 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 67.6%[1] 1.0pp | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 County results Congressional district results Municipality results Precinct results
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 2012 U.S. presidential election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | |||
| Republican Party | |||
| Minor parties | |||
| Related races | |||
| |||
The2012 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the2012 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plusthe District of Columbia participated. Theprimary election to select the Democratic and Republican candidates had been held on April 24, 2012.[2]Pennsylvania voters chose 20 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. Pennsylvania's electoral vote number was a reduction from the 2008 delegation, which had 21 electors. This change was due toreapportionment following the2010 United States census.[3] Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes are allotted on awinner-take-all basis.[4]
Obama received 51.97% of the vote, beating Romney's 46.59%.[5] Also on the ballot were physicianJill Stein of theGreen Party and formerNew MexicoGovernorGary Johnson of theLibertarian Party, who received 0.37% and 0.87%, respectively.[5]Other candidates could run aswrite-in candidates, which received a total 0.2% of the vote. The state had been considered likely, but not certain, to go to Obama.[6] While the state had voted for a Democrat since1992, it remained competitive, especially after Bush's loss of only 2.5% in2004. Its competitiveness was attributable to the stark contrast between the state's diverse, urban voters in areas such asPhiladelphia andPittsburgh; and rural, blue-collar voters in the rest of the state. However, massive margins in the urban regions of the state and victories in the Philadelphia suburbs,Lehigh Valley,Scranton, andErie delivered a considerable victory for the president. Obama received over 85% of the vote inPhiladelphia County, the highest vote share in its history as of 2024.
Regardless, Romney improved onJohn McCain's 10.32% loss in the state in2008.[7] Just like in 2008, Pennsylvania was the most Republican of the threeRust Belt swing states (includingWisconsin andMichigan) in 2012. Five counties that voted for Obama in 2008 voted for Romney in 2012: Berks, Cambria, Carbon, Chester, and Elk. This made Obama the first Democrat to win the presidency without carrying Cambria County sinceWoodrow Wilson in1916, and made him the first Democrat to win the White House without carryingElk County sinceFranklin D. Roosevelt in1940, and the first to do so without carryingCarbon County sinceJohn F. Kennedy in1960.
As of the2024 presidential election, this is the last time thatChester County voted for the Republican candidate, thatLuzerne County voted for the Democratic candidate, and that Pennsylvania voted more Democratic than the nation as a whole.[8]
This was also the last time Pennsylvania voted more Democratic than Virginia, as Pennsylvania has become aswing state while Virginia has become ablue state. Virginia never voted for RepublicanDonald Trump, unlike Pennsylvania which voted for Trump in 2016 and 2024.
IncumbentBarack Obama ran unopposed on theDemocratic primary ballot on April 24.[2] He received 616,102 votes.[2] There were 19,082write-in votes.[9][10] In the floor vote taken at theDemocratic National Convention, 242 Pennsylvania delegates voted for Obama,[10] while the other 8 of the state's 250 allocated votes were not announced.[10]
Four candidates were on theRepublican primary ballot:Mitt Romney, formerSenator from PennsylvaniaRick Santorum,U.S. Representative fromTexasRon Paul, and formerSpeaker of the HouseNewt Gingrich.[2] His home state was set to be the make-or-break primary for Santorum.[11] He had just lost 3 primaries to Romney, and Romney appeared poised to become the presumptive nominee by achieving a prohibitive lead.[11]
As momentum in the Republican race built for Romney, Santorum suspended his campaign for four days to meet with 'movement conservatives' to strategize.[12] Rather than returning to campaigning the next Monday, Rick and Karen Santorum canceled campaign events scheduled right afterEaster weekend to be in the hospital with their youngest daughter.[13]
In deference to the sick child, Romney ceased airing attack ads, replacing them with positive introductory ones.
