 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 68.40% [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 County results Congressional district results Precinct results
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The2012 United States presidential election in North Carolina took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the2012 general election in which all 50 states plus theDistrict of Columbia participated.North Carolina voters chose 15 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.
Romney narrowly carried the state of North Carolina, winning 50.39% of the vote to Obama's 48.35%, a margin of 2.04 percentage points. North Carolina was one of just two states (along withIndiana) that flipped from voting for Obama in2008 to voting Republican in 2012. Like Indiana, North Carolina had been a reliably Republican state prior to Obama's 2008 win, having not previously gone Democratic since1976. Unlike Indiana, however, North Carolina was still considered a competitiveswing state in 2012, and both campaigns targeted it heavily, with the Democrats holding theirconvention inCharlotte. Romney was the first presidential candidate sinceZachary Taylor in1848 to carry North Carolina while losing bothWake County andMecklenburg County, the two most populous counties and home to the cities ofRaleigh and Charlotte, respectively. Romney also became the third-ever Republican to carry North Carolina without winning the presidency afterGeorge H. W. Bush in1992 andBob Dole in1996 and this feat would be reprised byDonald Trump in2020.
Given that Bush was the incumbent president, and Trump was both the incumbent president and then would be re-elected president to a second non-consecutive termfour years later, Romney also became the second-ever Republican to carry North Carolina without winning the presidency, the other was Dole. Obama became the first ever Democratic incumbent to win the state only once to then win re-election without it. Although Obama lost North Carolina to Romney, he received more votes than he received in2008, garnering 35,740 more.
Obama became the first Democrat ever to win the presidency withoutCaswell andHyde counties. As of the2024 presidential election, this is the last time where the Republican presidential candidate wonWatauga County and where the Democratic presidential candidate wonBladen County,Gates County,Granville County,Martin County,Richmond County, andRobeson County.
The 2012 North Carolina Democratic primary was held May 8, 2012. North Carolina awarded 157 delegates proportionally.[2]
No candidate ran against incumbent PresidentBarack Obama in North Carolina's Democratic presidential preference primary. Obama received 766,079 votes, or 79.23% of the vote, with the remainder (200,810 votes, or 20.77%) going to elect delegates with "No Preference".[2]
At the North Carolina Democratic state convention, 152 delegates were awarded to Obama, with 5 delegates remaining unannounced.[2]
| Democratic primary election in North Carolina[3] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Awarded delegates | ||
| Barack Obama (incumbent) | 766,077 | 79.23% | 104 | ||
| No Preference | 200,810 | 20.77% | 43 | ||
