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| Turnout | 70.35% [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 County results Congressional district results Precinct results
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The2012 United States presidential election in Wisconsin took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the2012 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus theDistrict of Columbia participated.Wisconsin voters chose 10 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 the state of Wisconsin with 52.83% of the vote to Romney's 45.89%, a 6.94% margin of victory.[2] While this represented half the victory margin of Obama's 13.91% win in2008, when he won 59 of 72counties and 7 of 8congressional districts, it still remains the only other presidential election in the 21st century where the winning candidate won the state by more than 1% of the vote. Obama's win was also surprisingly comfortable even though Wisconsin was the home state of Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, making him the first Republican vice presidential nominee to lose their home state sinceJack Kemp lostNew York in1996. Obama's win was attributed to victories inMilwaukee, the state's largest city;Madison, the state capital; northwestern Wisconsin; and theDriftless Region. Romney's strength was concentrated in the loyally Republican Milwaukee suburbs, particularly theWOW counties (Ozaukee,Washington, andWaukesha), where he carried a combined 67.03% of the vote to Obama's 32.00%. He also flipped 24 counties in the Northeast andCentral Plain regions, though most of them were rural and, therefore, insufficient to overcome Obama's aforementioned victories. Obama nonetheless became the first Democrat to win the White House without carryingIron County sinceWoodrow Wilson in1916.
As of2024, this is the last time the Democratic presidential nominee won the following counties:Adams,Buffalo,Columbia,Crawford,Dunn,Forest,Grant,Jackson,Juneau,Kenosha,Lafayette,Lincoln,Marquette,Pepin,Price,Racine,Richland,Sawyer,Trempealeau,Vernon, andWinnebago. This remains the last time that any candidate won Wisconsin with more than 50% of the vote or by more than 1 percentage point.[3]
President Barack Obama ran unopposed in the Democratic Primary, winning 293,914 votes, or 97.89%. Uncommitted ballots received 5,092 votes, or 1.89% of the vote, while 849 votes, 0.28%, were scattered. 111 delegates, all of which were pledged to Obama were sent to the2012 Democratic National Convention inCharlotte, North Carolina.[4]
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 Wisconsin results by county Mitt Romney Rick Santorum | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2012 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary took place on April 3, 2012,[5][6] the same day as the primaries in theDistrict of Columbia andMaryland.Mitt Romney edged out a victory, with 44.03% of the vote and 33 delegates, with formerSenatorRick Santorum ofPennsylvania coming in second with 36.83% of the vote and 9 delegates. No other candidates won any delegates nor counties, thoughrepresentativeRon Paul ofTexas's 14th district received 11.15% and formerSpeaker of the HouseNewt Gingrich received 5.84%. All other candidates received less than 1%. Romney's strength was concentrated in Southeast Wisconsin, carryingMilwaukee and all of its suburbs (including theKenosha andRacine as well as the ancestrally Republican counties ofOzaukee,Washington, andWaukesha), as well asMadison. Santorum's most significant victories were in Western Wisconsin and inGreen Bay andits respective suburbs.[4]
| 2012 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary[4] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Delegates |
 Mitt Romney | 346,876 | 44.03% | 33 |
| Rick Santorum | 290,139 | 36.83% | 9 |
| Ron Paul | 87,858 | 11.15% | 0 |
| Newt Gingrich | 45,978 | 5.84% | 0 |
| Michele Bachmann | 6,045 | 0.77% | 0 |
| Jon Huntsman | 5,083 | 0.65% | 0 |
| Uninstructed | 4,200 | 0.53% | 0 |
| Scattering | 1,668 | 0.21% | 0 |
| Total: | 787,847 | 100% | 42 |
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Huffington Post[7] | Lean D | November 6, 2012 |
| CNN[8] | Tossup | November 6, 2012 |
| New York Times[9] | Tossup | November 6, 2012 |
| Washington Post[10] | Tossup | November 6, 2012 |
| RealClearPolitics[11] | Tossup | November 6, 2012 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[12] | Lean D | November 5, 2012 |
| FiveThirtyEight[13] | Solid D | November 6, 2012 |
AlthoughRepublican vice presidential nomineePaul Ryan was from Wisconsin, representing the1st district in Congress, the Republican Party lost by around a seven-point margin, which was, albeit an improved loss from Obama's landslide 13.91% margin in2008,[14] a crucial loss.
