United_States_presidential_election_in_California,_2012
The 2012 United States presidential election in California took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. California voters chose 55 electors, the most out of any state, to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, against Republican challenger and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan.
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| Turnout | 72.36% (of registered voters)  7.06 pp 55.47% (of eligible voters) 3.75 pp[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 County Results
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Prior to the election, every major news network considered California to be a state Obama would win or as a safe blue state. According to Secretary of State Debra Bowen's website, the President won the popular vote with 60.24% percent, with Mitt Romney in second place at 37.12%, and Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson in third place at 1.10%.[2] The Democrats have won the state in every presidential election after Republican George H. W. Bush won the state in 1988.
As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last presidential election in which the nominee from the Republican Party won Orange County—a longtime, traditional bastion for the national GOP—and Nevada County. With its 55 electoral votes, California was Obama's largest electoral prize in 2012.
Democratic primary
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609 Democratic National Convention delegates (547 pledged, 62 unpledged) The number of pledged delegates won was determined by the popular vote | |||||||||||||||||||
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 California results by county
Barack Obama | |||||||||||||||||||
The 2012 California Democratic presidential primary took place on June 5, 2012, as part of the 2012 Democratic Party presidential primaries.
| Candidate | Popular vote | % | Delegates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barack Obama (incumbent) | 2,075,905 | 100% | 547.0 |
| Darcy Richardson (write-in) | 221 | 0.00% | 0.0 |
| Michael W.R. Meyer, Jr. (write-in) | 129 | 0.00% | 0.0 |
| Louis Alberto Ramos, Jr. (write-in) | 54 | 0.00% | 0.0 |
| Uncommitted | — | 62.0 | |
| Total | 2,076,309 | 100% | 609 |
Republican primary
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 California results by county
Mitt Romney
(Note: Italicization indicates a withdrawn candidacy) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2012 California Republican Party presidential primary took place on June 5, 2012, as part of the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries.[5][6][7] 169 delegates were chosen, for a total of 172 delegates at the 2012 Republican National Convention.
As noted in the Green Papers for California, "159 district delegates are to be bound to presidential contenders based on the primary results in each of the 53 congressional districts: each congressional district is assigned 3 National Convention delegates and the presidential contender receiving the greatest number of votes in that district will receive all 3 of that district's National Convention delegates. 10 at-large delegates (10 base at-large delegates plus 0 bonus delegate) are to be bound to the presidential contender receiving the greatest number of votes in the primary statewide. In addition, 3 party leaders, the National Committeeman, the National Committeewoman, and the chairman of the California's Republican Party, will attend the convention as unpledged delegates by virtue of their position."[7]
| Candidate | Popular vote | % | Delegates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mitt Romney | 1,530,513 | 79.51% | 169 |
| Ron Paul | 199,246 | 10.35% | 0 |
| Rick Santorum (withdrawn) | 102,258 | 5.31% | 0 |
| Newt Gingrich (withdrawn) | 72,022 | 3.74% | 0 |
| Charles E. "Buddy" Roemer, III (withdrawn) | 12,520 | 0.65% | 0 |
| Fred Karger | 8,393 | 0.44% | 0 |
| Jeremy Hannon (write-in) | 11 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Donald James Gonzales (write-in) | 5 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Sheldon Yeu Howard (write-in) | 2 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Uncommitted | — | 3 | |
| Total | 1,924,970 | 100% | 172 |
Green primary
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68 Green National Convention delegates The number of delegates won was determined by the popular vote | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2012 California Green Party presidential primary took place on June 5, 2012, as part of the 2012 Green Party presidential primaries.
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | National delegates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jill Stein | 9,165 | 49.36% | 35 |
| Roseanne Barr | 7,399 | 39.85% | 26 |
| Kent Meslplay | 2,005 | 10.80% | 7 |
| Total | 18,569 | 100% | 68 |
Libertarian primary
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The 2012 California Libertarian Party presidential primary took place on June 5, 2012, as part of the 2012 Libertarian Party presidential primaries.
The primary was non-binding, and took place after Gary Johnson had already won the Libertarian nomination at the Party's 2012 convention.
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Gary Johnson | 6,780 | 50.0% |
| Barbara Joy Waymire | 2,118 | 15.6% |
| Scott Keller | 1,208 | 8.9% |
| R. J. Harris | 670 | 4.9% |
| Bill Still | 670 | 4.9% |
| Roger Gary | 559 | 4.1% |
| James Ogle | 558 | 4.1% |
| Carl Person | 523 | 3.9% |
| Lee Wrights | 479 | 3.5% |
| Total | 13,565 | 100% |
Other parties
American Independent
The American Independent Party, a far-right and paleoconservative political party that formed when endorsing the candidacy of George Wallace in 1968 held a small presidential primary on June 5. It was won by Edward C. Noonan. However, the party would instead opt to nominate Tom Hoefling for president.