| Totals | 966,889 | 100.00% | 104 | ||
The 2012 North Carolina Republican primary was held May 8, 2012.[4][5]North Carolina awarded 55 delegates proportionally.[6]Ron Paul andMitt Romney were the only active contenders on the ballot. By the time of the primary, Romney had already been declared the party's presumptive nominee.[7]
Romney won the North Carolina GOP presidential primary with 65.62% of the vote. Paul (with 11.12% of the vote) narrowly edged out Santorum (with 10.39% of the vote), and Gingrich came in last with 7.64% of the vote. 5.23% of voters registered "no preference". The awarded delegate count from North Carolina's Republican state convention was Romney with 48 delegates and Paul with 7 delegates.[6]
| Republican primary election in North Carolina[6] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Awarded delegates | ||
| Mitt Romney | 638,601 | 65.62% | 48 | ||
| Ron Paul | 108,217 | 11.12% | 7 | ||
| Rick Santorum (withdrawn) | 101,093 | 10.39% | |||
| Newt Gingrich (withdrawn) | 74,367 | 7.64% | |||
| No Preference | 50,928 | 5.23% | |||
| Totals | 973,206 | 100.00% | 55 | ||
Throughout most of 2011, Obama won or tied with Romney in every poll. On September 25, 2011, Romney won a poll for the first time, 50% to 39%. Until May 2012, Obama had a consistent but narrow lead over Romney. Throughout the summer of 2012, the tide changed with Romney winning more polls than Obama. In September, Obama's momentum rose and Obama won most polls in September 2012. In October, the tide changed in Romney's favor, and Obama had not won a poll since October 1, 2012. Romney won every poll for the first three weeks in October, but then many polls came as tied between Obama and Romney. Romney led the last poll 50% to 46%, but the second last poll was tied.[8] The last three polls showed an average of Romney leading 49% to 48%, which was accurate compared to the results.[8]
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Huffington Post[9] | Tossup | November 6, 2012 |
| CNN[10] | Lean R(flip) | November 6, 2012 |
| New York Times[11] | Lean R(flip) | November 6, 2012 |
| Washington Post[12] | Tossup | November 6, 2012 |
| RealClearPolitics[13] | Tossup | November 6, 2012 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[14] | Likely R(flip) | November 5, 2012 |
| FiveThirtyEight[15] | Lean R(flip) | November 6, 2012 |
| 2012 United States presidential election in North Carolina[16] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Running mate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Republican | Mitt Romney | Paul Ryan | 2,270,395 | 50.39% | 15 | |
| Democratic | Barack Obama (incumbent) | Joe Biden (incumbent) | 2,178,391 | 48.35% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson | Jim Gray | 44,515 | 0.99% | 0 | |
| Others (write-in) | 12,071 | 0.27% | 0 | |||
| Totals | 4,505,372 | 100.00% | 15 | |||
| Voter turnout (registered voters) | 67.74% | |||||
| County | Mitt Romney Republican | Barack Obama Democratic | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alamance | 38,170 | 56.32% | 28,875 | 42.60% | 731 | 1.08% | 9,295 | 13.72% | 67,776 |
| Alexander | 12,253 | 71.25% | 4,611 | 26.81% | 332 | 1.94% | 7,642 | 44.44% | 17,196 |
