The 2012 United States presidential election was the 57th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Democratic Governor Henry T. Ferguson of Texas defeated incumbent Republican President Mitt Romney.
Romney's unpopularity encouraged an intra−party challenge by Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who had previously run for the Republican nomination in 2008 and had been the Libertarian Party's nominee in 1988. Romney defeated Paul in the majority of the Republican primaries, but Paul remained in the race until Romney was officially renominated at the 2012 Republican National Convention. The Democratic primaries were contested between Ferguson, Indiana Senator Evan Bayh, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, and several other candidates. All of Ferguson's opponents had dropped out by the end of the primaries, and the 2012 Democratic National Convention nominated a ticket consisting of Ferguson and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar.
Ferguson campaigned for universal healthcare, an increase in taxes on the wealthy, and infrastructure reform. His campaign was aided by Republican dissatisfaction with Romney, the Iraq War, and a worsening economy at home marked by high rates of unemployment and inflation. Romney attacked Ferguson as a reckless fiscal liberal and warned that his programs would exacerbate the national deficit.
Ferguson won the election by a landslide, taking a large majority of the electoral vote and 54.8% of the popular vote. In the simultaneous Congressional elections, Democrats expanded their majority in the U.S. House, which they had gained in the 2010 midterms, and gained control of the U.S. Senate. Romney won 44.3% of the vote, but carried just twelve states. Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson, the former Governor of New Mexico, managed to garner 0.65% of the popular vote, a noticeable improvement upon the 0.32% Bob Barr had received in 2008. Ferguson, then 72, was the oldest person to ever be elected to a first term.
Results[]
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Election results by county.
On November 6, Henry Ferguson won the election to serve as the 45th President of the United States by a wide margin in the Electoral College, as he carried 38 states and the District of Columbia with 421 electoral votes, while Romney won 12 states with 117 electoral votes. Ferguson's popular vote win was 54.8% to 44.3%. Ferguson won 35 of Romney's 47 states from the 2008 election, including a victory in North Dakota, which had been Romney's seventh−best state in 2008, as well as the 3 Kucinich states. He swept all 9 states in the Northeast and all five of the Pacific Coast states. Ferguson became only the second Democrat since 1964, following Al Gore in 2004, to carry Alaska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.
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Results by congressional districts explicitly indicating the percentage for the winning candidate. Shades of blue are for Ferguson (Democratic), and shades of red are for Romney (Republican).
Only two Southern states appeared on Ferguson's top 10: West Virginia and Maryland, two border states which have come to resemble the Northeast in presidential voting behavior. The Midwestern states of Illinois and Michigan made it to the Ferguson top 10. The traditionally Democratic states of Rhode Island (which gave him his strongest victory), Hawaii, and Massachusetts were there, as were once−Republican Vermont and the normally Republican−leaning state of New Jersey. The populous state of New York – which had been among Kucinich's strongest in 2008 – rounded out the list. Ferguson's victory in Massachusetts saw the state reverting to its normal Democratic allegiances, after it had defected to support its then−incumbent Governor Romney in 2008. Romney suffered the worst defeat of any presidential candidate in their home state in modern times.
Romney's top 10, as in 2008, were a mix of predominantly Southern and Western states. The heavily Mormon states of Utah and Idaho once again topped his list, and were accompanied by traditionally Republican Kansas and Nebraska on the Great Plains. Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida in the Deep South were there again, and this time were joined by their sister−state Mississippi. Virginia in the Upper South also appeared on the list. The Romney coalition was clearly a continuation of the Reagan−Bush coalition which had powered the Republican Party to victory since the Reagan Revolution of 1980.
The movement towards Ferguson encompassed the entire nation. While varying in its intensity, the pro−Ferguson trend was almost universal. Not a single county switched from Kucinich in 2008 to Romney in 2012, and Ferguson ran ahead of Kucinich in every county. Ferguson carried 1,289 counties that supported Romney in 2008, flipping at least one county in every state. He ran 13 percentage points ahead of Kucinich's 2008 vote. He gained 20 percentage points in North Dakota and Massachusetts, 19 in Maine and Vermont, 18 in Connecticut, New Hampshire, and New Jersey, 17 in Kentucky, 16 in Colorado, and 15 in Arizona, California, Montana, and Rhode Island. New England was the region most responsive to the Ferguson campaign. Ferguson ran ahead of the 2008 Democratic vote percentage in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Of the 3,143 counties making returns, Ferguson won in 1,655 (52.66%) while Romney carried 1,488 (47.34%). Ferguson had a majority in 1,604 counties, while Romney had a majority in 1,446 counties. Every county in four states supported Ferguson[lower-alpha 1], and Romney won only one county in an additional four states.[lower-alpha 2] Ferguson was the first Democratic challenger to carry a majority of counties since Jimmy Carter in 1976. He carried 11 of Donald Trump's counties from the 2000 election, while Romney carried 15 (all of them in New York).
