2012 United States presidential election in Indiana

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2012 United States presidential election in Indiana

← 2008 November 6, 2012 2016 →
  Mitt Romney by Gage Skidmore 6 cropped.jpg President Barack Obama, 2012 portrait crop.jpg
Nominee Mitt Romney Barack Obama
Party Republican Democratic
Home state Massachusetts Illinois
Running mate Paul Ryan Joe Biden
Electoral vote 11 0
Popular vote 1,420,543 1,152,887
Percentage 54.13% 43.93%

Indiana Presidential Election Results 2012.svg
County Results

President before election

Barack Obama
Democratic

Elected President

Barack Obama
Democratic

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 Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan. Romney and Ryan carried Indiana with 54.1% of the popular vote to Obama's and Biden's 43.9%, thus winning the state's 11 electoral votes.[1]

Indiana was one of just two states (along with North Carolina) which had been won by Obama in 2008 but which flipped to the Republicans in 2012. Although the state normally leans Republican, in 2008 Obama had been the first Democrat to win Indiana since 1964, albeit by a narrow 1.03% margin. However, unlike North Carolina, Indiana was not seriously contested again by the Obama campaign in 2012, and consequently Romney was able to carry it by a relatively comfortable 10.20%. Obama also lost six counties he had won in 2008.

Obama won in Vigo County, home to Terre Haute, and at the time, a noted bellwether; before 2020, it had voted for the winner of every presidential election all but twice since 1892. After 2012, demographic change and the rightward turn of exurban areas accelerated by the Trump era have made Vigo County uncompetitive to the present day.[2]

As of 2020, this is the last time that Indiana has voted to the left of Texas or South Carolina.

This was the first election since 1948 that Indiana did not vote the same way as Virginia.

Campaign[]

Incumbent Obama didn't visit Indiana, although First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and former President Bill Clinton stumped in the state. Meanwhile, the Romney campaign sensed victory in the state, and he visited Indiana several times.[3]

Democratic primary[]

No major Democratic candidate challenged President Obama for the Democratic nomination in 2012.

Republican primary[]

2012 Indiana Republican presidential primary

← 2008 May 8, 2012 (2012-05-08) 2016 →
  Mitt Romney by Gage Skidmore 6 cropped.jpg Ron Paul by Gage Skidmore 3 (crop 2).jpg
Candidate Mitt Romney Ron Paul
Home state Massachusetts Texas
Delegate count 29 0
Popular vote 410,635 98,487
Percentage 64.61% 15.50%

  Rick Santorum by Gage Skidmore.jpg Newt Gingrich by Gage Skidmore 3 (cropped).jpg
Candidate Rick Santorum Newt Gingrich
Home state Pennsylvania Georgia
Delegate count 0 0
Popular vote 85,332 41,135
Percentage 13.43% 6.47%

Indiana Republican Presidential Primary Election Results by County, 2012.svg
Indiana results by county
  Mitt Romney
(Note: Italicization indicates a withdrawn candidacy)

The Republican primary took place on May 8, 2012.[4][5]

Indiana Republican primary, 2012[6]
Candidate Votes Percentage Projected delegate count
AP CNN
FOX
America Symbol.svg Mitt Romney 410,635 64.61% 28 27
Ron Paul 98,487 15.50%
Rick Santorum (withdrawn) 85,332 13.43%
Newt Gingrich (withdrawn) 41,135 6.47%
Unprojected delegates: 18 19 46
Total: 635,589 100.00% 46 46 46

General election[]

Polling[]

Republican Nominee Mitt Romney won every pre-election poll conducted in the state by at least 5%, and often by double digits. The average of the final 3 polls had Romney leading Obama 51% to 43%.[7]

Results[]

