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
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican