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| Turnout | 55.0%[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 County results Congressional district resultsRomney 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%
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The2012 United States presidential election in West Virginia took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the2012 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus theDistrict of Columbia participated.West Virginia voters chose five 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.
Mitt Romney defeated Barack Obama in the state of West Virginia by a landslide 26.69-point margin. The Republican ticket took 62.14% of the vote to the Democratic ticket's 35.45%, sweeping every county in the state.[2] Romney became the first presidential candidate from any party since West Virginia's admission to the Union in 1863 to sweep every single county in the state and the first sinceRichard Nixon in1972 to carry over 60% of the state's votes.[3]
This represented a historic loss for the Democrats in West Virginia, which had been a Democratic stronghold from theNew Deal up through the 1990s. Obama became the first Democrat since statehood to win the presidency without carryingWebster County,Jefferson County, orBraxton County. Obama is the only Democrat to ever win two terms without carrying the state at least once. With 62.14% of the popular vote, West Virginia would prove to be Romney's fifth strongest state in the 2012 election afterUtah,Wyoming,Oklahoma andIdaho.[4] As of the2024 presidential election, this is the last time the Democratic nominee has received more than 30% of the vote in West Virginia.
Barack Obama defeatedKeith Judd, a convicted felon serving a federal prison sentence in Texarkana, TX, by a surprisingly narrow 59% to 41%.[5]
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.svg) West Virginia results by county Barack Obama Keith Judd | |||||||||||||||||||
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 West Virginia results by county Mitt Romney (Note:Italicization indicates a withdrawn candidacy) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Republican primary took place on May 8, 2012.[6][7]
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Projected delegate count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNN | GP | |||
 Mitt Romney | 78,197 | 69.56% | 24 | |
| Rick Santorum (withdrawn) | 13,590 | 12.09% | 2 | |
| Ron Paul | 12,412 | 11.04% | 0 | |
| Newt Gingrich (withdrawn) | 7,076 | 6.29% | 0 | |
| Buddy Roemer (withdrawn) | 1,141 | 1.01% | 0 | |
| Unprojected delegates | 31 | 5 | ||
| Total: | 112,416 | 100% | 31 | 31 |
| County[8] | Mitt Romney | Ron Paul | Rick Santorum (withdrawn) | Newt Gingrich (withdrawn) | Buddy Roemer (withdrawn) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbour | 66.96% (983) | 9.20% (135) | 15.94% (234) | 7.49% (110) | 0.41% (6) |