| Alleghany | 3,390 | 66.90% | 1,583 | 31.24% | 94 | 1.86% | 1,807 | 35.66% | 5,067 |
| Anson | 4,166 | 37.01% | 7,019 | 62.36% | 71 | 0.63% | −2,853 | −25.35% | 11,256 |
| Ashe | 8,242 | 65.36% | 4,116 | 32.64% | 252 | 2.00% | 4,126 | 32.72% | 12,610 |
| Avery | 5,766 | 74.31% | 1,882 | 24.26% | 111 | 1.43% | 3,884 | 50.05% | 7,759 |
| Beaufort | 13,977 | 59.17% | 9,435 | 39.94% | 208 | 0.89% | 4,542 | 19.23% | 23,620 |
| Bertie | 3,387 | 33.46% | 6,695 | 66.14% | 41 | 0.40% | −3,308 | −32.68% | 10,123 |
| Bladen | 7,748 | 48.56% | 8,062 | 50.52% | 147 | 0.92% | −314 | −1.96% | 15,957 |
| Brunswick | 34,743 | 60.57% | 22,038 | 38.42% | 581 | 1.01% | 12,705 | 22.15% | 57,362 |
| Buncombe | 54,701 | 42.84% | 70,625 | 55.31% | 2,370 | 1.85% | −15,924 | −12.47% | 127,696 |
| Burke | 22,267 | 60.93% | 13,701 | 37.49% | 576 | 1.58% | 8,566 | 23.44% | 36,544 |
| Cabarrus | 49,557 | 59.30% | 32,849 | 39.31% | 1,160 | 1.39% | 16,708 | 19.99% | 83,566 |
| Caldwell | 23,229 | 66.88% | 10,898 | 31.38% | 605 | 1.74% | 12,331 | 35.50% | 34,732 |
| Camden | 3,109 | 66.09% | 1,508 | 32.06% | 87 | 1.85% | 1,601 | 34.03% | 4,704 |
| Carteret | 24,775 | 69.76% | 10,301 | 29.00% | 441 | 1.24% | 14,474 | 40.76% | 35,517 |
| Caswell | 5,594 | 50.67% | 5,348 | 48.45% | 97 | 0.88% | 246 | 2.22% | 11,039 |
| Catawba | 44,538 | 63.99% | 24,069 | 34.58% | 994 | 1.43% | 20,469 | 29.41% | 69,601 |
| Chatham | 16,665 | 47.03% | 18,361 | 51.82% | 408 | 1.15% | −1,696 | −4.79% | 35,434 |
| Cherokee | 9,278 | 72.11% | 3,378 | 26.25% | 211 | 1.64% | 5,900 | 45.86% | 12,867 |
| Chowan | 3,891 | 51.85% | 3,556 | 47.38% | 58 | 0.77% | 335 | 4.47% | 7,505 |
| Clay | 3,973 | 70.42% | 1,579 | 27.99% | 90 | 1.59% | 2,394 | 42.43% | 5,642 |
| Cleveland | 25,793 | 59.51% | 17,062 | 39.37% | 485 | 1.12% | 8,731 | 20.14% | 43,340 |
| Columbus | 12,941 | 53.38% | 11,050 | 45.58% | 252 | 1.04% | 1,891 | 7.80% | 24,243 |
| Craven | 26,928 | 58.32% | 18,763 | 40.64% | 479 | 1.04% | 8,165 | 17.68% | 46,170 |
| Cumberland | 50,666 | 39.69% | 75,792 | 59.38% | 1,183 | 0.93% | −25,126 | −19.69% | 127,641 |
| Currituck | 7,496 | 66.31% | 3,562 | 31.51% | 246 | 2.18% | 3,934 | 34.80% | 11,304 |
| Dare | 10,248 | 57.02% | 7,393 | 41.13% | 333 | 1.85% | 2,855 | 15.89% | 17,974 |
| Davidson | 49,383 | 69.62% | 20,624 | 29.07% | 928 | 1.31% | 28,759 | 40.55% | 70,935 |
| Davie | 14,687 | 71.05% | 5,735 | 27.75% | 248 | 1.20% | 8,952 | 43.30% | 20,670 |
| Duplin | 11,416 | 55.44% | 9,033 | 43.87% | 143 | 0.69% | 2,383 | 11.57% | 20,592 |
| Durham | 33,769 | 23.01% | 111,224 | 75.80% | 1,742 | 1.19% | −77,455 | −52.79% | 146,735 |
| Edgecombe | 8,546 | 31.68% | 18,310 | 67.89% | 116 | 0.43% | −9,764 | −36.21% | 26,972 |
| Forsyth | 79,768 | 45.83% | 92,323 | 53.04% | 1,978 | 1.13% | −12,555 | −7.21% | 174,069 |
| Franklin | 14,603 | 51.44% | 13,436 | 47.33% | 350 | 1.23% | 1,167 | 4.11% | 28,389 |
| Gaston | 56,138 | 62.04% | 33,171 | 36.66% | 1,174 | 1.30% | 22,967 | 25.38% | 90,483 |
| Gates | 2,564 | 47.52% | 2,786 | 51.63% | 46 | 0.85% | −222 | −4.11% | 5,396 |
| Graham | 2,750 | 69.67% | 1,119 | 28.35% | 78 | 1.98% | 1,631 | 41.32% | 3,947 |
| Granville | 12,405 | 47.21% | 13,598 | 51.75% | 272 | 1.04% | −1,193 | −4.54% | 26,275 |