On April 10, Santorum formally suspended his campaign. On May 7, he endorsed Romney.[14] Santorum and Gingrich both released their delegates to Romney in August, shortly before theRepublican National Convention.[15]
| Candidate | Votes[2] | Percentage | Projected delegates[16] | Actual delegate vote[17] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitt Romney | 468,374 | 57.8% | 31 | 67 |
| Rick Santorum | 149,056 | 18.4% | 4 | 0 |
| Ron Paul | 106,148 | 13.1% | 5 | 5 |
| Newt Gingrich | 84,537 | 10.4% | 3 | 0 |
| Write-in votes[9] | 2,819 | 0.3% | ||
| Unprojected delegates | 29 | |||
| Total: | 810,934 | 100% | 72 | 72 |
Instatewide opinion polling, incumbent Barack Obama consistently led challenger Mitt Romney by a margin of between 2 and 12percentage points.[18] Analysts rated Pennsylvania as a "likely Democratic" or "Democratic-leaning" state in the presidential race.[6] On the morning of the election, polling aggregatorFiveThirtyEight estimated that there was a 99% likelihood that Obama would win Pennsylvania's electoral votes.[19] At the time, Pennsylvania's electoral votes had gone to the Democratic candidate in every presidential election sinceBill Clinton won it in1992.[4] The average of the last three polls had Obama leading Romney 51% to 46%, which was very close to the actual result.[20]
During the summer, there was significant spending onpolitical advertisements in Pennsylvania, by both theObama campaign and pro-Romney groups such asCrossroads GPS andAmericans for Prosperity.[21] However, because Obama maintained a consistent lead in polling, Pennsylvania came to be considered a "safe state" for Obama, and campaign advertising subsided substantially in August.[21] This changed in October, when pro-Romney groupsRestore Our Future andAmericans for Job Security spent $3 million on advertising in Pennsylvania.[21] Later that month, the Obama campaign and theRomney campaign both launched their own advertising campaigns in Pennsylvania.[21] On November 1, theRepublican National Committee announced that it would spend $3 million on television ads in Pennsylvania in the final days of the campaign.[22] In total, pro-Romney spending in Pennsylvania was estimated to amount to as much as $12 million, much more than Obama campaign spending.[22] The Obama campaign characterized the pro-Romney spending surge as "an act of sheer desperation", while the Romney campaign argued that they had a realistic chance of winning the state.[22] In the end, Obama carried the state by a modest margin, albeit narrower than his 2008 landslide over SenatorJohn McCain.
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Huffington Post[23] | Lean D | November 6, 2012 |
| CNN[24] | Lean D | November 6, 2012 |
| New York Times[25] | Tossup | November 6, 2012 |
| Washington Post[26] | Lean D | November 6, 2012 |
| RealClearPolitics[27] | Tossup | November 6, 2012 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[28] | Lean D | November 5, 2012 |
| FiveThirtyEight[29] | Solid D | November 6, 2012 |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Barack Obama (incumbent) | 2,990,274 | 51.97 | |
| Republican | Mitt Romney | 2,680,434 | 46.59 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson | 49,991 | 0.87 | |
