Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign

Last updated

Obama for America
Obama Biden 2012 Logo.svg
2012 Obama–Biden campaign logo
Campaign 2012 Democratic primaries
2012 US presidential election
Candidate Barack Obama
44th President of the United States
(2009–2017)
Joe Biden
47th vice president of the United States
(2009–2017)
Affiliation Democratic Party
StatusAnnounced: April 4, 2011
Presumptive nominee: April 3, 2012
Official nominee: September 5, 2012
Won election: November 6, 2012
Inaugurated: January 20, 2013
Headquarters130 East Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60601 [1]
Key people Jim Messina (campaign chairman)
David Axelrod (senior strategist)
Harper Reed (chief technology officer)
Michael Slaby (chief integration and innovation officer)
Stephanie Cutter (deputy campaign manager)
Brent Colburn (communications director)
Matthew Barzun (finance chairman)
Ben LaBolt (national press secretary)
Rufus Gifford (finance director)
Receipts US$738,503,770 (2012-12-31 [2] )
SloganForward.
Middle Class First
Website
www.barackobama.com (archived)

On April 4, 2011, Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, announced his candidacy for re-election as president. [3] [4] On September 5, 2012, he again became the nominee of the Democratic Party for the 2012 presidential election. Along with his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, [5] Obama was opposed in the general election by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, along with various [6] [7] minor candidates from other parties. The election took place on Tuesday, November 6, 2012.

Contents

Obama's campaign headquarters was in Chicago and key members of his successful campaign in 2008, such as Jim Messina and David Axelrod, returned to staff it. [8] On the day of the announcement, the campaign released a promotional video showing supporters of Obama organizing for the re-election effort. [6] As The Guardian newspaper noted, this was the first US presidential reelection campaign to use Facebook and Twitter for promotion. [7]

Between early-2011 and June 30, 2012, the Obama campaign and supporters spent approximately $400 million, according to the Federal Election Commission. [9] Obama won his reelection bid by a margin of 51.06 to 47.21%. [10] This was the first time since 1944, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt won re-election, that a Democratic president had won by a majority of the electoral votes and over 51% of the popular vote twice. [11]

Early stages

On January 20, 2009, Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States. On April 4, 2011, President Obama officially announced his candidacy for re-election. [7] The announcement was made through an online video titled "It Begins With Us", posted on his campaign website. The President also filled out official forms with the FEC at that time. [12]

President Obama did not face a significant challenge in the Democratic primaries, with no other candidate on the ballot in all but seven states. On April 3, 2012, Obama won the Maryland and District of Columbia primaries, giving him more than the required 2,778 delegates to secure the nomination. [13] On April 30, 2012, the campaign announced that its slogan would be "Forward". [14]

The campaign was based in Chicago in One Prudential Plaza, instead of in Washington, D.C., where all other modern incumbent presidents have had their re-election headquarters. [15] [16] The decision to base the campaign outside of Washington was said have been taken so as to ensure grassroots support for re-election. [17]

Fundraising

The campaign began accepting online donations on April 4, 2011, the day Obama announced his candidacy. In the first 24 hours after online donations began to be accepted, over 23,000 online donations of $200 or less were made. [18] President Obama headlined his first campaign fundraiser in April 2011 in Chicago. He also headlined fundraisers in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York in April 2011. [19] On April 29, 2011, it was announced that Matthew Barzun, the United States Ambassador to Sweden, would serve as finance chairman. [20] Many sources claim that the campaign may be the first campaign in US history to raise more than one billion dollars. [21] [22] [23] [24] In March 2011, Campaign Chairman Jim Messina asked a group of 450 top donors to raise $350,000. [25] During the second fundraising quarter of 2011 (the first of the campaign), the campaign raised a record amount of $86,000,000. [26] As of May 3, 2012, Obama and his team have held 130 fundraisers. [27]

More than 550,000 individuals donated towards the campaign in the second quarter of 2011, which is a much larger number than the 180,000 individuals who donated to Obama's 2008 campaign during the first half of 2007. [28] From the beginning of the campaign to December 31, 2011, more than 1.3 million individual donated to the campaign. [29] The LGBT community had donated a record amount so far to the campaign. [30] As of March 31, 2012, the campaign had raised $191.7 million. [31]