2012 United States presidential election in Indiana[8]
Party Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican Willard M. Romney Paul D. Ryan 1,420,543 54.13% 11
Democratic Barack H. Obama (Incumbent) Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Incumbent) 1,152,887 43.93% 0
Libertarian Gary E. Johnson Jim Gray 50,111 1.91% 0
Green (Write-in) Jill Stein (Write-in) Cheri Honkala 625 0.02% 0
Constitution (Write-in) Virgil Goode (Write-in) Jim Clymer 290 0.01% 0
America's Party (Write-in) Thomas Hoefling (Write-in) Jonathan D. Ellis 35 0.00% 0
Socialist (Write-in) Stewart Alexander (Write-in) Alex Mendoza 17 0.00% 0
Write-Ins Write-Ins 10 0.00% 0
Unaffiliated (Write-in) Jill Ann Reed (Write-in) Tom Cary 8 0.00% 0
Independent (Write-in) Randall Terry (Write-in) Missy Smith 8 0.00% 0
Totals 2,624,534 100.00% 11

Following Romney's win in Indiana, The Indianapolis Star said that "Voters painted Indiana bright red on Tuesday- with a splash or so of blue" and that "voters also proved that while this state is conservative, it doesn't like to stray too far from the middle".[9]

The following people were delegate electors for Romney-Ryan in the Indiana Republican Party:[citation needed]

  • Charles Williams, of Valparaiso
  • William Ruppel, of North Manchester
  • Steve Shine, of Fort Wayne
  • Beverly Bush, of Kirklin
  • Kyle Hupfer, of Pendleton
  • Susan Lightle, of Greenfield
  • Pearl Swanigan, of Indianapolis
  • William Springer, of Sullivan
  • Jamey Noel, of Jeffersonville
  • Robert Grand, of Indianapolis
  • Eric Holcomb, of Indianapolis

By county[]

Obama won nine counties compared to Romney's 83. Mitt Romney won by winning in most rural areas of the state. Romney also did well in the Indianapolis suburbs, Allen County home of Fort Wayne, and Vanderburgh County home of Evansville. As expected, Obama did better in urban, densely populated areas. Obama trounced Romney in Marion County home of Indianapolis as well as Lake County home of Gary and East Chicago. Obama also, for the most part did well in counties that contained major colleges such as Indiana University, Bloomington in Monroe County; Notre Dame University, South Bend in St. Joseph County; Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis in Marion County; and Valparaiso University in Porter County. Vigo County, home of Terre Haute, stayed true to its name as a bellwether, as it had selected the winner of every presidential election since 1888 with the exception of 1908 and 1952. Vigo County narrowly went for Obama, and Obama ended up being re-elected.

Obama lost six counties that he won in 2008. As of 2020, this election is the most recent time that Delaware, LaPorte, Perry, Porter and Vigo counties went for a Democratic presidential candidate. (Donald Trump, who carried all of the aforementioned counties in both of his presidential runs, ended Vigo's bellwether reputation in 2020.)

