2012 United States presidential election in South Dakota

← 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 3 0 Popular vote 210,610 145,039 Percentage 57.89% 39.87%

County Results Romney   40-50%   50-60%   60-70%   70-80%   80-90% Obama   50-60%   60-70%   70-80%   90-100%

President before election Barack Obama Democratic Elected President Barack Obama Democratic

Elections in South Dakota
Federal government Presidential elections 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 2024 Presidential primaries Democratic 2004 2008 2016 2020 Republican 2008 2016 U.S. Senate elections 1889 1891 1894 1897 1901 1903 1903 sp 1907 1909 1913 1914 1918 1920 1924 1926 1930 1932 1936 1938 1938 sp 1942 1944 1948 1950 1954 1956 1960 1962 1966 1968 1972 1974 1978 1980 1984 1986 1990 1992 1996 1998 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 2016 2020 2022 2026 U.S. House elections 1889 1890 1891 AL sp 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 AL sp 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 AL sp 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
State government General elections 2010 2014 2018 2020 2022 Gubernatorial elections 1889 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 Secretary of State elections 2022 Attorney General elections 2018 2022 Senate elections 2020 2022 House of Representatives elections 2020 2022
Ballot measures 2006 Amendment C 2008 Measure 9 Measure 10 2020 Amendment A Measure 26
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2012 U.S. presidential election
Timeline General election debates Electors Polling nationwide statewide Parties
Democratic Party
Candidates Primaries Results Nominee Convention
Republican Party
Prelude Candidates Debates and forums Primaries National polling Statewide polling Straw polls Results Nominee VP candidate selection Convention Endorsements
Minor parties Libertarian Party candidates primaries nominee convention Green Party primaries nominee convention Constitution Party nominee convention Justice Party nominee Americans Elect All candidates
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← 2008 2012 2016 →
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The 2012 United States presidential election in South Dakota 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 Dakota voters chose three 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.

Prior to the election, all seventeen news organizations making predictions for the election considered this a state Romney would win, or otherwise considered as a safe red state. South Dakota has not voted for a Democratic presidential nominee since Lyndon B. Johnson carried it in his 44-state landslide in 1964. South Dakota, just as all of the other states in the Great Plains, is among the most Republican states in the country. According to a 2012 Gallup poll, South Dakota is the 9th most conservative state in the country, with Republicans having an 11 percentage point advantage over Democrats in terms of party affiliation or identification.^[1] It is also the 10th whitest state in the country as of 2012, at 83.8%,^[2] and has the 4th highest gun ownership rate in the country at 56.6%, according to The Washington Post.^[3] Both of these voting blocs are relatively solid for the Republican Party.^[4]

While Obama lost the state by only 8.41% in 2008, illustrating a potential resurgence of Democratic strength among the agrarian population as seen in states such as Iowa, the state was returned to the safe Republican column in 2012. Romney won South Dakota by an 18.02% margin of victory. Romney was able to win back southeast Dakota: Obama became competitive there in 2008, when he won Minnehaha County (and many of its suburbs), home to the state's largest city of Sioux Falls, by only 587 votes.^[5] Romney carried upwards of 60% of the vote in many counties, with his best performance in the West River. He also flipped Brown County, where Aberdeen is.

Obama's best performance was in majority Native American counties in the west of the state. He carried 93.35% of the vote in Shannon County (now known as Oglala Lakota), home to the Pine Ridge Reservation and the Oglala Lakota tribe. The counties of Buffalo; Dewey; and Todd, where the Crow Creek; Cheyenne River and Standing Rock; and Rosebud reservations are located, respectively, also delivered great margins to the president. Clay County, home to the University of South Dakota, was the only county in the southeast to vote for Obama.

As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the most last time in which the Democratic candidate won Corson County, Day County, Marshall County, and Roberts County.

Primary elections

Democratic primary

Republican primary

2012 South Dakota Republican presidential primary

← 2008 June 5, 2012 (2012-06-05) 2016 →

Candidate Mitt Romney Ron Paul Home state Massachusetts Texas Delegate count 25 0 Popular vote 34,033 6,704 Percentage 66.05% 13.01%   Candidate Rick Santorum Uncommitted Home state Pennsylvania N/A Delegate count 0 0 Popular vote 5,916 2,797 Percentage 11.48% 5.43%

South Dakota results by county   Mitt Romney (Note: Italicization indicates a withdrawn candidacy)

The Republican primary took place on June 5, 2012.^[6] 25 delegates will be chosen, for a total of 28 delegates to go to the national convention.

General election

Results

Results by county

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Brookings (largest city: Brookings)
• Brown (largest city: Aberdeen)
• Lake (largest city: Madison)
• Miner (largest city: Howard)
• Minnehaha (largest city: Sioux Falls)
• Moody (largest city: Flandreau)

By congressional district

South Dakota has only one congressional district because of its small population compared to other states. This district, called the At-Large district because it covers the entire state, is equivalent to the statewide election results.