2012 United States presidential election in North Carolina

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

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, Congressman Paul Ryan.

Romney narrowly carried the state of North Carolina, winning 50.39% of the vote to Obama's 48.35%, a margin of 2.04%. North Carolina was one of just two states (along with Indiana) that flipped from voting for Obama in 2008 to voting Republican in 2012. Like Indiana, North Carolina had been a reliably Republican state prior to Obama's 2008 win, having not previously gone Democratic since 1976. Unlike Indiana, however, North Carolina was still considered a competitive swing state in 2012, and both campaigns targeted it heavily, with the Democrats holding their convention in Charlotte. Romney was the first presidential candidate since Zachary Taylor in 1848 to carry North Carolina while losing both Wake County and Mecklenburg County, the two most populous counties and home to the cities of Raleigh and Charlotte, respectively. While Obama lost North Carolina to Romney, he received more votes than he received in 2008, garnering 35,740 more. This is the first time Nash County had voted for a Democratic candidate since Jimmy Carter carried it in 1976. This is peculiar considering the state otherwise flipped towards the Republican Party this election cycle, flipping four counties that were won by Obama four years prior.

As of 2020, this is the most recent election where the Republican presidential candidate won Watauga County; and the Democratic presidential candidate won Bladen County, Gates County, Granville County, Martin County, Richmond County, and Robeson County. This is also the last time that any presidential candidate won the majority of the vote in North Carolina.

Primary elections[]

Democratic primary[]

The 2012 North Carolina Democratic primary was held May 8, 2012. North Carolina awarded 157 delegates proportionally.^[1]

No candidate ran against incumbent President Barack Obama in North Carolina's Democratic presidential preference primary. Obama received 766,079 votes, or 79.23% of the vote, with the remainder (200,810 votes, or 20.77%) going to elect delegates with "No Preference".^[1]

At the North Carolina Democratic state convention, 152 delegates were awarded to Obama, with 5 delegates remaining unannounced.^[1]

Democratic Primary Election in NC^[2]
Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Awarded delegates
Barack Obama	766,077	79.23%	104
No Preference	200,810	20.77%	0
Totals	966,889	100.00%	104

Republican primary[]

The 2012 North Carolina Republican primary was held May 8, 2012.^[3]^[4] North Carolina awarded 55 delegates proportionally.^[5] Ron Paul and Mitt Romney were the only active contenders on the ballot. By the time of the primary, Romney had already been declared the party's presumptive nominee.^[6]

Romney won the North Carolina GOP presidential primary with 65.62% of the vote. Paul (with 11.12% of the vote) narrowly edged out Santorum (with 10.39% of the vote), and Gingrich came in last with 7.64% of the vote. 5.23% of voters registered "no preference". The awarded delegate count from North Carolina's Republican state convention was Romney with 48 delegates and Paul with 7 delegates.^[5]

Republican Primary Election in NC^[5]
Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Awarded delegates
Mitt Romney	638,601	65.62%	48
Ron Paul	108,217	11.12%	7
Rick Santorum (withdrawn)	101,093	10.39%
Newt Gingrich (withdrawn)	74,367	7.64%
No Preference	50,928	5.23%
Totals	973,206	100.00%	55

General election[]

Polling[]

Statewide opinion polling for the 2012 United States presidential election

Throughout most of 2011, Obama won or tied with Romney in every poll. On September 25, 2011, Romney won a poll for the first time, 50% to 39%. Until May 2012, Obama had a consistent but narrow lead over Romney. Throughout the summer of 2012, the tide changed with Romney winning more polls than Obama. In September, Obama's momentum rose and Obama won most polls in September 2012. In October, the tide changed in Romney's favor, and Obama had not won a poll since October 1, 2012. Romney won every poll for the first three weeks in October, but then many polls came as tied between Obama and Romney. Romney led the last poll 50% to 46%, but the second last poll was tied.^[7] The last three polls showed an average of Romney leading 49% to 48%, which was accurate compared to the results.^[7]

Overview[]