| Berkeley | 69.31% (4366) | 14.92% (940) | 10.29% (648) | 4.84% (305) | 0.64% (40) |
| Boone | 70.28% (454) | 10.68% (69) | 14.55% (94) | 3.41% (22) | 1.08% (7) |
| Braxton | 68.44% (399) | 13.89% (81) | 12.35% (72) | 4.12% (24) | 1.20% (7) |
| Brooke | 69.46% (778) | 10.36% (116) | 15.09% (169) | 4.64% (52) | 0.45% (5) |
| Cabell | 69.09% (3351) | 12.60% (611) | 11.34% (550) | 5.77% (280) | 1.20% (58) |
| Calhoun | 66.78% (191) | 11.89% (34) | 12.24% (35) | 5.59% (16) | 3.50% (10) |
| Clay | 67.01% (262) | 10.49% (41) | 13.30% (52) | 7.42% (29) | 1.79% (7) |
| Doddridge | 67.36% (997) | 10.61% (157) | 12.23% (181) | 8.31% (123) | 1.49% (22) |
| Fayette | 66.54% (891) | 12.02% (161) | 12.70% (170) | 7.17% (96) | 1.57% (21) |
| Gilmer | 70.44% (255) | 7.73% (28) | 11.05% (40) | 9.94% (36) | 0.83% (3) |
| Grant | 78.16% (1403) | 6.07% (109) | 8.30% (149) | 6.35% (114) | 1.11% (20) |
| Greenbrier | 68.13% (1366) | 11.12% (223) | 13.12% (263) | 6.43% (129) | 1.20% (24) |
| Hampshire | 72.70% (1270) | 8.59% (150) | 12.08% (211) | 5.72% (100) | 0.92% (16) |
| Hancock | 70.04% (1302) | 11.62% (216) | 13.07% (243) | 3.98% (74) | 1.29% (24) |
| Hardy | 69.75% (611) | 8.22% (72) | 13.93% (122) | 6.62% (58) | 1.48% (13) |
| Harrison | 67.88% (2715) | 10.95% (438) | 12.03% (481) | 8.25% (330) | 0.90% (36) |
| Jackson | 65.87% (2030) | 11.36% (350) | 13.98% (431) | 7.66% (236) | 1.14% (35) |
| Jefferson | 67.98% (1771) | 16.08% (419) | 10.13% (264) | 4.99% (130) | 0.81% (21) |
| Kanawha | 71.73% (7295) | 11.62% (1182) | 10.55% (1073) | 5.18% (527) | 0.91% (93) |
| Lewis | 73.98% (1288) | 7.41% (129) | 10.17% (177) | 7.35% (128) | 1.09% (19) |
| Lincoln | 71.69% (504) | 8.53% (60) | 10.38% (73) | 7.54% (53) | 1.85% (13) |
| Logan | 67.71% (388) | 9.77% (56) | 15.01% (86) | 6.46% (37) | 1.05% (6) |
| Marion | 64.57% (1775) | 11.13% (306) | 15.61% (429) | 6.91% (190) | 1.78% (49) |
| Marshall | 71.67% (1687) | 8.54% (201) | 13.04% (307) | 5.82% (137) | 0.93% (22) |
| Mason | 66.04% (1641) | 11.11% (276) | 13.48% (335) | 7.69% (191) | 1.69% (42) |
| McDowell | 62.81% (152) | 12.81% (31) | 15.70% (38) | 8.26% (20) | 0.41% (1) |
| Mercer | 72.24% (1884) | 8.51% (222) | 12.08% (315) | 6.40% (167) | 0.77% (20) |
| Mineral | 70.54% (1722) | 10.00% (244) | 12.04% (294) | 6.72% (164) | 0.70% (17) |
| Mingo | 69.21% (272) | 7.63% (30) | 12.21% (48) | 8.91% (35) | 2.04% (8) |
| Monongalia | 66.40% (2826) | 14.14% (602) | 11.63% (495) | 6.72% (286) | 1.10% (47) |
| Monroe | 65.27% (671) | 12.55% (129) | 12.16% (125) | 8.46% (87) | 1.56% (16) |
| Morgan | 68.77% (1240) | 13.09% (236) | 11.09% (200) | 5.60% (101) | 1.44% (26) |
| Nicholas | 69.78% (875) | 9.81% (123) | 12.28% (154) | 7.10% (89) | 1.04% (13) |
| Ohio | 76.43% (2775) | 8.84% (321) | 10.52% (382) | 3.58% (130) | 0.63% (23) |
| Pendleton | 75.64% (354) | 7.26% (34) | 11.54% (54) | 4.70% (22) | 0.85% (4) |
| Pleasants | 66.26% (381) | 10.78% (62) | 16.70% (96) | 5.57% (32) | 0.70% (4) |