In the nation's 23 most populous counties (metropolitan America), Ferguson defeated Romney by a landslide margin, amassing 13,748,418 votes (63.05%) to Romney's 7,657,221 (35.11%). Ferguson's margin of victory in these counties was 6,091,197 votes, or 27.94%. Third parties received 401,259 votes (1.89%). In the remainder of the country, Ferguson prevailed over Romney by a narrower but still decisive margin, amassing 56,954,401 votes (53.09%) to Romney's 49,580,046 (46.22%), with third parties receiving 744,061 votes (0.69%). Ferguson's margin in these counties was 7,374,355 votes, or 6.87%. Ferguson's gains in metropolitan (13.77%) and nonmetropolitan (12.92%) America were similar. He carried 21 of the 23 most populous counties, with Romney carrying only Riverside and Orange Counties, California.
Although the "other" vote (the combined vote total for candidates other than the nominees of the two major parties) was higher than in 2008, it was still considerably less than what had been recorded in 2000, the time of the greatest "other" vote, and less than in 2004. Those were the years in which billionaire businessman Donald Trump had run as the nominee of the Reform Party. Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson received 0.65% of the popular vote, higher than what previous Libertarian nominee Bob Barr had garnered in 2008. He managed to receive more than 1% of the popular vote in eight states, with his best showings in Arkansas and his home state of New Mexico (where he had been Governor).[lower-alpha 3] Nevertheless, no third−party candidates were on the ballot in eighteen states and the District of Columbia.[lower-alpha 4]
Paradoxically, the total votes cast declined 2,228,414 from 2008; this was the first presidential turnout decline since 1996. However, voter turnout did not decrease in every state, and increased the most in the fast−growing states of North Carolina, Colorado, Virginia, and Washington, as well as Romney's home state of Massachusetts.
Riding off Ferguson's coattails, Democrats extended their control over the U.S. House and flipped the U.S. Senate.
| Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Popular vote | Electoral vote |
Running mate | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | Percentage | Vice-presidential candidate | Home state | Electoral vote | ||||
| Henry Thomas Ferguson | Democratic | Texas | 70,702,819 | 54.77% | 421 | Amy Jean Klobuchar | Minnesota | 421 |
| Willard Mitt Romney | Republican | Massachusetts | 57,237,267 | 44.34% | 117 | John Edward Sununu | New Hampshire | 117 |
| Gary Earl Johnson | Libertarian | New Mexico | 835,320 | 0.65% | 0 | James Polin Gray | California | 0 |
| Dr. Jill Ellen Stein | Green | Massachusetts | 213,563 | 0.17% | 0 | Cheri Lynn Honkala | Pennsylvania | 0 |
| Other | 96,437 | 0.07% | — | Other | — | |||
| Total | 129,085,406 | 100% | 538 | 538 | ||||
| Needed to win | 270 | 270 | ||||||
| 54.77% | 44.34% | 0.65% | 0.17% | 0.07% |
| Ferguson | Romney | Johnson | Stein | Others |
| 421 | 117 |
| Ferguson | Romney |
Geography of results[]
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Cartographic gallery[]
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Results by state[]
The table below displays the official vote tallies by each state's Electoral College voting method. The source for the results of all states, except those that amended their official results, is the official Federal Election Commission report. The column labeled "Margin" shows Ferguson's margin of victory over Romney (the margin is negative for every state that Romney won).
