United States presidential election, 2012 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
United States presidential election, 2012

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November 6, 2012

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Nominee	Barack Obama	Mitt Romney
Party	Democrat	Republican
Home state	Illinois	Massachusetts
Running mate	Joe Biden	Paul Ryan
Electoral vote	332	206
States carried	26 + DC	24
Popular vote	65,915,796	60,933,500
Percentage	51.1%	47.2%

Presidential election results map. Blue denotes states won by Obama/Biden. Red denotes states won by Romney/Ryan. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state.

President before election

Barack Obama
Democrat

Elected President

Barack Obama
Democrat

The 2012 United States presidential election happened on November 6, 2012. In this election, Americans voted for their next president and vice president. They also voted for members of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives.

Barack Obama and his running mate, Joe Biden, were elected for their second term. News channels announced their win late on November 6. Mitt Romney of the Republican Party accepted his loss early on November 7. Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party came in third place.

How Electoral Votes Changed

The number of Electoral College votes each state gets can change. This happens after the U.S. Census, which counts everyone in the country. Between the 2008 and 2012 elections, some states gained votes, and others lost them.

States Gaining Votes

Texas +4
Florida +2
Arizona +1
Georgia +1
Nevada +1
South Carolina +1
Utah +1
Washington +1

States Losing Votes

New York -2
Ohio -2
Illinois -1
Iowa -1
Louisiana -1
Massachusetts -1
Michigan -1
Missouri -1
New Jersey -1
Pennsylvania -1

What the Electoral College looked like in 2012

Party Conventions

Before the election, major political parties hold national conventions. This is where they officially choose their candidates for president and vice president.

In 2012, the Republican Party held its convention in Tampa. It took place in late August. The Democratic Party held its convention in Charlotte, North Carolina in early September. After the conventions, the chosen candidates from each party then compete against each other in the general election.

Main Candidates for President

Democrats

Barack Obama announced he would run for re-election on April 4, 2011. He faced some challengers in the Democratic primary elections. However, he won all 57 Democratic primaries. This meant he became the official Democratic nominee.

Democratic Nominees

Barack Obama	Joe Biden
Democratic Party Ticket, 2012
for President	for Vice President

44th President of the United States (2009–present)	47th Vice President of the United States (2009–present)
Campaign

Other Democratic Candidates

Some other people also ran for the Democratic nomination. They included:

John Wolfe, Jr., an attorney from Tennessee
Darcy Richardson, a historian from Florida
Bob Ely, an entrepreneur from Illinois
Randall Terry, from West Virginia

Attorney
John Wolfe, Jr.
of Tennessee
Historian
Darcy Richardson
of Florida
Randall Terry
of West Virginia

Republicans

Republican Nominees

Mitt Romney	Paul Ryan
Republican Party Ticket, 2012
for President	for Vice President

70th Governor of Massachusetts (2003–2007)	U.S. Representative from Wisconsin (1999–present)
Campaign

Republicans Who Left the Race

Many Republicans started campaigns for president in 2011. However, most of them later stopped their campaigns. Here are some of the candidates who withdrew:

Ron Paul, a U.S. Representative from Texas.
Fred Karger, a political consultant from California.
Newt Gingrich, a former U.S. Speaker of the House from Georgia.
Rick Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania.
Buddy Roemer, a former governor of Louisiana.
Rick Perry, the Governor of Texas.
Jon Huntsman, Jr., a former U.S. ambassador to China and former governor of Utah.
Michele Bachmann, a U.S. Representative from Minnesota.
Gary Johnson, a former governor of New Mexico.
Herman Cain, a businessman from Georgia.
Thaddeus McCotter, a U.S. Representative from Michigan.
Tim Pawlenty, a former governor of Minnesota.

