2012 United States presidential election in South Carolina

(Redirected from United States presidential election in South Carolina, 2012)

Main article: 2012 United States presidential election

← 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	9	0
Popular vote	1,071,645	865,941
Percentage	54.56%	44.09%

County Results

Precinct Results

Romney

40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% 90–100%

Obama

40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% 90–100%

Tie/No Data

President before election

Barack Obama
Democratic

Elected President

Barack Obama
Democratic

The 2012 United States presidential election in South Carolina 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. South Carolina voters chose 9 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.

Also on the ballot were Libertarian nominee, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson and his running mate, jurist Jim Gray. The left-wing Green Party nominated activist and physician Jill Stein and her running mate, anti-poverty advocate Cheri Honkala. The conservative Constitution Party nominated former U.S. Representative from Virginia Virgil Goode for president, and former Chair of the Constitution Party Jim Clymer for vice president.

Romney defeated Obama in the state by 54.56% to 44.09%, a margin of 10.47%. While the state is generally considered safe for the Republican Party, it remains somewhat competitive due to a high African-American population, the sixth-highest in the country. The majority of the Democratic vote comes from the Black Belt, with areas such as Richland and Charleston counties, home to Columbia and Charleston respectively, providing high margins for the Democrats. However, this support is largely offset by suburban and rural white voters. The state hasn't voted for a Democrat since Jimmy Carter carried it in 1976. Romney also improved on John McCain's 8.97% margin in 2008.

As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last time where the counties of Barnwell, Calhoun, Chester, Colleton, Darlington, and McCormick voted for the Democratic candidate.

Primaries

Democratic primary

Incumbent President Barack Obama ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and easily won with more than 99% of the vote. The Democratic primary was held on January 28, 2012, one week after the Republican primary.

Republican primary

South Carolina Republican presidential primary, 2012

← 2008

January 21, 2012 (2012-01-21)

2016 →


Candidate	Newt Gingrich	Mitt Romney
Home state	Georgia	Massachusetts
Delegate count	23	2
Popular vote	244,065	168,123
Percentage	40.42%	27.85%


Candidate	Rick Santorum	Ron Paul
Home state	Pennsylvania	Texas
Delegate count	0	0
Popular vote	102,475	78,360
Percentage	16.97%	12.98%

Gingrich

30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%

Romney

40–50% 50–60%

Main article: 2012 South Carolina Republican presidential primary

Elections in South Carolina

Federal government

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Mayoral elections
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2012 U.S. presidential election

Vice President
- Democratic
- Republican

← 2008

2012

2016 →

The Republican primary was held on January 21, 2012.

During the primary election campaign, the candidates ran on a platform of government reform in Washington. Domestic, foreign and economic policy emerged as the main themes in the election campaign following the onset of the 2008 economic crisis, as well as policies implemented by the Obama administration. This included the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, termed "Obamacare" by its opponents, as well as government spending as a whole.

The primary has become one of several key early state nominating contests in the process of choosing the nominee of the Republican Party for the election for President of the United States. It has historically been more important for the Republican Party than for the Democratic Party; from its inception in 1980, until the nomination of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in 2012, the winner of the Republican presidential primary had gone on to win the nomination. As of 2012, the primary has cemented its place as the "First in the South" primary for both parties. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich was declared the winner of the race as soon as polls closed, however, Mitt Romney went on to win the nomination.

Date

The 2012 South Carolina Republican primary was tentatively scheduled to occur on February 28, 2012, much later than the date in 2008, which almost immediately followed the beginning of the year in January 2008. On September 29, 2011, the entire schedule of caucuses and primaries was disrupted, however, when it was announced that the Republican Party of Florida had decided to move up its primary to January 31, in an attempt to bring attention to its own primary contest, and attract the presidential candidates to visit the state. Because of the move, the Republican National Committee decided to strip Florida of half of its delegates. Also as a result, the South Carolina Republican Party, along with Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada then sought to move their primaries and caucuses back into early January. All but Nevada, who agreed to follow Florida, confirmed their caucus and primary dates to take place throughout January, with South Carolina deciding to hold their contest on January 21, 2012. It is an open primary, meaning all registered voters can participate in the primary.