| Pocahontas | 63.05% (558) | 14.01% (124) | 13.56% (120) | 8.47% (75) | 0.90% (8) |
| Preston | 66.95% (2032) | 10.48% (318) | 15.32% (465) | 6.39% (194) | 0.86% (26) |
| Putnam | 70.34% (3891) | 11.26% (623) | 12.26% (678) | 5.28% (292) | 0.87% (48) |
| Raleigh | 73.23% (2992) | 7.73% (316) | 11.75% (480) | 6.78% (277) | 0.51% (21) |
| Randolph | 68.43% (969) | 9.25% (131) | 13.14% (186) | 7.84% (111) | 1.34% (19) |
| Ritchie | 65.27% (1000) | 13.97% (214) | 12.01% (184) | 7.18% (110) | 1.57% (24) |
| Roane | 69.95% (866) | 9.94% (123) | 11.31% (140) | 7.43% (92) | 1.37% (17) |
| Summers | 67.24% (388) | 10.40% (60) | 11.96% (69) | 9.01% (52) | 1.39% (8) |
| Taylor | 67.82% (784) | 11.76% (136) | 12.63% (146) | 7.44% (86) | 0.35% (4) |
| Tucker | 69.29% (422) | 11.33% (69) | 9.85% (60) | 9.03% (55) | 0.49% (3) |
| Tyler | 68.46% (675) | 11.76% (116) | 11.97% (118) | 6.39% (63) | 1.42% (14) |
| Upshur | 69.12% (2344) | 9.20% (312) | 13.65% (463) | 6.69% (227) | 1.33% (45) |
| Wayne | 66.79% (1076) | 10.12% (163) | 14.65% (236) | 7.76% (125) | 0.68% (11) |
| Webster | 64.65% (139) | 10.70% (23) | 15.35% (33) | 6.98% (15) | 2.33% (5) |
| Wetzel | 69.53% (566) | 8.35% (68) | 16.46% (134) | 5.28% (43) | 0.37% (3) |
| Wirt | 63.00% (332) | 11.57% (61) | 16.32% (86) | 8.92% (47) | 0.19% (1) |
| Wood | 70.20% (5422) | 11.64% (899) | 10.72% (828) | 6.42% (496) | 1.02% (79) |
| Wyoming | 75.58% (616) | 7.61% (62) | 9.08% (74) | 6.87% (56) | 0.86% (7) |
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Huffington Post[9] | Safe R | November 6, 2012 |
| CNN[10] | Safe R | November 6, 2012 |
| New York Times[11] | Safe R | November 6, 2012 |
| Washington Post[12] | Safe R | November 6, 2012 |
| RealClearPolitics[13] | Solid R | November 6, 2012 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[14] | Solid R | November 5, 2012 |
| FiveThirtyEight[15] | Solid R | November 6, 2012 |
| 2012 United States presidential election in West Virginia[16] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Running mate | Popular vote | Electoral vote | Swing | ||||
| Count | % | Count | % | ||||||
| Republican | Mitt Romney ofMassachusetts | Paul Ryan ofWisconsin | 417,655 | 62.14% | 5 | 100.00% |  6.70% | ||
| Democratic | Barack Obama ofIllinois (incumbent) | Joe Biden ofDelaware (incumbent) | 238,269 | 35.45% | 0 | 0.00% |  6.97% | ||
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson ofNew Mexico | James P. Gray ofCalifornia | 6,302 | 0.94% | 0 | 0.00% | 0.94% | ||
| Mountain | Jill Stein ofMassachusetts | Cheri Honkala ofPennsylvania | 4,406 | 0.66% | 0 | 0.00% | 0.33% | ||
| Independent | Randall Terry ofWest Virginia | N/A of N/A | 3,806 | 0.57% | 0 | 0.00% | 0.57% | ||
| Write-in | Various of Various | Various of Various | 1,502 | 0.22% | 0 | 0.00% | 0.03% | ||
| Constitution | Virgil Goode (write-in) ofVirginia | Jim Clymer ofPennsylvania | 119 | 0.02% | 0 | 0.00% | 0.32% | ||
| Peace and Freedom | Roseanne Barr (write-in) ofHawaii | Cindy Sheehan ofCalifornia | 31 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% |  | ||
