2012 United States presidential election in Tennessee

2012 United States presidential election in Tennessee

← 2008 November 6, 2012 2016 →

Nominee Mitt Romney Barack Obama Party Republican Democratic Home state Massachusetts Illinois Running mate Paul Ryan Joe Biden Electoral vote 11 0 Popular vote 1,462,330 960,709 Percentage 59.48% 39.08%

County Results Romney   50-60%   60-70%   70-80% Obama   50-60%   60-70%

President before election Barack Obama Democratic Elected President Barack Obama Democratic

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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.

Romney easily carried Tennessee's 11 electoral votes after he garnered 59.48% of the popular vote in Tennessee, to Obama's 39.08%.^[1] Romney's 20.40% margin of victory was the strongest Republican performance in the state since Richard Nixon's 1972 landslide. Tennessee has not voted for a Democratic presidential nominee since 1996, when Bill Clinton won the state and many other states of the South, and the Volunteer State has not given a majority to a Democratic nominee since fellow Southerner Jimmy Carter carried it in 1976. Thus, Tennessee has been seen as part of the modern-day red wall in the 21st century. After 1996, the state has been growing more Republican with each election.^[2] Even in 2008, when the rest of the country swung hard towards the left, John McCain's margin of victory increased to 15.06%, solidifying the state's Republican identity as East Tennessee joined the Appalachian region to become one of the most Republican areas of the country.

As consistent with the rest of the country, Obama carried heavily populated and diverse counties. The largest county, Shelby, was won by Obama by a 26.08% margin due to it being home to Memphis, Tennessee's largest city. In addition, the home of the state capital of Nashville, Davidson County, went to Obama by 18.58%. Hardeman and Haywood counties, both low-populated suburbs of Memphis, also went to Obama due to their high African American populations (42.2%^[3] and 50.6%,^[4] respectively). However, rural areas – including areas in the northwestern portion of the state that had long favored Democratic candidates – saw heavy margins for Romney, allowing him to offset Obama's wins in large cities. The eastern region of the state in Appalachia, some of the most historically Republican and Unionist counties in the country, saw margins of over 70% for the Republican ticket.^[5]

Romney also flipped two counties, Houston and Jackson, to the Republican column. Both of these majority-white counties had been Democratic strongholds with their strong ties to secessionism: they only voted for a Republican presidential nominee once prior to this election, in 1928 and 1920, respectively.^[6]

As of 2020, this is the most recent election in which Hardeman County was won by the Democratic presidential nominee.

General election[]

Results[]

United States presidential election in Tennessee, 2012

Party		Candidate	Running mate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	Mitt Romney	Paul Ryan	1,462,330	59.48%	11
	Democratic	Barack Obama	Joe Biden	960,709	39.08%	0
	Libertarian	Gary Johnson	Jim Gray	18,623	0.67%	0
	Green	Jill Stein	Cheri Honkala	6,515	0.26%	0
	Constitution	Virgil Goode	Jim Clymer	6,022	0.24%	0
	Justice	Rocky Anderson	Luis J. Rodriguez	2,639	0.11%	0
	American Third Position	Merlin Miller	Virginia D. Abernethy	1,739	0.07%	0
Totals				2,458,577	100.00%	11

By county[]