| 2012 United States presidential election in Wisconsin | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Running mate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Barack Obama(incumbent) | Joe Biden(incumbent) | 1,620,985 | 52.83% | 10 | |
| Republican | Mitt Romney | Paul Ryan | 1,407,966 | 45.89% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson | Jim Gray | 20,439 | 0.67% | 0 | |
| Green | Jill Stein | Cheri Honkala | 7,665 | 0.25% | 0 | |
| Write-Ins | Write-Ins | 5,170 | 0.17% | 0 | ||
| Constitution | Virgil Goode | Jim Clymer | 4,930 | 0.16% | 0 | |
| Socialist Equality | Jerry White | Phyllis Scherrer | 553 | 0.02% | 0 | |
| Socialism and Liberation | Gloria La Riva | Filberto Ramirez Jr. | 526 | 0.02% | 0 | |
| Justice | Rocky Anderson | Luis J. Rodriguez | 112 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Peace & Freedom | Roseanne Barr | Cindy Sheehan | 88 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Totals | 3,068,434 | 100.00% | 10 | |||
| County | Barack Obama Democratic | Mitt Romney Republican | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 5,552 | 53.87% | 4,644 | 45.14% | 101 | 0.99% | 898 | 8.73% | 10,287 |
| Ashland | 5,399 | 64.49% | 2,820 | 33.68% | 153 | 1.83% | 2,579 | 30.81% | 8,372 |
| Barron | 10,890 | 47.99% | 11,443 | 50.43% | 359 | 1.58% | -553 | -2.44% | 22,692 |
| Bayfield | 6,033 | 61.64% | 3,603 | 36.81% | 152 | 1.55% | 2,430 | 24.83% | 9,788 |
| Brown | 62,526 | 48.50% | 64,836 | 50.29% | 1,566 | 1.21% | -2,310 | -1.79% | 128,928 |
| Buffalo | 3,570 | 50.72% | 3,364 | 47.79% | 105 | 1.49% | 206 | 2.93% | 7,039 |
| Burnett | 3,986 | 45.94% | 4,550 | 52.44% | 141 | 1.62% | -564 | -6.50% | 8,677 |
| Calumet | 11,489 | 43.49% | 14,539 | 55.03% | 392 | 1.48% | -3,050 | -11.54% | 26,420 |
| Chippewa | 15,237 | 49.26% | 15,322 | 49.53% | 373 | 1.21% | -85 | -0.27% | 30,932 |
| Clark | 6,172 | 44.72% | 7,412 | 53.71% | 217 | 1.57% | -1,240 | -8.99% | 13,801 |
| Columbia | 17,175 | 56.23% | 13,026 | 42.64% | 345 | 1.13% | 4,149 | 13.59% | 30,546 |
| Crawford | 4,629 | 59.22% | 3,067 | 39.24% | 121 | 1.54% | 1,562 | 19.98% | 7,817 |
| Dane | 216,071 | 71.03% | 83,644 | 27.50% | 4,466 | 1.47% | 132,427 | 43.53% | 304,181 |
| Dodge | 18,762 | 42.17% | 25,211 | 56.67% | 515 | 1.16% | -6,449 | -14.50% | 44,488 |
| Door | 9,357 | 52.95% | 8,121 | 45.96% | 193 | 1.09% | 1,236 | 6.99% | 17,671 |
| Douglas | 14,863 | 64.92% | 7,705 | 33.66% | 326 | 1.42% | 7,158 | 31.26% | 22,894 |
| Dunn | 11,316 | 51.46% | 10,224 | 46.49% | 452 | 2.05% | 1,092 | 4.97% | 21,992 |
| Eau Claire | 30,666 | 55.95% | 23,256 | 42.43% | 884 | 1.62% | 7,410 | 13.52% | 54,806 |
| Florence | 953 | 36.30% | 1,645 | 62.67% | 27 | 1.03% | -692 | -26.37% | 2,625 |
