2012 United States presidential election in Missouri

← 2008 November 6, 2012 2016 →

Nominee Mitt Romney Barack Obama Party Republican Democratic Home state Massachusetts Illinois Running mate Paul Ryan Joe Biden Electoral vote 10 0 Popular vote 1,482,440 1,223,796 Percentage 53.64% 44.28%

County results Congressional district results Romney   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% Obama   50–60%   70–80%   80–90%

President before election Barack Obama Democratic Elected President Barack Obama Democratic

Elections in Missouri
Federal government Presidential elections 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Missouri bellwether Presidential primaries Democratic 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Republican 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 U.S. Senate 1821 1825 1827 1830 1833 1836 1839 1842 1843 sp 1845 1849 1851 1857 1857 sp 1861 1863 1863 sp 1868 1871 sp 1874 1879 1879 sp 1881 1885 1887 1891 1893 1897 1899 1903 1905 1909 1911 1911 1914 1916 1918 sp 1920 1922 1926 1926 sp 1928 1932 1934 1938 1940 1944 1946 1950 1952 1956 1958 1960 sp 1962 1964 1968 1970 1974 1976 1980 1982 1986 1988 1992 1994 1998 2000 2002 sp 2004 2006 2010 2012 2016 2018 2022 2024 2028 U.S. House of Representatives 1820 1822 1824 1826 1828 1831 1832–33 1835 1836 1838 1839 AL sp 1840 1842 1844 1846 AL sp 1848 1850 1852 1854 1856 1858 1860 1st sp 1862 1864 1866 1867 3rd sp 1868 5th sp 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 7th sp 1882 2nd sp 1884 1886 1888 1889 4th sp 1890 14th sp 1892 1894 1896 1897 1st sp 1898 1899 8th sp 1900 1902 12th sp 1904 1906 1908 1910 6th sp 1912 1914 1916 1918 10th sp 1920 1921 4th sp 1922 1924 1926 11th sp 1928 1929 4th sp 1930 1931 7th sp 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1943 6th sp 1944 1946 1948 10th sp 1950 1951 11th sp 1952 1954 1956 1958 1959 4th sp 1960 1962 1964 9th sp 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 6th sp 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 8th sp 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2013 8th sp 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026
State government State elections 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 2028 Gubernatorial elections 1820 1824 1825 sp 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1857 sp 1860 1864 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Lieutenant gubernatorial elections 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Secretary of State elections 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 State Auditor elections 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 State Treasurer elections 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Attorney General elections 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Senate elections 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 House of Representatives elections 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026
Ballot measures 1999 Proposition B 2004 Amendment 2 2006 Amendment 2 2018 Proposition A 2020 Amendment 2 2022 Amendment 3 2024 Amendment 3 Amendment 7 Proposition A
Kansas City Kansas City mayoral elections 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 Jackson County Executive elections 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2016 (special) 2018 2022 2025 (recall) 2026
St. Louis St. Louis mayoral elections 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 2025 St. Louis aldermanic elections 2023 St. Louis County Executive elections 1998 2002 2004 (special) 2006 2010 2014 2018 2020 (special) 2022 2026
Other localities Columbia mayoral elections 2016 2019 2022 2025 Jefferson County Executive elections 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 Springfield mayoral elections 2021 St. Charles County Executive elections 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026
v t e

The2012 United States presidential election in Missouri took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the2012 United States presidential election, in which all 50 states plus theDistrict of Columbia participated. Missouri 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.

Missouri was won by Romney, who took 53.64% of the vote to Obama's 44.28%, a margin of 9.36%. Although it was abattleground in past elections, and considered abellwether up until2008, Missouri trended in the early 21st century toward the Republicans, having been the only long-timeswing state to be won (albeit narrowly) by RepublicanJohn McCain in2008. Consequently, the state was not heavily contested by either side in 2012, and Romney ultimately carried Missouri by the largest margin sinceRonald Reagan's1984 landslide. Romney ultimately became only the second Republican to carry Missouri and lose the presidency just four years afterJohn McCain's narrow victory in the state, with Obama also becoming the only Democrat to ever win two terms in the White House without carrying the state either time. The election was the last in which Missouri was considered to be a swing state.

2012Missouri Republican presidential primary

← 2008 February 7, 2012 (2012-02-07) 2016 →

← CO MN →

Candidate Rick Santorum Mitt Romney Ron Paul Home state Pennsylvania Massachusetts Texas Popular vote 139,272 63,882 30,647 Percentage 55.23% 25.33% 12.15%

Missouri results by county   Rick Santorum

The 2012 Missouri Republican presidential primary took place on February 7^[1] and the caucuses ran from March 15 to March 24, 2012,^[2] except for one rescheduled for April 10. The primary election did not determine which delegates would be sent to thenational convention; this is instead determined indirectly by the caucuses and directly by the Missouri Republican congressional-district conventions on April 21 and the state convention on June 2.^[3][4][5]