On May 10, 2012, Obama attended a fundraiser in the Los Angeles home of actor George Clooney, which raised over $15 million. The fundraiser was initially estimated to raise about $10 million, but after Obama's historic announcement of his support for same-sex marriage, the amount went up significantly. Many believed that the LGBT community and activists would donate historic amounts after the announcement. [32]

Obama's campaign was also supported by Priorities USA Action, an independent expenditure PAC founded by several former Obama campaign officials, but legally prohibited from coordinating with the candidate or his campaign. [33] [34] [35]

Technology

The engineering investment of the Obama 2012 campaign was unprecedented, under the leadership of CTO Harper Reed. [36] Reed helped build a team of developers from tech companies like Twitter, Google, Facebook, Craigslist, Quora, Orbitz and Threadless. This approach— hiring technology workers from the tech startups rather than the political realm— was novel. [37] A central component of that work was Project Narwhal, a centralized database of electoral information. [38]

Dan Wagner served as Chief Analytics Officer, running the 54-person analytics team out of a windowless office known as the 'cave.' His team's predictions were remarkably accurate to the actual election results. [39]

Getting out the vote

Obama participating in a phone bank Election Day 20121106 Barack Obama making phone calls.jpg
Obama participating in a phone bank Election Day

The Obama campaign was highly effective in getting out the vote, in using technology to identify voters, and in capitalizing on growing segments of the voting population.

President Obama won reelection, not by going after independent voters, but by going after emerging groups in the U.S. population. By race, age and gender, voters made clear that America is made up of many parts, and the Obama team captured more of them, and delivered more of them to the polls. [40]

Events leading up to the election

Presidential debates

The bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) held four debates for the 2012 US presidential general election, slated for various locations around the United States in October 2012 – three of them involving the major party presidential nominees (later determined to be Democratic President Barack Obama from Illinois and former Republican governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts), and one involving the vice-presidential nominees (Vice President Joe Biden from Delaware and Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin). [41]

Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy affected the presidential campaign as well as local and state campaigns in storm-damaged areas, as it hit the New England coast a week before the election. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, one of Mitt Romney's leading supporters, praised President Barack Obama and his reaction to the hurricane and toured storm-damaged areas of his state with the president. [42] Obama signed emergency declarations on October 28 for several states expected to be impacted by Sandy, allowing them to request federal aid and make additional preparations in advance of the storm. [43] According to Karl Rove and Bill Clinton, the hurricane and its aftermath ended up helping Obama; the hurricane drew attention away from the campaigns and Obama was able to take a bipartisan position and be "presidential". [44] [45] The event sparked debates and discussions on climate change, which had been ignored by both parties prior to the event. [46]

Election and victory

On November 6, 2012, Obama was re-elected for his second term as President of the United States. He won 65,915,795 popular votes and 332 electoral votes, with two states fewer than in his 2008 victory. In his victory speech in Chicago, he promised to "sit down with" Mitt Romney to discuss a bipartisan future for the United States. [47]

Structure

Campaign staff and policy team

Many key people from the successful 2008 campaign returned. David Axelrod, who was in charge of Media in 2008 and who worked in the White House as a Senior Advisor to the President from 2009 until 2011, returned to Chicago to work on the campaign as the top communications official. [48] Jim Messina, who worked in the White House as Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations from 2009 until 2011, moved to Chicago to serve as campaign manager. [49] [50] [51] Matthew Barzun, the United States Ambassador to Sweden, served as finance chairman. [20] Jennifer O'Malley Dillon, who worked at the Democratic National Committee as an executive director, was named deputy campaign manager. [52] The other deputy campaign manager was Julianna Smoot, who was the 2008 finance director and was briefly the White House Social Secretary. [53]