| Greene | 4,411 | 53.56% | 3,778 | 45.87% | 47 | 0.57% | 633 | 7.69% | 8,236 |
| Guilford | 104,789 | 41.28% | 146,365 | 57.66% | 2,698 | 1.06% | −41,576 | −16.38% | 253,852 |
| Halifax | 8,763 | 33.60% | 17,176 | 65.86% | 140 | 0.54% | −8,413 | −32.26% | 26,079 |
| Harnett | 25,565 | 58.89% | 17,331 | 39.92% | 519 | 1.19% | 8,234 | 18.97% | 43,415 |
| Haywood | 15,633 | 55.88% | 11,833 | 42.30% | 508 | 1.82% | 3,800 | 13.58% | 27,974 |
| Henderson | 32,994 | 62.98% | 18,642 | 35.58% | 756 | 1.44% | 14,352 | 27.40% | 52,392 |
| Hertford | 3,007 | 27.54% | 7,843 | 71.84% | 68 | 0.62% | −4,836 | −44.30% | 10,918 |
| Hoke | 6,819 | 39.90% | 10,076 | 58.96% | 194 | 1.14% | −3,257 | −19.06% | 17,089 |
| Hyde | 1,193 | 50.06% | 1,163 | 48.80% | 27 | 1.14% | 30 | 1.26% | 2,383 |
| Iredell | 49,299 | 64.56% | 26,076 | 34.15% | 990 | 1.29% | 23,223 | 30.41% | 76,365 |
| Jackson | 8,254 | 49.42% | 8,095 | 48.47% | 352 | 2.11% | 159 | 0.95% | 16,701 |
| Johnston | 48,427 | 63.15% | 27,290 | 35.58% | 974 | 1.27% | 21,137 | 27.57% | 76,691 |
| Jones | 2,837 | 54.24% | 2,352 | 44.97% | 41 | 0.79% | 485 | 9.27% | 5,230 |
| Lee | 13,158 | 54.28% | 10,801 | 44.56% | 280 | 1.16% | 2,357 | 9.72% | 24,239 |
| Lenoir | 13,980 | 49.78% | 13,948 | 49.66% | 158 | 0.56% | 32 | 0.12% | 28,086 |
| Lincoln | 25,267 | 68.71% | 11,024 | 29.98% | 484 | 1.31% | 14,243 | 38.73% | 36,775 |
| Macon | 10,835 | 64.26% | 5,712 | 33.88% | 314 | 1.86% | 5,123 | 30.38% | 16,861 |
| Madison | 5,404 | 53.44% | 4,484 | 44.34% | 225 | 2.22% | 920 | 9.10% | 10,113 |
| Martin | 5,995 | 47.38% | 6,583 | 52.03% | 74 | 0.59% | −588 | −4.65% | 12,652 |
| McDowell | 11,775 | 65.06% | 6,031 | 33.32% | 293 | 1.62% | 5,744 | 31.74% | 18,099 |
| Mecklenburg | 171,668 | 38.24% | 272,262 | 60.65% | 4,970 | 1.11% | −100,594 | −22.41% | 448,900 |
| Mitchell | 5,806 | 74.77% | 1,838 | 23.67% | 121 | 1.56% | 3,968 | 51.10% | 7,765 |
| Montgomery | 6,404 | 57.02% | 4,706 | 41.90% | 121 | 1.08% | 1,698 | 15.12% | 11,231 |
| Moore | 29,495 | 63.55% | 16,505 | 35.56% | 415 | 0.89% | 12,990 | 27.99% | 46,415 |
| Nash | 23,842 | 49.17% | 24,313 | 50.14% | 337 | 0.69% | −471 | −0.97% | 48,492 |
| New Hanover | 53,385 | 51.52% | 48,668 | 46.96% | 1,575 | 1.52% | 4,717 | 4.56% | 103,628 |
| Northampton | 3,483 | 32.38% | 7,232 | 67.24% | 41 | 0.38% | −3,749 | −34.86% | 10,756 |
| Onslow | 32,243 | 62.69% | 18,490 | 35.95% | 702 | 1.36% | 13,753 | 26.74% | 51,435 |
| Orange | 21,539 | 28.06% | 53,901 | 70.22% | 1,317 | 1.72% | −32,362 | −42.16% | 76,757 |
| Pamlico | 4,051 | 59.91% | 2,647 | 39.15% | 64 | 0.94% | 1,404 | 20.76% | 6,762 |
| Pasquotank | 7,633 | 42.15% | 10,282 | 56.78% | 192 | 1.07% | −2,649 | −14.63% | 18,107 |
| Pender | 14,617 | 59.60% | 9,632 | 39.27% | 278 | 1.13% | 4,985 | 20.33% | 24,527 |
| Perquimans | 3,822 | 57.46% | 2,759 | 41.48% | 71 | 1.06% | 1,063 | 15.98% | 6,652 |
| Person | 10,496 | 54.94% | 8,418 | 44.06% | 192 | 1.00% | 2,078 | 10.88% | 19,106 |
| Pitt | 36,214 | 45.92% | 41,843 | 53.06% | 799 | 1.02% | −5,629 | −7.14% | 78,856 |
| Polk | 6,236 | 60.03% | 4,013 | 38.63% | 140 | 1.34% | 2,223 | 21.40% | 10,389 |
| Randolph | 45,160 | 74.38% | 14,773 | 24.33% | 782 | 1.29% | 30,387 | 50.05% | 60,715 |