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Edward C. Noonan | 16,926 | 38.7% |
| Laurie Roth | 16,326 | 37.4% |
| Mad Max Riekse | 10,430 | 23.9% |
| Raymond Delmond Smith (write-in) | 6 | 0.0% |
| Andrew Abe Diaz (write-in) | 4 | 0.0% |
| Total | 43,692 | 100% |
Peace and Freedom
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Ross C. "Rocky" Anderson | 1,589 | 43.4% |
| Stewart Alexander | 1,094 | 29.9% |
| Stephen Durham | 971 | 26.5% |
| Shelley Upchurch (write-in) | 4 | 0.1% |
| Ronald Clinton Forbes (write-in) | 2 | 0.1% |
| Leon Leo Ray (write-in) | 2 | 0.1% |
| Total | 3,662 | 100% |
Candidate Ballot Access:
- Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan, Republican
- Barack Obama/Joseph Biden, Democratic
- Gary Johnson/James P. Gray, Libertarian
- Jill Stein/Cheri Honkala, Green
- Tom Hoefling/Robert Ornelas, Independent
- Roseanne Barr/Cindy Sheehan, Peace and Freedom
Write-In Candidate Access:
- Virgil Goode/Jim Clymer, Constitution
- Rocky Anderson/Luis J. Rodriguez, Justice
- James Harris/Maura DeLuca, Socialist Workers
- Stewart Alexander/Alejandro Mendoza, Socialist
- Jerry White/Phyllis Scherrer, Socialist Equality
- Stephen Durham/Christina Lopez, Freedom Socialist
- Ron Paul/Andrew Napolitano [9]
Results
| 2012 United States presidential election in California[10] | ||||||
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| Party | Candidate | Running mate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Barack Hussein Obama (Incumbent) | Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (Incumbent) | 7,854,285 | 60.24% | 55 | |
| Republican | Willard Mitt Romney | Paul Davis Ryan | 4,839,958 | 37.12% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson | Jim Gray | 143,221 | 1.10% | 0 | |
| Green | Jill Stein | Cheri Honkala | 85,638 | 0.66% | 0 | |
| Peace and Freedom | Roseanne Barr | Cindy Sheehan | 53,824 | 0.41% | 0 | |
| American Independent | Thomas Hoefling | Robert Ornelas | 38,372 | 0.29% | 0 | |
| Independent | Ron Paul (write-in) | Andrew Napolitano | 21,461 | 0.16% | 0 | |
| Independent | Rocky Anderson (write-in) | Luis Rodriguez | 992 | 0.01% | 0 | |
| Independent | Virgil Goode (write-in) | Jim Clymer | 503 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Independent | Stewart Alexander (write-in) | Alejandro Mendoza | 82 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Independent | Jerry White (write-in) | Phyllis Scherrer | 79 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Independent | James Harris (write-in) | Maura DeLuca | 72 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Independent | Stephen Durham (write-in) | Christina López | 54 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Independent | Sheila Tittle (write-in) | Matthew Turner | 6 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 13,038,547 | 98.76% | — | |||
| Invalid or blank votes | 163,611 | 1.24% | — | |||
| Totals | 13,202,158 | 100.00% | 55 | |||
| Voter turnout | 72.35% | — | ||||
By county
| County | Barack Obama Democratic |
Mitt Romney Republican |
Various candidates Other parties |
Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alameda | 469,684 | 78.69% | 108,182 | 18.12% | 19,027 | 3.19% | 361,502 | 60.57% | 596,893 |
| Alpine | 389 | 59.48% | 236 | 36.09% | 29 | 4.43% | 153 | 23.39% | 654 |
| Amador | 6,830 | 38.60% | 10,281 | 58.11% | 582 | 3.29% | -3,451 | -19.51% | 17,693 |