Ben LaBolt served as national press secretary. LaBolt worked for Sherrod Brown's 2006 Senate campaign, as Obama's senate press secretary, for the 2008 campaign, as a deputy White House Press Secretary, and for Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel, [52] Katie Hogan and Adam Fetcher, who each worked on the 2008 campaign, served as deputy press secretaries. [48] [54] Rahm Emanuel was expected to play a role in the campaign. Emanuel served as White House Chief of Staff from January 2009 until October 2010 and worked on President Bill Clinton's successful 1992 and 1996 campaigns. [55] Rufus Gifford served as Finance Director, Elizabeth Lowery served as Deputy Finance Director, Jeremy Bird served as National Field Director, Marlon Marshall served as Deputy National Field Director, Mitch Stewart served as battleground state Director, and Elizabeth Jarvis-Shean served as Research Director. [52] Katherine Archuleta was named political director.[ citation needed ]

Role of vice president Biden

In October 2010, Biden said Obama had asked him to remain as his running mate for the 2012 presidential election, [56] but with Obama's popularity on the decline, White House Chief of Staff William M. Daley conducted some secret polling and focus group research in late 2011 on the idea of replacing Biden on the ticket with Hillary Clinton. [57] The notion was dropped when the results showed no appreciable improvement for Obama, [57] and White House officials later said Obama had never entertained the idea. [58]

Biden and Obama, July 2012 Official portrait of President Obama and Vice President Biden 2012.jpg
Biden and Obama, July 2012

Biden's May 2012 statement that he was "absolutely comfortable" with same-sex marriage gained considerable public attention in comparison to Obama's position, which had been described as "evolving". [59] Biden made his statement without administration consent, and Obama and his aides were quite irked, since Obama had planned to shift position several months later, in the build-up to the party convention, and since Biden had previously counseled the president to avoid the issue lest key Catholic voters be offended. [60] [61] [62] [63] Gay rights advocates seized upon Biden's statement, [61] and within days, Obama announced that he too supported same-sex marriage, an action in part forced by Biden's remarks. [64] Biden apologized to Obama in private for having spoken out, [62] [65] while Obama acknowledged publicly it had been done from the heart. [61] The incident showed that Biden still struggled at times with message discipline, [60] as Time wrote, "Everyone knows Biden's greatest strength is also his greatest weakness." [66] Relations were also strained between the vice presidential and presidential campaigns when Biden appeared to use his position to bolster fundraising contacts for a possible run for president in 2016, and he ended up being excluded from Obama campaign strategy meetings. [57]

The Obama campaign nevertheless valued Biden as a retail-level politician who could connect with disaffected blue-collar workers and rural residents, and he had a heavy schedule of appearances in swing states as the reelection campaign began in earnest in spring 2012. [67] [66] An August 2012 remark before a mixed-race audience that Republican proposals to relax Wall Street regulations would "put y'all back in chains" led to a similar analysis of Biden's face-to-face campaigning abilities versus his tendency to go off track. [67] [68] [69] Time magazine wrote that Biden often went too far and "Along with the familiar Washington mix of neediness and overconfidence, Biden's brain is wired for more than the usual amount of goofiness." [67]

Biden was nominated for a second term as vice president at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in September. [70] Debating his Republican counterpart, Representative Paul Ryan, in the vice-presidential debate on October 11 he made a spirited and emotional defense of the Obama administration's record and energetically attacked the Republican ticket. [71] [72]

Campaign co-chairs

In February 2012, Obama for America (OFA) announced its list of campaign co-chairs: [73]

