2012 United States presidential election in Wisconsin

← 2008 November 6, 2012 2016 →
Turnout	70.35% [1]
Nominee Barack Obama Mitt Romney Party Democratic Republican Home state Illinois Massachusetts Running mate Joe Biden Paul Ryan Electoral vote 10 0 Popular vote 1,620,985 1,407,966 Percentage 52.83% 45.89%
County Results Precinct Results Obama   30–40%   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   90–100% Romney   30–40%   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

Elections in Wisconsin
Federal government Presidential elections 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 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 2024 Presidential primaries Democratic 2000 2004 2008 2016 2020 Republican 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 U.S. Senate elections 1848 1849 1851 1854 1857 1861 1863 1866 1872 1875 1879 1881 1881 sp 1885 1887 1890 1891 1893 1897 1899 1903 1905 1907 sp 1909 1911 1914 1916 1918 sp 1920 1922 1925 sp 1926 1928 1932 1934 1938 1940 1944 1946 1950 1952 1956 1957 sp 1958 1962 1964 1968 1970 1974 1976 1980 1982 1986 1988 1992 1994 1998 2000 2004 2006 2010 2012 2016 2018 2022 2024 2028 U.S. House of Representatives elections 1848 1850 1852 1854 1856 1858 1860 1862 1863 2nd sp 1864 1866 1868 1870 2nd sp 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 5th sp 1887 8th sp 1888 1890 1892 1893 4th sp 1894 7th sp 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 2nd sp 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 6th sp 11th sp 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 6th sp 1931 1st sp 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1941 1st sp 1942 1944 1946 1947 2nd sp 1948 1950 1952 1953 9th sp 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1969 7th sp 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1979 6th sp 1980 1982 1984 4th sp 1986 1988 1990 1992 1993 1st sp 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 7th sp 2022 2024
State government General elections 2000 2008 2010 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Gubernatorial elections 1848 1849 1851 1853 1855 1857 1859 1861 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1875 1877 1879 1881 1884 1886 1888 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 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2012 (recall) 2014 2018 2022 2026 Secretary of State elections 2018 2022 Attorney General elections 2014 2018 2022 Treasurer elections 2022 State Senate elections 1934 2010 2011 (recall) 2012 (recall) 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 State Assembly elections 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 Supreme Court elections 2011 2023 2025
Ballot measures 2006 Referendum 1
Green Bay Mayoral elections 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Madison Mayoral elections 1997 (special) 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Milwaukee Mayoral elections 1910 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2022 sp 2024
v t e

The 2012 United States presidential election in Wisconsin 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. Wisconsin voters chose 10 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.

Obama won the state of Wisconsin with 52.83% of the vote to Romney's 45.89%, a 6.94% margin of victory.^[2] While this represented half the victory margin of Obama's 13.91% win in 2008, when he won 59 of 72 counties and 7 of 8 congressional districts, it is still a much stronger Democratic victory than Al Gore in 2000, John Kerry in 2004, or even his running mate Joe Biden in 2020, who all won the state by less than 1% of the vote. Obama's win was also surprisingly comfortable in spite of the fact that Wisconsin was the home state of Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, making him the first Republican vice presidential nominee to lose their home state since Jack Kemp lost New York in 1996. Obama's win was attributed to victories in Milwaukee, the state's largest city; Madison, the state capital; northeastern Wisconsin; and the Driftless Region. Romney's strength was concentrated in the loyally Republican Milwaukee suburbs, particularly the WOW counties (Ozaukee, Washington, and Waukesha), where he carried a combined 67.03% of the vote to Obama's 32.00%. He also flipped 24 counties in the Northeast and Central Plain regions, though most of them were rural and therefore insufficient to overcome Obama's aforementioned victories. This remains the most recent election where Wisconsin voted to the left of New Hampshire^[3][4], Colorado, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last time the Democratic presidential nominee won the following counties: Adams, Buffalo, Columbia, Crawford, Dunn, Forest, Grant, Jackson, Juneau, Kenosha, Lafayette, Lincoln, Marquette, Pepin, Price, Racine, Richland, Sawyer, Trempealeau, Vernon, and Winnebago. This remains the last time that any candidate won Wisconsin with more than 50% of the vote or by more than 1 percentage point, that the state weighed in as more Democratic than the nation as a whole, or that a Republican won greater than 60% of the vote in the traditional Republican strongholds of Waukeusha and Ozaukee counties.

