Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney.
Barack Obama (D) vs Mitt Romney (R). Every state below links to its full contest page with county-level results.
Nominees: Barack Obama (D) · Mitt Romney (R)
The 2012 cycle at a glance
The popular vote in the long run
National Democratic-minus-Republican margin, 1892–2012. Blue above the line is a Democratic margin, red below Republican.
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | +1.7% |
| 1896 | −6.1% |
| 1900 | −7.5% |
| 1904 | −19.7% |
| 1908 | −9.6% |
| 1912 | +19.5% |
| 1916 | +3.1% |
| 1920 | −26.2% |
| 1924 | −25.2% |
| 1928 | −17.5% |
| 1932 | +17.8% |
| 1936 | +24.3% |
| 1940 | +9.9% |
| 1944 | +7.5% |
| 1948 | +4.5% |
| 1952 | −10.8% |
| 1956 | −15.4% |
| 1960 | +0.2% |
| 1964 | +22.6% |
| 1968 | −0.7% |
| 1972 | −23.2% |
| 1976 | +2.1% |
| 1980 | −9.7% |
| 1984 | −18.2% |
| 1988 | −7.7% |
| 1992 | +5.6% |
| 1996 | +8.5% |
| 2000 | +0.5% |
| 2004 | −2.5% |
| 2008 | +7.3% |
| 2012 | +3.9% |
The path to 270
Obama's states, safest to closest — the running electoral-vote total crosses 270 at the tipping-point state.
How the country moved
Every county that voted in both cycles, placed by how its margin swung and sized by its turnout. 2,639 of 3,143 moved toward the Republicans. The median county swung R+5.3; weighted by turnout — the average voter's county — the shift was R+3.3.
The sharpest county swings
Of the counties reporting in both cycles, the biggest shifts in presidential margin since 2008. Each links to the county's full record.
| County | State | Swing | 2008 margin | 2012 margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Arctic Borough | AK | D+50.9 | R+15.9 | D+35.0 |
| Kusilvak Census Area | AK | D+44.6 | D+15.9 | D+60.5 |
| Boone County | WV | R+42.2 | D+10.7 | R+31.5 |
| Knott County | KY | R+39.7 | R+7.9 | R+47.6 |
| Bethel Census Area | AK | D+39.5 | D+8.6 | D+48.1 |
| North Slope Borough | AK | D+38.9 | R+8.9 | D+30.0 |
Results by state
Every row links to the state's contest page with its county map. Electoral votes reflect the 2012 apportionment. The Swing column is the change in margin since 2008; the faint tick on each bar marks where the state stood then.
| State | Won | Electoral votes | Margin | Swing | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | R | 3 | D+7.5 | 122,641 | 164,675 | 300,495 | |
| Alabama | R | 9 | R+0.7 | 795,396 | 1,255,925 | 2,070,353 | |
| Arkansas | R | 6 | R+3.8 | 394,409 | 647,744 | 1,069,468 | |
| Arizona | R | 11 | R+0.5 | 1,025,232 | 1,233,654 | 2,306,559 | |
| California | D | 55 | R+0.9 | 7,854,285 | 4,839,958 | 13,055,815 | |
| Colorado | D | 9 | R+3.6 | 1,323,102 | 1,185,243 | 2,571,846 | |
| Connecticut | D | 7 | R+5.0 | 905,088 | 634,881 | 1,558,036 | |
| District of Columbia | D | 3 | R+2.3 | 267,070 | 21,381 | 293,764 | |
| Delaware | D | 3 | R+6.4 | 242,584 | 165,484 | 413,890 | |