County Obama% Obama# Romney% Romney# Others% Others# Total
Adams 29.25% 3,806 68.69% 8,937 2.06% 268 13,011
Allen 40.86% 60,036 57.58% 84,613 1.56% 2,290 146,939
Bartholomew 36.23% 10,625 61.66% 18,083 2.11% 618 29,326
Benton 32.39% 1,159 65.09% 2,329 2.52% 90 3,578
Blackford 40.63% 1,927 57.16% 2,711 2.21% 105 4,743
Boone 30.02% 8,328 67.81% 18,808 2.17% 601 27,737
Brown 40.24% 3,060 56.97% 4,332 2.79% 212 7,604
Carroll 33.74% 2,635 64.01% 4,999 2.25% 176 7,810
Cass 37.93% 5,371 59.62% 8,443 2.45% 347 14,161
Clark 44.13% 20,807 53.98% 25,450 1.89% 889 47,146
Clay 32.08% 3,460 65.80% 7,096 2.11% 228 10,784
Clinton 33.47% 3,308 64.13% 6,338 2.40% 237 9,883
Crawford 44.47% 2,041 52.75% 2,421 2.79% 128 4,590
Daviess 23.78% 2,437 74.52% 7,638 1.71% 175 10,250
Dearborn 29.20% 6,528 68.86% 15,394 1.94% 434 22,356
Decatur 28.53% 2,941 69.06% 7,119 2.41% 248 10,308
DeKalb 33.19% 5,419 64.84% 10,587 1.97% 322 16,328
Delaware 50.38% 22,654 47.26% 21,251 2.36% 1,063 44,968
Dubois 35.17% 6,522 62.85% 11,654 1.97% 366 18,542
Elkhart 35.96% 24,399 62.46% 42,378 1.58% 1,075 67,852
Fayette 40.23% 3,555 57.09% 5,045 2.68% 237 8,837
Floyd 41.95% 14,812 56.30% 19,878 1.74% 615 35,305
Fountain 31.46% 2,237 65.59% 4,664 2.95% 210 7,111
Franklin 27.55% 2,909 70.30% 7,424 2.15% 227 10,560
Fulton 32.25% 2,621 65.43% 5,317 2.31% 188 8,126
Gibson 33.48% 4,928 64.45% 9,487 2.08% 306 14,721
Grant 37.92% 9,589 59.92% 15,151 2.16% 545 25,285
Greene 33.18% 4,350 64.50% 8,457 2.32% 304 13,111
Hamilton 32.00% 43,796 66.30% 90,747 1.70% 2,320 136,863
Hancock 28.37% 9,319 69.41% 22,796 2.22% 728 32,843
Harrison 37.39% 6,607 60.21% 10,640 2.40% 424 17,671
Hendricks 31.68% 21,112 66.49% 44,312 1.83% 1,220 66,644
Henry 40.05% 7,613 57.02% 10,838 2.93% 556 19,007
Howard 41.71% 15,135 56.01% 20,327 2.28% 828 36,290
Huntington 29.15% 4,596 68.90% 10,862 1.95% 307 15,765
Jackson 34.93% 5,838 62.34% 10,419 2.72% 455 16,712
Jasper 36.23% 4,672 61.69% 7,955 2.09% 269 12,896
Jay 38.77% 3,063 58.79% 4,645 2.44% 193 7,901
Jefferson 43.64% 5,728 54.06% 7,096 2.30% 302 13,126
Jennings 37.28% 3,821 59.71% 6,120 3.01% 309 10,250
Johnson 29.78% 17,260 68.17% 39,513 2.05% 1,191 57,964
Knox 34.52% 5,228 63.47% 9,612 2.01% 305 15,145
Kosciusko 22.83% 6,862 75.04% 22,558 2.13% 640 30,060
LaGrange 31.11% 2,898 66.88% 6,231 2.01% 187 9,316
Lake 64.88% 130,897 33.92% 68,431 1.20% 2,430 201,758
LaPorte 55.19% 24,107 42.62% 18,615 2.20% 959 43,681
Lawrence 32.43% 5,779 65.21% 11,622 2.36% 421 17,822
Madison 46.60% 24,407 51.12% 26,769 2.28% 1,194 52,370
Marion 60.26% 216,336 38.02% 136,509 1.72% 6,164 359,009
Marshall 34.55% 6,137 63.38% 11,260 2.07% 368 17,765
Martin 28.48% 1,351 68.78% 3,262 2.74% 130 4,743
Miami 33.03% 4,222 63.95% 8,174 3.01% 385 12,781
Monroe 58.43% 33,436 39.29% 22,481 2.28% 1,306 57,223
Montgomery 29.58% 4,271 68.03% 9,824 2.39% 345 14,440
Morgan 28.19% 7,969 69.31% 19,591 2.50% 706 28,266
Newton 39.12% 2,212 58.21% 3,291 2.67% 151 5,654
Noble 32.19% 5,229 65.75% 10,680 2.06% 335 16,244
Ohio 35.26% 994 62.40% 1,759 2.34% 66 2,819
Orange 37.80% 2,939 59.38% 4,617 2.83% 220 7,776
Owen 34.80% 2,823 62.39% 5,062 2.81% 228 8,113
Parke 32.39% 2,110 64.99% 4,234 2.62% 171 6,515
Perry 54.81% 4,316 43.21% 3,403 1.98% 156 7,875
Pike 35.86% 2,125 61.20% 3,627 2.94% 174 5,926
Porter 51.00% 37,252 47.11% 34,406 1.89% 1,381 73,039
Posey 37.08% 4,533 60.77% 7,430 2.15% 263 12,226
Pulaski 35.17% 1,899 62.34% 3,366 2.48% 134 5,399
Putnam 32.59% 4,507 65.12% 9,005 2.29% 317 13,829
Randolph 36.99% 3,769 61.03% 6,218 1.98% 202 10,189
Ripley 29.51% 3,241 68.14% 7,484 2.35% 258 10,983
Rush 31.61% 2,221 65.94% 4,633 2.45% 172 7,026
Scott 45.85% 3,998 52.05% 4,539 2.10% 183 8,720
Shelby 31.97% 5,359 65.50% 10,978 2.52% 423 16,760
Spencer 41.39% 4,026 56.69% 5,515 1.92% 187 9,728
St. Joseph 51.00% 56,460 47.49% 52,578 1.50% 1,666 110,704
Starke 43.51% 3,809 54.12% 4,738 2.36% 207 8,754
Steuben 35.44% 4,853 62.41% 8,547 2.15% 295 13,695
Sullivan 38.49% 3,191 59.13% 4,902 2.38% 197 8,290
Switzerland 42.30% 1,437 55.11% 1,872 2.59% 88 3,397
Tippecanoe 46.95% 26,711 50.54% 28,757 2.51% 1,428 56,896
Tipton 33.02% 2,432 64.81% 4,773 2.17% 160 7,365
Union 32.84% 1,018 65.23% 2,022 1.94% 60 3,100
Vanderburgh 43.82% 31,725 54.40% 39,389 1.78% 1,290 72,404
Vermillion 45.27% 2,979 52.06% 3,426 2.67% 176 6,581
Vigo 49.43% 19,712 48.57% 19,369 2.00% 796 39,877
Wabash 30.86% 3,973 67.14% 8,644 2.00% 257 12,874
Warren 34.84% 1,324 62.55% 2,377 2.61% 99 3,800
Warrick 35.70% 8,793 62.33% 15,351 1.97% 486 24,630
Washington 36.41% 3,909 60.85% 6,533 2.75% 295 10,737
Wayne 41.57% 10,591 56.21% 14,321 2.22% 565 25,477
Wells 26.56% 3,436 71.56% 9,256 1.88% 243 12,935
White 36.73% 3,637 60.28% 5,970 2.99% 296 9,903
Whitley 29.45% 4,420 68.34% 10,258 2.22% 333 15,011