| States/districts won by Ferguson/Klobuchar |
| States/districts won by Romney/Sununu |
| Henry Ferguson Democratic |
Mitt Romney Republican |
Gary Johnson Libertarian |
Jill Stein Green |
Others | Margin | Total | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State/district | # | % | EV | # | % | EV | # | % | EV | # | % | EV | # | % | EV | # | % | # | |
| Alabama | 846,952 | 40.83 | – | 1,227,386 | 59.17 | 9 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | −380,434 | −18.34 | 2,074,338 | AL |
| Alaska | 164,671 | 54.80 | 3 | 135,824 | 45.20 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 28,857 | 9.60 | 300,495 | AK |
| Arizona | 1,237,459 | 53.82 | 11 | 1,056,047 | 45.93 | – | 5,748 | 0.25 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 181,412 | 7.89 | 2,299,254 | AZ |
| Arkansas | 536,766 | 50.19 | 6 | 460,513 | 43.06 | – | 72,189 | 6.76 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 76,253 | 7.13 | 1,069,468 | AR |
| California | 7,613,208 | 58.39 | 55 | 4,875,113 | 37.39 | – | 363,775 | 2.79 | – | 118,651 | 0.91 | – | 67,800 | 0.52 | – | 2,738,095 | 21.00 | 13,038,547 | CA |
| Colorado | 1,424,798 | 55.45 | 9 | 1,124,421 | 43.76 | – | 14,132 | 0.55 | – | 5,139 | 0.20 | – | 1,028 | 0.04 | – | 300,377 | 11.69 | 2,569,518 | CO |
| Connecticut | 920,722 | 59.06 | 7 | 625,922 | 40.15 | – | 6,080 | 0.39 | – | 6,236 | 0.40 | – | – | – | – | 294,800 | 18.91 | 1,558,960 | CT |
| Delaware | 228,319 | 55.16 | 3 | 183,450 | 44.32 | – | 1,697 | 0.41 | – | 455 | 0.11 | – | – | – | – | 44,869 | 10.84 | 413,921 | DE |
| D.C. | 261,979 | 89.18 | 3 | 31,785 | 10.82 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 230,194 | 78.36 | 293,764 | DC |
| Florida | 3,922,697 | 46.29 | – | 4,551,482 | 53.71 | 29 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | −628,785 | −7.42 | 8,474,179 | FL |
| Georgia | 1,618,911 | 41.51 | – | 2,270,999 | 58.23 | 16 | 10,140 | 0.26 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | −652,088 | −16.72 | 3,900,050 | GA |
| Hawaii | 271,860 | 62.54 | 4 | 162,837 | 37.46 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 109,023 | 25.08 | 434,697 | HI |
| Idaho | 262,345 | 40.22 | – | 389,929 | 59.78 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | −127,584 | −19.56 | 652,274 | ID |
| Illinois | 3,189,241 | 60.84 | 20 | 2,041,240 | 38.94 | – | 7,863 | 0.15 | – | 3,670 | 0.07 | – | – | – | – | 1,148,001 | 21.90 | 5,242,014 | IL |
| Indiana | 1,249,016 | 47.59 | – | 1,298,619 | 49.48 | 11 | 69,288 | 2.64 | – | 7,611 | 0.29 | – | – | – | – | −49,603 | −1.89 | 2,624,534 | IN |
| Iowa | 886,021 | 56.00 | 6 | 689,039 | 43.55 | – | 4,114 | 0.26 | – | 3,006 | 0.19 | – | – | – | – | 196,982 | 12.45 | 1,582,180 | IA |
| Kansas | 511,895 | 44.13 | – | 621,280 | 53.56 | 6 | 20,299 | 1.75 | – | 6,497 | 0.56 | – | – | – | – | −109,385 | −9.43 | 1,159,971 | KS |
| Kentucky | 1,041,125 | 57.93 | 8 | 745,484 | 41.48 | – | 10,603 | 0.59 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 295,641 | 16.45 | 1,797,212 | KY |
| Louisiana | 1,066,625 | 53.49 | 8 | 920,460 | 46.16 | – | 6,980 | 0.35 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 146,165 | 7.33 | 1,994,065 | LA |
| Maine | 401,306 | 56.27 | 4 | 292,276 | 40.98 | – | 9,352 | 1.31 | – | 2,127 | 0.30 | – | 8,119 | 1.14 | – | 109,030 | 15.29 | 713,180 | ME |