Ballot access

Nine candidates appeared on the presidential primary ballot. South Carolina had only 25 delegates up for grabs because it moved its primary to January 21. Eleven delegates were awarded for the statewide winner, Newt Gingrich, and two additional delegates were awarded to the winner of each of the seven congressional districts. Six districts were won by Gingrich, and one by Romney, giving Gingrich twelve additional delegates and Romney two delegates.

Polling

Main article: Statewide opinion polling for the January 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries § South Carolina (January 21)

Results

Main article: Results of the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries

There were 2,804,231 registered voters, for a turnout of 21.60%.

South Carolina Republican primary, 2012
Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Estimated national delegates
Newt Gingrich	244,065	40.42%	23
Mitt Romney	168,123	27.85%	2
Rick Santorum	102,475	16.97%	0
Ron Paul	78,360	12.98%	0
Herman Cain	6,338	1.05%	0
Rick Perry	2,534	0.42%	0
Jon Huntsman	1,173	0.19%	0
Michele Bachmann	491	0.08%	0
Gary Johnson	211	0.03%	0
Totals	603,770	100.00%	25

Key:

Withdrew
prior to contest

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Huffington Post	Safe R	November 6, 2012
CNN	Safe R	November 6, 2012
New York Times	Safe R	November 6, 2012
Washington Post	Safe R	November 6, 2012
RealClearPolitics	Solid R	November 6, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball	Solid R	November 5, 2012
FiveThirtyEight	Solid R	November 6, 2012

Results

United States presidential election in South Carolina, 2012
Party		Candidate	Running mate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	Mitt Romney	Paul Ryan	1,071,645	54.56%	9
	Democratic	Barack Obama (incumbent)	Joe Biden (incumbent)	865,941	44.09%	0
	Libertarian	Gary Johnson	Jim Gray	16,321	0.83%	0
	Green	Jill Stein	Cheri Honkala	5,446	0.28%	0
	Constitution	Virgil Goode	Jim Clymer	4,765	0.22%	0
Totals				1,964,118	100.00%	9