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican[]

  • Madison (largest city: Anderson)
  • Spencer (largest city: Santa Claus)
  • Starke (largest city: Knox)
  • Tippecanoe (largest city: Lafayette)
  • Vanderburgh (largest city: Evansville)
  • Vermillion (largest city: Clinton)

See also[]

  • United States presidential elections in Indiana
  • 2012 Republican Party presidential debates and forums
  • 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries
  • Results of the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries
  • 2012 United States Senate election in Indiana

References[]

  1. ^ "2012 Presidential Election - Indiana". Politico. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  2. ^ GALOFARO, CLAIRE. "The counties that predict presidential election winners didn't this year. Just look at Terre Haute, Indiana". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  3. ^ "Hoosiers go for Romney; Obama fails to repeat his narrow win here in '08". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  4. ^ "Primary and Caucus Printable Calendar". CNN. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  5. ^ "Presidential Primary Dates" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  6. ^ Secretary of State election results. June 5, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  7. ^ https://uselectionatlas.org/POLLS/PRESIDENT/2012/polls.php?fips=18
  8. ^ http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=2012&fips=18&f=0&off=0&elect=0&minper=0
  9. ^ "Analysis: Hoosiers back Republicans but want them in the middle". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved November 8, 2012.

http://www.indiana.gov/sos/elections/files/2012_Presidential_Elector_Candidate_List.pdf

External links[]

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