2012 United States presidential election in Mississippi

2012 United States presidential election in Mississippi
Romney 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90%	Obama 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90%
President before election; Barack Obama; Democratic	Elected President ; Barack Obama; Democratic

The 2012 United States presidential election in Mississippi took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 General Election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Mississippi 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 won Mississippi with 55.29% of the popular vote to Obama and Biden's 43.79%, thus winning the state's six electoral votes by an 11.50% margin.^[1] Mississippi was one of just six states where Obama improved on his 2008 performance. According to exit polls, the black vote share in Mississippi increased from 33% in 2008 to 36% in 2012, likely explaining Obama's gains.^[2] This was the strongest showing for a Democratic presidential candidate in Mississippi since native Southerner Bill Clinton's 44.08% in 1996. Obama carried Warren County, becoming the first Democrat to do so since John F. Kennedy in 1960.^[3] He also managed to flip Benton County and improved his margins in Democratic counties throughout the state. As of 2021, this is the last time a Democratic presidential candidate has carried Benton, Chicksaw, and Panola counties. This is also the last time that Mississippi has voted to the left of Texas.

Democratic primary[]

Obama ran unopposed in the Mississippi primary and therefore received 100% of the vote.^[4]

Republican primary[]

The Republican primary took place on March 13, 2012, the same day as the Alabama Republican primary and the Hawaii Republican caucuses.^[5]^[6] After the open election, 37 bound delegates and three unbound delegates will go to the Republican National Convention.^[7]

Mississippi Republican primary, 2012^[8]^[9]
Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Delegates
Rick Santorum	96,258	32.73%	13
Newt Gingrich	91,612	31.15%	12
Mitt Romney	90,161	30.66%	14
Ron Paul	12,955	4.40%	0
Rick Perry	1,350	0.46%	0
Michele Bachmann	971	0.33%	0
Jon Huntsman, Jr.	413	0.14%	0
Gary Johnson	392	0.13%	0
Unprojected delegates:			3
Total:	294,112	100%	40

General election[]

Results[]

2012 United States presidential election in Mississippi
Party		Candidate	Running mate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	Mitt Romney	Paul Ryan	710,746	55.29%	6
	Democratic	Barack Obama	Joe Biden	562,949	43.79%	0
	Libertarian	Gary Johnson	Jim Gray	6,676	0.52%	0
	Constitution	Virgil Goode	Jim Clymer	2,609	0.20%	0
	Green	Jill Stein	Cheri Honkala	1,588	0.12%	0
	Reform	Barbara Dale Washer	Cathy L. Toole	1,016	0.08%	0
Totals				1,285,584	100.00%	6

By county[]

