North Carolina — 2012 presidential election
Recent presidential results
Akashicstate2012 presidential electionNorth Carolina · PresidentRomneyR+2.0
How it voted
Share of the 2012 vote
| Mitt Romney ✓Republican | 50.4% | 2,270,395 |
|---|---|---|
| Barack ObamaDemocratic | 48.4% | 2,178,391 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 1.3% | 56,586 |
2012presidential margin
D+60R+60
100 counties, each filled by 2012 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
North Carolina cast 15 electoral votes this cycle.
County-level results (100 counties) — table
| County | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Alamance County, NC | Republican | R+13.7 |
| Alexander County, NC | Republican | R+44.4 |
| Alleghany County, NC | Republican | R+35.7 |
| Anson County, NC | Democratic | D+25.3 |
| Ashe County, NC | Republican | R+32.7 |
| Avery County, NC | Republican | R+50.1 |
| Beaufort County, NC | Republican | R+19.2 |
| Bertie County, NC | Democratic | D+32.7 |
| Bladen County, NC | Democratic | D+2.0 |
| Brunswick County, NC | Republican | R+22.1 |
| Buncombe County, NC | Democratic | D+12.5 |
| Burke County, NC | Republican | R+23.4 |
| Cabarrus County, NC | Republican | R+20.0 |
| Caldwell County, NC | Republican | R+35.5 |
| Camden County, NC | Republican | R+34.0 |
| Carteret County, NC | Republican | R+40.8 |
| Caswell County, NC | Republican | R+2.2 |
| Catawba County, NC | Republican | R+29.4 |
| Chatham County, NC | Democratic | D+4.8 |
| Cherokee County, NC | Republican | R+45.9 |
| Chowan County, NC | Republican | R+4.5 |
| Clay County, NC | Republican | R+42.4 |
| Cleveland County, NC | Republican | R+20.1 |
| Columbus County, NC | Republican | R+7.8 |
| Craven County, NC | Republican | R+17.7 |
| Cumberland County, NC | Democratic | D+19.7 |
| Currituck County, NC | Republican | R+34.8 |
| Dare County, NC | Republican | R+15.9 |
| Davidson County, NC | Republican | R+40.5 |
| Davie County, NC | Republican | R+43.3 |
| Duplin County, NC | Republican | R+11.6 |
| Durham County, NC | Democratic | D+52.8 |
| Edgecombe County, NC | Democratic | D+36.2 |
| Forsyth County, NC | Democratic | D+7.2 |
| Franklin County, NC | Republican | R+4.1 |
| Gaston County, NC | Republican | R+25.4 |
| Gates County, NC | Democratic | D+4.1 |
| Graham County, NC | Republican | R+41.3 |
| Granville County, NC | Democratic | D+4.5 |
| Greene County, NC | Republican | R+7.7 |
| Guilford County, NC | Democratic | D+16.4 |
| Halifax County, NC | Democratic | D+32.3 |
| Harnett County, NC | Republican | R+19.0 |
| Haywood County, NC | Republican | R+13.6 |
| Henderson County, NC | Republican | R+27.4 |
| Hertford County, NC | Democratic | D+44.3 |
| Hoke County, NC | Democratic | D+19.1 |
| Hyde County, NC | Republican | R+1.3 |
| Iredell County, NC | Republican | R+30.4 |
| Jackson County, NC | Republican | R+1.0 |
| Johnston County, NC | Republican | R+27.6 |
| Jones County, NC | Republican | R+9.3 |
| Lee County, NC | Republican | R+9.7 |
| Lenoir County, NC | Republican | R+0.1 |
| Lincoln County, NC | Republican | R+38.7 |
| Macon County, NC | Republican | R+30.4 |
| Madison County, NC | Republican | R+9.1 |
| Martin County, NC | Democratic | D+4.6 |
| McDowell County, NC | Republican | R+31.7 |
| Mecklenburg County, NC | Democratic | D+22.4 |
| Mitchell County, NC | Republican | R+51.1 |
| Montgomery County, NC | Republican | R+15.1 |
| Moore County, NC | Republican | R+28.0 |
| Nash County, NC | Democratic | D+1.0 |
| New Hanover County, NC | Republican | R+4.6 |
| Northampton County, NC | Democratic | D+34.9 |
| Onslow County, NC | Republican | R+26.7 |
| Orange County, NC | Democratic | D+42.2 |
| Pamlico County, NC | Republican | R+20.8 |
| Pasquotank County, NC | Democratic | D+14.6 |
| Pender County, NC | Republican | R+20.3 |
| Perquimans County, NC | Republican | R+16.0 |
| Person County, NC | Republican | R+10.9 |
| Pitt County, NC | Democratic | D+7.1 |
| Polk County, NC | Republican | R+21.4 |
| Randolph County, NC | Republican | R+50.0 |
| Richmond County, NC | Democratic | D+2.9 |
| Robeson County, NC | Democratic | D+17.4 |
| Rockingham County, NC | Republican | R+21.1 |
| Rowan County, NC | Republican | R+25.9 |
| Rutherford County, NC | Republican | R+33.4 |
| Sampson County, NC | Republican | R+10.9 |
| Scotland County, NC | Democratic | D+16.8 |
| Stanly County, NC | Republican | R+40.0 |
| Stokes County, NC | Republican | R+42.6 |
| Surry County, NC | Republican | R+36.7 |
| Swain County, NC | Republican | R+6.3 |
| Transylvania County, NC | Republican | R+16.8 |
| Tyrrell County, NC | Republican | R+5.2 |
| Union County, NC | Republican | R+30.2 |
| Vance County, NC | Democratic | D+28.3 |
| Wake County, NC | Democratic | D+11.4 |
| Warren County, NC | Democratic | D+37.8 |
| Washington County, NC | Democratic | D+18.6 |
| Watauga County, NC | Republican | R+3.1 |
| Wayne County, NC | Republican | R+8.4 |
| Wilkes County, NC | Republican | R+42.4 |
| Wilson County, NC | Democratic | D+7.5 |
| Yadkin County, NC | Republican | R+51.3 |
| Yancey County, NC | Republican | R+13.7 |
North Carolina results by county
100 counties. Third-party and independent votes are reported by the county source as one combined figure; every named candidate is listed in the complete result below.
| Led by | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alamance County | Mitt Romney+9,295 | 38,17056.3% | 28,87542.6% | 7311.1% | 67,776 |
| Alexander County | Mitt Romney+7,642 | 12,25371.3% | 4,61126.8% | 3321.9% | 17,196 |
| Alleghany County | Mitt Romney+1,807 | 3,39066.9% | 1,58331.2% | 941.9% | 5,067 |
| Anson County | Barack Obama+2,853 | 4,16637.0% | 7,01962.4% | 710.6% | 11,256 |
| Ashe County | Mitt Romney+4,126 | 8,24265.4% | 4,11632.6% | 2522.0% | 12,610 |
| Avery County | Mitt Romney+3,884 | 5,76674.3% | 1,88224.3% | 1111.4% | 7,759 |
| Beaufort County | Mitt Romney+4,542 | 13,97759.2% | 9,43539.9% | 2080.9% | 23,620 |
| Bertie County | Barack Obama+3,308 | 3,38733.5% | 6,69566.1% | 410.4% | 10,123 |
| Bladen County | Barack Obama+314 | 7,74848.6% | 8,06250.5% | 1470.9% | 15,957 |
| Brunswick County | Mitt Romney+12,705 | 34,74360.6% | 22,03838.4% | 5811.0% | 57,362 |
| Buncombe County | Barack Obama+15,924 | 54,70142.8% | 70,62555.3% | 2,3701.9% | 127,696 |
| Burke County | Mitt Romney+8,566 | 22,26760.9% | 13,70137.5% | 5761.6% | 36,544 |
| Cabarrus County | Mitt Romney+16,708 | 49,55759.3% | 32,84939.3% | 1,1601.4% | 83,566 |
| Caldwell County | Mitt Romney+12,331 | 23,22966.9% | 10,89831.4% | 6051.7% | 34,732 |
| Camden County | Mitt Romney+1,601 | 3,10966.1% | 1,50832.1% | 871.8% | 4,704 |
| Carteret County | Mitt Romney+14,474 | 24,77569.8% | 10,30129.0% | 4411.2% | 35,517 |
| Caswell County | Mitt Romney+246 | 5,59450.7% | 5,34848.4% | 970.9% | 11,039 |
| Catawba County | Mitt Romney+20,469 | 44,53864.0% | 24,06934.6% | 9941.4% | 69,601 |
| Chatham County | Barack Obama+1,696 | 16,66547.0% | 18,36151.8% | 4081.2% | 35,434 |
| Cherokee County | Mitt Romney+5,900 | 9,27872.1% | 3,37826.3% | 2111.6% | 12,867 |
| Chowan County | Mitt Romney+335 | 3,89151.8% | 3,55647.4% | 580.8% | 7,505 |
| Clay County | Mitt Romney+2,394 | 3,97370.4% | 1,57928.0% | 901.6% | 5,642 |
| Cleveland County | Mitt Romney+8,731 | 25,79359.5% | 17,06239.4% | 4851.1% | 43,340 |
| Columbus County | Mitt Romney+1,891 | 12,94153.4% | 11,05045.6% | 2521.0% | 24,243 |
| Craven County | Mitt Romney+8,165 | 26,92858.3% | 18,76340.6% | 4791.0% | 46,170 |
| Cumberland County | Barack Obama+25,126 | 50,66639.7% | 75,79259.4% | 1,1830.9% | 127,641 |
| Currituck County | Mitt Romney+3,934 | 7,49666.3% | 3,56231.5% | 2462.2% | 11,304 |
| Dare County | Mitt Romney+2,855 | 10,24857.0% | 7,39341.1% | 3331.9% | 17,974 |
| Davidson County | Mitt Romney+28,759 | 49,38369.6% | 20,62429.1% | 9281.3% | 70,935 |
| Davie County | Mitt Romney+8,952 | 14,68771.1% | 5,73527.7% | 2481.2% | 20,670 |
| Duplin County | Mitt Romney+2,383 | 11,41655.4% | 9,03343.9% | 1430.7% | 20,592 |
| Durham County | Barack Obama+77,455 | 33,76923.0% | 111,22475.8% | 1,7421.2% | 146,735 |
| Edgecombe County | Barack Obama+9,764 | 8,54631.7% | 18,31067.9% | 1160.4% | 26,972 |
| Forsyth County | Barack Obama+12,555 | 79,76845.8% | 92,32353.0% | 1,9781.1% | 174,069 |
| Franklin County | Mitt Romney+1,167 | 14,60351.4% | 13,43647.3% | 3501.2% | 28,389 |
| Gaston County | Mitt Romney+22,967 | 56,13862.0% | 33,17136.7% | 1,1741.3% | 90,483 |
| Gates County | Barack Obama+222 | 2,56447.5% | 2,78651.6% | 460.9% | 5,396 |
| Graham County | Mitt Romney+1,631 | 2,75069.7% | 1,11928.4% | 782.0% | 3,947 |
| Granville County | Barack Obama+1,193 | 12,40547.2% | 13,59851.8% | 2721.0% | 26,275 |
| Greene County | Mitt Romney+633 | 4,41153.6% | 3,77845.9% | 470.6% | 8,236 |
| Guilford County | Barack Obama+41,576 | 104,78941.3% | 146,36557.7% | 2,6981.1% | 253,852 |
| Halifax County | Barack Obama+8,413 | 8,76333.6% | 17,17665.9% | 1400.5% | 26,079 |
| Harnett County | Mitt Romney+8,234 | 25,56558.9% | 17,33139.9% | 5191.2% | 43,415 |
| Haywood County | Mitt Romney+3,800 | 15,63355.9% | 11,83342.3% | 5081.8% | 27,974 |
| Henderson County | Mitt Romney+14,352 | 32,99463.0% | 18,64235.6% | 7561.4% | 52,392 |
| Hertford County | Barack Obama+4,836 | 3,00727.5% | 7,84371.8% | 680.6% | 10,918 |
| Hoke County | Barack Obama+3,257 | 6,81939.9% | 10,07659.0% | 1941.1% | 17,089 |
| Hyde County | Mitt Romney+30 | 1,19350.1% | 1,16348.8% | 271.1% | 2,383 |
| Iredell County | Mitt Romney+23,223 | 49,29964.6% | 26,07634.1% | 9901.3% | 76,365 |
| Jackson County | Mitt Romney+159 | 8,25449.4% | 8,09548.5% | 3522.1% | 16,701 |
| Johnston County | Mitt Romney+21,137 | 48,42763.1% | 27,29035.6% | 9741.3% | 76,691 |
| Jones County | Mitt Romney+485 | 2,83754.2% | 2,35245.0% | 410.8% | 5,230 |
| Lee County | Mitt Romney+2,357 | 13,15854.3% | 10,80144.6% | 2801.2% | 24,239 |
| Lenoir County | Mitt Romney+32 | 13,98049.8% | 13,94849.7% | 1580.6% | 28,086 |
| Lincoln County | Mitt Romney+14,243 | 25,26768.7% | 11,02430.0% | 4841.3% | 36,775 |
| Macon County | Mitt Romney+5,123 | 10,83564.3% | 5,71233.9% | 3141.9% | 16,861 |
| Madison County | Mitt Romney+920 | 5,40453.4% | 4,48444.3% | 2252.2% | 10,113 |
| Martin County | Barack Obama+588 | 5,99547.4% | 6,58352.0% | 740.6% | 12,652 |
| McDowell County | Mitt Romney+5,744 | 11,77565.1% | 6,03133.3% | 2931.6% | 18,099 |
| Mecklenburg County | Barack Obama+100,594 | 171,66838.2% | 272,26260.7% | 4,9701.1% | 448,900 |
| Mitchell County | Mitt Romney+3,968 | 5,80674.8% | 1,83823.7% | 1211.6% | 7,765 |
| Montgomery County | Mitt Romney+1,698 | 6,40457.0% | 4,70641.9% | 1211.1% | 11,231 |
| Moore County | Mitt Romney+12,990 | 29,49563.5% | 16,50535.6% | 4150.9% | 46,415 |
| Nash County | Barack Obama+471 | 23,84249.2% | 24,31350.1% | 3370.7% | 48,492 |
| New Hanover County | Mitt Romney+4,717 | 53,38551.5% | 48,66847.0% | 1,5751.5% | 103,628 |
| Northampton County | Barack Obama+3,749 | 3,48332.4% | 7,23267.2% | 410.4% | 10,756 |
| Onslow County | Mitt Romney+13,753 | 32,24362.7% | 18,49035.9% | 7021.4% | 51,435 |
| Orange County | Barack Obama+32,362 | 21,53928.1% | 53,90170.2% | 1,3171.7% | 76,757 |
| Pamlico County | Mitt Romney+1,404 | 4,05159.9% | 2,64739.1% | 640.9% | 6,762 |
| Pasquotank County | Barack Obama+2,649 | 7,63342.2% | 10,28256.8% | 1921.1% | 18,107 |
| Pender County | Mitt Romney+4,985 | 14,61759.6% | 9,63239.3% | 2781.1% | 24,527 |
| Perquimans County | Mitt Romney+1,063 | 3,82257.5% | 2,75941.5% | 711.1% | 6,652 |
| Person County | Mitt Romney+2,078 | 10,49654.9% | 8,41844.1% | 1921.0% | 19,106 |
| Pitt County | Barack Obama+5,629 | 36,21445.9% | 41,84353.1% | 7991.0% | 78,856 |
| Polk County | Mitt Romney+2,223 | 6,23660.0% | 4,01338.6% | 1401.3% | 10,389 |
| Randolph County | Mitt Romney+30,387 | 45,16074.4% | 14,77324.3% | 7821.3% | 60,715 |
| Richmond County | Barack Obama+572 | 9,33248.1% | 9,90451.0% | 1810.9% | 19,417 |
| Robeson County | Barack Obama+7,478 | 17,51040.8% | 24,98858.2% | 4481.0% | 42,946 |
| Rockingham County | Mitt Romney+8,876 | 25,22760.0% | 16,35138.9% | 4421.1% | 42,020 |
| Rowan County | Mitt Romney+16,125 | 38,77562.2% | 22,65036.3% | 8871.4% | 62,312 |
| Rutherford County | Mitt Romney+9,580 | 18,95466.0% | 9,37432.7% | 3741.3% | 28,702 |
| Sampson County | Mitt Romney+2,856 | 14,42255.1% | 11,56644.2% | 1860.7% | 26,174 |
| Scotland County | Barack Obama+2,384 | 5,83141.2% | 8,21558.0% | 1100.8% | 14,156 |
| Stanly County | Mitt Romney+11,473 | 19,90469.3% | 8,43129.4% | 3821.3% | 28,717 |
| Stokes County | Mitt Romney+9,219 | 15,23770.5% | 6,01827.8% | 3641.7% | 21,619 |
| Surry County | Mitt Romney+10,811 | 19,92367.6% | 9,11230.9% | 4351.5% | 29,470 |
| Swain County | Mitt Romney+358 | 2,97652.0% | 2,61845.7% | 1342.3% | 5,728 |
| Transylvania County | Mitt Romney+2,808 | 9,63457.5% | 6,82640.7% | 3031.8% | 16,763 |
| Tyrrell County | Mitt Romney+93 | 93052.2% | 83746.9% | 160.9% | 1,783 |
| Union County | Mitt Romney+28,634 | 61,10764.5% | 32,47334.3% | 1,1481.2% | 94,728 |
| Vance County | Barack Obama+5,894 | 7,42935.6% | 13,32363.9% | 1020.5% | 20,854 |
| Wake County | Barack Obama+55,666 | 211,59643.5% | 267,26254.9% | 7,5691.6% | 486,427 |
| Warren County | Barack Obama+3,838 | 3,14030.9% | 6,97868.7% | 440.4% | 10,162 |
| Washington County | Barack Obama+1,211 | 2,62240.3% | 3,83359.0% | 440.7% | 6,499 |
| Watauga County | Mitt Romney+859 | 13,86150.1% | 13,00247.0% | 8112.9% | 27,674 |
| Wayne County | Mitt Romney+4,327 | 27,64153.8% | 23,31445.4% | 3970.8% | 51,352 |
| Wilkes County | Mitt Romney+12,367 | 20,51570.4% | 8,14828.0% | 4821.7% | 29,145 |
| Wilson County | Barack Obama+2,921 | 17,95445.9% | 20,87553.4% | 2800.7% | 39,109 |
| Yadkin County | Mitt Romney+8,621 | 12,57874.8% | 3,95723.5% | 2781.7% | 16,813 |
| Yancey County | Mitt Romney+1,297 | 5,27855.8% | 3,98142.1% | 1922.0% | 9,451 |
Nominees: Barack Obama (D) · Mitt Romney (R)
North Carolina's presidential margins
1892–2024, the 2012 contest in context
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | +11.6% |
| 1896 | +5.8% |
| 1900 | +8.5% |
| 1904 | +20.1% |
| 1908 | +8.7% |
| 1912 | +47.3% |
| 1916 | +16.4% |
| 1920 | +13.5% |
| 1924 | +19.4% |
| 1928 | −9.9% |
| 1932 | +40.6% |
| 1936 | +46.8% |
| 1940 | +48.1% |
| 1944 | +33.4% |
| 1948 | +25.3% |
| 1952 | +7.8% |
| 1956 | +1.3% |
| 1960 | +4.2% |
| 1964 | +12.3% |
| 1968 | −10.3% |
| 1972 | −40.6% |
| 1976 | +11.0% |
| 1980 | −2.1% |
| 1984 | −24.0% |
| 1988 | −16.3% |
| 1992 | −0.8% |
| 1996 | −4.7% |
| 2000 | −12.8% |
| 2004 | −12.4% |
| 2008 | +0.3% |
| 2012 | −2.0% |
| 2016 | −3.7% |
| 2020 | −1.3% |
| 2024 | −3.2% |
Same ballot, 2012NC
Source. MIT Election Data + Science Lab — 2012 presidential returns · official county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.