United States presidential election in North Carolina, 2012^[8]
Party		Candidate	Running mate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	Mitt Romney	Paul Ryan	2,270,395	50.39%	15
	Democratic	Barack Obama	Joe Biden	2,178,391	48.35%	0
	Libertarian	Gary Johnson	Jim Gray	44,515	0.99%	0
	Others (write-in)			12,071	0.27%	0
Totals				4,505,372	100.00%	15
Voter turnout (registered voters)						67.74%

North Carolina 2012 Presidential Election by Precinct

By county[]

County	Obama%	Obama#	Romney%	Romney#	Others%	Others#	Total
Alamance	42.60%	28,875	56.32%	38,170	01.08%	731	67,776
Alexander	26.81%	4,611	71.25%	12,253	01.93%	332	17,196
Alleghany	31.24%	1,583	66.90%	3,390	01.86%	94	5,067
Anson	62.36%	7,019	37.01%	4,166	00.63%	71	11,256
Ashe	32.64%	4,116	65.36%	8,242	02.00%	252	12,610
Avery	24.26%	1,882	74.31%	5,766	01.43%	111	7,759
Beaufort	39.94%	9,435	59.17%	13,977	00.88%	208	23,620
Bertie	66.14%	6,695	33.46%	3,387	00.41%	41	10,123
Bladen	50.52%	8,062	48.56%	7,748	00.92%	147	15,957
Brunswick	38.42%	22,038	60.57%	34,743	01.01%	581	57,362
Buncombe	55.31%	70,625	42.84%	54,701	01.86%	2,370	127,696
Burke	37.49%	13,701	60.93%	22,267	01.58%	576	36,544
Cabarrus	39.31%	32,849	59.30%	49,557	01.39%	1,160	83,566
Caldwell	31.38%	10,898	66.88%	23,229	01.74%	605	34,732
Camden	32.06%	1,508	66.09%	3,109	01.85%	87	4,704
Carteret	29.00%	10,301	69.76%	24,775	01.24%	441	35,517
Caswell	48.45%	5,348	50.67%	5,594	00.88%	97	11,039
Catawba	34.58%	24,069	63.99%	44,538	01.43%	994	69,601
Chatham	51.82%	18,361	47.03%	16,665	01.15%	408	35,434
Cherokee	26.25%	3,378	72.11%	9,278	01.64%	211	12,867
Chowan	47.38%	3,556	51.85%	3,891	00.77%	58	7,505
Clay	27.99%	1,579	70.42%	3,973	01.60%	90	5,642
Cleveland	39.37%	17,062	59.51%	25,793	01.12%	485	43,340
Columbus	45.58%	11,050	53.38%	12,941	01.04%	252	24,243
Craven	40.64%	18,763	58.32%	26,928	01.04%	479	46,170
Cumberland	59.38%	75,792	39.69%	50,666	00.93%	1,183	127,641
Currituck	31.51%	3,562	66.31%	7,496	02.18%	246	11,304
Dare	41.13%	7,393	57.02%	10,248	01.85%	333	17,974
Davidson	29.07%	20,624	69.62%	49,383	01.31%	928	70,935
Davie	27.75%	5,735	71.05%	14,687	01.20%	248	20,670
Duplin	43.87%	9,033	55.44%	11,416	00.69%	143	20,592
Durham	75.80%	111,224	23.01%	33,769	01.19%	1,742	146,735
Edgecombe	67.89%	18,310	31.68%	8,546	00.43%	116	26,972
Forsyth	53.04%	92,323	45.83%	79,768	01.14%	1,978	174,069
Franklin	47.33%	13,436	51.44%	14,603	01.23%	350	28,389
Gaston	36.66%	33,171	62.04%	56,138	01.30%	1,174	90,483
Gates	51.63%	2,786	47.52%	2,564	00.85%	46	5,396
Graham	28.35%	1,119	69.67%	2,750	01.98%	78	3,947
Granville	51.75%	13,598	47.21%	12,405	01.04%	272	26,275
Greene	45.87%	3,778	53.56%	4,411	00.57%	47	8,236
Guilford	57.66%	146,365	41.28%	104,789	01.06%	2,698	253,852
Halifax	65.86%	17,176	33.60%	8,763	00.54%	140	26,079
Harnett	39.92%	17,331	58.89%	25,565	01.20%	519	43,415
Haywood	42.30%	11,833	55.88%	15,633	01.82%	508	27,974
Henderson	35.58%	18,642	62.98%	32,994	01.44%	756	52,392