By county

County	Mitt Romney Republican		Barack Obama Democratic		Various candidates Other parties		Margin		Total
County	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	Total
Abbeville	5,981	56.05%	4,543	42.57%	147	1.38%	1,438	13.48%	10,671
Aiken	44,042	62.59%	25,322	35.99%	999	1.42%	18,720	26.60%	70,363
Allendale	838	20.13%	3,297	79.20%	28	0.67%	-2,459	-59.07%	4,163
Anderson	48,709	67.45%	22,405	31.03%	1,098	1.52%	26,304	36.42%	72,212
Bamberg	2,194	31.88%	4,624	67.19%	64	0.93%	-2,430	-35.31%	6,882
Barnwell	4,659	46.95%	5,188	52.28%	76	0.77%	-529	-5.33%	9,923
Beaufort	42,687	58.24%	29,848	40.72%	762	1.04%	12,839	17.52%	73,297
Berkeley	38,475	56.42%	28,542	41.85%	1,178	1.73%	9,933	14.57%	68,195
Calhoun	3,707	47.32%	4,045	51.63%	82	1.05%	-338	-4.31%	7,834
Charleston	77,629	48.01%	81,487	50.39%	2,591	1.60%	-3,858	-2.38%	161,707
Cherokee	13,314	64.09%	7,231	34.81%	228	1.10%	6,083	29.28%	20,773
Chester	6,367	44.19%	7,891	54.77%	149	1.04%	-1,524	-10.58%	14,407
Chesterfield	8,490	51.16%	7,958	47.96%	146	0.88%	532	3.20%	16,594
Clarendon	7,071	43.40%	9,091	55.80%	130	0.80%	-2,020	-12.40%	16,292
Colleton	8,443	49.41%	8,475	49.60%	168	0.99%	-32	-0.19%	17,086
Darlington	14,434	47.87%	15,457	51.27%	259	0.86%	-1,023	-3.40%	30,150
Dillon	5,427	41.63%	7,523	57.71%	85	0.66%	-2,096	-16.08%	13,035
Dorchester	32,531	57.22%	23,445	41.24%	879	1.54%	9,086	15.98%	56,855
Edgefield	6,512	56.21%	4,967	42.87%	107	0.92%	1,545	13.34%	11,586
Fairfield	3,999	33.62%	7,777	65.38%	119	1.00%	-3,778	-31.76%	11,895
Florence	28,961	49.83%	28,614	49.23%	547	0.94%	347	0.60%	58,122
Georgetown	16,526	53.37%	14,163	45.74%	276	0.89%	2,363	7.63%	30,965
Greenville	121,685	62.99%	68,070	35.23%	3,434	1.78%	53,615	27.76%	193,189
Greenwood	16,348	57.02%	11,972	41.76%	352	1.22%	4,376	15.26%	28,672
Hampton	3,312	35.98%	5,834	63.37%	60	0.65%	-2,522	-27.39%	9,206
Horry	72,127	64.17%	38,885	34.60%	1,381	1.23%	33,242	29.57%	112,393
Jasper	4,169	41.60%	5,757	57.45%	95	0.95%	-1,588	-15.85%	10,021
Kershaw	16,324	58.41%	11,259	40.29%	363	1.30%	5,065	18.12%	27,946
Lancaster	19,333	58.33%	13,419	40.49%	392	1.18%	5,914	17.84%	33,144
Laurens	14,746	58.02%	10,318	40.60%	352	1.38%	4,428	17.42%	25,416
Lee	2,832	31.80%	5,977	67.10%	98	1.10%	-3,145	-35.30%	8,907
Lexington	76,662	68.07%	34,148	30.32%	1,813	1.61%	42,514	37.75%	112,623
Marion	5,164	34.46%	9,688	64.65%	134	0.89%	-4,524	-30.19%	14,986
Marlboro	3,676	37.31%	6,100	61.91%	77	0.78%	-2,424	-24.60%	9,853
McCormick	2,467	47.81%	2,653	51.41%	40	0.78%	-186	-3.60%	5,160
Newberry	9,260	56.63%	6,913	42.28%	178	1.09%	2,347	14.35%	16,351
Oconee	21,611	70.47%	8,550	27.88%	505	1.65%	13,061	42.59%	30,666
Orangeburg	12,022	27.93%	30,720	71.37%	299	0.70%	-18,698	-43.44%	43,041
Pickens	33,474	73.49%	11,156	24.49%	919	2.02%	22,138	49.00%	45,549
Richland	53,105	33.37%	103,989	65.34%	2,060	1.29%	-50,884	-31.97%	159,154
Saluda	5,135	59.96%	3,328	38.86%	101	1.18%	1,807	21.10%	8,564
Spartanburg	66,969	60.93%	41,461	37.72%	1,476	1.35%	25,508	23.21%	109,906
Sumter	19,274	40.74%	27,589	58.32%	446	0.94%	-8,315	-17.58%	47,309
Union	6,584	52.50%	5,796	46.22%	161	1.28%	788	6.28%	12,541
Williamsburg	4,824	29.59%	11,335	69.52%	145	0.89%	-6,511	-39.93%	16,304
York	59,546	59.42%	39,131	39.05%	1,533	1.53%	20,415	20.37%	100,210
Totals	1,071,645	54.56%	865,941	44.09%	26,532	1.35%	205,704	10.47%	1,964,118

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Darlington (largest city: Hartsville)

By congressional district

Romney won 6 of 7 congressional districts.

District	Romney	Obama	Representative
1st	58.25%	40.2%	Tim Scott
2nd	59.14%	39.43%	Joe Wilson
3rd	64.55%	33.95%	Jeff Duncan
4th	62.17%	36.2%	Trey Gowdy
5th	55.1%	43.62%	Mick Mulvaney
6th	28.1%	70.9%	Jim Clyburn
7th	54.55%	44.43%	Tom Rice

References

"Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". Retrieved December 7, 2012.
"Decennial Census by Decades". The United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
"The Road to 270: South Carolina". 270toWin.com. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
"South Carolina Presidential Election Voting History". 270toWin.com. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
"GOP bellwether South Carolina shows a tangled race: Pg 1". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved January 20, 2008.
"First in the South". Fox News. Archived from the original on January 22, 2008. Retrieved January 20, 2008.
Falcone, Michael (September 2, 2011). "South Carolina GOP Officials Hope To Strike Deal With Florida To 'Calm' 2012 Primary Waters". ABC News. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
"South Carolina Primary Results". The New York Times. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
Taylor, Steven (September 29, 2011). "Florida Moves its Primary". Outside the Beltway. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
^ Jacobs, Jennifer (October 25, 2011). "GOP chairman: Florida will be penalized, and 2012 race is now set". Des Moines Register. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
Nir, David (October 24, 2011). "Nevada Republicans cave, move caucuses to Feb. 4". Daily Kos. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
Richard E. Berg-Andersson. "South Carolina Republican". The Green Papers. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
Whitmire, C. "2012 Republican Presidential Primary Candidates". South Carolina State Election Commission. Archived from the original on August 22, 2012. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
Kleefeld, Eric (January 4, 2012). "South Carolina GOP Chairman: 'Anyone Can Win' In Our Primary". Talking Points Memo. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
"South Carolina Primary". South Carolina State Election Commission. February 3, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
"Huffington Post Election Dashboard". HuffPost. Archived from the original on August 13, 2013.
"America's Choice 2012 Election Center: CNN Electoral Map". CNN. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013.
"Election 2012 - The Electoral Map: Building a Path to Victory". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012.
"2012 Presidential Election Results". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 26, 2012.
"RealClearPolitics - 2012 Election Maps - Battle for White House". Archived from the original on June 8, 2011.
"PROJECTION: OBAMA WILL LIKELY WIN SECOND TERM".
"Nate Silver's political calculations predict 2012 election outcome".
"Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts". Daily Kos. Retrieved August 11, 2020.

External links

South Carolina State Election Commission
South Carolina's Secretary of State
South Carolina Republican Party
The Green Papers: for South Carolina
The Green Papers: Major state elections in chronological order

v t e (2011 ←) 2012 United States elections (→ 2013)
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v t e State and district results of the 2012 United States presidential election
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v t e Elections in South Carolina
General	1900 1902 1903 1904 1906 1907 1908 1910 1912 1913 1914 1916 1917 1918 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1926 1927 1928 1930 1932 1933 1934 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1942 1943 1944 1946 1949 1950 1952 1953 1954 1956 1958 1959 1960 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1972 1973 1974 1976 1980 1988 1992 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
State Senate	2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
State House	2018 2020 2022
Governor	1865 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1930 1934 1938 1942 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
U.S. President	1788-89 1792 1796 1800 1804 1808 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
U.S. Senate	Class 2: 1789 1793 1796 (special) 1798 (special) 1799 1801 (special) 1810 (special) 1810 1816 (special) 1822 1828 1832 (special) 1834 1840 1845 (special) 1846 1850 (special) 1852 1858 (special) 1868 1870 1876 1882 1888 1894 1900 1906 1912 1918 (special) 1918 1924 1930 1936 1941 (special) 1942 1948 1954 1956 (special) 1960 1966 1972 1978 1984 1990 1996 2002 2008 2014 2020 Class 3: 1789 1794/95 1800 1802 (special) 1804 (special) 1806 1812 1818 1824 1826 (special) 1830 1833 (special) 1837 1842 (special) 1848 1854 1857 (special) 1868 (special) 1872 1878 1884 1890 1897 1898 (special) 1903 1909 1914 1920 1926 1932 1938 1944 1950 1956 1962 1966 (special) 1968 1974 1980 1986 1992 1998 2004 2010 2014 (special) 2016 2022
U.S. House	1788 1790 1793 1794 5th sp 1795 2nd sp 1796 1797 1st sp 1798 1800 1802 4th sp 1803 1804 1805 8th sp 1806 1807 6th sp 1808 1810 1st sp 1810 1812 1814 1816 9th sp 1818 6th sp 1820 1821 9th sp 1822 2nd sp 4th sp 9th sp 1823 1824 1825 1st sp 1826 1828 1830 1833 1834 8th sp 1836 4th sp 8th sp 1838 1840 1843 1844 1846 1848 1st sp 1850 1853 1854 1856 1858 1860 1868 1870 1st sp 1872 1874 1876 2nd sp 1878 1880 1882 1884 7th sp 1886 1888 1890 1892 6th sp 1894 1st sp 4th sp 1896 7th sp 1897 6th sp 1898 1900 1901 7th sp 1902 1904 2nd sp 1906 1908 1910 1912 1913 1st sp 1914 1915 4th sp 1916 1917 5th sp 1918 1919 6th sp 7th sp 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 6th sp 1940 1942 1944 2nd sp 1946 1948 1950 1952 1953 4th sp 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 2nd sp 1964 1965 2nd sp 1966 1968 1970 1971 1st sp 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2001 2nd sp 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2013 1st sp 2014 2016 2017 5th sp 2018 2020 2022 Special
See also: Political party strength in South Carolina