  1. Lynnette Acosta – OFA volunteer leader from Florida
  2. Marc Benioff – CEO of Salesforce.com
  3. Michael Bennet – US Senator from Colorado
  4. Julian CastroMayor of San Antonio
  5. Lincoln ChafeeGovernor and former US Senator from Rhode Island
  6. Ann Cherry – Retired teacher and OFA volunteer leader from North Carolina
  7. Judy Chu – US Representative from the 32nd District of California
  8. Emanuel Cleaver – US Representative from the 5th District of Missouri
  9. Bill Daley – Former White House Chief of Staff to President Obama, former United States Secretary of Commerce
  10. Maria Elena Durazo – Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL–CIO
  11. Dick Durbin – US Senator from Illinois
  12. Rahm EmanuelMayor of Chicago
  13. Russ Feingold– Former US Senator from Wisconsin
  14. Charles A. Gonzalez – US Representative from the 20th District of Texas
  15. Loretta Harper – High School Counselor and OFA volunteer leader from Nevada
  16. Kamala HarrisAttorney General of California
  17. Sai Iyer – Student at Virginia Commonwealth University and OFA volunteer leader from Virginia
  18. Caroline Kennedy – Author, President of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
  19. Eva Longoria – Actress
  20. Felesia Martin – OFA volunteer leader from Wisconsin
  21. Vashti Murphy McKenzieAfrican Methodist Episcopal bishop
  22. Tom MillerIowa Attorney General
  23. Kalpen Modi – Actor, former White House Associate Director for the Office of Public Engagement
  24. John Nathman – Retired United States Navy Admiral
  25. Deval PatrickGovernor of Massachusetts
  26. Federico Peña – Former United States Secretary of Transportation and United States Secretary of Energy
  27. Elaine Price – Retired Ohio resident and OFA volunteer leader from Ohio
  28. Penny Pritzker – founder and CEO of PSP Capital Partners
  29. John Register – US Army Veteran and Paralympian
  30. Jan Schakowsky – US representative from the 9th District of Illinois
  31. Jeanne Shaheen – US Senator from New Hampshire
  32. Joe Solmonese – qqPresident of the Human Rights Campaign
  33. Alan Solow – Partner at DLA Piper LLP and past chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
  34. Ted Strickland – former governor of Ohio
  35. Antonio VillaraigosaMayor of Los Angeles

Other initiatives

Public perception

Opinion polling

In a March 2011 Pew poll, Obama held an advantage of 47% to 37%, similar to the lead that former president George W. Bush held over an unnamed Democrat in 2003 and larger than the lead former president Bill Clinton held over an unnamed Republican in 1995. [74] [75] An August 2011 Rasmussen poll found that in a hypothetical race between President Obama and a generic Republican, 48% backed the generic Republican and 40% backed the President. [76]

In February 2012, Obama held a sizable lead over both Mitt Romney (53–43) and Rick Santorum (53–42) nationally. [77] By the end of March 2012, Obama's lead over Romney had narrowed to approximately 2.4% (46.6–44.2) nationally. [78] An August 2012 CNN/ORC poll found that Obama led Romney 52% to 45%. [79] A Fox News poll conducted nearly the same time placed the two candidates 49% to 40%, with Obama in the lead. [80]

Endorsements

See also

Related Research Articles

The following is a timeline of major events leading up to and immediately following the United States presidential election of 2008. The election was the 56th quadrennial United States presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008, but its significant events and background date back to about 2002. The Democratic Party nominee, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, defeated the Republican Party's nominee, Senator John McCain of Arizona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral history of Joe Biden</span>

Joe Biden, the 46th and current president of the United States, has run for public office several times, beginning in 1970. Biden served as the 47th vice president (2009–2017), and as a United States senator from Delaware (1973–2009). Biden is the oldest elected and serving president, the second Catholic president, after John F. Kennedy, and the first president from Delaware.

In the United States, a presidential transition is the process during which the president-elect of the United States prepares to take over the administration of the federal government of the United States from the incumbent president. Though planning for transition by a non-incumbent candidate can start at any time before a presidential election and in the days following, the transition formally starts when the General Services Administration (GSA) declares an “apparent winner” of the election, thereby releasing the funds appropriated by Congress for the transition, and continues until inauguration day, when the president-elect takes the oath of office, at which point the powers, immunities, and responsibilities of the presidency are legally transferred to the new president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States presidential election</span> 57th quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 2012 United States presidential election was the 57th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Biden, were elected to a second term. They defeated the Republican ticket of former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney and U.S. Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.