| Green | Jill Stein | 21,341 | 0.37 | |
| Other | Other | 11,630 | 0.20 | |
| Total votes | 5,753,670 | 100.0 | ||
| County[30] | Barack Obama Democratic | Mitt Romney Republican | Gary Johnson Libertarian | Jill Stein Green | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total votes cast | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 15,091 | 35.40% | 26,767 | 62.80% | 437 | 1.03% | 162 | 0.38% | 168 | 0.39% | -11,676 | -27.40% | 42,625 |
| Allegheny | 352,687 | 56.54% | 262,039 | 42.01% | 5,196 | 0.83% | 2,159 | 0.35% | 1,746 | 0.28% | 90,648 | 14.53% | 623,827 |
| Armstrong | 9,045 | 30.43% | 20,142 | 67.77% | 297 | 1.00% | 118 | 0.40% | 119 | 0.40% | -11,097 | -37.34% | 29,721 |
| Beaver | 37,055 | 45.86% | 42,344 | 52.41% | 794 | 0.98% | 281 | 0.35% | 319 | 0.39% | -5,289 | -6.55% | 80,793 |
| Bedford | 4,788 | 22.01% | 16,702 | 76.79% | 143 | 0.66% | 64 | 0.29% | 53 | 0.24% | -11,914 | -54.78% | 21,750 |
| Berks | 83,011 | 48.64% | 84,702 | 49.63% | 1,832 | 1.07% | 775 | 0.45% | 356 | 0.21% | -1,691 | -0.99% | 170,676 |
| Blair | 16,276 | 32.32% | 33,319 | 66.16% | 464 | 0.92% | 182 | 0.36% | 124 | 0.25% | -17,043 | -33.84% | 50,365 |
| Bradford | 8,624 | 36.64% | 14,410 | 61.21% | 243 | 1.03% | 149 | 0.63% | 114 | 0.48% | -5,786 | -24.57% | 23,540 |
| Bucks | 160,521 | 49.97% | 156,579 | 48.74% | 2,863 | 0.89% | 1,053 | 0.33% | 250 | 0.08% | 3,942 | 1.23% | 321,266 |
| Butler | 28,550 | 31.83% | 59,761 | 66.62% | 819 | 0.91% | 315 | 0.35% | 254 | 0.28% | -31,211 | -34.79% | 89,699 |
| Cambria | 24,249 | 40.06% | 35,163 | 58.10% | 712 | 1.18% | 402 | 0.66% | 0 | 0.00% | -10,914 | -18.04% | 60,526 |
| Cameron | 724 | 34.07% | 1,359 | 63.95% | 19 | 0.89% | 9 | 0.42% | 14 | 0.66% | -635 | -29.88% | 2,125 |
| Carbon | 11,580 | 45.07% | 13,504 | 52.56% | 356 | 1.39% | 141 | 0.55% | 113 | 0.44% | -1,924 | -7.49% | 25,694 |
| Centre | 34,176 | 48.90% | 34,001 | 48.65% | 1,049 | 1.50% | 400 | 0.57% | 260 | 0.37% | 175 | 0.25% | 69,886 |
| Chester | 124,311 | 49.22% | 124,840 | 49.43% | 2,082 | 0.82% | 740 | 0.29% | 603 | 0.24% | -529 | -0.21% | 252,576 |
| Clarion | 5,056 | 31.08% | 10,828 | 66.55% | 208 | 1.28% | 94 | 0.58% | 84 | 0.52% | -5,772 | -35.47% | 16,270 |
| Clearfield | 11,121 | 34.62% | 20,347 | 63.34% | 339 | 1.06% | 160 | 0.50% | 155 | 0.48% | -9,226 | -28.72% | 32,122 |
| Clinton | 5,734 | 43.08% | 7,303 | 54.86% | 171 | 1.28% | 57 | 0.43% | 46 | 0.35% | -1,569 | -11.78% | 13,311 |
| Columbia | 10,937 | 42.48% | 14,236 | 55.30% | 324 | 1.26% | 126 | 0.49% | 121 | 0.47% | -3,299 | -12.82% | 25,744 |
| Crawford | 13,883 | 39.02% | 20,901 | 58.75% | 436 | 1.23% | 168 | 0.47% | 187 | 0.52% | -7,018 | -19.73% | 35,575 |
| Cumberland | 44,367 | 39.90% | 64,809 | 58.29% | 1,191 | 1.07% | 447 | 0.40% | 377 | 0.34% | -20,442 | -18.39% | 111,191 |
| Dauphin | 64,965 | 52.26% | 57,450 | 46.22% | 1,128 | 0.91% | 465 | 0.37% | 293 | 0.24% | 7,515 | 6.04% | 124,301 |
| Delaware | 171,792 | 60.16% | 110,853 | 38.82% | 2,002 | 0.70% | 917 | 0.32% | 0 | 0.00% | 60,939 | 21.34% | 285,564 |
| Elk | 5,463 | 41.14% | 7,579 | 57.08% | 117 | 0.88% | 79 | 0.59% | 41 | 0.31% | -2,116 | -15.94% | 13,279 |
| Erie | 68,036 | 57.12% | 49,025 | 41.16% | 1,087 | 0.91% | 471 | 0.40% | 495 | 0.42% | 19,011 | 15.96% | 119,114 |
