2012 United States presidential election in Michigan

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2012 United States presidential election in Michigan
Flag of Michigan.svg
  2008 November 6, 2012 2016  
Turnout63% Decrease2.svg [1]
  President Barack Obama, 2012 portrait crop.jpg Mitt Romney by Gage Skidmore 6 cropped.jpg
Nominee Barack Obama Mitt Romney
Party Democratic Republican
Home state Illinois Massachusetts
Running mate Joe Biden Paul Ryan
Electoral vote160
Popular vote2,564,5692,115,256
Percentage54.04%44.58%

Michigan Presidential Election Results 2012.svg
MI President 2012 Congressional Districts.svg
Michigan Presidential Results 2012 by Municipality.svg

The 2012 United States presidential election in Michigan 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. Voters chose 16 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.

Contents

Michigan was won by Democrat Barack Obama with 54.04% of the vote to Romney's 44.58%, a victory margin of 9.46%. [2] It was the sixth presidential election in a row where Michigan voted in favor of the Democratic candidate, with Republicans last carrying the state in 1988. Obama's margin of victory was significantly decreased from 2008 when he carried the state by 16.44%, and he lost 26 counties that had voted for him four years prior. Many of those counties had gone Democratic for the first time in decades, such as Berrien County, which had not voted for a Democrat since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. The state's Republican trend would continue, as Donald Trump would end up narrowly winning the state over Hillary Clinton and flipping even more counties in 2016. Nevertheless, it would return to the Democratic column in the following cycle when it narrowly backed Joe Biden over Trump.

As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last time Michigan voted to the left of Colorado, Minnesota, Virginia, and New Hampshire. This is also the last election in which Michigan voted more Democratic than the nation, as well as the last time that Bay County, Calhoun County, Eaton County, Gogebic County, Isabella County, Lake County, Macomb County, Manistee County, Monroe County, Shiawassee County, and Van Buren County voted for the Democratic candidate.

Primary elections

Democratic primary

2012 Michigan Democratic presidential caucuses
Flag of Michigan.svg
  2008 May 5, 2012 2016  

203 delegates
to the Democratic National Convention
The number of pledged delegates won is determined by the popular vote
  President Barack Obama, 2012 portrait crop.jpg Blank.png
Candidate Barack Obama Uncommitted
Home state Illinois N/A
Delegate count2030
Popular vote174,05420,833
Percentage89.3%10.7%

MI President Democratic Primary 2012 Counties.svg
County winner
  Barack Obama

The Democratic Party used a caucus system to determine the proportion of delegates awarded to Democratic candidates. The caucuses took place May 5; as the only Democratic candidate, President Obama won all 183 pledged delegates in the caucus. They, along with the other 20 unpledged delegates, voted for Obama at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

2012 Michigan Democratic presidential caucuses [3]
CandidateVotesPercentageProjected delegate count
AP
[4]
CNN
[5]
GP
[6]
America Symbol.svg Barack Obama 174,05489.31%203203203
Uncommitted20,83310.69%000
Total:194,887100.00%203203203

Republican primary

2012 Michigan Republican presidential primary
Flag of Michigan.svg
  2008 February 28, 2012 (2012-02-28) 2016  
  Mitt Romney by Gage Skidmore 6 cropped.jpg Rick Santorum by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Candidate Mitt Romney Rick Santorum
Home state Massachusetts Pennsylvania
Delegate count1614
Popular vote409,522377,372
Percentage41.10%37.87%

  Ron Paul by Gage Skidmore 3 (crop 2).jpg Newt Gingrich by Gage Skidmore 3 (cropped).jpg
Candidate Ron Paul Newt Gingrich
Home state Texas Georgia
Delegate count00
Popular vote115,91165,027
Percentage11.63%6.53%

Michigan Republican Presidential Primary Election Results by County, 2012.svg
Michigan results by county
  Mitt Romney
  Rick Santorum

The Republican primary took place on February 28, 2012, [7] the same day as the Arizona Republican primary. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney won both of these elections.