Hertford	71.84%	7,843	27.54%	3,007	00.62%	68	10,918
Hoke	58.96%	10,076	39.90%	6,819	01.14%	194	17,089
Hyde	48.80%	1,163	50.06%	1,193	01.13%	27	2,383
Iredell	34.15%	26,076	64.56%	49,299	01.30%	990	76,365
Jackson	48.47%	8,095	49.42%	8,254	02.11%	352	16,701
Johnston	35.58%	27,290	63.15%	48,427	01.27%	974	76,691
Jones	44.97%	2,352	54.24%	2,837	00.78%	41	5,230
Lee	44.56%	10,801	54.28%	13,158	01.16%	280	24,239
Lenoir	49.66%	13,948	49.78%	13,980	00.56%	158	28,086
Lincoln	29.98%	11,024	68.71%	25,267	01.32%	484	36,775
Macon	33.88%	5,712	64.26%	10,835	01.86%	314	16,861
Madison	44.34%	4,484	53.44%	5,404	02.22%	225	10,113
Martin	52.03%	6,583	47.38%	5,995	00.58%	74	12,652
McDowell	33.32%	6,031	65.06%	11,775	01.62%	293	18,099
Mecklenburg	60.65%	272,262	38.24%	171,668	01.11%	4,970	448,900
Mitchell	23.67%	1,838	74.77%	5,806	01.56%	121	7,765
Montgomery	41.90%	4,706	57.02%	6,404	01.08%	121	11,231
Moore	35.56%	16,505	63.55%	29,495	00.89%	415	46,415
Nash	50.14%	24,313	49.17%	23,842	00.69%	337	48,492
New Hanover	46.96%	48,668	51.52%	53,385	01.52%	1,575	103,628
Northampton	67.24%	7,232	32.38%	3,483	00.38%	41	10,756
Onslow	35.95%	18,490	62.69%	32,243	01.36%	702	51,435
Orange	70.22%	53,901	28.06%	21,539	01.72%	1,317	76,757
Pamlico	39.15%	2,647	59.91%	4,051	00.95%	64	6,762
Pasquotank	56.78%	10,282	42.15%	7,633	01.06%	192	18,107
Pender	39.27%	9,632	59.60%	14,617	01.13%	278	24,527
Perquimans	41.48%	2,759	57.46%	3,822	01.07%	71	6,652
Person	44.06%	8,418	54.94%	10,496	01.00%	192	19,106
Pitt	53.06%	41,843	45.92%	36,214	01.01%	799	78,856
Polk	38.63%	4,013	60.03%	6,236	01.35%	140	10,389
Randolph	24.33%	14,773	74.38%	45,160	01.29%	782	60,715
Richmond	51.01%	9,904	48.06%	9,332	00.93%	181	19,417
Robeson	58.18%	24,988	40.77%	17,510	01.04%	448	42,946
Rockingham	38.91%	16,351	60.04%	25,227	01.05%	442	42,020
Rowan	36.35%	22,650	62.23%	38,775	01.42%	887	62,312
Rutherford	32.66%	9,374	66.04%	18,954	01.30%	374	28,702
Sampson	44.19%	11,566	55.10%	14,422	00.71%	186	26,174
Scotland	58.03%	8,215	41.19%	5,831	00.78%	110	14,156
Stanly	29.36%	8,431	69.31%	19,904	01.33%	382	28,717
Stokes	27.84%	6,018	70.48%	15,237	01.68%	364	21,619
Surry	30.92%	9,112	67.60%	19,923	01.48%	435	29,470
Swain	45.71%	2,618	51.96%	2,976	02.34%	134	5,728
Transylvania	40.72%	6,826	57.47%	9,634	01.81%	303	16,763
Tyrrell	46.94%	837	52.16%	930	00.90%	16	1,783
Union	34.28%	32,473	64.51%	61,107	01.21%	1,148	94,728
Vance	63.89%	13,323	35.62%	7,429	00.49%	102	20,854
Wake	54.94%	267,262	43.50%	211,596	01.56%	7,569	486,427
Warren	68.67%	6,978	30.90%	3,140	00.43%	44	10,162
Washington	58.98%	3,833	40.34%	2,622	00.68%	44	6,499
Watauga	46.98%	13,002	50.09%	13,861	02.93%	811	27,674
Wayne	45.40%	23,314	53.83%	27,641	00.77%	397	51,352
Wilkes	27.96%	8,148	70.39%	20,515	01.65%	482	29,145
Wilson	53.38%	20,875	45.91%	17,954	00.72%	280	39,109
Yadkin	23.54%	3,957	74.81%	12,578	01.65%	278	16,813
Yancey	42.12%	3,981	55.85%	5,278	02.03%	192	9,451

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican[]

Caswell (largest town: Yanceyville)
Hyde (largest community: Ocracoke)
Jackson (largest town: Cullowhee)
Watauga (largest town: Boone)

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic[]

Nash (largest city: Rocky Mount)

By congressional district[]

Romney won 10 of the state's 13 congressional districts.

District	Romney	Obama	Representative
1st	27.88%	71.60%	G.K. Butterfield
2nd	57.26%	41.71%	Renee Ellmers
3rd	57.99%	41.01%	Walter B. Jones
4th	27.41%	71.43	David Price
5th	59.06%	39.77%	Virginia Foxx
6th	57.65%	41.34%	Howard Coble
7th	59.24%	39.86%	Mike McIntyre
8th	58.06%	41.00%	Larry Kissell
8th	58.06%	41.00%	Richard Hudson
9th	56.19%	42.81%	Sue Myrick
9th	56.19%	42.81%	Robert Pittenger
10th	58.00%	40.89%	Patrick T. McHenry
11th	60.90%	37.79%	Heath Shuler
11th	60.90%	37.79%	Mark Meadows
12th	20.79%	78.54%	Mel Watt
13th	55.45%	43.53%	Brad Miller
13th	55.45%	43.53%	George Holding

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c "North Carolina Democrat". The Green Papers. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
^ "NC - Election Results". results.enr.clarityelections.com. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
^ "Primary and Caucus Printable Calendar". CNN. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
^ "Presidential Primary Dates" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c "North Carolina Republican". The Green Papers. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
^ Memoli, Michael A. (25 April 2012). "RNC officially names Mitt Romney the party's 'presumptive nominee'". LA Times. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
^ ^a ^b https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/nc/north_carolina_romney_vs_obama-1784.html#polls^{[bare URL]}
^ "North Carolina State Board of Elections". Archived from the original on 2012-11-25. Retrieved November 14, 2012.

External links[]

North Carolina State Board of Elections
North Carolina Democratic Party
North Carolina Republican Party
The Green Papers: for North Carolina
The Green Papers: Major state elections in chronological order

[GPD-1] "North Carolina Democrat". The Green Papers. Retrieved November 14, 2012.

[2] "NC - Election Results". results.enr.clarityelections.com. Retrieved September 18, 2016.

[3] "Primary and Caucus Printable Calendar". CNN. Retrieved January 12, 2012.

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

[GP-5] "North Carolina Republican". The Green Papers. Retrieved November 14, 2012.

[presumptive-6] Memoli, Michael A. (25 April 2012). "RNC officially names Mitt Romney the party's 'presumptive nominee'". LA Times. Retrieved November 3, 2016.

[realclearpolitics.com-7] ttps://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/nc/north_carolina_romney_vs_obama-1784.html#polls^{[bare URL]}

[NCSBOE-8] "North Carolina State Board of Elections". Archived from the original on 2012-11-25. Retrieved November 14, 2012.

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