| Butte | 42,669 | 46.88% | 44,479 | 48.87% | 3,873 | 4.25% | -1,810 | -1.99% | 91,021 |
| Calaveras | 8,670 | 39.66% | 12,365 | 56.56% | 827 | 3.78% | -3,695 | -16.90% | 21,862 |
| Colusa | 2,314 | 38.28% | 3,601 | 59.57% | 130 | 2.15% | -1,287 | -21.29% | 6,045 |
| Contra Costa | 290,824 | 66.23% | 136,517 | 31.09% | 11,804 | 2.68% | 154,307 | 35.14% | 439,145 |
| Del Norte | 3,791 | 43.23% | 4,614 | 52.61% | 365 | 4.16% | -823 | -9.38% | 8,770 |
| El Dorado | 35,166 | 39.51% | 50,973 | 57.27% | 2,859 | 3.22% | -15,807 | -17.76% | 88,998 |
| Fresno | 129,129 | 49.72% | 124,490 | 47.94% | 6,078 | 2.34% | 4,639 | 1.78% | 259,697 |
| Glenn | 3,301 | 35.73% | 5,632 | 60.97% | 305 | 3.30% | -2,331 | -25.24% | 9,238 |
| Humboldt | 34,457 | 59.73% | 18,825 | 32.63% | 4,404 | 7.64% | 15,632 | 27.10% | 57,686 |
| Imperial | 25,136 | 65.18% | 12,777 | 33.13% | 652 | 1.69% | 12,359 | 32.05% | 38,565 |
| Inyo | 3,422 | 42.58% | 4,340 | 54.01% | 274 | 3.41% | -918 | -11.43% | 8,036 |
| Kern | 89,495 | 40.28% | 126,618 | 56.99% | 6,076 | 2.73% | -37,123 | -16.71% | 222,189 |
| Kings | 12,979 | 41.31% | 17,671 | 56.24% | 768 | 2.45% | -4,692 | -14.93% | 31,418 |
| Lake | 13,163 | 56.27% | 9,200 | 39.33% | 1,028 | 4.40% | 3,963 | 16.94% | 23,391 |
| Lassen | 3,053 | 28.47% | 7,296 | 68.03% | 376 | 3.50% | -4,243 | -39.56% | 10,725 |
| Los Angeles | 2,216,903 | 69.69% | 885,333 | 27.83% | 78,831 | 2.48% | 1,331,570 | 41.86% | 3,181,067 |
| Madera | 16,018 | 40.11% | 22,852 | 57.23% | 1,063 | 2.66% | -6,834 | -17.12% | 39,933 |
| Marin | 99,896 | 74.14% | 30,880 | 22.92% | 3,955 | 2.94% | 69,016 | 51.22% | 134,731 |
| Mariposa | 3,498 | 38.70% | 5,140 | 56.87% | 400 | 4.43% | -1,642 | -18.17% | 9,038 |
| Mendocino | 23,193 | 66.01% | 9,658 | 27.49% | 2,286 | 6.50% | 13,535 | 38.52% | 35,137 |
| Merced | 33,005 | 53.04% | 27,581 | 44.33% | 1,636 | 2.63% | 5,424 | 8.71% | 62,222 |
| Modoc | 1,111 | 27.64% | 2,777 | 69.10% | 131 | 3.26% | -1,666 | -41.46% | 4,019 |
| Mono | 2,733 | 52.75% | 2,285 | 44.10% | 163 | 3.15% | 448 | 8.65% | 5,181 |
| Monterey | 82,920 | 67.13% | 37,390 | 30.27% | 3,208 | 2.60% | 45,530 | 36.86% | 123,518 |
| Napa | 35,870 | 62.97% | 19,526 | 34.28% | 1,572 | 2.75% | 16,344 | 28.69% | 56,968 |
| Nevada | 24,663 | 47.73% | 24,986 | 48.35% | 2,027 | 3.92% | -323 | -0.62% | 51,676 |
| Orange | 512,440 | 45.65% | 582,332 | 51.87% | 27,892 | 2.48% | -69,892 | -6.22% | 1,122,664 |
| Placer | 66,818 | 38.91% | 99,921 | 58.19% | 4,972 | 2.90% | -33,103 | -19.28% | 171,711 |
| Plumas | 4,026 | 39.94% | 5,721 | 56.76% | 333 | 3.30% | -1,695 | -16.82% | 10,080 |
| Riverside | 329,063 | 49.62% | 318,127 | 47.97% | 15,926 | 2.41% | 10,936 | 1.65% | 663,116 |
| Sacramento | 300,503 | 58.06% | 202,514 | 39.13% | 14,565 | 2.81% | 97,989 | 18.93% | 517,582 |
| San Benito | 11,276 | 59.10% | 7,343 | 38.48% | 462 | 2.42% | 3,933 | 20.62% | 19,081 |
| San Bernardino | 305,109 | 52.34% | 262,358 | 45.01% | 15,463 | 2.65% | 42,751 | 7.33% | 582,930 |
| San Diego | 626,957 | 52.51% | 536,726 | 44.95% | 30,266 | 2.54% | 90,231 | 7.56% | 1,193,949 |
| San Francisco | 301,723 | 83.40% | 47,076 | 13.01% | 12,996 | 3.59% | 254,647 | 70.39% | 361,795 |
| San Joaquin | 114,121 | 55.57% | 86,071 | 41.91% | 5,172 | 2.52% | 28,050 | 13.66% | 205,364 |
| San Luis Obispo | 61,258 | 48.63% | 59,967 | 47.61% | 4,741 | 3.76% | 1,291 | 1.02% | 125,966 |
| San Mateo | 206,085 | 72.13% | 72,756 | 25.46% | 6,879 | 2.41% | 133,329 | 46.67% | 285,720 |