County	Obama%	Obama#	Romney%	Romney#	Others%	Others#	Total
Anderson	34.13%	10,122	63.95%	18,968	01.92%	569	29,659
Bedford	29.15%	4,211	69.46%	10,034	01.38%	200	14,445
Benton	36.27%	2,258	61.84%	3,850	01.90%	118	6,226
Bledsoe	29.07%	1,267	69.33%	3,022	01.61%	70	4,359
Blount	26.27%	12,934	71.98%	35,441	01.74%	859	49,234
Bradley	22.35%	8,037	76.25%	27,422	01.40%	504	35,963
Campbell	27.50%	3,328	71.10%	8,604	01.40%	169	12,101
Cannon	31.45%	1,564	66.54%	3,309	02.01%	100	4,973
Carroll	32.02%	3,475	66.58%	7,225	01.39%	151	10,851
Carter	23.23%	4,789	75.20%	15,503	01.58%	325	20,617
Cheatham	30.69%	4,659	67.63%	10,268	01.68%	255	15,182
Chester	25.34%	1,624	73.07%	4,684	01.59%	102	6,410
Claiborne	23.90%	2,433	74.84%	7,617	01.26%	128	10,178
Clay	36.77%	1,037	61.95%	1,747	01.28%	36	2,820
Cocke	24.48%	2,804	73.85%	8,459	01.67%	191	11,454
Coffee	30.48%	5,870	67.62%	13,023	01.90%	366	19,259
Crockett	30.36%	1,669	68.81%	3,783	00.84%	46	5,498
Cumberland	24.80%	6,261	73.88%	18,653	01.32%	333	25,247
Davidson	58.45%	143,120	39.87%	97,622	01.69%	4,131	244,873
Decatur	30.65%	1,303	67.61%	2,874	01.74%	74	4,251
DeKalb	33.85%	2,174	64.51%	4,143	01.64%	105	6,422
Dickson	34.95%	6,233	63.34%	11,296	01.72%	306	17,835
Dyer	27.22%	3,757	71.89%	9,921	00.88%	122	13,800
Fayette	34.17%	6,688	64.83%	12,689	01.01%	197	19,574
Fentress	22.64%	1,561	76.04%	5,243	01.32%	91	6,895
Franklin	34.76%	5,603	63.66%	10,262	01.58%	254	16,119
Gibson	33.38%	6,564	65.51%	12,883	01.12%	220	19,667
Giles	34.82%	3,760	64.03%	6,915	01.15%	124	10,799
Grainger	23.00%	1,668	75.43%	5,470	01.57%	114	7,252
Greene	26.06%	6,225	72.19%	17,245	01.75%	417	23,887
Grundy	38.78%	1,643	59.38%	2,516	01.84%	78	4,237
Hamblen	26.13%	5,234	72.49%	14,522	01.38%	276	20,032
Hamilton	41.67%	58,836	56.62%	79,933	01.71%	2,412	141,181
Hancock	23.22%	475	74.63%	1,527	02.15%	44	2,046
Hardeman	52.51%	5,482	46.60%	4,865	00.88%	92	10,439
Hardin	23.51%	2,467	75.14%	7,886	01.35%	142	10,495
Hawkins	25.70%	5,088	72.65%	14,382	01.65%	327	19,797
Haywood	60.36%	4,569	39.11%	2,960	00.53%	40	7,569
Henderson	25.03%	2,517	73.80%	7,421	01.16%	117	10,055
Henry	34.06%	4,339	64.31%	8,193	01.62%	207	12,739
Hickman	35.49%	2,698	62.59%	4,758	01.92%	146	7,602
Houston	46.25%	1,400	52.16%	1,579	01.59%	48	3,027
Humphreys	42.33%	2,905	55.85%	3,833	01.82%	125	6,863
Jackson	41.56%	1,739	56.96%	2,383	01.48%	62	4,184
Jefferson	24.10%	4,232	74.25%	13,038	01.65%	289	17,559
Johnson	23.94%	1,483	74.44%	4,611	01.61%	100	6,194
Knox	34.43%	59,399	63.60%	109,707	01.97%	3,401	172,507