U.S. Representative
Ron Paul
of Texas
(campaign)
Political consultant and gay rights activist
Fred Karger
of California
Former House Speaker
Newt Gingrich
of Georgia
(campaign)
Former Senator
Rick Santorum
of Pennsylvania
(campaign)
Former Governor
Buddy Roemer
of Louisiana
(campaign)
Governor
Rick Perry
of Texas
(campaign)
Former Ambassador
Jon Huntsman
of Utah
(campaign)
U.S. Representative
Michele Bachmann
of Minnesota
(campaign)
Former Governor
Gary Johnson
of New Mexico
(campaign)
Businessman
Herman Cain
of Georgia
(campaign)
U.S. Representative
Thaddeus McCotter
of Michigan
(campaign)
Former Governor
Tim Pawlenty
of Minnesota
(campaign)

In the middle of 2011, many Republicans were running. These included Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Jon Huntsman, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Gary Johnson, Buddy Roemer, Thaddeus McCotter, and Tim Pawlenty. Some well-known figures like Scott Brown and Sarah Palin were thought to be possible candidates, but they decided not to run.

The Republican candidates started having debates in May 2011. In August, a poll called the Ames Straw Poll was held. Bachmann won, and Paul came in second. After this poll, Tim Pawlenty and Thaddeus McCotter stopped their campaigns.

Rick Perry then became the "frontrunner," meaning he had the most support in polls. But his support dropped after some difficult debates. In one debate, he forgot a government department he wanted to remove.

Later, Herman Cain became the new frontrunner for a few months. He had an economic plan called "9-9-9." This plan would replace all current taxes with a 9% income tax, a 9% national sales tax, and a 9% business tax. However, he struggled in debates about foreign policy. Cain left the race on December 3, 2011.

After Cain, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney were the main competitors. But Gingrich soon lost much of his support. Gary Johnson left the Republican race on December 28, 2011. He decided to run for the nomination of the Libertarian Party instead.

In January 2012, Bachmann, Huntsman, and Perry dropped out after not doing well in the early primary elections. However, Rick Santorum had a surprise win in Iowa. Gingrich also won in South Carolina.

For February, March, and early April, Rick Santorum was Mitt Romney's main opponent. But on April 10, Santorum announced he was leaving the race. He had won 11 primaries compared to Romney's 23. Buddy Roemer also dropped out in February.

After Santorum left, most people expected Mitt Romney to win the Republican nomination. His two remaining opponents, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul, stayed in the race for a while. Gingrich dropped out on May 2. Paul continued his campaign even after the Republican National Convention.

Santorum and Gingrich told their supporters to vote for Romney at the convention. At the Republican National Convention, Romney easily won the nomination. The convention also chose Paul Ryan as Romney's running mate for vice president.

Other Candidates

Besides the main Democratic and Republican candidates, other people also ran for president. These included Virgil Goode, Roseanne Barr, Rocky Anderson, and Tom Hoefling.

Four other parties nominated candidates who could be voted for in many states. These parties and their candidates were:

Libertarian Party

Gary Johnson, a former governor of New Mexico. His running mate was Jim Gray, a retired judge from California.

Green Party

Jill Stein, a medical doctor from Massachusetts. Her running mate was Cheri Honkala, a social organizer from Pennsylvania.

Constitution Party

Virgil Goode, a former U.S. congressman from Virginia. His running mate was Jim Clymer from Pennsylvania.

Justice Party

Rocky Anderson, a former mayor of Salt Lake City and a founder of the Justice Party, from Utah. His running mate was Luis J. Rodriguez from California.

Other Candidates Gallery

Gary Johnson
(campaign)
Jill Stein
(campaign)
Virgil Goode
(campaign)
Rocky Anderson

Election Polls

Many polls were taken to guess who would win the election. Most polls showed Obama ahead of Romney. However, polls taken between the first and second presidential debates sometimes showed Romney doing better.

When looking at individual states, Obama usually won the states he won in 2008. Republicans usually won the states that John McCain won in 2008. The states of Indiana, North Carolina, and Nebraska's second congressional district were the main exceptions to this pattern.

Election Results by State

The table below shows the final results of the election. It includes the number of electoral votes each candidate received, how many states they won, and their total popular votes.

Candidate (Party)		Electoral votes	States carried*	Popular vote	Pct.
	Obama (Democratic)	332	27	65,915,796	51.06%
	Romney (Republican)	107	24	60,933,500	40.20%
	Johnson (Libertarian)	0	0	1,275,971	0.99%
	Stein (Green)	0	0	469,628	0.36%
	Goode (Constitution)	0	0	122,388	0.09%
	Barr (Peace and Freedom)	0	0	67,326	0.04%
	Anderson (Justice)	0	0	43,018	0.03%
	Hoefling (America's)	0	0	50,628	0.03%
	Others	0	0	217,148	0.17%
Total		538	51	129,085,403	100%
* includes District of Columbia

Note: The popular vote count shown here is based on early numbers and may not include every single vote.

State Projections

When you see "Consensus projection," it means that many news organizations agreed on who would win that state. A "projection" is when someone predicts the outcome of the election. "EV" means Electoral Vote, which comes from the Electoral College.

The Empire State Building was lit up in blue when Obama was announced as the winner.

Alabama – 9 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection)
Arkansas – 6 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection)
Arizona – 11 EVs, Romney (CNN projection)
California – 55 EVs, Obama (CNN projection)
Connecticut – 7 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection)
Colorado – 9 EVs, Obama (AP projection)
Delaware – 3 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection)
Florida - 29 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection)
Georgia – 16 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection)
Hawaii – 4 EVs, Obama (CNN projection)
Idaho – 4 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection)
Illinois – 20 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection)
Indiana – 11 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection)
Iowa – 6 EVs, Obama (CNN projection)
Kansas – 6 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection)
Kentucky – 8 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection)
Louisiana – 8 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection)
Maine – 4 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection)
Maryland – 10 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection)
Massachusetts – 11 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection)
Michigan – 16 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection)
Minnesota – 10 EVs, Obama (CBS projection)
Mississippi – 6 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection)
Missouri – 10 EVs, Romney (CBS projection)
Montana – 3 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection)
Nebraska – 3 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection) (4th and 5th Electoral votes Consensus projection)
Nevada – 6 EVs, Obama (ABC projection)
New Hampshire – 4 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection)
New Jersey – 14 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection)
New Mexico – 5 EVs, Obama (NBC projection)
New York – 29 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection)
North Carolina – 15 EVs, Romney (CNN projection)
North Dakota – 3 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection)
Ohio - 18 EVs, Obama (CNN projection)
Oklahoma – 7 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection)
Oregon – 7 EVs, Obama (CNN projection)
Pennsylvania – 20 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection)
Rhode Island – 4 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection)
South Carolina – 9 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection)
South Dakota – 3 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection)
Tennessee – 11 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection)
Texas – 38 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection)
Utah – 6 EVs, Romney (CNN projection)
Vermont – 3 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection)
Virginia – 13 EVs, Obama (CNN projection)
Washington, D.C. – 3 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection)
Washington – 12 EVs, Obama (CNN projection)
West Virginia – 5 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection)
Wisconsin – 10 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection)
Wyoming – 3 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection)

Note: The state of Florida's winner was not announced until November 10 because the race was extremely close.

Images for kids

Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney on the campaign trail.
President Obama talks with Ron Klain during presidential debate preparations. Senator John Kerry played the role of Mitt Romney.
President Obama casts his ballot in Chicago.
How states voted differently from 2008 to 2012.
Obama takes a phone call from Romney, who is accepting his loss.
Popular vote by county, from Republican (red) to Democratic (blue).
Map showing popular vote by county, with county sizes adjusted by population.
A map showing the popular vote by county and state.
The Obamas and the Bidens celebrate their victory on election night.
The Obamas and the Bidens walk on stage at their election night celebration in McCormick Place, Chicago.
Former Governor Mitt Romney meets with President Barack Obama at the White House after the election.