| Fayette | 21,971 | 45.16% | 26,018 | 53.48% | 365 | 0.75% | 151 | 0.31% | 144 | 0.30% | -4,047 | -8.32% | 48,649 |
| Forest | 896 | 38.55% | 1,383 | 59.51% | 23 | 0.99% | 10 | 0.43% | 12 | 0.52% | -487 | -20.96% | 2,324 |
| Franklin | 18,995 | 30.00% | 43,260 | 68.32% | 571 | 0.90% | 252 | 0.40% | 242 | 0.38% | -24,265 | -38.32% | 63,320 |
| Fulton | 1,310 | 21.06% | 4,814 | 77.38% | 50 | 0.80% | 21 | 0.34% | 26 | 0.42% | -3,504 | -56.32% | 6,221 |
| Greene | 5,852 | 40.23% | 8,428 | 57.94% | 116 | 0.80% | 68 | 0.47% | 82 | 0.56% | -2,576 | -17.71% | 14,546 |
| Huntingdon | 5,409 | 30.57% | 11,979 | 67.71% | 135 | 0.76% | 116 | 0.66% | 53 | 0.30% | -6,570 | -37.14% | 17,692 |
| Indiana | 14,473 | 39.71% | 21,257 | 58.33% | 385 | 1.06% | 206 | 0.57% | 123 | 0.34% | -6,784 | -18.62% | 36,444 |
| Jefferson | 4,787 | 26.33% | 13,048 | 71.78% | 173 | 0.95% | 89 | 0.49% | 81 | 0.44% | -8,261 | -45.45% | 18,178 |
| Juniata | 2,547 | 26.55% | 6,862 | 71.52% | 83 | 0.87% | 43 | 0.45% | 60 | 0.63% | -4,315 | -44.97% | 9,595 |
| Lackawanna | 61,838 | 62.87% | 35,085 | 35.67% | 743 | 0.76% | 349 | 0.35% | 336 | 0.34% | 26,753 | 27.20% | 98,351 |
| Lancaster | 88,481 | 39.62% | 130,669 | 58.50% | 2,527 | 1.13% | 759 | 0.34% | 915 | 0.41% | -42,188 | -18.88% | 223,351 |
| Lawrence | 17,513 | 44.69% | 21,047 | 53.71% | 334 | 0.85% | 142 | 0.36% | 153 | 0.39% | -3,534 | -9.02% | 39,189 |
| Lebanon | 19,900 | 35.05% | 35,872 | 63.18% | 589 | 1.04% | 219 | 0.39% | 197 | 0.35% | -15,972 | -28.13% | 56,777 |
| Lehigh | 78,283 | 53.17% | 66,874 | 45.42% | 1,331 | 0.90% | 514 | 0.35% | 222 | 0.15% | 11,409 | 7.75% | 147,224 |
| Luzerne | 64,307 | 51.51% | 58,325 | 46.72% | 1,261 | 1.01% | 546 | 0.44% | 406 | 0.33% | 5,982 | 4.79% | 124,845 |
| Lycoming | 15,203 | 32.58% | 30,658 | 65.69% | 409 | 0.88% | 223 | 0.48% | 176 | 0.38% | -15,455 | -33.11% | 46,669 |
| McKean | 5,297 | 34.95% | 9,545 | 62.99% | 178 | 1.17% | 88 | 0.58% | 46 | 0.30% | -4,248 | -28.04% | 15,154 |
| Mercer | 24,232 | 47.48% | 25,925 | 50.79% | 487 | 0.95% | 219 | 0.43% | 176 | 0.34% | -1,693 | -3.31% | 51,039 |
| Mifflin | 4,273 | 26.03% | 11,939 | 72.73% | 107 | 0.65% | 52 | 0.32% | 45 | 0.27% | -7,666 | -46.70% | 16,416 |
| Monroe | 35,221 | 55.89% | 26,867 | 42.63% | 596 | 0.95% | 233 | 0.37% | 106 | 0.17% | 8,354 | 13.26% | 63,023 |
| Montgomery | 233,356 | 56.52% | 174,381 | 42.24% | 3,253 | 0.79% | 1,210 | 0.29% | 669 | 0.16% | 58,975 | 14.28% | 412,869 |
| Montour | 3,053 | 38.85% | 4,652 | 59.19% | 96 | 1.22% | 30 | 0.38% | 28 | 0.36% | -1,599 | -20.34% | 7,859 |
| Northampton | 67,606 | 51.59% | 61,446 | 46.89% | 1,188 | 0.91% | 495 | 0.38% | 309 | 0.24% | 6,160 | 4.70% | 131,044 |
| Northumberland | 13,072 | 39.19% | 19,518 | 58.51% | 422 | 1.27% | 200 | 0.60% | 144 | 0.43% | -6,446 | -19.32% | 33,356 |
| Perry | 5,685 | 29.59% | 13,120 | 68.28% | 238 | 1.24% | 85 | 0.44% | 87 | 0.45% | -7,435 | -38.69% | 19,215 |
| Philadelphia | 588,806 | 85.24% | 96,467 | 13.97% | 2,892 | 0.42% | 2,162 | 0.31% | 449 | 0.06% | 492,339 | 71.27% | 690,776 |
| Pike | 10,210 | 43.86% | 12,786 | 54.93% | 194 | 0.83% | 89 | 0.38% | 0 | 0.00% | -2,576 | -11.07% | 23,279 |
| Potter | 1,897 | 26.06% | 5,231 | 71.86% | 78 | 1.07% | 36 | 0.49% | 37 | 0.51% | -3,334 | -45.80% | 7,279 |
| Schuylkill | 24,546 | 42.29% | 32,278 | 55.61% | 617 | 1.06% | 286 | 0.49% | 321 | 0.55% | -7,732 | -13.32% | 58,048 |
| Snyder | 4,687 | 31.11% | 10,073 | 66.85% | 180 | 1.19% | 62 | 0.41% | 66 | 0.44% | -5,386 | -35.74% | 15,068 |
| Somerset | 9,436 | 27.69% | 23,984 | 70.38% | 334 | 0.98% | 188 | 0.55% | 136 | 0.40% | -14,548 | -42.69% | 34,078 |
| Sullivan | 1,034 | 35.06% | 1,868 | 63.34% | 30 | 1.02% | 17 | 0.58% | 0 | 0.00% | -834 | -28.28% | 2,949 |
| Susquehanna | 6,935 | 38.28% | 10,800 | 59.62% | 202 | 1.12% | 107 | 0.59% | 72 | 0.40% | -3,865 | -21.34% | 18,116 |
| Tioga | 5,357 | 31.34% | 11,342 | 66.35% | 195 | 1.14% | 110 | 0.64% | 90 | 0.53% | -5,985 | -35.01% | 17,094 |
| Union | 6,109 | 37.39% | 9,896 | 60.57% | 184 | 1.13% | 79 | 0.48% | 69 | 0.42% | -3,787 | -23.18% | 16,337 |
| Venango | 7,945 | 35.70% | 13,815 | 62.07% | 299 | 1.34% | 108 | 0.49% | 90 | 0.40% | -5,870 | -26.37% | 22,257 |
| Warren | 6,995 | 40.44% | 10,010 | 57.86% | 205 | 1.19% | 89 | 0.51% | 0 | 0.00% | -3,015 | -17.42% | 17,299 |
| Washington | 40,345 | 42.48% | 53,230 | 56.04% | 854 | 0.90% | 321 | 0.34% | 228 | 0.24% | -12,885 | -13.56% | 94,978 |
| Wayne | 8,396 | 38.74% | 12,896 | 59.50% | 195 | 0.90% | 120 | 0.55% | 67 | 0.31% | -4,500 | -20.76% | 21,674 |
| Westmoreland | 63,722 | 37.58% | 103,932 | 61.29% | 1,426 | 0.84% | 492 | 0.29% | 0 | 0.00% | -40,210 | -23.71% | 169,572 |
| Wyoming | 5,061 | 42.45% | 6,587 | 55.26% | 152 | 1.28% | 72 | 0.60% | 49 | 0.42% | -1,526 | -12.81% | 11,921 |
| York | 73,191 | 38.52% | 113,304 | 59.63% | 1,985 | 1.04% | 749 | 0.39% | 776 | 0.41% | -40,113 | -21.11% | 190,005 |
| Totals | 2,990,274 | 51.95% | 2,680,434 | 46.57% | 49,991 | 0.87% | 21,341 | 0.37% | 13,580 | 0.24% | 309,840 | 5.38% | 5,755,620 |
| Democratic Hold | Republican Hold Gain from Democratic |
Despite losing the state overall, Romney won 13 of the 18 congressional districts.
| District | Romney | Obama | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 16.89% | 82.26% | Bob Brady |
| 2nd | 8.95% | 90.41% | Chaka Fattah |
| 3rd | 55.60% | 43.05% | Mike Kelly |
| 4th | 57.07% | 41.51% | Jason Altmire |
| Scott Perry | |||
| 5th | 56.95% | 41.35% | Glenn Thompson |
| 6th | 50.57% | 48.12% | Jim Gerlach |
| 7th | 50.36% | 48.53% | Pat Meehan |
| 8th | 49.42% | 49.35% | Mike Fitzpatrick |
| 9th | 62.82% | 35.87% | Bill Shuster |
| 10th | 60.11% | 38.46% | Tom Marino |
| 11th | 53.90% | 44.57% | Lou Barletta |
| 12th | 57.81% | 40.94% | Mark Critz |
| Keith Rothfus | |||
| 13th | 32.91% | 66.17% | Allyson Schwartz |
| 14th | 30.64% | 67.99% | Mike Doyle |
| 15th | 50.78% | 47.87% | Charlie Dent |
| 16th | 52.35% | 46.25% | Joe Pitts |
| 17th | 43.26% | 55.38% | Tim Holden |
| Matt Cartwright | |||
| 18th | 57.95% | 40.99% | Tim Murphy |
Later, as the roll call continued, the Pennsylvania delegation led by Gov. Tom Corbett (R), cast 67 of its delegate votes for Romney, the rest went to Ron Paul, although Corbett may have actually said 'Paul Ryan,' in a possible slip of the tongue.
In the end, Paul got around 190 delegates votes (if we presume Pennsylvania's five for 'Paul Ryan' were actually meant for Ron Paul).
State and district results of the2012 United States presidential election | ||
|---|---|---|
|  | |