| Maryland | 1,604,091 | 59.25 | 10 | 1,103,236 | 40.75 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 500,855 | 18.50 | 2,707,327 | MD |
| Massachusetts | 1,907,629 | 60.22 | 11 | 1,252,852 | 39.55 | – | 2,851 | 0.08 | – | 4,435 | 0.14 | – | – | – | – | 654,777 | 20.67 | 3,167,767 | MA |
| Michigan | 2,855,608 | 60.36 | 16 | 1,860,687 | 39.33 | – | 9,462 | 0.20 | – | 5,204 | 0.11 | – | – | – | – | 994,921 | 21.03 | 4,730,961 | MI |
| Minnesota | 1,694,396 | 57.70 | 10 | 1,227,776 | 41.81 | – | 7,929 | 0.27 | – | 6,460 | 0.22 | – | – | – | – | 466,620 | 15.89 | 2,936,561 | MN |
| Mississippi | 575,299 | 44.75 | – | 705,786 | 54.90 | 6 | 4,499 | 0.35 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | −130,487 | −10.15 | 1,285,584 | MS |
| Missouri | 1,598,144 | 57.96 | 10 | 1,159,179 | 42.04 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 438,965 | 15.92 | 2,757,323 | MO |
| Montana | 258,240 | 53.35 | 3 | 222,275 | 45.92 | – | 2,372 | 0.49 | – | 1,161 | 0.24 | – | – | – | – | 35,965 | 7.43 | 484,048 | MT |
| Nebraska | 343,887 | 43.29 | – | 450,492 | 56.71 | 5 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | −106,605 | −13.42 | 794,379 | NE |
| Nevada | 538,008 | 53.01 | 6 | 476,910 | 46.99 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 61,098 | 6.02 | 1,014,918 | NV |
| New Hampshire | 385,276 | 54.19 | 4 | 325,696 | 45.81 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 59,580 | 8.38 | 710,972 | NH |
| New Jersey | 2,161,605 | 59.38 | 14 | 1,452,477 | 39.90 | – | 14,925 | 0.41 | – | 11,285 | 0.31 | – | – | – | – | 709,128 | 19.48 | 3,640,292 | NJ |
| New Mexico | 415,335 | 52.99 | 5 | 335,788 | 42.84 | – | 32,635 | 4.17 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 79,547 | 10.15 | 783,758 | NM |
| New York | 4,393,859 | 62.05 | 29 | 2,666,056 | 37.65 | – | 15,579 | 0.22 | – | 5,665 | 0.08 | – | – | – | – | 1,727,803 | 24.40 | 7,081,159 | NY |
| North Carolina | 2,347,749 | 52.11 | 15 | 2,157,623 | 47.89 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 190,126 | 4.22 | 4,505,372 | NC |
| North Dakota | 169,250 | 52.46 | 3 | 152,086 | 47.14 | – | 1,291 | 0.40 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 17,164 | 5.32 | 322,627 | ND |
| Ohio | 3,178,850 | 56.96 | 18 | 2,401,997 | 43.04 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 776,853 | 13.92 | 5,580,847 | OH |
| Oklahoma | 673,443 | 50.45 | 7 | 661,429 | 49.55 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12,014 | 0.90 | 1,334,872 | OK |
| Oregon | 1,031,872 | 57.67 | 7 | 747,199 | 41.76 | – | 6,620 | 0.37 | – | 3,579 | 0.20 | – | – | – | – | 284,673 | 15.91 | 1,789,270 | OR |
| Pennsylvania | 3,380,281 | 58.75 | 20 | 2,337,141 | 40.62 | – | 25,316 | 0.44 | – | 10,932 | 0.19 | – | – | – | – | 1,043,140 | 18.13 | 5,753,670 | PA |
| Rhode Island | 283,821 | 63.63 | 4 | 162,228 | 36.37 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 121,593 | 27.26 | 446,049 | RI |
| South Carolina | 804,896 | 40.98 | – | 1,159,222 | 59.02 | 9 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | −354,326 | −18.04 | 1,964,118 | SC |
| South Dakota | 181,762 | 49.96 | 3 | 177,360 | 48.75 | – | 4,693 | 1.29 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4,402 | 1.21 | 363,815 | SD |
| Tennessee | 1,301,079 | 52.92 | 11 | 1,125,291 | 45.77 | – | 26,307 | 1.07 | – | – | – | – | 5,900 | 0.24 | – | 175,788 | 7.15 | 2,458,577 | TN |