| Fond du Lac | 22,379 | 41.91% | 30,355 | 56.84% | 668 | 1.25% | -7,976 | -14.93% | 53,402 |
| Forest | 2,425 | 52.17% | 2,172 | 46.73% | 51 | 1.10% | 253 | 5.44% | 4,648 |
| Grant | 13,594 | 56.06% | 10,255 | 42.29% | 399 | 1.65% | 3,339 | 13.77% | 24,248 |
| Green | 11,206 | 58.00% | 7,857 | 40.66% | 259 | 1.34% | 3,349 | 17.34% | 19,322 |
| Green Lake | 3,793 | 39.20% | 5,782 | 59.76% | 100 | 1.04% | -1,989 | -20.56% | 9,675 |
| Iowa | 8,105 | 64.66% | 4,287 | 34.20% | 142 | 1.14% | 3,818 | 30.46% | 12,534 |
| Iron | 1,784 | 49.12% | 1,790 | 49.28% | 58 | 1.60% | -6 | -0.16% | 3,632 |
| Jackson | 5,298 | 56.89% | 3,900 | 41.88% | 115 | 1.23% | 1,398 | 15.01% | 9,313 |
| Jefferson | 20,158 | 45.52% | 23,517 | 53.11% | 606 | 1.37% | -3,359 | -7.59% | 44,281 |
| Juneau | 6,242 | 52.78% | 5,411 | 45.75% | 174 | 1.47% | 831 | 7.03% | 11,827 |
| Kenosha | 44,867 | 55.46% | 34,977 | 43.24% | 1,053 | 1.30% | 9,890 | 12.22% | 80,897 |
| Kewaunee | 5,153 | 46.69% | 5,747 | 52.07% | 137 | 1.24% | -594 | -5.38% | 11,037 |
| La Crosse | 36,693 | 57.82% | 25,751 | 40.58% | 1,018 | 1.60% | 10,942 | 17.24% | 63,462 |
| Lafayette | 4,536 | 57.04% | 3,314 | 41.68% | 102 | 1.28% | 1,222 | 15.36% | 7,952 |
| Langlade | 4,573 | 43.47% | 5,816 | 55.29% | 130 | 1.24% | -1,243 | -11.82% | 10,519 |
| Lincoln | 7,563 | 49.70% | 7,455 | 48.99% | 198 | 1.31% | 108 | 0.71% | 15,216 |
| Manitowoc | 20,403 | 47.88% | 21,604 | 50.69% | 610 | 1.43% | -1,201 | -2.81% | 42,617 |
| Marathon | 32,363 | 46.32% | 36,617 | 52.41% | 882 | 1.27% | -4,254 | -6.09% | 69,862 |
| Marinette | 9,882 | 47.56% | 10,619 | 51.11% | 276 | 1.33% | -737 | -3.55% | 20,777 |
| Marquette | 4,014 | 49.52% | 3,992 | 49.25% | 99 | 1.23% | 22 | 0.27% | 8,105 |
| Menominee | 1,191 | 86.49% | 179 | 13.00% | 7 | 0.51% | 1,012 | 73.49% | 1,377 |
| Milwaukee | 332,438 | 67.49% | 154,924 | 31.45% | 5,214 | 1.06% | 177,514 | 36.04% | 492,576 |
| Monroe | 9,515 | 48.83% | 9,675 | 49.65% | 295 | 1.52% | -160 | -0.82% | 19,485 |
| Oconto | 8,865 | 44.64% | 10,741 | 54.09% | 253 | 1.27% | -1,876 | -9.45% | 19,859 |
| Oneida | 10,452 | 48.27% | 10,917 | 50.42% | 283 | 1.31% | -465 | -2.15% | 21,652 |
| Outagamie | 45,659 | 48.27% | 47,372 | 50.08% | 1,565 | 1.65% | -1,713 | -1.81% | 94,596 |
| Ozaukee | 19,159 | 34.32% | 36,077 | 64.63% | 581 | 1.05% | -16,918 | -30.31% | 55,817 |
| Pepin | 1,876 | 50.72% | 1,794 | 48.50% | 29 | 0.78% | 82 | 2.22% | 3,699 |
| Pierce | 10,235 | 48.69% | 10,397 | 49.46% | 388 | 1.85% | -162 | -0.77% | 21,020 |
| Polk | 10,073 | 44.62% | 12,094 | 53.58% | 406 | 1.80% | -2,021 | -8.96% | 22,573 |
| Portage | 22,075 | 56.12% | 16,615 | 42.24% | 647 | 1.64% | 5,460 | 13.88% | 39,337 |