| Florida | D | 29 | R+1.9 | 4,237,756 | 4,163,447 | 8,474,179 | |
| Georgia | R | 16 | R+2.6 | 1,773,807 | 2,078,688 | 3,908,349 | |
| Hawaii | D | 4 | R+2.5 | 306,266 | 120,937 | 434,227 | |
| Iowa | D | 6 | R+3.7 | 822,544 | 730,617 | 1,582,180 | |
| Idaho | R | 4 | R+6.5 | 212,787 | 420,911 | 652,274 | |
| Illinois | D | 20 | R+8.3 | 3,019,512 | 2,135,216 | 5,251,432 | |
| Indiana | R | 11 | R+11.2 | 1,154,275 | 1,422,872 | 2,633,143 | |
| Kansas | R | 6 | R+6.6 | 439,908 | 689,809 | 1,157,532 | |
| Kentucky | R | 8 | R+6.4 | 679,370 | 1,087,190 | 1,798,048 | |
| Louisiana | R | 8 | D+1.4 | 809,141 | 1,152,262 | 1,994,065 | |
| Massachusetts | D | 11 | R+2.7 | 1,921,761 | 1,188,460 | 3,167,767 | |
| Maryland | D | 10 | D+0.6 | 1,677,844 | 971,869 | 2,707,327 | |
| Maine | D | 4 | R+2.1 | 399,235 | 291,418 | 710,126 | |
| Michigan | D | 16 | R+7.0 | 2,564,569 | 2,115,256 | 4,745,316 | |
| Minnesota | D | 10 | R+2.5 | 1,546,167 | 1,320,225 | 2,936,561 | |
| Missouri | R | 10 | R+9.2 | 1,223,796 | 1,482,440 | 2,763,689 | |
| Mississippi | R | 6 | D+1.7 | 562,949 | 710,746 | 1,285,584 | |
| Montana | R | 3 | R+11.3 | 201,839 | 267,928 | 484,484 | |
| North Carolina | R | 15 | R+2.4 | 2,178,391 | 2,270,395 | 4,505,372 | |
| North Dakota | R | 3 | R+11.0 | 124,827 | 188,163 | 322,627 | |
| Nebraska | R | 5 | R+6.8 | 302,081 | 475,064 | 794,379 | |
| New Hampshire | D | 4 | R+4.1 | 369,561 | 329,918 | 710,972 | |
| New Jersey | D | 14 | D+2.2 | 2,126,610 | 1,478,749 | 3,651,140 | |
| New Mexico | D | 5 | R+5.0 | 415,335 | 335,788 | 783,757 | |
| Nevada | D | 6 | R+5.9 | 531,373 | 463,567 | 1,014,918 | |
| New York | D | 29 | D+1.3 | 4,485,877 | 2,490,496 | 7,081,536 | |
| Ohio | D | 18 | R+1.6 | 2,827,709 | 2,661,439 | 5,634,017 | |
| Oklahoma | R | 7 | R+2.3 | 443,547 | 891,325 | 1,334,872 | |
| Oregon | D | 7 | R+4.3 | 970,488 | 754,175 | 1,789,270 | |
| Pennsylvania | D | 20 | R+5.0 | 2,990,274 | 2,680,434 | 5,755,620 | |
| Rhode Island | D | 4 | R+0.6 | 279,409 | 157,151 | 445,716 | |
| South Carolina | R | 9 | R+1.5 | 865,941 | 1,071,645 | 1,964,118 | |
| South Dakota | R | 3 | R+9.6 | 145,039 | 210,610 | 363,815 | |
| Tennessee | R | 11 | R+5.4 | 960,709 | 1,462,330 | 2,460,904 | |
| Texas | R | 38 | R+4.0 | 3,308,124 | 4,569,843 | 7,999,657 | |
| Utah | R | 6 | R+19.7 | 251,813 | 740,600 | 1,020,861 | |
| Virginia | D | 13 | R+2.4 | 1,970,595 | 1,820,995 | 3,851,684 | |
| Vermont | D | 3 | R+1.4 | 199,239 | 92,698 | 299,290 | |
| Washington | D | 12 | R+2.4 | 1,755,396 | 1,290,670 | 3,145,958 | |
| Wisconsin | D | 10 | R+6.9 | 1,620,985 | 1,407,966 | 3,068,434 | |
| West Virginia | R | 5 | R+13.6 | 238,269 | 417,655 | 672,119 | |
| Wyoming | R | 3 | R+8.6 | 69,286 | 170,962 | 249,061 |
Source. MIT Election Data + Science Lab — 2012 presidential returns · official state + county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.