| Richmond | 9,332 | 48.06% | 9,904 | 51.01% | 181 | 0.93% | −572 | −2.95% | 19,417 |
| Robeson | 17,510 | 40.77% | 24,988 | 58.18% | 448 | 1.05% | −7,478 | −17.41% | 42,946 |
| Rockingham | 25,227 | 60.04% | 16,351 | 38.91% | 442 | 1.05% | 8,876 | 21.13% | 42,020 |
| Rowan | 38,775 | 62.23% | 22,650 | 36.35% | 887 | 1.42% | 16,125 | 25.88% | 62,312 |
| Rutherford | 18,954 | 66.04% | 9,374 | 32.66% | 374 | 1.30% | 9,580 | 33.38% | 28,702 |
| Sampson | 14,422 | 55.10% | 11,566 | 44.19% | 186 | 0.71% | 2,856 | 10.91% | 26,174 |
| Scotland | 5,831 | 41.19% | 8,215 | 58.03% | 110 | 0.78% | −2,384 | −16.84% | 14,156 |
| Stanly | 19,904 | 69.31% | 8,431 | 29.36% | 382 | 1.33% | 11,473 | 39.95% | 28,717 |
| Stokes | 15,237 | 70.48% | 6,018 | 27.84% | 364 | 1.68% | 9,219 | 42.64% | 21,619 |
| Surry | 19,923 | 67.60% | 9,112 | 30.92% | 435 | 1.48% | 10,811 | 36.68% | 29,470 |
| Swain | 2,976 | 51.96% | 2,618 | 45.71% | 134 | 2.33% | 358 | 6.25% | 5,728 |
| Transylvania | 9,634 | 57.47% | 6,826 | 40.72% | 303 | 1.81% | 2,808 | 16.75% | 16,763 |
| Tyrrell | 930 | 52.16% | 837 | 46.94% | 16 | 0.90% | 93 | 5.22% | 1,783 |
| Union | 61,107 | 64.51% | 32,473 | 34.28% | 1,148 | 1.21% | 28,634 | 30.23% | 94,728 |
| Vance | 7,429 | 35.62% | 13,323 | 63.89% | 102 | 0.49% | −5,894 | −28.27% | 20,854 |
| Wake | 211,596 | 43.50% | 267,262 | 54.94% | 7,569 | 1.56% | −55,666 | −11.44% | 486,427 |
| Warren | 3,140 | 30.90% | 6,978 | 68.67% | 44 | 0.43% | −3,838 | −37.77% | 10,162 |
| Washington | 2,622 | 40.34% | 3,833 | 58.98% | 44 | 0.68% | −1,211 | −18.64% | 6,499 |
| Watauga | 13,861 | 50.09% | 13,002 | 46.98% | 811 | 2.93% | 859 | 3.11% | 27,674 |
| Wayne | 27,641 | 53.83% | 23,314 | 45.40% | 397 | 0.77% | 4,327 | 8.43% | 51,352 |
| Wilkes | 20,515 | 70.39% | 8,148 | 27.96% | 482 | 1.65% | 12,367 | 42.43% | 29,145 |
| Wilson | 17,954 | 45.91% | 20,875 | 53.38% | 280 | 0.71% | −2,921 | −7.47% | 39,109 |
| Yadkin | 12,578 | 74.81% | 3,957 | 23.54% | 278 | 1.65% | 8,621 | 51.27% | 16,813 |
| Yancey | 5,278 | 55.85% | 3,981 | 42.12% | 192 | 2.03% | 1,297 | 13.73% | 9,451 |
| Totals | 2,270,395 | 50.39% | 2,178,391 | 48.35% | 56,586 | 1.26% | 92,004 | 2.04% | 4,505,372 |
| Democratic Hold Gain from Republican | Republican Hold Gain from Democratic |
Romney won ten of the state's 13 congressional districts, including one that elected a Democrat.[17]
| District | Romney | Obama | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 28% | 72% | G. K. Butterfield |
| 2nd | 57% | 42% | Renee Ellmers |
| 3rd | 58% | 41% | Walter B. Jones |
| 4th | 27% | 71% | David Price |
| 5th | 59% | 40% | Virginia Foxx |
| 6th | 58% | 41% | Howard Coble |
| 7th | 59% | 40% | Mike McIntyre |
| 8th | 58% | 41% | Larry Kissell |
| Richard Hudson | |||
| 9th | 56% | 43% | Sue Myrick |
| Robert Pittenger | |||
| 10th | 58% | 41% | Patrick McHenry |
| 11th | 61% | 38% | Heath Shuler |
| Mark Meadows | |||
| 12th | 21% | 79% | Mel Watt |
| 13th | 55% | 44% | Brad Miller |
| George Holding |
 2012 U.S. presidential election |
|---|
| Democratic Party |
| Republican Party |
| Minor parties |
| Related races |
State and district results of the2012 United States presidential election | ||
|---|---|---|
|  | |