The following is a timeline of major events leading up to the United States presidential election of 2012. The election was the 57th quadrennial United States presidential election held on November 6, 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitt Romney 2012 presidential campaign</span> American political campaign

The 2012 presidential campaign of Mitt Romney officially began on June 2, 2011, when former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney formally announced his candidacy for the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States, at an event in Stratham, New Hampshire. Having previously run in the 2008 Republican primaries, this was Romney's second campaign for the presidency.

The 2012 United States presidential debates were a series of debates held during the 2012 presidential election.

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

The 2012 United States presidential election in Colorado 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. Colorado voters chose nine 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, U.S. Representative Paul Ryan. Obama and Biden carried Colorado with 51.48% of the popular vote to Romney's and Ryan's 46.12%, thus winning the state's nine electoral votes by a 5.36% margin.

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

The 2012 United States presidential election in Arizona 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. State 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. Prior to the election, all 17 news organizations considered this a state Romney would win, or otherwise considered as a safe red state. Arizona was won by Romney with a 9.06% margin. Obama remains the only president to win two terms in office without carrying Arizona either time since the state's founding in 1912. Arizona is also one of only two states that voted against Obama in both 2008 and 2012 that his vice president Joe Biden would go on to win in 2020, the other being Georgia.

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

The 2012 United States presidential election in Connecticut 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. Connecticut voters chose seven 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. Obama and Biden carried Connecticut with 58.1% of the popular vote to Romney's and Ryan's 40.7%, thus winning the state's seven electoral votes. Romney managed to flip the traditionally Republican Litchfield County, which Obama had won in 2008. As of the 2020 United States presidential election, this was the last election that the Democratic presidential nominee won Windham County.

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

The 2012 United States presidential election in Delaware 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. Delaware 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 United States presidential election in Indiana</span>

The 2012 United States presidential election in Indiana 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. Indiana 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 Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney and his running mate, Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan. Romney and Ryan carried Indiana with 54.13% of the popular vote to the Democratic ticket's 43.93%, thus winning the state's 11 electoral votes.

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

The 2012 United States presidential election in Massachusetts 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. Massachusetts 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 North Carolina</span>

The 2012 United States presidential election in North Carolina took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 general election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. North Carolina voters chose 15 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, U.S. Representative Paul Ryan.

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

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 Utah</span>

The 2012 United States presidential election in Utah 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. Utah 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.

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

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>

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 Alabama</span>

The 2012 United States presidential election in Alabama took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 general election, in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Alabama voters chose nine 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.