| Santa Barbara | 94,129 | 57.44% | 64,606 | 39.42% | 5,150 | 3.14% | 29,523 | 18.02% | 163,885 |
| Santa Clara | 450,818 | 69.97% | 174,843 | 27.14% | 18,616 | 2.89% | 275,975 | 42.83% | 644,277 |
| Santa Cruz | 90,805 | 75.43% | 24,047 | 19.98% | 5,533 | 4.59% | 66,758 | 55.45% | 120,385 |
| Shasta | 25,819 | 33.75% | 48,067 | 62.83% | 2,615 | 3.42% | -22,248 | -29.08% | 76,501 |
| Sierra | 653 | 36.30% | 1,056 | 58.70% | 90 | 5.00% | -403 | -22.40% | 1,799 |
| Siskiyou | 8,046 | 40.24% | 11,077 | 55.40% | 870 | 4.36% | -3,031 | -15.16% | 19,993 |
| Solano | 96,783 | 63.32% | 52,092 | 34.08% | 3,965 | 2.60% | 44,691 | 29.24% | 152,840 |
| Sonoma | 153,942 | 70.99% | 54,784 | 25.26% | 8,139 | 3.75% | 99,158 | 45.73% | 216,865 |
| Stanislaus | 77,724 | 49.88% | 73,459 | 47.14% | 4,633 | 2.98% | 4,265 | 2.74% | 155,816 |
| Sutter | 12,192 | 39.22% | 18,122 | 58.30% | 769 | 2.48% | -5,930 | -19.08% | 31,083 |
| Tehama | 7,934 | 34.53% | 14,235 | 61.95% | 808 | 3.52% | -6,301 | -27.42% | 22,977 |
| Trinity | 2,674 | 46.59% | 2,716 | 47.33% | 349 | 6.08% | -42 | -0.74% | 5,739 |
| Tulare | 41,752 | 41.22% | 56,956 | 56.24% | 2,571 | 2.54% | -15,204 | -15.02% | 101,279 |
| Tuolumne | 9,998 | 40.38% | 13,880 | 56.06% | 880 | 3.56% | -3,882 | -15.68% | 24,758 |
| Ventura | 170,929 | 52.16% | 147,958 | 45.15% | 8,825 | 2.69% | 22,971 | 7.01% | 327,712 |
| Yolo | 48,715 | 65.24% | 23,368 | 31.29% | 2,588 | 3.47% | 25,347 | 33.95% | 74,671 |
| Yuba | 7,711 | 39.02% | 11,275 | 57.06% | 775 | 3.92% | -3,564 | -18.04% | 19,761 |
| Total | 7,854,285 | 60.16% | 4,839,958 | 37.07% | 361,572 | 2.77% | 3,014,327 | 23.09% | 13,055,815 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
Outcome by city
Official outcomes by city.[11]
By congressional district
Obama won 41 of the 53 congressional districts, including 3 held by Republicans.[12]
- "Historical Voter Registration and Participation in Statewide General Elections 1910-2018" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
- "President - Statewide Results | General Election | California Secretary of State". Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
- "Statement of Vote June 5, 2012 Presidential Primary Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
- "California Democratic Delegation 2012". www.thegreenpapers.com. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
- "Primary and Caucus Printable Calendar". CNN. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
- "Presidential Primary Dates" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
- "California Republican Delegation 2012". www.thegreenpapers.com. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
- "2012 President Green-rainbow Primary". June 5, 2012.
- "California Secretary of State Certified List of Write-In Candidates" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 19, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
- "Statement of Vote: November 6, 2012 General Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. December 18, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 24, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
- "Supplement to Statement of Vote" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
- "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts". Daily Kos. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
- The Green Papers: for California
- The Green Papers: Major state elections in chronological order