County	Obama%	Obama#	Romney%	Romney#	Others%	Others#	Total
Adams	58.66%	9,061	40.74%	6,293	0.60%	93	15,447
Alcorn	23.67%	3,511	74.92%	11,111	1.40%	208	14,830
Amite	42.07%	3,242	57.28%	4,414	0.65%	50	7,706
Attala	43.19%	3,927	56.38%	5,126	0.43%	39	9,092
Benton	49.83%	2,051	49.59%	2,041	0.58%	24	4,116
Bolivar	68.59%	10,582	30.47%	4,701	0.94%	145	15,428
Calhoun	36.59%	2,586	62.42%	4,412	0.99%	70	7,068
Carroll	33.49%	2,007	66.09%	3,960	0.42%	25	5,992
Chickasaw	51.49%	4,378	46.97%	3,994	1.54%	131	8,503
Choctaw	33.42%	1,428	65.81%	2,812	0.77%	33	4,273
Claiborne	88.22%	4,838	11.40%	625	0.38%	21	5,484
Clarke	37.70%	3,111	61.18%	5,049	1.13%	93	8,253
Clay	60.62%	6,712	38.76%	4,291	0.62%	69	11,072
Coahoma	73.86%	7,792	25.71%	2,712	0.43%	45	10,549
Copiah	54.87%	7,749	44.48%	6,282	0.65%	92	14,123
Covington	41.48%	3,878	57.82%	5,405	0.70%	65	9,348
DeSoto	32.79%	21,575	66.21%	43,559	1.00%	660	65,794
Forrest	43.89%	13,272	54.82%	16,574	1.29%	390	30,236
Franklin	38.42%	1,726	60.87%	2,735	0.71%	32	4,493
George	13.79%	1,359	84.98%	8,376	1.23%	121	9,856
Greene	22.37%	1,325	76.51%	4,531	1.11%	66	5,922
Grenada	46.65%	5,288	52.81%	5,986	0.54%	61	11,335
Hancock	22.82%	3,917	75.52%	12,964	1.67%	286	17,167
Harrison	36.51%	23,119	62.33%	39,470	1.17%	739	63,328
Hinds	71.47%	76,112	27.86%	29,664	0.67%	715	106,491
Holmes	84.11%	7,812	15.45%	1,435	0.44%	41	9,288
Humphreys	74.88%	3,903	24.81%	1,293	0.31%	16	5,212
Issaquena	60.86%	479	38.37%	302	0.76%	6	787
Itawamba	18.31%	1,706	79.34%	7,393	2.35%	219	9,318
Jackson	32.24%	17,299	66.62%	35,747	1.14%	609	53,655
Jasper	54.57%	5,097	44.89%	4,193	0.54%	50	9,340
Jefferson	89.13%	3,951	10.56%	468	0.32%	14	4,433
Jefferson Davis	62.16%	4,267	36.52%	2,507	1.31%	90	6,864
Jones	30.54%	9,211	68.59%	20,687	0.87%	261	30,159
Kemper	64.11%	3,239	35.41%	1,789	0.48%	24	5,052
Lafayette	41.48%	8,091	56.78%	11,075	1.74%	339	19,505
Lamar	22.07%	5,494	76.74%	19,101	1.18%	294	24,889
Lauderdale	42.15%	13,814	57.05%	18,700	0.80%	263	32,777
Lawrence	36.85%	2,468	62.59%	4,192	0.57%	38	6,698
Leake	45.41%	4,079	54.14%	4,863	0.46%	41	8,983
Lee	35.58%	12,563	63.49%	22,415	0.93%	328	35,306
Leflore	71.39%	9,119	28.08%	3,587	0.52%	67	12,773
Lincoln	33.33%	5,471	66.04%	10,839	0.63%	104	16,414
Lowndes	49.30%	13,388	49.78%	13,518	0.93%	252	27,158
Madison	41.80%	20,722	57.51%	28,507	0.69%	342	49,571
Marion	34.51%	4,393	64.71%	8,237	0.78%	99	12,729
Marshall	59.42%	9,650	39.86%	6,473	0.72%	117	16,240
Monroe	41.71%	7,056	57.47%	9,723	0.82%	139	16,918
Montgomery	47.39%	2,675	52.21%	2,947	0.41%	23	5,645
Neshoba	28.04%	3,089	71.15%	7,837	0.81%	89	11,015
Newton	33.95%	3,319	65.40%	6,394	0.65%	64	9,777
Noxubee	78.54%	4,920	21.15%	1,325	0.30%	19	6,264
Oktibbeha	50.20%	9,095	48.36%	8,761	1.44%	261	18,117
Panola	53.96%	9,079	45.34%	7,629	0.70%	118	16,826
Pearl River	19.65%	4,366	78.96%	17,549	1.39%	309	22,224
Perry	26.69%	1,527	72.30%	4,137	1.01%	58	5,722
Pike	53.69%	9,650	45.52%	8,181	0.80%	143	17,974
Pontotoc	22.59%	2,804	76.13%	9,448	1.28%	159	12,411
Prentiss	28.08%	2,817	70.52%	7,075	1.41%	141	10,033
Quitman	71.30%	2,837	28.05%	1,116	0.65%	26	3,979
Rankin	23.37%	14,988	75.52%	48,444	1.11%	713	64,145
Scott	44.91%	5,031	54.36%	6,089	0.73%	82	11,202
Sharkey	70.38%	1,782	29.11%	737	0.51%	13	2,532
Simpson	38.56%	4,723	60.61%	7,424	0.83%	102	12,249
Smith	24.44%	1,979	74.69%	6,049	0.88%	71	8,099
Stone	26.59%	2,003	71.96%	5,420	1.45%	109	7,532
Sunflower	73.02%	8,199	26.09%	2,929	0.89%	100	11,228
Tallahatchie	60.88%	3,959	38.43%	2,499	0.69%	45	6,503
Tate	39.76%	4,933	59.10%	7,332	1.14%	141	12,406
Tippah	25.28%	2,317	73.30%	6,717	1.42%	130	9,164
Tishomingo	20.70%	1,643	77.28%	6,133	2.02%	160	7,936
Tunica	79.30%	3,475	20.15%	883	0.55%	24	4,382
Union	24.13%	2,742	74.77%	8,498	1.10%	125	11,365
Walthall	45.32%	3,422	53.65%	4,051	1.03%	78	7,551
Warren	50.42%	10,786	48.89%	10,457	0.69%	148	21,391
Washington	70.92%	13,981	28.66%	5,651	0.42%	83	19,715
Wayne	40.15%	4,148	59.15%	6,111	0.71%	73	10,332
Webster	22.74%	1,190	76.27%	3,992	0.99%	52	5,234
Wilkinson	70.31%	3,412	29.16%	1,415	0.54%	26	4,853
Winston	46.87%	4,607	52.58%	5,168	0.55%	54	9,829
Yalobusha	47.69%	3,030	51.56%	3,276	0.76%	48	6,354
Yazoo	56.82%	6,603	42.52%	4,941	0.65%	76	11,620

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic[]

Benton (largest town: Hickory Flat)
Warren (largest city: Vicksburg)

References[]

^ "2012 Presidential Election Results - Mississippi". Retrieved 5 January 2013.
^ "2012 Exit Polls - Mississippi". Retrieved 5 January 2013.
^ The Political Graveyard; Warren County, Mississippi
^ "Mississippi Democratic Delegation 2012". The Green Papers. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
^ "Primary and Caucus Printable Calendar". CNN. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
^ "Presidential Primary Dates" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
^ Mississippi Republican – The Green Papers
^ http://www.sos.ms.gov/elections/electionresults/Republican%20Certification_2012%20Primary.pdf
^ "Mississippi Republican Primary - Election Results - Election 2012". The New York Times.

External links[]

The Green Papers: for Mississippi
The Green Papers: Major state elections in chronological order

[1] "2012 Presidential Election Results - Mississippi". Retrieved 5 January 2013.

[2] "2012 Exit Polls - Mississippi". Retrieved 5 January 2013.

[3] The Political Graveyard; Warren County, Mississippi

[4] "Mississippi Democratic Delegation 2012". The Green Papers. Retrieved 2019-08-01.

[5] "Primary and Caucus Printable Calendar". CNN. Retrieved January 11, 2012.

[6] "Presidential Primary Dates" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Retrieved January 23, 2012.

[TGP-7] Mississippi Republican – The Green Papers

[8] ttp://www.sos.ms.gov/elections/electionresults/Republican%20Certification_2012%20Primary.pdf

[9] "Mississippi Republican Primary - Election Results - Election 2012". The New York Times.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]