2012 United States presidential election in New Jersey

← 2008 November 6, 2012[a] 2016 →
Turnout	66.91%[1] ( 5.78%)
Nominee Barack Obama Mitt Romney Party Democratic Republican Home state Illinois Massachusetts Running mate Joe Biden Paul Ryan Electoral vote 14 0 Popular vote 2,126,610 1,478,749 Percentage 58.38% 40.59%
County results Congressional district results Municipality 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%
President before election Barack Obama Democratic Elected President Barack Obama Democratic

The2012 United States presidential election in New Jersey took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the2012 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus theDistrict of Columbia participated. Voters in the state chose 14 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.

New Jersey was won by President Obama with 58.38% of the vote to Romney's 40.59%, a 17.79% margin of victory, an increase from 15.53% in 2008.^[2] New Jersey was 1 of just 6 states to swing in President Obama's favor between2008 and 2012, giving him the largest vote share for a Democratic presidential nominee in the state sinceLyndon Johnson's1964. Obama won over many municipalities in northeastern New Jersey that voted Republican in 2008.

As of the2024 presidential election, this is the last time a Democrat has wonSalem County.

IncumbentBarack Obama ran unopposed^[3] in the Democratic primary held on June 5, 2012. He received 283,673 votes^[4] according to theSecretary of State, though county clerks' websites report write-in votes as well. The state's 172 delegates voted unanimously for Obama at the2012 Democratic National Convention inCharlotte, North Carolina.^[5]

2012New Jersey Republican presidential primary

← 2008 June 5, 2012 (2012-06-05) 2016 →

Candidate Mitt Romney Ron Paul Party Republican Republican Home state Massachusetts Texas Delegate count 50 0 Popular vote 188,121 24,017 Percentage 81.3% 10.4%

The Republican primary occurred on June 5, 2012.^[6][7]

New Jersey sent 50 delegates to theRepublican National Convention on August 5, 2012. All 50 delegates were awarded by a winner-take-all statewide vote. New Jersey Republican Party rules obligate and require the delegates to cast their vote for the winner of the primary on the first 3 ballots at the convention.^[8]

New Jersey Republican primary, 2012[4]
Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Delegates
Mitt Romney	188,121	81.3%	50
Ron Paul	24,017	10.4%	0
Rick Santorum	12,115	5.2%	0
Newt Gingrich	7,212	3.1%	0
Pledged leaders:			3
Total:	231,465	100.0%	50

• Barack Obama/Joseph Biden,Democratic
• Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan,Republican
• Merlin Miller/Harry Bertram,American Third Position
• Virgil Goode/Jim Clymer,Constitution
• Jill Stein/Cheri Honkala,Green
• Gary Johnson/James P. Gray,Libertarian
• Rocky Anderson/Luis J. Rodriguez,Justice
• Jeff Boss/Bob Pasternak, NSA Did 911
• Peta Lindsay/Yari Osorio,Socialism and Liberation
• James Harris/Maura Deluca,Socialist Workers

^[16]

Due to the difficulty of getting to polling places because of the damage caused byHurricane Sandy, voters who were displaced were allowed to request absentee ballots through email, which they would then return by email or fax, as well as mailing the original ballot back by November 19.^[17][18]

Various issues and delays were subsequently incurred. Officials were not prepared for the 15 minutes that it took to validate each request, and received many requests from voters not displaced who incorrectly believed they were eligible to participate in the program; due to these delays, email voting was extended until Friday, November 9, at 8 PM. Requests had to be submitted by 5 PM on November 6.^[17] On November 26, days before the state's deadline to certify election results, it was reported that the 10,000 or so emailed ballots had yet to be tallied, and officials in several counties remained unaware about the requirement to mail in ballots that had already been sent by email or fax.^[19]

It is likely that Obama's response to the hurricane, approved by 77% of Obama voters (with 8% disapproving and 15% unsure) and 44% (with 21% disapproving and 35% unsure) of Romney's voters, boosted his performance in New Jersey, which was hit hard by the superstorm.^[20]

Shift by county

Trend relative to the state by county

Legend

•   Republican — >15%
•   Republican — +12.5−15%
•   Republican — +10−12.5%
•   Republican — +7.5−10%
•   Republican — +5−7.5%
•   Republican — +2.5−5%
•   Republican — +0−2.5%
•   Democratic — +0−2.5%
•   Democratic — +2.5−5%
•   Democratic — +5−7.5%
•   Democratic — +7.5-10%
•   Democratic — +10−12.5%
•   Democratic — +12.5−15%
•   Democratic — >15%

Obama won eight of 12 congressional districts, including two that elected Republicans.^[21]

New Jersey was one of just six states that voted more Democratic in 2012 than it had in 2008. In2008,Obama won the state by roughly 602,000 votes, whereas in 2012, this margin increased to about 648,000 votes. Obama's increased statewide margin owed itself to larger Democratic margins in several central and northern counties. InMiddlesex,Hudson,Passaic, andUnion Counties collectively, Obama netted nearly 45,000 additional votes compared to 2008. Outside of these four counties, most others in the state had comparable margins to 2008.

Turnout patterns relative to 2008 arguably helped Obama increase his statewide margin. Every county cast fewer votes in 2012 than in 2008, but not uniformly so. Perhaps due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy, conservativeMonmouth County saw the largest percentage decrease in votes cast from 2008, withOcean County also witnessing a substantial decline in votes cast. In the northwestern part of the state, strongly RepublicanSussex andWarren County experienced moderately lower turnout. In terms of raw votes cast,Passaic County, which was strongly Democratic, came closest to its 2008 figures, with just 5,000 fewer votes cast in 2012 than in 2008.

Obama's improved performance was quite unusual as his performance worsened in most other areas of the nation (particularly theMidwest andRust Belt). It is likely this was due to his widely approved response to Hurricane Sandy, which had a devastating effect on the state, causing two million households to lose power, destroying 346,000 homes,^[22] and causing blockades on bridges and roads for up to two weeks.^[23] Obama's response to the superstorm also likely contributed to his improved performance. According to a poll conducted byABC News andThe Washington Post, not only did 77% of Obama's voters approve of his handling of the storm (with 8% disapproving and 15% unsure), he also received a plurality amongst Romney voters, with 44% approving of his handling, 21% disapproving, and 35% unsure.^[20] Another poll by thePew Research Center found that 67% of registered voters approved of Obama's response with only 15% disapproving.^[24]Chris Christie, the state'sRepublican governor called Obama's response to the hurricane "outstanding" and praised him for his frequent coordination with the New Jersey government, potentially boosted his popularity amongst Republican voters.^[25]

• United States presidential elections in New Jersey
• New Jersey Republican Party
• 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries

• The Green Papers: for New Jersey
• The Green Papers: Major state elections in chronological order

• United States presidential elections in New Jersey
• 2012 New Jersey elections
• 2012 United States presidential election by state

• CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list
• 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
• Pages using sidebar with the child parameter