 million being spent, two-thirds of it from "super PACs" which dominated the campaigns by running highly negativeattack ads.^[14]

In the August 13Ames Straw Poll, a traditionalstraw poll held in Iowa Republican caucuses, Bachmann narrowly defeated Paul, withMinnesota governorTim Pawlenty trailing in third. Following his disappointing showing, Pawlenty dropped out of the race.^[15][16]

Three candidates' debates were held in Iowa over the course the campaign: one on August 11 in Ames ahead of the straw poll; one on December 10, 2011, inDes Moines, and one on December 15 inSioux City. Several other joint candidates' appearances took place during the caucus campaign outside Iowa.^[17]

The day after her unsatisfactory sixth-place performance in Iowa, Bachmann announced she was dropping out of the presidential race.^[18][19] Following his low fifth-place finish, Perry initially announced he was "reassessing" his campaign "to determine whether there is a path forward," but subsequently stated that he would continue on to New Hampshire and South Carolina.^{[20][21][22][23]}

There were eight candidates on the Iowa ballot in thegeneral election: the twomajor-party candidates (Barack Obama and Mitt Romney) and six minor candidates.^[26]

• Barack Obama was theincumbent president and nominee of theDemocratic Party. Hisrunning mate wasJoe Biden, the incumbentvice president.
• Mitt Romney was the nominee of theRepublican Party. His running mate wasPaul Ryan, aUnited States Representative fromWisconsin.
• Virgil Goode was the nominee of theConstitution Party. His running mate was James Clymer.
• Jill Stein was the nominee of theGreen Party. Her running mate wasCheri Honkala.
• Gary Johnson was the nominee of theLibertarian Party. His running mate wasJames P. Gray.
• Gloria La Riva appeared on the ballot as a stand-in forPeta Lindsay, the nominee of theParty for Socialism and Liberation, because Lindsay was ineligible to appear on the Iowa ballot due to her young age. Similarly, Stefanie Beacham appeared on the ballot as a stand-in for the party's nominee for vice president, Yari Osorio.^[27]
• James Harris was the nominee of theSocialist Workers Party.Alyson Kennedy was listed as Harris's running mate on the Iowa ballot, because the party's vice presidential nominee, Maura DeLuca, was too young to appear on the ballot.^[28]
• Jerry Litzel was anindependent candidate. Litzel is a collector of presidential memorabilia and "thought it would be neat to collect a (presidential) ballot with my name on it", so he gathered the signatures necessary to appear on the Iowa ballot.^[29] His brother, Jim Litzel, is listed as his running mate.

Analysts considered Iowa to be atoss-up state—one which either major candidate could plausibly win.^[30] A majority ofstatewide opinion polls had shown Obama tied with or leading Romney.^[31] As of October 22, 2012^[update], polling aggregatorFiveThirtyEight estimated that there was a 66% likelihood that Obama would win Iowa's electoral votes.^[32] Up until September 2012, polling showed a close race with Obama narrowly leading. In late September 2012, Obama gained momentum and this continued through the first three weeks of October 2012, where he won almost every poll in that time period. In October, when Romney gained momentum in other states, Obama won the majority of the polls conducted. Romney ended up winning the second to last poll, but other than that, Obama won every poll in the last week. The final poll showed Obama leading 50% to 48%, while an average of the last 3 polls showed Obama leading 48% to 46%.^[33]

Obama won 38 counties and Romney won 61 counties. Obama won majorities in terms of the popular vote percentages in 35 counties and won pluralities in terms of the popular vote percentages in 3 counties. Romney won majorites in terms of the popular vote percentages in 57 counties and won pluralities in terms of the popular vote percentages in 4 counties.

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Adams (largest city:Corning)
• Audubon (largest city:Audubon)
• Benton (largest city:Vinton)
• Carroll (largest city:Carroll)
• Crawford (largest city:Denison)
• Delaware (largest city:Manchester)
• Emmet (largest city:Estherville)
• Franklin (largest city:Hampton)
• Greene (largest city:Jefferson)
• Hamilton (largest city:Webster City)
• Hardin (largest city:Iowa Falls)
• Iowa (largest city:Williamsburg)
• Kossuth (largest city:Algona)
• Palo Alto (largest city:Emmetsburg)
• Warren (largest city:Indianola)
• Winnebago (largest city:Forest City)

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Woodbury (largest city:Sioux City)

Obama won three of four congressional districts, including one held by a Republican.^[42]

• United States presidential elections in Iowa
• Iowa Democratic Party
• Iowa Republican Party

• Official website of Iowa's Secretary of State's office
• Official website of the Iowa Republican Party
• The Green Papers: for Iowa
• The Green Papers: Major state elections in chronological order.

• Politics of Iowa
• United States presidential elections in Iowa
• 2012 United States presidential election by state
• 2012 Iowa elections

• CS1 errors: missing title
• Webarchive template wayback links
• All articles with dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from May 2020
• Articles with permanently dead external links
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use American English from June 2025
• All Wikipedia articles written in American English
• Use mdy dates from September 2023
• Elections using electoral votes
• Articles containing potentially dated statements from October 2012
• All articles containing potentially dated statements