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2012 United States presidential election in West Virginia

The 2012 United States presidential election in West Virginia 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. West Virginia voters chose five electors 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.

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.[1] 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 since Richard Nixon in 1972 to carry over 60% of the state's votes.[2]

This represented a historic loss for the Democrats in West Virginia, which had been a Democratic stronghold from the New Deal up through the 1990s. Obama became the first Democrat since statehood to win the presidency without carrying Webster County, Jefferson County, or Braxton County. Obama is also the only president since statehood to win two terms without ever winning the state once. With 62.14% of the popular vote, West Virginia would prove to be Romney's fifth strongest state in the 2012 election after Utah, Wyoming, Oklahoma and Idaho.[3] As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last time the Democratic nominee has received more than 30% of the vote in West Virginia.

Primary elections

Democratic primary

Barack Obama defeated Keith Judd, a convicted felon serving a federal prison sentence in Texarkana, TX, by a surprisingly narrow 59% to 41%.[4]

Republican primary

The Republican primary took place on May 8, 2012.[5][6]

Results

Results by county

General election

Predictions

Results

Results by county

County Flips:
Republican
  Hold
  Gain from Democratic

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

By congressional district

Romney won all three congressional districts, including one held by a Democrat.[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Statewide Results - General Election". WV Secretary of State. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  2. ^ Thomas, G. Scott; The Pursuit of the White House: A Handbook of Presidential Election Statistics and History, pp. 459-460 ISBN 0313257957
  3. ^ "2012 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  4. ^ "4 in 10 choose convict over Obama in W.Va. primary - Political Hotsheet". CBS News. Archived from the original on May 10, 2012.
  5. ^ "Primary and Caucus Printable Calendar". CNN. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  6. ^ "Presidential Primary Dates" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Statewide Results - Primary Election". WV Secretary of State. May 8, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  8. ^ "Huffington Post Election Dashboard". HuffPost. Archived from the original on August 13, 2013.
  9. ^ "America's Choice 2012 Election Center: CNN Electoral Map". CNN. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013.
  10. ^ "Election 2012 - The Electoral Map: Building a Path to Victory". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 8, 2012.
  11. ^ "2012 Presidential Election Results". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 26, 2012.
  12. ^ "RealClearPolitics - 2012 Election Maps - Battle for White House". Archived from the original on June 8, 2011.
  13. ^ "PROJECTION: OBAMA WILL LIKELY WIN SECOND TERM".
  14. ^ "Nate Silver's political calculations predict 2012 election outcome".
  15. ^ "2012 Presidential General Election Results - West Virginia". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
  16. ^ "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts". Daily Kos. Retrieved August 11, 2020.

External links