Elections / 2012 · President · SD
South Dakota — 2012 presidential election
Recent presidential results
Akashicstate2012 presidential electionSouth Dakota · PresidentRomneyR+18.0
How it voted
Share of the 2012 vote
| Mitt Romney ✓Republican | 57.9% | 210,610 |
|---|---|---|
| Barack ObamaDemocratic | 39.9% | 145,039 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 2.2% | 8,166 |
2012presidential margin
D+60R+60
66 counties, each filled by 2012 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
South Dakota cast 3 electoral votes this cycle.
County-level results (66 counties) — table
| County | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Aurora County, SD | Republican | R+17.7 |
| Beadle County, SD | Republican | R+18.6 |
| Bennett County, SD | Republican | R+6.5 |
| Bon Homme County, SD | Republican | R+21.6 |
| Brookings County, SD | Republican | R+3.2 |
| Brown County, SD | Republican | R+6.7 |
| Brule County, SD | Republican | R+28.4 |
| Buffalo County, SD | Democratic | D+47.7 |
| Butte County, SD | Republican | R+49.2 |
| Campbell County, SD | Republican | R+58.8 |
| Charles Mix County, SD | Republican | R+19.8 |
| Clark County, SD | Republican | R+19.4 |
| Clay County, SD | Democratic | D+15.4 |
| Codington County, SD | Republican | R+18.3 |
| Corson County, SD | Democratic | D+11.1 |
| Custer County, SD | Republican | R+38.2 |
| Davison County, SD | Republican | R+21.5 |
| Day County, SD | Democratic | D+6.2 |
| Deuel County, SD | Republican | R+10.8 |
| Dewey County, SD | Democratic | D+28.7 |
| Douglas County, SD | Republican | R+59.3 |
| Edmunds County, SD | Republican | R+33.2 |
| Fall River County, SD | Republican | R+31.8 |
| Faulk County, SD | Republican | R+38.5 |
| Grant County, SD | Republican | R+15.0 |
| Gregory County, SD | Republican | R+42.2 |
| Haakon County, SD | Republican | R+73.4 |
| Hamlin County, SD | Republican | R+31.6 |
| Hand County, SD | Republican | R+36.1 |
| Hanson County, SD | Republican | R+35.9 |
| Harding County, SD | Republican | R+75.2 |
| Hughes County, SD | Republican | R+29.8 |
| Hutchinson County, SD | Republican | R+44.6 |
| Hyde County, SD | Republican | R+46.7 |
| Jackson County, SD | Republican | R+21.2 |
| Jerauld County, SD | Republican | R+8.5 |
| Jones County, SD | Republican | R+62.7 |
| Kingsbury County, SD | Republican | R+13.8 |
| Lake County, SD | Republican | R+11.1 |
| Lawrence County, SD | Republican | R+26.9 |
| Lincoln County, SD | Republican | R+25.6 |
| Lyman County, SD | Republican | R+20.9 |
| Marshall County, SD | Democratic | D+8.7 |
| McCook County, SD | Republican | R+28.7 |
| McPherson County, SD | Republican | R+53.4 |
| Meade County, SD | Republican | R+42.9 |
| Mellette County, SD | Republican | R+0.8 |
| Miner County, SD | Republican | R+13.8 |
| Minnehaha County, SD | Republican | R+7.4 |
| Moody County, SD | Republican | R+3.5 |
| Oglala Lakota County, SD | Democratic | D+87.4 |
| Pennington County, SD | Republican | R+29.5 |
| Perkins County, SD | Republican | R+55.7 |
| Potter County, SD | Republican | R+50.0 |
| Roberts County, SD | Democratic | D+9.8 |
| Sanborn County, SD | Republican | R+26.8 |
| Spink County, SD | Republican | R+12.2 |
| Stanley County, SD | Republican | R+40.8 |
| Sully County, SD | Republican | R+52.2 |
| Todd County, SD | Democratic | D+59.2 |
| Tripp County, SD | Republican | R+43.4 |
| Turner County, SD | Republican | R+31.0 |
| Union County, SD | Republican | R+25.2 |
| Walworth County, SD | Republican | R+43.1 |
| Yankton County, SD | Republican | R+12.7 |
| Ziebach County, SD | Democratic | D+16.4 |
complete certified result
South Dakota candidate results
Top three shown first · expand for every reported candidate and write-in category
Source: MIT Election Data + Science Lab — U.S. President 1976–2024 state candidate returns
Nominees: Barack Obama (D) · Mitt Romney (R)
South Dakota's presidential margins
1892–2024, the 2012 contest in context
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | −36.5% |
| 1896 | +0.2% |
| 1900 | −15.6% |
| 1904 | −49.4% |
| 1908 | −23.8% |
| 1912 | +42.1% |
| 1916 | −3.9% |
| 1920 | −41.0% |
| 1924 | −36.3% |
| 1928 | −21.0% |
| 1932 | +29.2% |
| 1936 | +11.5% |
| 1940 | −14.8% |
| 1944 | −16.7% |
| 1948 | −4.8% |
| 1952 | −38.5% |
| 1956 | −16.8% |
| 1960 | −16.4% |
| 1964 | +11.2% |
| 1968 | −11.3% |
| 1972 | −8.6% |
| 1976 | −1.5% |
| 1980 | −28.8% |
| 1984 | −26.5% |
| 1988 | −6.3% |
| 1992 | −3.5% |
| 1996 | −3.5% |
| 2000 | −22.7% |
| 2004 | −21.3% |
| 2008 | −8.4% |
| 2012 | −18.0% |
| 2016 | −29.8% |
| 2020 | −26.2% |
| 2024 | −29.2% |
County-by-county results — 66 counties
| County | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora County | R | 556 | 804 | 1,400 | |
| Beadle County | R | 2,881 | 4,230 | 7,263 | |
| Bennett County | R | 548 | 626 | 1,203 | |
| Bon Homme County | R | 1,167 | 1,830 | 3,074 | |
| Brookings County | R | 5,827 | 6,220 | 12,400 | |
| Brown County | R | 7,250 | 8,321 | 16,068 | |
| Brule County | R | 824 | 1,499 | 2,379 | |
| Buffalo County | D | 472 | 166 | 641 | |
| Butte County | R | 1,002 | 3,073 | 4,208 | |
| Campbell County | R | 153 | 616 | 787 | |
| Charles Mix County | R | 1,483 | 2,230 | 3,764 | |
| Clark County | R | 713 | 1,067 | 1,821 | |
| Clay County | D | 2,955 | 2,147 | 5,234 | |
| Codington County | R | 4,588 | 6,696 | 11,524 | |
| Corson County | D | 648 | 515 | 1,200 | |
| Custer County | R | 1,335 | 3,062 | 4,520 | |
| Davison County | R | 3,042 | 4,757 | 7,971 | |
| Day County | D | 1,497 | 1,320 | 2,873 | |
| Deuel County | R | 941 | 1,175 | 2,171 | |
| Dewey County | D | 1,207 | 663 | 1,895 | |
| Douglas County | R | 332 | 1,334 | 1,690 | |
| Edmunds County | R | 622 | 1,264 | 1,936 | |
| Fall River County | R | 1,140 | 2,258 | 3,516 | |
| Faulk County | R | 331 | 765 | 1,127 | |
| Grant County | R | 1,493 | 2,034 | 3,606 | |
| Gregory County | R | 599 | 1,507 | 2,151 | |
| Haakon County | R | 138 | 940 | 1,092 | |
| Hamlin County | R | 921 | 1,803 | 2,793 | |
| Hand County | R | 575 | 1,242 | 1,848 | |
| Hanson County | R | 760 | 1,627 | 2,416 | |
| Harding County | R | 82 | 638 | 739 | |
| Hughes County | R | 2,786 | 5,219 | 8,155 | |
| Hutchinson County | R | 923 | 2,451 | 3,425 | |
| Hyde County | R | 189 | 531 | 733 | |
| Jackson County | R | 426 | 661 | 1,106 | |
| Jerauld County | R | 452 | 538 | 1,006 | |
| Jones County | R | 108 | 490 | 609 | |
| Kingsbury County | R | 1,092 | 1,451 | 2,608 | |
| Lake County | R | 2,724 | 3,419 | 6,285 | |
| Lawrence County | R | 3,973 | 7,025 | 11,359 | |
| Lincoln County | R | 7,982 | 13,611 | 21,952 | |
| Lyman County | R | 605 | 933 | 1,569 | |
| Marshall County | D | 1,061 | 889 | 1,987 | |
| McCook County | R | 905 | 1,655 | 2,613 | |
| McPherson County | R | 272 | 921 | 1,215 | |
| Meade County | R | 2,928 | 7,566 | 10,817 | |
| Mellette County | R | 375 | 381 | 769 | |
| Miner County | R | 479 | 636 | 1,140 | |
| Minnehaha County | R | 34,674 | 40,342 | 76,583 | |
| Moody County | R | 1,429 | 1,535 | 3,033 | |
| Oglala Lakota County | D | 2,937 | 188 | 3,145 | |
| Pennington County | R | 15,125 | 28,232 | 44,464 | |
| Perkins County | R | 319 | 1,205 | 1,590 | |
| Potter County | R | 339 | 1,029 | 1,381 | |
| Roberts County | D | 2,302 | 1,883 | 4,256 | |
| Sanborn County | R | 389 | 688 | 1,115 | |
| Spink County | R | 1,300 | 1,670 | 3,041 | |
| Stanley County | R | 435 | 1,063 | 1,540 | |
| Sully County | R | 186 | 613 | 818 | |
| Todd County | D | 1,976 | 498 | 2,497 | |
| Tripp County | R | 737 | 1,905 | 2,691 | |
| Turner County | R | 1,411 | 2,715 | 4,210 | |
| Union County | R | 2,782 | 4,698 | 7,596 | |
| Walworth County | R | 671 | 1,731 | 2,462 | |
| Yankton County | R | 4,226 | 5,495 | 9,974 | |
| Ziebach County | D | 439 | 314 | 761 |
Same ballot, 2012SD
Source. MIT Election Data + Science Lab — 2012 presidential returns · official county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.