References

  1. Jeff Zeleny (March 29, 2011). "Obama 2012 campaign to start in Chicago". The Indian Express. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  2. "Candidate (P80003338) Summary Reports – 2011–2012 Cycle". Federal Election Commission. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  3. (April 4, 2011) "Obama announces re-election bid", United Press International. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  4. Condon, Stephanie (April 4, 2011) "Obama launches 2012 campaign with web video", CBS News. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  5. Christian, Ken (March 26, 2012). "Obama, Biden officially begin re-election campaign". wcsh6.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  6. 1 2 Shear, Michael D. (April 4, 2011) Shear, Michael D. (April 4, 2011). "Obama Launches Re-Election Facing New Political Challenge". The New York Times . United States. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  7. 1 2 3 Adams, Richard (April 4, 2011). "Barack Obama tweets the start to his 2012 re-election campaign". The Guardian . London. Archived from the original on April 5, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  8. "Obama opens bid for new term, no longer outsider – Yahoo!! News". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on April 5, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  9. Confessore, Nicholas; McGinty, Jo Craven (August 5, 2012). "Record Spending by Obama's Camp Shrinks Coffers". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  10. "Official 2012 Presidential General Election Results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 31, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  11. Nichols, John (November 9, 2012). "Obama's 3 Million Vote, Electoral College Landslide, Majority of States Mandate". The Nation. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  12. "Lack of change you can believe in". The Economist. April 4, 2011.
  13. "Obama clinches Democratic nomination". CNN. April 3, 2012. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  14. Memoli, Michael A. (April 30, 2012). "Obama campaign video teases new slogan: 'Forward'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
  15. Folven, Edwin (April 27, 2011). "2012 Campaign Barrels Through L.A." Parke Labrea News/Beverly Press. Archived from the original on May 2, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
  16. Zeleny, Jeff (January 20, 2011). "Obama Will Move Political Operations to Chicago". The New York Times. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
  17. Zeleny, Jeff (March 28, 2011). "Obama Campaign Picks Headquarters in Chicago". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 21, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
  18. "Obama re-election campaign touts small dollar donations". CNN. April 6, 2011. Archived from the original on January 7, 2012.
  19. Knoller, Mark (April 14, 2011). "Obama heads to Chicago for first fundraisers for his 2012 campaign". CBS News.
  20. 1 2 1310 News. "Obama taps fundraiser, ambassador to Sweden as 2012 campaign finance chairman". Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2011.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. "Obama wants to raise 1 Billion Dollars for 2012 campaign". Protopolitics.com. Archived from the original on September 4, 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  22. Kavanagh, Tom (December 13, 2010). "Obama's 2012 Campaign Fundraising Could Top $1 Billion". Politics Daily. Archived from the original on August 23, 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  23. Jeanne Cummings (January 14, 2011). "Team Obama's 2012 cash challenge". Politico. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  24. Steve Peoples (March 17, 2011). "GOP Has New 2012 Target: Obama's $1 Billion Campaign". Roll Call. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  25. Zeleny, Jeff (March 17, 2011). "$350,000 Goal Is Set For Re-election Donors". The New York Times.
  26. Chase Davis (July 14, 2011). "Obama's California Fundraisers: How Much Money Exactly?". The Huffington Post. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  27. Dwyer, Devin (May 3, 2012). "Frequent Fundraiser: Obama Sets Record". ABC News. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  28. "Obama takes 2012 fundraising lead with $86M". CBS News. July 13, 2011. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020.
  29. Schouten, Fredreka; Schnaars, Christopher (February 15, 2012). "Obama leads presidential money chase in two-thirds of states". USA Today. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  30. Ben Smith and Maggie Haberman (May 9, 2011). "Gay donors fuel President Obama's 2012 campaign". Politico. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  31. Presidential Campaign Finance. Fec.gov. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  32. Gay marriage: Clooney fundraiser a hint of coming Obama money boom (+video). The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  33. "About Us". Priorities USA Action. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  34. Draper, Robert (July 5, 2012). "Can the Democrats Catch Up in the Super-PAC Game?". The New York Times . Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  35. Grier, Peter (January 18, 2012). "Will Jon Stewart go to jail for running Stephen Colbert's super PAC?". The Christian Science Monitor.
  36. Alexis Madrigal (November 16, 2012). "When the Nerds Go Marching In". The Atlantic. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  37. Madrigal, Alexis (November 16, 2012). "When the Nerds Go Marching In". Wired. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
  38. Issenberg, Sasha (February 15, 2012). "Obama's White Whale". Slate. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
  39. Issenberg, Sasha (December 19, 2012). "How Obama's Team Used Big Data to Rally Voters". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  40. Renee Montqgne; Cokie Roberts (November 7, 2012). "Obama Capitalizes On Emerging Voter Groups". NPR . Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  41. Little, Morgan (July 25, 2012) "Presidential debate formats announced, feature town hall", Los Angeles Times . Retrieved July 26, 2012.