| Price | 3,887 | 49.20% | 3,884 | 49.16% | 130 | 1.64% | 3 | 0.04% | 7,901 |
| Racine | 53,008 | 51.28% | 49,347 | 47.74% | 1,009 | 0.98% | 3,661 | 3.54% | 103,364 |
| Richland | 4,969 | 57.41% | 3,573 | 41.28% | 113 | 1.31% | 1,396 | 16.13% | 8,655 |
| Rock | 49,219 | 61.00% | 30,517 | 37.82% | 954 | 1.18% | 18,702 | 23.18% | 80,690 |
| Rusk | 3,397 | 47.24% | 3,676 | 51.12% | 118 | 1.64% | -279 | -3.88% | 7,191 |
| St. Croix | 19,910 | 43.07% | 25,503 | 55.17% | 812 | 1.76% | -5,593 | -12.10% | 46,225 |
| Sauk | 18,736 | 58.68% | 12,838 | 40.21% | 353 | 1.11% | 5,898 | 18.47% | 31,927 |
| Sawyer | 4,486 | 49.71% | 4,442 | 49.22% | 97 | 1.07% | 44 | 0.49% | 9,025 |
| Shawano | 9,000 | 44.38% | 11,022 | 54.35% | 257 | 1.27% | -2,022 | -9.97% | 20,279 |
| Sheboygan | 27,918 | 44.56% | 34,072 | 54.38% | 661 | 1.06% | -6,154 | -9.82% | 62,651 |
| Taylor | 3,763 | 39.56% | 5,601 | 58.88% | 148 | 1.56% | -1,838 | -19.32% | 9,512 |
| Trempealeau | 7,605 | 56.41% | 5,707 | 42.33% | 169 | 1.26% | 1,898 | 14.08% | 13,481 |
| Vernon | 8,044 | 56.37% | 5,942 | 41.64% | 283 | 1.99% | 2,102 | 14.73% | 14,269 |
| Vilas | 5,951 | 42.99% | 7,749 | 55.98% | 142 | 1.03% | -1,798 | -12.99% | 13,842 |
| Walworth | 22,552 | 43.12% | 29,006 | 55.46% | 745 | 1.42% | -6,454 | -12.34% | 52,303 |
| Washburn | 4,447 | 47.88% | 4,699 | 50.60% | 141 | 1.52% | -252 | -2.72% | 9,287 |
| Washington | 23,166 | 29.42% | 54,765 | 69.55% | 811 | 1.03% | -31,599 | -40.13% | 78,742 |
| Waukesha | 78,779 | 32.31% | 162,798 | 66.76% | 2,279 | 0.93% | -84,019 | -34.45% | 243,856 |
| Waupaca | 11,578 | 44.81% | 14,002 | 54.19% | 260 | 1.00% | -2,424 | -9.38% | 25,840 |
| Waushara | 5,335 | 44.28% | 6,562 | 54.47% | 151 | 1.25% | -1,227 | -10.19% | 12,048 |
| Winnebago | 45,449 | 50.97% | 42,122 | 47.24% | 1,602 | 1.79% | 3,327 | 3.73% | 89,173 |
| Wood | 18,581 | 47.77% | 19,704 | 50.65% | 615 | 1.58% | -1,123 | -2.88% | 38,900 |
| Totals | 1,620,985 | 52.83% | 1,407,966 | 45.89% | 39,483 | 1.29% | 213,019 | 6.94% | 3,068,434 |
| Democratic Hold | Republican Hold Gain from Democratic |
Despite losing the state, Romney won five of eight congressional districts.[15]
| District | Romney | Obama | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 51.65% | 47.44% | Paul Ryan |
| 2nd | 30.46% | 68.3% | Mark Pocan |
| 3rd | 43.82% | 54.82% | Ron Kind |
| 4th | 23.78% | 75.33% | Gwen Moore |
| 5th | 61.31% | 37.75% | Jim Sensenbrenner |
| 6th | 53.1% | 45.77% | Tom Petri |
| 7th | 50.92% | 47.83% | Sean Duffy |
| 8th | 51.26% | 47.56% | Reid Ribble |
State and district results of the2012 United States presidential election | ||
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