Lake	42.36%	884	55.73%	1,163	01.92%	40	2,087
Lauderdale	46.16%	4,011	53.12%	4,616	00.71%	62	8,689
Lawrence	27.84%	4,237	70.77%	10,770	01.39%	212	15,219
Lewis	30.83%	1,447	66.40%	3,117	02.77%	130	4,694
Lincoln	24.80%	3,290	73.88%	9,803	01.32%	175	13,268
Loudon	22.91%	5,058	75.69%	16,707	01.40%	308	22,073
Macon	22.48%	1,552	76.18%	5,260	01.35%	93	6,905
Madison	45.13%	18,367	54.03%	21,993	00.84%	342	40,702
Marion	37.98%	3,953	60.26%	6,272	01.77%	184	10,409
Marshall	34.68%	3,725	63.61%	6,832	01.71%	184	10,741
Maury	35.83%	11,825	62.74%	20,708	01.43%	473	33,006
McMinn	25.84%	4,609	72.71%	12,967	01.45%	258	17,834
McNairy	26.98%	2,645	71.57%	7,015	01.45%	142	9,802
Meigs	29.34%	1,163	68.97%	2,734	01.69%	67	3,964
Monroe	26.76%	4,372	71.80%	11,731	01.44%	235	16,338
Montgomery	44.08%	24,499	54.41%	30,245	01.51%	840	55,584
Moore	25.19%	705	73.35%	2,053	01.46%	41	2,799
Morgan	26.52%	1,725	71.79%	4,669	01.69%	110	6,504
Obion	27.01%	3,321	71.68%	8,814	01.32%	162	12,297
Overton	36.60%	2,805	62.30%	4,775	01.10%	84	7,664
Perry	37.85%	992	60.21%	1,578	01.95%	51	2,621
Pickett	29.03%	712	69.79%	1,712	01.18%	29	2,453
Polk	30.63%	1,856	67.80%	4,108	01.57%	95	6,059
Putnam	30.60%	7,802	67.66%	17,254	01.74%	444	25,500
Rhea	24.82%	2,628	73.67%	7,802	01.51%	160	10,590
Roane	28.53%	6,018	69.82%	14,724	01.65%	348	21,090
Robertson	31.53%	8,290	67.11%	17,643	01.35%	356	26,289
Rutherford	36.84%	36,414	61.56%	60,846	01.61%	1,588	98,848
Scott	21.78%	1,452	76.74%	5,117	01.48%	99	6,668
Sequatchie	28.96%	1,489	68.86%	3,541	02.18%	112	5,142
Sevier	21.91%	7,418	76.73%	25,984	01.36%	462	33,864
Shelby	62.63%	232,443	36.55%	135,649	00.81%	3,017	371,109
Smith	34.85%	2,470	63.43%	4,495	01.72%	122	7,087
Stewart	40.45%	2,069	57.93%	2,963	01.62%	83	5,115
Sullivan	25.58%	15,321	72.74%	43,562	01.68%	1,004	59,887
Sumner	28.42%	18,579	70.38%	46,003	01.20%	784	65,366
Tipton	29.62%	7,133	69.23%	16,672	01.15%	276	24,081
Trousdale	42.69%	1,240	55.49%	1,612	01.82%	53	2,905
Unicoi	27.00%	1,913	71.01%	5,032	01.99%	141	7,086
Union	25.36%	1,478	73.47%	4,282	01.17%	68	5,828
Van Buren	38.04%	875	60.26%	1,386	01.70%	39	2,300
Warren	36.51%	4,752	61.54%	8,010	01.94%	253	13,015
Washington	29.82%	14,325	68.30%	32,808	01.87%	899	48,032
Wayne	21.20%	1,163	77.52%	4,253	01.28%	70	5,486
Weakley	28.76%	3,548	69.75%	8,605	01.49%	184	12,337
White	30.58%	2,795	67.80%	6,197	01.62%	148	9,140
Williamson	26.13%	25,142	72.59%	69,850	01.28%	1,233	96,225
Wilson	28.53%	14,695	70.12%	36,109	01.35%	695	51,499