  42. Horsey, David (October 31, 2012). "Chris Christie and Hurricane Sandy give Obama a timely boost". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  43. "It's watch and wait as Hurricane Sandy approaches". CNN. October 28, 2012. Archived from the original on October 28, 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  44. Camia, Catalina (November 15, 2012). "Romney: Clinton said Hurricane Sandy helped Obama". USA Today . Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  45. Michael Leahy; Sean Sullivan (November 2, 2012). "Hurricane Sandy helped Obama politically, Karl Rove says". The Washington Post . Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  46. "Transcript of President Obama's News Conference". The New York Times. November 14, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  47. "President Obama's Victory Speech 2012". ABC News . November 6, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  48. 1 2 Sam Stein (April 15, 2011). "Obama 2012 Campaign Names National Press Secretary". The Huffington Post. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  49. "Obama 2012 team in Chicago: Messina scouting HQ, courting donors". Chicago Sun-Times.
  50. Kevin Spak (February 24, 2010). "Obama Team Already Planning for 2012". Newser.com. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  51. "The World's Billionaires". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 12, 2011. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  52. 1 2 3 Trygstad, Kyle (April 7, 2011) "Shop Talk: Obama's 2012 Campaign Team Is Shaping Up". United States: Roll Call . Retrieved May 2, 2011.
  53. Balz, Dan (March 5, 2011). "Obama's 2012 reelection team gets moving". The Washington Post .
  54. Geman, Ben (July 16, 2012). "Interior spokesman joins Obama campaign". The Hill .
  55. "Who's Running Obama's Re-Election Campaign?". NBC Chicago. September 8, 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  56. Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (October 12, 2010). "Vice President Tries to Energize Democrats". The New York Times . Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  57. 1 2 3 Martin, Jonathan (October 31, 2013). "Book Details Obama Aides' Talks About Replacing Biden on 2012 Ticket". The New York Times . Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  58. Allen, Jonathan (November 1, 2013). "W.H.: Obama never considered dropping Joe Biden". Politico . Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2013.
  59. Parsons, Christi (May 6, 2012). "Biden 'comfortable' with equal rights for gays who wed". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on May 26, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  60. 1 2 Leibovich, Mark (May 7, 2012). "For a Blunt Biden, an Uneasy Supporting Role". The New York Times . p. 1. Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  61. 1 2 3 "AP source: Biden apologizes to Obama over comments". Fox News. Associated Press. May 10, 2012. Archived from the original on October 6, 2018. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  62. 1 2 Thrush, Glenn (August 20, 2012). "Politico e-book: Obama campaign roiled by conflict". Politico . Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  63. Thursh, Glenn (August 23, 2012). "6 hidden fault lines in President Obama's campaign". Politico . Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  64. Calmes, Jackie; Baker, Peter (May 9, 2012). "Obama Says Same-Sex Marriage Should Be Legal". The New York Times . Archived from the original on May 10, 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  65. Pace, Julie (May 10, 2012). "Joe Biden Reportedly Apologized To Obama Over Gay Marriage Comments". The Huffington Post . Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 28, 2013. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  66. 1 2 Scherer, Michael (June 11, 2012). "Mo Joe". Time . pp. 26–30.
  67. 1 2 3 Von Drehle, David (September 10, 2012). "Let There Be Joe". Time . pp. 41–43. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  68. Memoli, Michael A. (August 17, 2012). "Biden's unscripted moments keep campaign on its toes". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  69. Martin, Jonathan (August 16, 2012). "Mission Impossible: Managing Joe Biden". Politico . Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  70. Siegel, Elyse (September 6, 2012). "Beau Biden Speech Kicks Of Motion To Nominate Father Joe Biden For Vice President". Huffington Post . Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  71. O'Brien, Michael (October 11, 2012). "Biden plays aggressor in debate as Ryan makes GOP case". NBC News . Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  72. "Sparks fly as Biden, Ryan face off in feisty vice presidential debate". Fox News. October 12, 2012. Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  73. Obama campaign announces co-chairs. Politico. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  74. Publications (March 23, 2011). "Obama Tests Well at Start of Reelection Run | Pew Research Center for the People and the Press". People-press.org. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  75. Craighill, Peyton M. (March 23, 2011). "2012: Obama runs ahead in generic Pew poll". The Washington Post.
  76. "Election 2012: Generic Presidential Ballot". Rasmussenreports.com. September 6, 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  77. "2012: Battleground Poll: GOP president's race takes toll, Obama inches up". Politico. February 27, 2012.
  78. "General Election: Romney v Obama". Real Clear Politics RCP Average (3/24 – 4/13). April 13, 2012.
  79. "CNN Poll: Obama Leads Romney 52–45%". CBS Miami. August 9, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  80. Blanton, Dana (August 9, 2012). "Fox News poll: Obama's lead grows as Romney's support slips". Fox News Channel. Archived from the original on August 9, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2012.

Further reading