Primary elections

Democratic primary

President Barack Obama ran unopposed in the Democratic Primary, winning 293,914 votes, or 97.89%. Uncommitted ballots received 5,092 votes, or 1.89% of the vote, while 849 votes, 0.28%, were scattered. 111 delegates, all of which were pledged to Obama were sent to the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.^[5]

Republican primary

2012 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary

← 2008 April 3, 2012 (2012-04-03) 2016 →

Candidate Mitt Romney Rick Santorum Home state Massachusetts Pennsylvania Delegate count 33 9 Popular vote 346,876 290,139 Percentage 44.03% 36.83%   Candidate Ron Paul Newt Gingrich Home state Texas Georgia Delegate count 0 0 Popular vote 87,858 45,978 Percentage 11.15% 5.83%

Wisconsin results by county   Mitt Romney   Rick Santorum

The 2012 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary took place on April 3, 2012,^[6][7] the same day as the primaries in the District of Columbia and Maryland. Mitt Romney edged out a victory, with 44.03% of the vote and 33 delegates, with former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania coming in second with 36.83% of the vote and 9 delegates. No other candidates won any delegates nor counties, though representative Ron Paul of Texas's 14th district received 11.15% and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich received 5.84%. All other candidates received less than 1%. Romney's strength was concentrated in Southeast Wisconsin, carrying Milwaukee and all of its suburbs (including the Kenosha and Racine as well as the ancestrally Republican counties of Ozaukee, Washington, and Waukesha), as well as Madison. Santorum's most significant victories were in Western Wisconsin and in Green Bay and its respective suburbs.^[5]

2012 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary[5]
Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Delegates
Mitt Romney	346,876	44.03%	33
Rick Santorum	290,139	36.83%	9
Ron Paul	87,858	11.15%	0
Newt Gingrich	45,978	5.84%	0
Michele Bachmann	6,045	0.77%	0
Jon Huntsman	5,083	0.65%	0
Uninstructed	4,200	0.53%	0
Scattering	1,668	0.21%	0
Total:	787,847	100%	42

General election

Results

Although Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan was from Wisconsin, representing the 1st district in Congress, the Republican Party lost by around a seven-point margin, which was, albeit an improved loss from Obama's landslide 13.91% margin in 2008,^[8] a crucial loss.

Results by county

Counties that flipped Democratic to Republican

• Barron (largest city: Rice Lake)^[8]
• Brown (largest city: Green Bay)
• Burnett (largest village: Grantsburg)
• Calumet (largest city: Chilton)
• Chippewa (largest city: Chippewa Falls)
• Clark (largest city: Neillsville)
• Iron (largest city: Hurley)
• Jefferson (largest city: Watertown)
• Kewaunee (largest city: Algoma)
• Langlade (largest city: Antigo)
• Manitowoc (largest city: Manitowoc)
• Marathon (largest city: Wausau)
• Marinette (largest city: Marinette)
• Monroe (largest city: Sparta)
• Oconto (largest city: Oconto)
• Oneida (largest city: Rhinelander)
• Outagamie (largest city: Appleton)
• Pierce (largest city: River Falls)
• Rusk (largest city: Ladysmith)
• Shawano (largest city: Shawano)
• Washburn (largest city: Spooner)
• Waupaca (largest city: New London)
• Waushara (largest city: Berlin)
• Wood (largest city: Marshfield)

By congressional districts

Despite losing the state, Romney won 5 of the 8 congressional districts.^[9]