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican[]

• Houston (largest city: Erin)
• Jackson (largest town: Gainesboro)

By congressional district[]

Mitt Romney swept the state and carried seven of the state's nine congressional districts, all represented by Republicans. Barack Obama carried the state's two congressional districts, the 5th and 9th, anchored by the two largest cities of Nashville and Memphis, respectively.^[7]

District	Romney	Obama	Representative
1st	72.7%	25.7%
			Phil Roe
2nd	67.3%	30.9%	John J. Duncan, Jr.
3rd	63.3%	35.1%	Chuck Fleischmann
4th	65.3%	33.1%	Scott DesJarlais
5th	42.5%	55.9%	Jim Cooper
6th	69.1%	29.5%	Diane Black
7th	65.7%	32.9%	Marsha Blackburn
8th	66.1%	32.8%	Stephen Fincher
9th	20.9%	78.3%	Steve Cohen

Democratic primary[]

Tennessee Democratic primary, 2012

← 2008 March 6, 2012 (2012-03-06) 2016 →

Candidate Barack Obama Uncommitted Home state Illinois n/a Delegate count 82 9 Popular vote 80,705 10,497 Percentage 88.48% 11.51%

Tennessee results by county   Barack Obama

The 2012 democratic primary in Tennessee took place on Super Tuesday, March 6, 2012, with Barack Obama receiving 80,355 (88.5%) votes. Other candidates received a combined total of 10,411 (11.5%) votes.^[8] Tennessee had a total of 91 delegates to the 2012 Democratic National Convention, of which 82 were pledged to presidential contenders depending on the popular vote. The remaining 9 super-delegates were unbound.

Tennessee Democratic primary, 2012^[9]

Candidate	Popular vote		Delegates
	Count	Percentage	Pledged delegates	Super delegates	Total delegates
Barack Obama	80,705	88.48%	82	9	91
Uncommitted	10,497	11.51%	0	0	0
John Wolfe Jr. (write-in)	7	0.00%	0	0	0
Total:	91,209	100%	91	29	251

Republican primary[]

Tennessee Republican primary, 2012

← 2008 March 6, 2012 (2012-03-06) 2016 →

Candidate Rick Santorum Mitt Romney Home state Pennsylvania Massachusetts Delegate count 29 14 Popular vote 205,809 155,630 Percentage 37.11% 28.06%   Candidate Newt Gingrich Ron Paul Home state Georgia Texas Delegate count 9 0 Popular vote 132,889 50,156 Percentage 23.96% 9.04%

Tennessee results by county   Rick Santorum   Mitt Romney   Newt Gingrich

The Republican primary took place on Super Tuesday, March 6, 2012.^[10][11]

Tennessee has 58 delegates to the 2012 Republican National Convention. Three superdelegates are unbound. 27 delegates are awarded by congressional district, 3 delegates for each district. If a candidate wins two-thirds of the vote in a district, he takes all 3 delegates there; if not, delegates are split 2-to-1 between the top two candidates. Another 28 delegates are awarded to the candidate who wins two-thirds of the vote statewide, or allocated proportionately among candidates winning at least 20% of the vote if no one gets two-thirds.^[12]

Former Senator from Pennsylvania Rick Santorum won the primary with a plurality, carrying 37.11% of the vote and all but four counties, awarding him 29 delegates. Former Massachusetts Governor and eventual nominee, Mitt Romney, came second with 28.06% of the vote and 19 delegates. He carried only three counties: Davidson, Loudon, and Williamson. Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich of neighboring Georgia, came third with 23.96% of the vote and 9 delegates, carrying only the county of Marion. Representative from Texas Ron Paul received 9.04% of the vote and all other candidates received under 1% of the vote.^[13]

Results[]

Tennessee Republican primary, 2012^[14]

Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Projected delegate count
			NYT [15]	CNN [16]	FOX [17]
Rick Santorum	205,809	37.11%	29	27	26
Mitt Romney	155,630	28.06%	14	15	12
Newt Gingrich	132,889	23.96%	9	8	9
Ron Paul	50,156	9.04%	0	0	0
Rick Perry (withdrawn)	1,966	0.35%	0	0	0
Michele Bachmann (withdrawn)	1,895	0.34%	0	0	0
Jon Huntsman (withdrawn)	1,239	0.22%	0	0	0
Buddy Roemer (withdrawn)	881	0.16%	0	0	0
Gary Johnson (withdrawn)	572	0.10%	0	0	0
Uncommitted	3,536	0.64%	0	0	0
Unprojected delegates:			6	8	9
Total:	554,573	100.00%	58	58	58

See also[]

• 2012 United States presidential election
• 2012 Republican Party presidential debates and forums
• 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries
• Results of the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries
• Tennessee Republican Party
• 2012 Democratic Party presidential primaries
• Tennessee Democratic Party

References[]

External links[]

• The Green Papers for Tennessee (Republican)
• The Green Papers for Tennessee (Democratic)
• The Green Papers: Major state elections in chronological order