| Texas | 4,580,477 | 57.30 | 38 | 3,378,201 | 42.26 | – | 21,583 | 0.27 | – | – | – | – | 13,590 | 0.17 | – | 1,202,276 | 15.04 | 7,993,851 | TX |
| Utah | 382,150 | 37.56 | – | 635,290 | 62.44 | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | −253,140 | −24.88 | 1,017,440 | UT |
| Vermont | 179,305 | 59.91 | 3 | 119,985 | 40.09 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 59,320 | 19.82 | 299,290 | VT |
| Virginia | 1,810,453 | 46.97 | – | 2,021,294 | 52.44 | 13 | 22,742 | 0.59 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | −210,841 | −5.47 | 3,854,489 | VA |
| Washington | 1,752,789 | 56.08 | 12 | 1,339,909 | 42.87 | – | 27,505 | 0.88 | – | 5,313 | 0.17 | – | – | – | – | 412,880 | 13.21 | 3,125,516 | WA |
| West Virginia | 412,252 | 61.49 | 5 | 258,186 | 38.51 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 154,066 | 22.98 | 670,438 | WV |
| Wisconsin | 1,724,153 | 56.19 | 10 | 1,331,393 | 43.39 | – | 6,751 | 0.22 | – | 6,137 | 0.20 | – | – | – | – | 392,760 | 12.80 | 3,068,434 | WI |
| Wyoming | 120,944 | 48.56 | – | 128,117 | 51.44 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | −7,173 | −2.88 | 249,061 | WY |
| U.S. Total | 70,702,819 | 54.77 | 421 | 57,237,267 | 44.34 | 117 | 835,320 | 0.65 | – | 213,563 | 0.17 | – | 96,437 | 0.07 | – | 13,465,552 | 10.43 | 129,085,406 | US |
Maine and Nebraska district results[]
†Maine and Nebraska each allow for their electoral votes to be split between candidates. In both states, two electoral votes are awarded to the winner of the statewide race and one electoral vote is awarded to the winner of each congressional district. The following table records the official presidential vote tallies for Maine and Nebraska's congressional districts.
| District | EV | Ferguson | % | Romney | % | Others | % | Margin | % | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maine's 1st congressional district | 1 | 224,139 | 59.45% | 143,527 | 38.07% | 9,384 | 2.48% | 80,612 | 21.38% | 377,050 |
| Maine's 2nd congressional district | 1 | 177,167 | 52.71% | 148,749 | 44.25% | 10,214 | 3.04% | 28,418 | 8.46% | 336,130 |
| Nebraska's 1st congressional district | 1 | 122,264 | 45.98% | 143,618 | 54.02% | – | – | –21,354 | –8.04% | 265,881 |
| Nebraska's 2nd congressional district | 1 | 114,799 | 42.81% | 153,374 | 57.19% | – | – | –38,575 | –14.38% | 268,173 |
| Nebraska's 3rd congressional district | 1 | 106,824 | 41.04% | 153,500 | 58.96% | – | – | –46,676 | –17.92% | 260,324 |
Close states[]
Margin of victory less than 1% (7 electoral votes):
- Oklahoma 0.90% (12,014 votes)
Margin of victory less than 5% (32 electoral votes):
- South Dakota 1.21% (4,402 votes)
- Indiana 1.89% (49,603 votes)
- Wyoming 2.88% (7,173 votes)
- North Carolina 4.22% (190,126 votes)
Margin of victory over 5%, but less than 10% (103 electoral votes):
- North Dakota 5.32% (17,164 votes)
- Virginia 5.47% (210,841 votes)
- Nevada 6.02% (61,098 votes)
- Arkansas 7.13% (76,253 votes)
- Tennessee 7.15% (175,788 votes)
- Louisiana 7.33% (146,165 votes)
- Florida 7.42% (628,785 votes)
- Montana 7.43% (35,965 votes)
- Arizona 7.89% (181,412 votes)
- New Hampshire 8.38% (59,580 votes)
- Kansas 9.43% (109,385 votes)
- Alaska 9.60% (28,857 votes)
Tipping point:
- Texas 15.04% (1,202,276 votes)
Ballot access[]
| Presidential ticket | Party | Ballot access | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ferguson / Klobuchar | Democratic | 50+DC | 70,702,819 |