The unusual situation of having both the primary election and the caucus for the same party in the same election year in Missouri arose as a result of a change in the nominating rules of the Republican Party. State primaries in Missouri were previously held in early February. In September 2008, theRepublican National Committee adopted a set of rules which included a provision that no states except Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada were allowed to begin the process of delegate selection (including binding primary elections) before the first Tuesday in March of an election year.^[6] In 2011, the Republican-controlledMissouri General Assembly attempted to move the primary election to mid-March, but the bill was vetoed by Democratic GovernorJay Nixon because of a provision limiting his power to fill vacancies in statewide elected offices. In a compromise solution, it was decided that Republican primary election would be made non-binding and instead delegates would be nominated by separate caucuses in late March, a move estimated to cost the stateUS$7,000,000.^[7]

This marks the first time since 1996 that Missouri Republicans used a caucus system to nominate delegates to theRepublican National Convention.^[8]

The primary was not to affect the selection of Missouri's delegates to the2012 Republican National Convention, so it had no official effect on the nomination and was widely described beforehand as a "beauty contest". However it was seen as an opportunity forRick Santorum to face off againstMitt Romney due to the absence ofNewt Gingrich, who missed the filing deadline^[9] and was not on the ballot. Santorum was the only candidate to actively campaign in the state ahead of the primary.^[10]

The primary election was won by Santorum, who also won theColorado andMinnesota Republican caucuses held that day.^[11]

There were 326,438 total votes cast by party ballot^[12] (including votes for Democratic, Libertarian and Constitution Party candidates),^[13] a turnout of 7.99%^[14] of 4,085,582 registered voters. Noting the low Republican turnout,NPR found voters apathetic because the primary was nonbinding.^[15]

^[17]

The county caucuses elect delegates to congressional district conventions and the Missouri Republican Party state convention, which in turn elect 49 of Missouri's 52 delegates to thenational convention.^[4][18] However, nostraw poll is released to indicate levels of support to the general public. According to the state party, "Caucus-goers will be voting for delegates, and with few exceptions, these delegates will not be bound to a particular candidate. Because there is no vote on candidate preference, neither the Missouri GOP nor any election authority will have or release any data regarding the 'winner' of the caucuses."^[19]

Despite the nonbinding nature of the February primary, caucuses had the option to use its result as the basis for delegate allocation. Santorum was to appear personally at some caucuses, whichThe New York Times described as "part of the campaign's county-by-county strategy to try to outflank Mr. Romney and catch him in the delegate race".^[20]

The county caucuses elect delegates to the congressional district conventions and the state convention. Delegates to the national convention are elected at each of those conventions. Typically, the body of a caucus votes on slates of delegates prepared by leaders of factions and coalitions within the caucus.

The following table shows who won the majority or plurality of delegates for each county according to available unofficial reports.

Notes

There were controversies surrounding the caucuses inClay^[59] andCass counties.^[60] The Missouri Republican Party ruled later that the slates of delegates elected at those caucuses were valid.^[61] A do-over caucus was required inSt. Charles County after the first attempt disbanded over a rules dispute.^[62] Controversy also arose at theJefferson County caucus, and a challenge was filed but later withdrawn.^[63]

The following table shows who won the national delegates for each congressional district and statewide.

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Buchanan (largest city:St. Joseph)
• Iron (largest city:Ironton)
• Jefferson (largest city:Arnold)
• Sainte Genevieve (largest city:Ste. Genevieve)
• Washington (largest city:Potosi)

Romney won six of eight congressional districts.^[76]

As of the2024 presidential election, this is the last time Missouri was decided by a single-digit margin. In addition, this was the first time since1900 that Missouri was not carried by the victor of the presidential contest two times consecutively, after Obama had failed to win the state in 2008, as well as the first time since 1900 when the overall loser of the presidential election won the state by a margin larger than 1% of the statewide vote. Thus, the 2012 election seemingly marked the end ofMissouri'sswing state status. Obama is the only president of either party sinceWilliam McKinley to win two terms in the White House without carrying Missouri either time. This election also remains the only time in history that a Democrat was elected twice to the presidency without ever carrying Missouri.

Obama became the first Democrat since1960 to win without Buchanan, Iron, and Washington counties; the first since1916 without Jefferson County; and the first since1944 without St. Genevieve County.

Obama carried only three counties and theCity of St. Louis. He carriedBoone County, home toColumbia and theUniversity of Missouri;Jackson County, where most ofKansas City is located; andSt. Louis County, home to manySt. Louis suburbs. While Obama won many counties in theSt. Louis metropolitan area in 2008 such asIron,Jefferson,Ste. Genevieve, andWashington counties, the Republicans won them in this election, all butSte. Genevieve by comfortable margins.^[77]

• 2012 Democratic Party presidential primaries
• 2012 Republican Party presidential debates and forums
• 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries
• Results of the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries
• Missouri Republican Party
• Missouri Bellwether
• United States presidential elections in Missouri

• The Green Papers: for Missouri
• The Green Papers: Major state elections in chronological order
• Official Election Returns Presidential Preference Primary, February 7, 2012. Missouri Secretary of State website
• Missouri State Association of Parliamentarians (MSAP)

• 2012 United States presidential election by state
• 2012 Missouri elections
• United States presidential elections in Missouri

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