This Michigan election used a semi-open primary system (which the state referred to as "closed") in which each voter made a public declaration at their election site and received the ballot for the appropriate party, rather than the fully open system used in the past. [8] The state had 7,286,556 registered voters as of February 15, and delegates were awarded proportionately. [9]

Michigan was given 59 delegates to the Republican (GOP) national convention, but that number was reduced to 30 as a penalty for bringing the election date forward before March 6 as the GOP rules set. [7] The candidate with the greatest number of votes in each of the 14 congressional districts will receive that district's two delegates. Two additional delegates for Michigan were announced by the media to be given proportionally before the election [7] but after the election the Michigan GOP announced there had been an error in the memo published and that the two delegates will be given to the winner, which sparked accusations of Mitt Romney rigging the results from Rick Santorum's team. [10]

Polling

Campaign

While Romney has close ties to Michigan, where he was born and grew up and his father was the Governor, Santorum, who once trailed Romney badly in the state, had a clear lead over him in mid February after Santorum won Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri caucuses and primary on February 7. And the competition became a statistical tie between these two candidates before the primary. [11]

Since Michigan allows primary voters to declare their affiliation at the time they vote, Santorum campaign paid for robo-calls inviting Democrats to cross over and vote for him. [12] Romney called this tactic "outrageous" and "disgusting" but Santorum defended himself as not doing anything wrong but getting people to vote in an open primary. [13]

Some Democrats also urged their supporters to vote for Santorum in the Republican primary, in hopes of forcing the Republican candidates to use more resources and help make it easier for Barack Obama to win the general election. [14] This is similar to Rush Limbaugh's "Operation Chaos", where Limbaugh urged voters in the 2008 Democratic Presidential primaries to vote for Hillary Clinton, whom he saw as being a weaker candidate than Obama. [15] Michigan has a long history of such crossover voting; in 2000, strong Democratic crossover votes helped Senator John McCain win the Michigan Republican primary. [16] In 1972, Republican crossover votes propelled Governor George Wallace to victory in the Democratic primary. [17] [18]

Results

Polls closed at 8 PM local time on election day. [19] While most of the state is in the Eastern time zone (UTC −5), four counties in the Upper Peninsula are on Central time (UTC −6), so the final closures came at 9 PM Eastern time. As of 2/28, results showed Romney winning 7 congressional districts and Santorum winning 7.

2012 Michigan Republican presidential primary [20]
CandidateVotesPercentageProjected delegate count
AP
[21]
CNN
[22]
GP
[23]
America Symbol.svg Mitt Romney 409,52241.10%161616
Rick Santorum 377,37237.87%141414
Ron Paul 115,91111.63%000
Newt Gingrich 65,0276.53%000
Rick Perry (withdrawn)1,8160.18%000
Buddy Roemer (withdrawn)1,7840.18%000
Michele Bachmann (withdrawn)1,7350.17%000
Jon Huntsman (withdrawn)1,6740.17%000
Herman Cain (withdrawn)1,2110.12%000
Fred Karger 1,1800.12%000
Gary Johnson (withdrawn)4580.05%000
Uncommitted18,8091.89%000
Unprojected delegates:200
Total:996,499100.00%303030

At the Republican state convention in May, it was reported that of the 30 voting delegates for the national convention in Tampa, 6 were Paul supporters, and 24 were Romney supporters. [24] [25] [26] [27] Paul organizers disputed these numbers, stating that they had actually taken 8 (instead of 6) of the voting delegates, plus several non-voting slots. [28]

Delegate allocation controversy

A controversy arose over the delegate allocation in Michigan, where 28 congressional district delegates and two at-large delegates were awarded. The Republican Party of Michigan rules stated that the two at-large delegates would be awarded proportionally, meaning that Santorum and Romney would get one delegate each for a 15–15 tie. But the following day the party's credentials committee allocated both at-large delegates to Romney, saying it had changed the rules a few weeks prior to award the delegates to the statewide winner but "in error" sent a memo to the candidates saying they would be awarded proportionately. [29] Santorum's campaign protested, saying the committee's six members were mostly Romney supporters, [30] and filed a protest with the Republican National Committee. Santorum's general counsel wrote in a letter to the RNC, "It is our understanding that several public supporters and Michigan surrogates of an opposing campaign voted in favor of the delegate allocation change which assisted their chosen candidate. This request is not about the allocation of a single delegate; it is about ensuring a transparent process, avoiding unscrupulous tactics and backroom deals by establishment figures and campaigns who have not received the result they hoped for at the ballot box." [31] Committee member and former state attorney general Mike Cox endorsed Romney, but said the delegates should have been awarded 15-15: "I have this crazy idea that you follow the rules. I'd love to give the at-large delegates to Mitt Romney, but our rules provide for strict apportionment." [30]

General election

Candidate ballot access

Write-in candidate access:

Results

2012 United States presidential election in Michigan [9]
PartyCandidateRunning mateVotesPercentageElectoral votes
Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 2,564,56954.04%16
Republican Mitt Romney Paul Ryan 2,115,25644.58%0
Green Jill Stein Cheri Honkala 21,8970.46%0
Constitution Virgil Goode Jim Clymer16,1190.34%0
Libertarian (Write-in) Gary Johnson Jim Gray 7,7740.16%0
Natural Law Rocky Anderson Luis J. Rodriguez 5,1470.11%0
Socialist (Write-in) Stewart Alexander Alex Mendoza 890.00%0
Socialist Equality
(Write-in)
Jerry White Phyllis Scherrer680.00%0
America's (Write-in) Tom Hoefling J.D. Ellis420.00%0
Totals4,730,961100.00%16
Voter turnout (registered voters) [9] 63.46%

Results by county

CountyBarack Obama
Democratic
Mitt Romney
Republican
Various candidates
Other parties
MarginTotal votes cast
# %# %# %# %
Alcona 2,47240.50%3,57158.50%611.00%-1,099-18.00%6,104
Alger 2,21247.90%2,33050.45%761.65%-118-2.55%4,618
Allegan 20,80639.42%31,12358.97%8461.61%-10,317-19.55%52,775
Alpena 6,54946.48%7,29851.79%2441.73%-749-5.31%14,091
Antrim 5,10738.70%7,91760.00%1711.30%-2,810-21.30%13,195
Arenac 3,66946.79%4,05751.74%1151.47%-388-4.95%7,841
Baraga 1,57445.10%1,86653.47%501.43%-292-8.37%3,490
Barry 11,49140.15%16,65558.20%4711.65%-5,164-18.05%28,617
Bay 27,87752.02%24,91146.49%7981.49%2,9665.53%53,586
Benzie 4,68547.32%5,07551.26%1411.42%-390-3.94%9,901
Berrien 33,46545.99%38,20952.51%1,0881.50%-4,744-6.52%72,762
Branch 6,91340.32%10,03558.52%1991.16%-3,122-18.20%17,147
Calhoun 29,26750.18%28,33348.58%7271.24%9341.60%58,327
Cass 9,59142.65%12,65956.29%2401.06%-3,068-13.64%22,490
Charlevoix 5,93942.05%8,00056.64%1861.31%-2,061-14.59%14,125
Cheboygan 5,83143.68%7,28654.58%2331.74%-1,455-10.90%13,350
Chippewa 7,10045.34%8,27852.86%2821.80%-1,178-7.52%15,660
Clare 6,33846.83%6,98851.63%2091.54%-650-4.80%13,535
Clinton 18,19146.36%20,65052.63%3941.01%-2,459-6.27%39,235
Crawford 2,99443.94%3,74454.95%761.11%-750-11.01%6,814
Delta 8,33045.95%9,53452.59%2661.46%-1,204-6.64%18,130
Dickinson 4,95238.53%7,68859.82%2111.65%-2,736-21.29%12,851
Eaton 27,91350.95%26,19747.82%6781.23%1,7163.13%54,788
Emmet 7,22540.67%10,25357.71%2871.62%-3,028-17.04%17,765
Genesee 128,97863.30%71,80835.24%2,9561.46%57,17028.06%203,742
Gladwin 5,76045.78%6,66152.94%1621.28%-901-7.16%12,583
Gogebic 4,05853.30%3,44445.24%1111.46%6148.06%7,613
Grand Traverse 20,87543.31%26,53455.05%7881.64%-5,659-11.74%48,197
Gratiot 7,61047.46%8,24151.39%1841.15%-631-3.93%16,035
Hillsdale 7,10637.20%11,72761.40%2671.40%-4,621-24.20%19,100
Houghton 6,80144.27%8,19653.36%3642.37%-1,395-9.09%15,361
Huron 6,51842.10%8,80656.87%1601.03%-2,288-14.77%15,484
Ingham 80,84763.01%45,30635.31%2,1571.68%35,54127.70%128,310
Ionia 11,01842.61%14,31555.36%5232.03%-3,297-12.75%25,856
Iosco 6,24246.63%6,90951.62%2341.75%-667-4.99%13,385
Iron 2,68744.69%3,22453.63%1011.68%-537-8.94%6,012
Isabella 13,03853.74%10,80044.52%4221.74%2,2389.22%24,260
Jackson 32,30146.35%36,29852.09%1,0861.56%-3,997-5.74%69,685
Kalamazoo 69,05155.83%52,66242.58%1,9771.59%16,38913.25%123,690
Kalkaska 3,27239.43%4,90159.06%1261.51%-1,629-19.63%8,299
Kent 133,40845.35%155,92553.00%4,8731.65%-22,517-7.65%294,206
Keweenaw 58241.81%77455.60%362.59%-192-13.79%1,392
Lake 2,75251.83%2,48746.84%711.33%2654.99%5,310
Lapeer 18,79643.60%23,73455.05%5851.35%-4,938-11.45%43,115
Leelanau 6,57646.25%7,48352.63%1601.12%-907-6.38%14,219
Lenawee 21,77648.47%22,35149.75%8011.78%-575-1.28%44,928
Livingston 37,21637.73%60,08360.91%1,3411.36%-22,867-23.18%98,640
Luce 99138.17%1,58060.86%250.97%-589-22.69%2,596
Mackinac 2,65243.35%3,39755.53%681.12%-745-12.18%6,117
Macomb 208,01651.30%191,91347.33%5,5861.37%16,1033.97%405,515
Manistee 6,47352.19%5,73746.26%1921.55%7365.93%12,402
Marquette 18,11556.00%13,60642.06%6251.94%4,50913.94%32,346
Mason 6,85646.75%7,58051.69%2291.56%-724-4.94%14,665
Mecosta 7,51544.26%9,17654.04%2891.70%-1,661-9.78%16,980
Menominee 5,24247.80%5,56450.73%1611.47%-322-2.93%10,967
Midland 17,45041.57%23,91956.98%6101.45%-6,469-15.41%41,979
Missaukee 2,27432.36%4,66566.39%881.25%-2,391-34.03%7,027
Monroe 36,31049.68%35,59348.69%1,1921.63%7170.99%73,095
Montcalm 11,43044.74%13,62153.32%4971.94%-2,191-8.58%25,548
Montmorency 2,04940.57%2,92857.97%741.46%-879-17.40%5,051
Muskegon 44,43658.16%30,88440.43%1,0771.41%13,55217.73%76,397
Newaygo 8,72840.64%12,45758.00%2931.36%-3,729-17.36%21,478
Oakland 349,00253.40%296,51445.37%8,0551.23%52,4888.03%653,571
Oceana 5,06344.22%6,23954.49%1481.29%-1,176-10.27%11,450
Ogemaw 4,79146.09%5,43752.31%1661.60%-646-6.22%10,394
Ontonagon 1,58644.81%1,90653.86%471.33%-320-9.05%3,539
Osceola 3,98138.73%6,14159.75%1561.52%-2,160-21.02%10,278
Oscoda 1,65740.88%2,30856.95%882.17%-651-16.07%4,053
Otsego 4,68139.37%7,01158.96%1991.67%-2,330-19.59%11,891
Ottawa 42,73732.19%88,16666.41%1,8541.40%-45,429-34.22%132,757
Presque Isle 3,19244.97%3,79453.45%1121.58%-602-8.48%7,098
Roscommon 6,19847.40%6,70151.24%1781.36%-503-3.84%13,077
Saginaw 54,38155.33%42,72043.46%1,1911.21%11,66111.87%98,292
St. Clair 33,98345.81%39,27152.94%9271.25%-5,288-7.13%74,181
St. Joseph 10,11243.13%12,97855.36%3551.51%-2,866-12.23%23,445
Sanilac 7,21239.09%10,96359.42%2751.49%-3,751-20.33%18,450
Schoolcraft 1,86545.92%2,14252.75%541.33%-277-6.83%4,061
Shiawassee 17,19751.06%15,96247.39%5201.55%1,2353.67%33,679
Tuscola 11,42543.76%14,24054.54%4451.70%-2,815-10.78%26,110
Van Buren 16,29049.61%16,14149.15%4061.24%1490.46%32,837
Washtenaw 120,89067.04%56,41231.28%2,9651.68%64,47835.76%180,337
Wayne 595,84672.83%213,81426.13%8,4761.04%382,03246.70%818,136
Wexford 6,18441.51%8,45056.72%2641.77%-2,266-15.21%14,898
Totals2,564,56954.04%2,115,25644.58%65,4911.38%449,3139.46%4,745,316
County Flips:
Democratic
Hold
Republican
Hold
Gain from Democratic Michigan County Flips 2012.svg
County Flips:

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Results by congressional district

Despite losing the state, Mitt Romney won 9 of 14 congressional districts. [32]

DistrictObamaRomneyRepresentative
1st 45%53% Dan Benishek
2nd 43%56% Bill Huizenga
3rd 46%53% Justin Amash
4th 46%54% Dave Camp
5th 61%38% Dan Kildee
6th 49%50% Fred Upton
7th 48%51% Tim Walberg
8th 48%51% Mike Rogers
9th 57%42% Sander Levin
10th 44%55% Candice Miller
11th 47%52% Kerry Bentivolio
12th 66%33% John Dingell
13th 85%14% John Conyers
14th 81%18% Gary Peters

Analysis

All of the local polling firms had predicted a close election here, some even giving an advantage to native Michigander Romney over Obama; however, statistician Nate Silver pointed out several problems with the local pollsters' methodology and sampling errors, instead giving more credence to the national pollsters who posited a clear victory for Obama (by a mean of 7.3 points and a median of 7.0 over Romney). [33]

In the end, Silver and the National pollsters were correct: Obama defeated Romney by over 9 points in the November 2012 election. Obama dominated the population centers that had traditionally anchored Democratic strength in the state—Detroit, Lansing, Ann Arbor, and Flint—but he also retained two populous counties that had been Republican strongholds in the 1970s and 1980s, the Detroit-area suburban counties of Oakland and Macomb. Even in Kent County, which flipped back to the Republican column, Romney substantially underperformed what Bush had done in 2000 and 2004. While Romney did better in more rural areas, without better strength in some of the state's population centers, Romney was unable to flip the state.

See also

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The 2012 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania 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. The primary election to select the Democratic and Republican candidates had been held on April 24, 2012. Pennsylvania voters chose 20 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. Pennsylvania's electoral vote number was a reduction from the 2008 delegation, which had 21 electors. This change was due to reapportionment following the 2010 United States Census. Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes are allotted on a winner-take-all basis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States presidential election in Tennessee</span> Election in Tennessee

The 2012 United States presidential election in Tennessee 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. Tennessee voters chose 11 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States presidential election in Kansas</span> Election in Kansas

The 2012 United States presidential election in Kansas 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. Kansas voters chose six 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. Romney and Ryan carried the state with 59.59 percent of the popular vote to Obama's and Biden's 38.00 percent, thus winning the state's six electoral votes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States presidential election in the District of Columbia</span> Election in the District of Columbia

The 2012 United States presidential election in the District of Columbia took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 United States presidential election in which all 50 states and the District of Columbia participated. D.C. voters chose three 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. Prior to the election, Washington DC was considered to be a definite win for Obama; the nation's capital is heavily Democratic and has always voted for Democratic nominees for president by overwhelming margins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States presidential election in North Dakota</span> Election in North Dakota

The 2012 United States presidential election in North Dakota 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. North Dakota voters chose three 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Michigan Republican presidential primary</span>

The 2012 Michigan Republican presidential primary took place on February 28, 2012, the same day as the Arizona Republican primary. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney won both of these elections.

References

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