| Romney / Sununu | Republican | 50+DC | 57,237,267 |
| Johnson / Gray | Libertarian | 31 | 835,320 |
| Stein / Honkala | Green | 19 | 213,563 |
Voter demographics[]
| 2012 presidential election by demographic subgroup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographic subgroup | Ferguson | Romney | % of total vote | |||
| Total vote | 55 | 45 | 100 | |||
| Ideology | ||||||
| Liberals | 93 | 7 | 25 | |||
| Moderates | 60 | 40 | 41 | |||
| Conservatives | 22 | 78 | 35 | |||
| Party | ||||||
| Democrats | 89 | 11 | 38 | |||
| Republicans | 16 | 84 | 32 | |||
| Independents | 54 | 46 | 29 | |||
| Gender | ||||||
| Men | 54 | 46 | 47 | |||
| Women | 56 | 44 | 53 | |||
| Marital status | ||||||
| Married | 50 | 50 | 60 | |||
| Unmarried | 63 | 37 | 40 | |||
| Race/ethnicity | ||||||
| White | 45 | 55 | 72 | |||
| Black | 92 | 8 | 12 | |||
| Asian | 69 | 31 | 3 | |||
| Other | 67 | 33 | 3 | |||
| Hispanic | 72 | 28 | 10 | |||
| Religion | ||||||
| Protestant or other Christian | 49 | 51 | 53 | |||
| Catholic | 54 | 46 | 25 | |||
| Mormon | 35 | 65 | 2 | |||
| Jewish | 73 | 27 | 2 | |||
| Other | 78 | 22 | 7 | |||
| None | 74 | 26 | 12 | |||
| Religious service attendance | ||||||
| Weekly or more | 49 | 51 | 42 | |||
| Monthly | 54 | 46 | 13 | |||
| A few times a year | 61 | 39 | 27 | |||
| Never | 63 | 37 | 17 | |||
| White evangelical or born−again Christian? | ||||||
| White evangelical or born−again Christian | 26 | 74 | 26 | |||
| Everyone else | 65 | 35 | 74 | |||
| Age | ||||||
| 18–29 years old | 62 | 38 | 19 | |||
| 30–44 years old | 58 | 42 | 27 | |||
| 45–64 years old | 51 | 49 | 38 | |||
| 65 and older | 53 | 47 | 16 | |||
| Age by race | ||||||
| Whites 18–29 years old | 55 | 45 | 11 | |||
| Whites 30–44 years old | 43 | 57 | 18 | |||
| Whites 45–64 years old | 44 | 56 | 29 | |||
| Whites 65 and older | 42 | 58 | 14 | |||
| Blacks 18–29 years old | 90 | 10 | 3 | |||
| Blacks 30–44 years old | 91 | 9 | 4 | |||
| Blacks 45–64 years old | 95 | 5 | 4 | |||
| Blacks 65 and older | 91 | 9 | 1 | |||
| Others | 74 | 26 | 16 | |||
| LGBT? | ||||||
| Yes | 72 | 28 | 5 | |||
| No | 54 | 46 | 95 | |||
| Education | ||||||
| High school or less | 60 | 40 | 24 | |||
| Some college education | 53 | 47 | 29 | |||
| College graduate | 52 | 48 | 29 | |||
| Postgraduate education | 58 | 42 | 18 | |||
| Family income | ||||||
| Under $50,000 | 61 | 39 | 41 | |||
| $50,000–100,000 | 53 | 47 | 31 | |||
| Over $100,000 | 49 | 51 | 28 | |||
| Union households | ||||||
| Union | 67 | 33 | 18 | |||
| Non−union | 53 | 47 | 82 | |||
| Region | ||||||
| Northeast | 60 | 40 | 18 | |||
| Midwest | 56 | 44 | 24 | |||
| South | 51 | 49 | 36 | |||
| West | 56 | 44 | 22 | |||
| Community size | ||||||
| Urban | 64 | 36 | 32 | |||
| Suburban | 52 | 48 | 47 | |||
| Rural areas | 50 | 50 | 22 | |||
Explanatory notes[]
- ↑ Romney failed to carry a single county in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Hawaii, and Rhode Island
- ↑ Romney carried only one county in Delaware (Sussex), New Hampshire (Belknap), Maine (Piscataquis), and Vermont (Essex)
- ↑ Johnson received more than 1% in Arkansas, California, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Tennessee
- ↑ No third-party candidates were on the ballot in Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming