2012 United States presidential election in West Virginia
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 County Results
Romney 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90%
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| Elections in West Virginia |
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The 2012 United States presidential election in West Virginia 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. West Virginia voters chose five 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.
Mitt Romney defeated Barack Obama in the state of West Virginia by a landslide 26.69-point margin. The Republican ticket took 62.14% of the vote to the Democratic ticket's 35.45%, sweeping every county in the state.[1] Romney became the first presidential candidate from any party since West Virginia's admission to the Union in 1863 to sweep every single county in the state and the first since Richard Nixon in 1972 to carry over 60% of the state's votes.[2]
This represented a historic loss for the Democrats in West Virginia, which had been a Democratic stronghold from the New Deal up through the 1990s. Obama became the first Democrat since statehood to win the presidency without carrying Webster County, Jefferson County, or Braxton County. Obama is also the only president since statehood to win two terms without ever winning the state once. With 62.14% of the popular vote, West Virginia would prove to be Romney's fifth strongest state in the 2012 election after Utah, Wyoming, Oklahoma and Idaho.[3] As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last time the Democratic nominee has received more than 30% of the vote in West Virginia.
Primary elections
[edit]Democratic primary
[edit]Barack Obama defeated Keith Judd, a convicted felon serving a federal prison sentence in Texarkana, TX, by a surprisingly narrow 59% to 41%.[4]
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.svg) West Virginia results by county
Barack Obama
Keith Judd | |||||||||||||||||||
Republican primary
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 West Virginia results by county
Mitt Romney
(Note: Italicization indicates a withdrawn candidacy) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Republican primary took place on May 8, 2012.[5][6]
Results
[edit]| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Projected delegate count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNN | GP | |||
 Mitt Romney
|
78,197 | 69.56% | 24 | |
| Rick Santorum (withdrawn) | 13,590 | 12.09% | 2 | |
| Ron Paul | 12,412 | 11.04% | 0 | |
| Newt Gingrich (withdrawn) | 7,076 | 6.29% | 0 | |
| Buddy Roemer (withdrawn) | 1,141 | 1.01% | 0 | |
| Unprojected delegates | 31 | 5 | ||
| Total: | 112,416 | 100% | 31 | 31 |
Results by county
[edit]| County[7] | Mitt Romney | Ron Paul | Rick Santorum (withdrawn) |
Newt Gingrich (withdrawn) |
Buddy Roemer (withdrawn) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbour | 66.96% (983) | 9.20% (135) | 15.94% (234) | 7.49% (110) | 0.41% (6) |
| Berkeley | 69.31% (4366) | 14.92% (940) | 10.29% (648) | 4.84% (305) | 0.64% (40) |
| Boone | 70.28% (454) | 10.68% (69) | 14.55% (94) | 3.41% (22) | 1.08% (7) |
| Braxton | 68.44% (399) | 13.89% (81) | 12.35% (72) | 4.12% (24) | 1.20% (7) |
| Brooke | 69.46% (778) | 10.36% (116) | 15.09% (169) | 4.64% (52) | 0.45% (5) |
| Cabell | 69.09% (3351) | 12.60% (611) | 11.34% (550) | 5.77% (280) | 1.20% (58) |
| Calhoun | 66.78% (191) | 11.89% (34) | 12.24% (35) | 5.59% (16) | 3.50% (10) |
| Clay | 67.01% (262) | 10.49% (41) | 13.30% (52) | 7.42% (29) | 1.79% (7) |
| Doddridge | 67.36% (997) | 10.61% (157) | 12.23% (181) | 8.31% (123) | 1.49% (22) |
| Fayette | 66.54% (891) | 12.02% (161) | 12.70% (170) | 7.17% (96) | 1.57% (21) |
| Gilmer | 70.44% (255) | 7.73% (28) | 11.05% (40) | 9.94% (36) | 0.83% (3) |
| Grant | 78.16% (1403) | 6.07% (109) | 8.30% (149) | 6.35% (114) | 1.11% (20) |
| Greenbrier | 68.13% (1366) | 11.12% (223) | 13.12% (263) | 6.43% (129) | 1.20% (24) |
| Hampshire | 72.70% (1270) | 8.59% (150) | 12.08% (211) | 5.72% (100) | 0.92% (16) |
| Hancock | 70.04% (1302) | 11.62% (216) | 13.07% (243) | 3.98% (74) | 1.29% (24) |
| Hardy | 69.75% (611) | 8.22% (72) | 13.93% (122) | 6.62% (58) | 1.48% (13) |
| Harrison | 67.88% (2715) | 10.95% (438) | 12.03% (481) | 8.25% (330) | 0.90% (36) |
| Jackson | 65.87% (2030) | 11.36% (350) | 13.98% (431) | 7.66% (236) | 1.14% (35) |
| Jefferson | 67.98% (1771) | 16.08% (419) | 10.13% (264) | 4.99% (130) | 0.81% (21) |
| Kanawha | 71.73% (7295) | 11.62% (1182) | 10.55% (1073) | 5.18% (527) | 0.91% (93) |
| Lewis | 73.98% (1288) | 7.41% (129) | 10.17% (177) | 7.35% (128) | 1.09% (19) |
| Lincoln | 71.69% (504) | 8.53% (60) | 10.38% (73) | 7.54% (53) | 1.85% (13) |
| Logan | 67.71% (388) | 9.77% (56) | 15.01% (86) | 6.46% (37) | 1.05% (6) |
| Marion | 64.57% (1775) | 11.13% (306) | 15.61% (429) | 6.91% (190) | 1.78% (49) |
| Marshall | 71.67% (1687) | 8.54% (201) | 13.04% (307) | 5.82% (137) | 0.93% (22) |
| Mason | 66.04% (1641) | 11.11% (276) | 13.48% (335) | 7.69% (191) | 1.69% (42) |
| McDowell | 62.81% (152) | 12.81% (31) | 15.70% (38) | 8.26% (20) | 0.41% (1) |
| Mercer | 72.24% (1884) | 8.51% (222) | 12.08% (315) | 6.40% (167) | 0.77% (20) |
| Mineral | 70.54% (1722) | 10.00% (244) | 12.04% (294) | 6.72% (164) | 0.70% (17) |
| Mingo | 69.21% (272) | 7.63% (30) | 12.21% (48) | 8.91% (35) | 2.04% (8) |
| Monongalia | 66.40% (2826) | 14.14% (602) | 11.63% (495) | 6.72% (286) | 1.10% (47) |
| Monroe | 65.27% (671) | 12.55% (129) | 12.16% (125) | 8.46% (87) | 1.56% (16) |
| Morgan | 68.77% (1240) | 13.09% (236) | 11.09% (200) | 5.60% (101) | 1.44% (26) |
| Nicholas | 69.78% (875) | 9.81% (123) | 12.28% (154) | 7.10% (89) | 1.04% (13) |
| Ohio | 76.43% (2775) | 8.84% (321) | 10.52% (382) | 3.58% (130) | 0.63% (23) |
| Pendleton | 75.64% (354) | 7.26% (34) | 11.54% (54) | 4.70% (22) | 0.85% (4) |
| Pleasants | 66.26% (381) | 10.78% (62) | 16.70% (96) | 5.57% (32) | 0.70% (4) |
| Pocahontas | 63.05% (558) | 14.01% (124) | 13.56% (120) | 8.47% (75) | 0.90% (8) |
| Preston | 66.95% (2032) | 10.48% (318) | 15.32% (465) | 6.39% (194) | 0.86% (26) |
| Putnam | 70.34% (3891) | 11.26% (623) | 12.26% (678) | 5.28% (292) | 0.87% (48) |
| Raleigh | 73.23% (2992) | 7.73% (316) | 11.75% (480) | 6.78% (277) | 0.51% (21) |
| Randolph | 68.43% (969) | 9.25% (131) | 13.14% (186) | 7.84% (111) | 1.34% (19) |
| Ritchie | 65.27% (1000) | 13.97% (214) | 12.01% (184) | 7.18% (110) | 1.57% (24) |
| Roane | 69.95% (866) | 9.94% (123) | 11.31% (140) | 7.43% (92) | 1.37% (17) |
| Summers | 67.24% (388) | 10.40% (60) | 11.96% (69) | 9.01% (52) | 1.39% (8) |
| Taylor | 67.82% (784) | 11.76% (136) | 12.63% (146) | 7.44% (86) | 0.35% (4) |
| Tucker | 69.29% (422) | 11.33% (69) | 9.85% (60) | 9.03% (55) | 0.49% (3) |
| Tyler | 68.46% (675) | 11.76% (116) | 11.97% (118) | 6.39% (63) | 1.42% (14) |
| Upshur | 69.12% (2344) | 9.20% (312) | 13.65% (463) | 6.69% (227) | 1.33% (45) |
| Wayne | 66.79% (1076) | 10.12% (163) | 14.65% (236) | 7.76% (125) | 0.68% (11) |
| Webster | 64.65% (139) | 10.70% (23) | 15.35% (33) | 6.98% (15) | 2.33% (5) |
| Wetzel | 69.53% (566) | 8.35% (68) | 16.46% (134) | 5.28% (43) | 0.37% (3) |
| Wirt | 63.00% (332) | 11.57% (61) | 16.32% (86) | 8.92% (47) | 0.19% (1) |
| Wood | 70.20% (5422) | 11.64% (899) | 10.72% (828) | 6.42% (496) | 1.02% (79) |
| Wyoming | 75.58% (616) | 7.61% (62) | 9.08% (74) | 6.87% (56) | 0.86% (7) |
General election
[edit]Predictions
[edit]| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Huffington Post[8] | Safe R | November 6, 2012 |
| CNN[9] | Safe R | November 6, 2012 |
| New York Times[10] | Safe R | November 6, 2012 |
| Washington Post[11] | Safe R | November 6, 2012 |
| RealClearPolitics[12] | Solid R | November 6, 2012 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[13] | Solid R | November 5, 2012 |
| FiveThirtyEight[14] | Solid R | November 6, 2012 |
Results
[edit]| 2012 United States presidential election in West Virginia[15] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Running mate | Popular vote | Electoral vote | Swing | ||||
| Count | % | Count | % | ||||||
| Republican | Mitt Romney of Massachusetts | Paul Ryan of Wisconsin | 417,655 | 62.14% | 5 | 100.00% |  6.70%
| ||
| Democratic | Barack Obama of Illinois (incumbent) | Joe Biden of Delaware (incumbent) | 238,269 | 35.45% | 0 | 0.00% |  6.97%
| ||
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson of New Mexico | James P. Gray of California | 6,302 | 0.94% | 0 | 0.00% | 0.94%
| ||
| Mountain | Jill Stein of Massachusetts | Cheri Honkala of Pennsylvania | 4,406 | 0.66% | 0 | 0.00% | 0.33%
| ||
| Independent | Randall Terry of West Virginia | N/A of N/A | 3,806 | 0.57% | 0 | 0.00% | 0.57%
| ||
| Write-in | Various of Various | Various of Various | 1,502 | 0.22% | 0 | 0.00% | 0.03%
| ||
| Constitution | Virgil Goode (write-in) of Virginia | Jim Clymer of Pennsylvania | 119 | 0.02% | 0 | 0.00% | 0.32%
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| Peace and Freedom | Roseanne Barr (write-in) of Hawaii | Cindy Sheehan of California | 31 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 
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| Justice | Rocky Anderson (write-in) of Utah | Luis J. Rodriguez of California | 12 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% |
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| American Third Position | Merlin Miller (write-in) of Iowa | Virginia Abernethy of Arizona | 12 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% |
| ||
| American Independent | Tom Hoefling (write-in) of Iowa | Robert Ornelas of California | 5 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% |
| ||
| Independent | Richard Duncan (write-in) of - | - of - | 1 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% |
| ||
| Total | 672,119 | 100.00% | 5 | 100.00% | |||||
By county
[edit]| County | Mitt Romney Republican |
Barack Obama Democratic |
Various candidates Other parties |
Margin | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Barbour | 3,824 | 66.19% | 1,768 | 30.60% | 185 | 3.21% | 2,056 | 35.59% | 5,777 |
| Berkeley | 22,156 | 59.39% | 14,275 | 38.26% | 876 | 2.35% | 7,881 | 21.13% | 37,307 |
| Boone | 5,467 | 64.30% | 2,790 | 32.82% | 245 | 2.88% | 2,677 | 31.48% | 8,502 |
| Braxton | 2,725 | 56.65% | 1,998 | 41.54% | 87 | 1.81% | 727 | 15.11% | 4,810 |
| Brooke | 5,060 | 54.25% | 4,005 | 42.94% | 263 | 2.81% | 1,055 | 11.31% | 9,328 |
| Cabell | 17,985 | 55.93% | 13,568 | 42.19% | 605 | 1.88% | 4,417 | 13.74% | 32,158 |
| Calhoun | 1,319 | 59.68% | 818 | 37.01% | 73 | 3.31% | 501 | 22.67% | 2,210 |
| Clay | 1,971 | 65.31% | 931 | 30.85% | 116 | 3.84% | 1,040 | 34.46% | 3,018 |
| Doddridge | 2,130 | 76.78% | 575 | 20.73% | 69 | 2.49% | 1,555 | 56.05% | 2,774 |
| Fayette | 8,350 | 59.35% | 5,419 | 38.51% | 301 | 2.14% | 2,931 | 20.84% | 14,070 |
| Gilmer | 1,595 | 63.24% | 840 | 33.31% | 87 | 3.45% | 755 | 29.93% | 2,522 |
| Grant | 3,783 | 82.45% | 718 | 15.65% | 87 | 1.90% | 3,065 | 66.80% | 4,588 |
| Greenbrier | 7,930 | 60.98% | 4,710 | 36.22% | 365 | 2.80% | 3,220 | 24.76% | 13,005 |
| Hampshire | 5,523 | 68.87% | 2,299 | 28.67% | 197 | 2.46% | 3,224 | 40.20% | 8,019 |
| Hancock | 7,226 | 59.47% | 4,627 | 38.08% | 297 | 2.45% | 2,599 | 21.39% | 12,150 |
| Hardy | 3,536 | 68.25% | 1,482 | 28.60% | 163 | 3.15% | 2,054 | 39.65% | 5,181 |
| Harrison | 15,876 | 60.43% | 9,732 | 37.04% | 663 | 2.53% | 6,144 | 23.39% | 26,271 |
| Jackson | 7,408 | 63.90% | 3,854 | 33.24% | 332 | 2.86% | 3,554 | 30.66% | 11,594 |
| Jefferson | 11,258 | 50.63% | 10,398 | 46.76% | 580 | 2.61% | 860 | 3.87% | 22,236 |
| Kanawha | 41,364 | 54.92% | 32,480 | 43.13% | 1,468 | 1.95% | 8,884 | 11.79% | 75,312 |
| Lewis | 4,375 | 69.51% | 1,736 | 27.58% | 183 | 2.91% | 2,639 | 41.93% | 6,294 |
| Lincoln | 4,383 | 64.29% | 2,227 | 32.66% | 208 | 3.05% | 2,156 | 31.63% | 6,818 |
| Logan | 8,222 | 68.68% | 3,469 | 28.98% | 281 | 2.34% | 4,753 | 39.70% | 11,972 |
| Marion | 12,054 | 55.93% | 8,959 | 41.57% | 540 | 2.50% | 3,095 | 14.36% | 21,553 |
| Marshall | 8,135 | 62.77% | 4,484 | 34.60% | 341 | 2.63% | 3,651 | 28.17% | 12,960 |
| Mason | 5,741 | 58.64% | 3,778 | 38.59% | 271 | 2.77% | 1,963 | 20.05% | 9,790 |
| McDowell | 3,959 | 63.98% | 2,109 | 34.08% | 120 | 1.94% | 1,850 | 29.90% | 6,188 |
| Mercer | 15,450 | 72.49% | 5,432 | 25.49% | 431 | 2.02% | 10,018 | 47.00% | 21,313 |
| Mineral | 7,833 | 71.29% | 2,885 | 26.26% | 270 | 2.45% | 4,948 | 45.03% | 10,988 |
| Mingo | 6,191 | 69.92% | 2,428 | 27.42% | 236 | 2.66% | 3,763 | 42.50% | 8,855 |
| Monongalia | 16,831 | 53.28% | 13,826 | 43.77% | 934 | 2.95% | 3,005 | 9.51% | 31,591 |
| Monroe | 3,616 | 69.11% | 1,455 | 27.81% | 161 | 3.08% | 2,161 | 41.30% | 5,232 |
| Morgan | 4,513 | 63.82% | 2,363 | 33.42% | 195 | 2.76% | 2,150 | 30.40% | 7,071 |
| Nicholas | 5,898 | 67.09% | 2,664 | 30.30% | 229 | 2.61% | 3,234 | 36.79% | 8,791 |
| Ohio | 10,768 | 59.96% | 6,786 | 37.79% | 405 | 2.25% | 3,982 | 22.17% | 17,959 |
| Pendleton | 2,095 | 64.34% | 1,074 | 32.99% | 87 | 2.67% | 1,021 | 31.35% | 3,256 |
| Pleasants | 1,825 | 64.24% | 955 | 33.61% | 61 | 2.15% | 870 | 30.63% | 2,841 |
| Pocahontas | 2,182 | 60.76% | 1,303 | 36.29% | 106 | 2.95% | 879 | 24.47% | 3,591 |
| Preston | 7,889 | 70.54% | 2,931 | 26.21% | 363 | 3.25% | 4,958 | 44.33% | 11,183 |
| Putnam | 16,032 | 67.47% | 7,256 | 30.54% | 472 | 1.99% | 8,776 | 36.93% | 23,760 |
| Raleigh | 20,614 | 71.48% | 7,739 | 26.84% | 484 | 1.68% | 12,875 | 44.64% | 28,837 |
| Randolph | 6,160 | 63.00% | 3,342 | 34.18% | 276 | 2.82% | 2,818 | 28.82% | 9,778 |
| Ritchie | 2,921 | 77.07% | 768 | 20.26% | 101 | 2.67% | 2,153 | 56.81% | 3,790 |
| Roane | 2,982 | 58.93% | 1,939 | 38.32% | 139 | 2.75% | 1,043 | 20.61% | 5,060 |
| Summers | 2,981 | 62.84% | 1,621 | 34.17% | 142 | 2.99% | 1,360 | 28.67% | 4,744 |
| Taylor | 3,840 | 64.85% | 1,941 | 32.78% | 140 | 2.37% | 1,899 | 32.07% | 5,921 |
| Tucker | 2,176 | 69.34% | 880 | 28.04% | 82 | 2.62% | 1,296 | 41.30% | 3,138 |
| Tyler | 2,314 | 70.44% | 890 | 27.09% | 81 | 2.47% | 1,424 | 43.35% | 3,285 |
| Upshur | 5,939 | 71.57% | 2,158 | 26.01% | 201 | 2.42% | 3,781 | 45.56% | 8,298 |
| Wayne | 8,688 | 62.02% | 4,931 | 35.20% | 390 | 2.78% | 3,757 | 26.82% | 14,009 |
| Webster | 1,710 | 61.67% | 947 | 34.15% | 116 | 4.18% | 763 | 27.52% | 2,773 |
| Wetzel | 3,473 | 59.11% | 2,217 | 37.74% | 185 | 3.15% | 1,256 | 21.37% | 5,875 |
| Wirt | 1,427 | 65.73% | 676 | 31.14% | 68 | 3.13% | 751 | 34.59% | 2,171 |
| Wood | 22,183 | 65.10% | 11,230 | 32.96% | 663 | 1.94% | 10,953 | 32.14% | 34,076 |
| Wyoming | 5,769 | 76.65% | 1,583 | 21.03% | 174 | 2.32% | 4,186 | 55.62% | 7,526 |
| Totals | 417,655 | 62.14% | 238,269 | 35.45% | 16,195 | 2.41% | 179,386 | 26.69% | 672,119 |
Republican
Hold
Gain from Democratic
- Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Boone (largest city: Madison)
- Braxton (largest town: Sutton)
- Jefferson (largest city: Charles Town)
- Marion (largest city: Fairmont)
- McDowell (largest city: Welch)
- Monongalia (largest city: Morgantown)
- Webster (largest town: Webster Springs)
By congressional district
[edit]Romney won all three congressional districts, including one held by a Democrat.[16]
| District | Romney | Obama | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 62.18% | 35.54% | David McKinley |
| 2nd | 60% | 37.97% | Shelley Moore Capito |
| 3rd | 65% | 32.79% | Nick Rahall |
See also
[edit]- 2012 Republican Party presidential debates
- 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries
- Results of the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries
- West Virginia Republican Party
References
[edit]- ^ "Statewide Results - General Election". WV Secretary of State. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
- ^ Thomas, G. Scott; The Pursuit of the White House: A Handbook of Presidential Election Statistics and History, pp. 459-460 ISBN 0313257957
- ^ "2012 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
- ^ "4 in 10 choose convict over Obama in W.Va. primary - Political Hotsheet". CBS News. Archived from the original on May 10, 2012.
- ^ "Primary and Caucus Printable Calendar". CNN. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
- ^ "Presidential Primary Dates" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
- ^ a b "Statewide Results - Primary Election". WV Secretary of State. May 8, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
- ^ "Huffington Post Election Dashboard". HuffPost. Archived from the original on August 13, 2013.
- ^ "America's Choice 2012 Election Center: CNN Electoral Map". CNN. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013.
- ^ "Election 2012 - The Electoral Map: Building a Path to Victory". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012.
- ^ "2012 Presidential Election Results". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 26, 2012.
- ^ "RealClearPolitics - 2012 Election Maps - Battle for White House". Archived from the original on June 8, 2011.
- ^ "PROJECTION: OBAMA WILL LIKELY WIN SECOND TERM".
- ^ "Nate Silver's political calculations predict 2012 election outcome".
- ^ "2012 Presidential General Election Results - West Virginia". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
- ^ "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts". Daily Kos. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
External links
[edit]- The Green Papers: for West Virginia
- The Green Papers: Major state elections in chronological order