(← 2008) 2012 United States presidential election (2016 →)

Democratic Party

Candidates

Incumbent nominee: Barack Obama
Incumbent VP nominee: Joe Biden
- positions

Challengers: Bob Ely; Keith Judd; Warren Mosler; Vermin Supreme; Randall Terry; John Wolfe

Republican Party

Candidates

Nominee: Mitt Romney
VP nominee: Paul Ryan
- positions

Other candidates

Libertarian Party

Convention

Candidates

Nominee: Gary Johnson
- campaign
VP nominee: Jim Gray

Other candidates: Carl Person; Sam Sloan

Green Party

Candidates

Nominee: Jill Stein
- campaign
VP nominee: Cheri Honkala

Other candidates: Stewart Alexander
Roseanne Barr

Other third-party and independent candidates
American Independent Party	Nominee: Tom Hoefling Other candidates: Wiley Drake Virgil Goode campaign Edward C. Noonan Laurie Roth
American Third Position Party	Nominee: Merlin Miller VP nominee: Virginia Abernethy
Constitution Party	Convention Nominee: Virgil Goode campaign VP nominee: Jim Clymer Other candidates: Laurie Roth Robby Wells
Freedom Socialist Party	Nominee: Stephen Durham
Grassroots Party	Nominee Jim Carlson
Justice Party	Nominee: Rocky Anderson VP nominee: Luis J. Rodriguez
Socialism and Liberation	Nominee: Peta Lindsay
Peace and Freedom Party	Nominee: Roseanne Barr VP nominee: Cindy Sheehan Other candidates: Stewart Alexander Rocky Anderson Peta Lindsay
Prohibition Party	Nominee: Jack Fellure Other candidates: James Hedges
Reform Party	Nominee: Andre Barnett Other candidates: Laurence Kotlikoff Buddy Roemer campaign Robby Wells
Socialist Equality Party	Nominee Jerry White
Socialist Workers Party	Nominee: James Harris
Socialist Party	Nominee: Stewart Alexander campaign VP nominee: Alejandro Mendoza
Independents and others	Objectivist Party Tom Stevens Independents Lee Abramson Randy Blythe Jeff Boss Robert Burck Terry Jones Joe Schriner Michael Bloomberg attempt to draft

United States presidential primaries and caucuses

Election timelines

National opinion polling

Democratic Party: 2008; 2016; 2020; 2024
Republican Party: 2008; 2012; 2016; 2020; 2024

State opinion polling

Democratic Party: 2004; 2008; 2016; 2020; 2024

Republican Party: 2008; 2012; 2016; 2020; 2024

Fundraising

Debates and forums

2020

Republican Party: 2008; 2012; 2016; 2020; 2024
Libertarian Party: 2016
Green Party: 2016

Straw polls

Conservative Political Action Conference
Iowa State Fair
(defunct: Ames, Iowa
Texas)

Major events

Caucuses
and primaries

Democratic Party	1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 2028
Republican Party	1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 2028
Libertarian Party	2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Green Party	2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Reform Party	1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Constitution Party	2016 2020 2024

Results breakdown

List of candidates by number of primary votes received
Democratic Party: 2008; 2016; 2020; 2024
Republican Party: 2008; 2012; 2016; 2020; 2024

National
conventions

Defunct

Whig Party	1839 1844 1848 1852 1856
Greenback Party	1876 1880 1884 1888
Populist Party	1892 1896 1900 • 1904 • 1908
Progressive Party	1912 1916 1920 1924 1948 1952

Reforms

Categories:

Primaries

Democratic primary

Republican primary

Date

Ballot access

Polling

Results

General election

Predictions

Results

By county

By congressional district

See also

References

External links