| Justice | Rocky Anderson (write-in) ofUtah | Luis J. Rodriguez ofCalifornia | 12 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | | ||
| American Third Position | Merlin Miller (write-in) ofIowa | Virginia Abernethy ofArizona | 12 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | | ||
| American Independent | Tom Hoefling (write-in) ofIowa | Robert Ornelas ofCalifornia | 5 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | | ||
| Independent | Richard Duncan (write-in) of - | - of - | 1 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | | ||
| Total | 672,119 | 100.00% | 5 | 100.00% | |||||
| County | Mitt Romney Republican | Barack Obama Democratic | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Barbour | 3,824 | 66.19% | 1,768 | 30.60% | 185 | 3.21% | 2,056 | 35.59% | 5,777 |
| Berkeley | 22,156 | 59.39% | 14,275 | 38.26% | 876 | 2.35% | 7,881 | 21.13% | 37,307 |
| Boone | 5,467 | 64.30% | 2,790 | 32.82% | 245 | 2.88% | 2,677 | 31.48% | 8,502 |
| Braxton | 2,725 | 56.65% | 1,998 | 41.54% | 87 | 1.81% | 727 | 15.11% | 4,810 |
| Brooke | 5,060 | 54.25% | 4,005 | 42.94% | 263 | 2.81% | 1,055 | 11.31% | 9,328 |
| Cabell | 17,985 | 55.93% | 13,568 | 42.19% | 605 | 1.88% | 4,417 | 13.74% | 32,158 |
| Calhoun | 1,319 | 59.68% | 818 | 37.01% | 73 | 3.31% | 501 | 22.67% | 2,210 |
| Clay | 1,971 | 65.31% | 931 | 30.85% | 116 | 3.84% | 1,040 | 34.46% | 3,018 |
| Doddridge | 2,130 | 76.78% | 575 | 20.73% | 69 | 2.49% | 1,555 | 56.05% | 2,774 |
| Fayette | 8,350 | 59.35% | 5,419 | 38.51% | 301 | 2.14% | 2,931 | 20.84% | 14,070 |
| Gilmer | 1,595 | 63.24% | 840 | 33.31% | 87 | 3.45% | 755 | 29.93% | 2,522 |
| Grant | 3,783 | 82.45% | 718 | 15.65% | 87 | 1.90% | 3,065 | 66.80% | 4,588 |
| Greenbrier | 7,930 | 60.98% | 4,710 | 36.22% | 365 | 2.80% | 3,220 | 24.76% | 13,005 |
| Hampshire | 5,523 | 68.87% | 2,299 | 28.67% | 197 | 2.46% | 3,224 | 40.20% | 8,019 |
| Hancock | 7,226 | 59.47% | 4,627 | 38.08% | 297 | 2.45% | 2,599 | 21.39% | 12,150 |
| Hardy | 3,536 | 68.25% | 1,482 | 28.60% | 163 | 3.15% | 2,054 | 39.65% | 5,181 |
| Harrison | 15,876 | 60.43% | 9,732 | 37.04% | 663 | 2.53% | 6,144 | 23.39% | 26,271 |
| Jackson | 7,408 | 63.90% | 3,854 | 33.24% | 332 | 2.86% | 3,554 | 30.66% | 11,594 |
| Jefferson | 11,258 | 50.63% | 10,398 | 46.76% | 580 | 2.61% | 860 | 3.87% | 22,236 |
| Kanawha | 41,364 | 54.92% | 32,480 | 43.13% | 1,468 | 1.95% | 8,884 | 11.79% | 75,312 |
| Lewis | 4,375 | 69.51% | 1,736 | 27.58% | 183 | 2.91% | 2,639 | 41.93% | 6,294 |
| Lincoln | 4,383 | 64.29% | 2,227 | 32.66% | 208 | 3.05% | 2,156 | 31.63% | 6,818 |
| Logan | 8,222 | 68.68% | 3,469 | 28.98% | 281 | 2.34% | 4,753 | 39.70% | 11,972 |
| Marion | 12,054 | 55.93% | 8,959 | 41.57% | 540 | 2.50% | 3,095 | 14.36% | 21,553 |
| Marshall | 8,135 | 62.77% | 4,484 | 34.60% | 341 | 2.63% | 3,651 | 28.17% | 12,960 |
| Mason | 5,741 | 58.64% | 3,778 | 38.59% | 271 | 2.77% | 1,963 | 20.05% | 9,790 |
| McDowell | 3,959 | 63.98% | 2,109 | 34.08% | 120 | 1.94% | 1,850 | 29.90% | 6,188 |
| Mercer | 15,450 | 72.49% | 5,432 | 25.49% | 431 | 2.02% | 10,018 | 47.00% | 21,313 |
| Mineral | 7,833 | 71.29% | 2,885 | 26.26% | 270 | 2.45% | 4,948 | 45.03% | 10,988 |
| Mingo | 6,191 | 69.92% | 2,428 | 27.42% | 236 | 2.66% | 3,763 | 42.50% | 8,855 |
| Monongalia | 16,831 | 53.28% | 13,826 | 43.77% | 934 | 2.95% | 3,005 | 9.51% | 31,591 |
| Monroe | 3,616 | 69.11% | 1,455 | 27.81% | 161 | 3.08% | 2,161 | 41.30% | 5,232 |
| Morgan | 4,513 | 63.82% | 2,363 | 33.42% | 195 | 2.76% | 2,150 | 30.40% | 7,071 |
| Nicholas | 5,898 | 67.09% | 2,664 | 30.30% | 229 | 2.61% | 3,234 | 36.79% | 8,791 |
| Ohio | 10,768 | 59.96% | 6,786 | 37.79% | 405 | 2.25% | 3,982 | 22.17% | 17,959 |
| Pendleton | 2,095 | 64.34% | 1,074 | 32.99% | 87 | 2.67% | 1,021 | 31.35% | 3,256 |
| Pleasants | 1,825 | 64.24% | 955 | 33.61% | 61 | 2.15% | 870 | 30.63% | 2,841 |
| Pocahontas | 2,182 | 60.76% | 1,303 | 36.29% | 106 | 2.95% | 879 | 24.47% | 3,591 |
| Preston | 7,889 | 70.54% | 2,931 | 26.21% | 363 | 3.25% | 4,958 | 44.33% | 11,183 |
| Putnam | 16,032 | 67.47% | 7,256 | 30.54% | 472 | 1.99% | 8,776 | 36.93% | 23,760 |
| Raleigh | 20,614 | 71.48% | 7,739 | 26.84% | 484 | 1.68% | 12,875 | 44.64% | 28,837 |
| Randolph | 6,160 | 63.00% | 3,342 | 34.18% | 276 | 2.82% | 2,818 | 28.82% | 9,778 |
| Ritchie | 2,921 | 77.07% | 768 | 20.26% | 101 | 2.67% | 2,153 | 56.81% | 3,790 |
| Roane | 2,982 | 58.93% | 1,939 | 38.32% | 139 | 2.75% | 1,043 | 20.61% | 5,060 |
| Summers | 2,981 | 62.84% | 1,621 | 34.17% | 142 | 2.99% | 1,360 | 28.67% | 4,744 |
| Taylor | 3,840 | 64.85% | 1,941 | 32.78% | 140 | 2.37% | 1,899 | 32.07% | 5,921 |
| Tucker | 2,176 | 69.34% | 880 | 28.04% | 82 | 2.62% | 1,296 | 41.30% | 3,138 |
| Tyler | 2,314 | 70.44% | 890 | 27.09% | 81 | 2.47% | 1,424 | 43.35% | 3,285 |
| Upshur | 5,939 | 71.57% | 2,158 | 26.01% | 201 | 2.42% | 3,781 | 45.56% | 8,298 |
| Wayne | 8,688 | 62.02% | 4,931 | 35.20% | 390 | 2.78% | 3,757 | 26.82% | 14,009 |
| Webster | 1,710 | 61.67% | 947 | 34.15% | 116 | 4.18% | 763 | 27.52% | 2,773 |
| Wetzel | 3,473 | 59.11% | 2,217 | 37.74% | 185 | 3.15% | 1,256 | 21.37% | 5,875 |
| Wirt | 1,427 | 65.73% | 676 | 31.14% | 68 | 3.13% | 751 | 34.59% | 2,171 |
| Wood | 22,183 | 65.10% | 11,230 | 32.96% | 663 | 1.94% | 10,953 | 32.14% | 34,076 |
| Wyoming | 5,769 | 76.65% | 1,583 | 21.03% | 174 | 2.32% | 4,186 | 55.62% | 7,526 |
| Totals | 417,655 | 62.14% | 238,269 | 35.45% | 16,195 | 2.41% | 179,386 | 26.69% | 672,119 |
Romney won all three congressional districts, including one held by a Democrat.[17]
| District | Romney | Obama | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 62.18% | 35.54% | David McKinley |
| 2nd | 60% | 37.97% | Shelley Moore Capito |
| 3rd | 65% | 32.79% | Nick Rahall |
State and district results of the2012 United States presidential election | ||
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