United States presidential election in Virginia, 2012
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County and Independent City Results
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The 2012 United States presidential election in Virginia took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 General Election. All fifty states plus the District of Columbia participated. Virginians chose thirteen 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, Representative Paul Ryan.
President Barack Obama garnered 51.16% of the vote, compared to Mitt Romney's 47.28%, a 3.88% margin of victory.[2]
In 2008, Obama won Virginia by 6.3%. His 2012 victory made him the first Democratic president since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944 to capture the Commonwealth twice.
Obama's performance is attributed to victories in urban Northern Virginia, particularly in Alexandria, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, and Manassas Park. Between 2000 and 2010, these entities experienced double-digit growth, and voted Democratic by 20% to 43%. Despite his strong performance, Obama suffered in traditionally Democratic Southwest Virginia.
General election
Candidate Ballot Access:
- Barack Obama and Joe Biden, Democratic
- Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, Republican
- Virgil Goode and Jim Clymer, Constitution
- Gary Johnson and James P. Gray, Libertarian
- Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala, Green
Results
Elections in Virginia | ||||||||||
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United States presidential election in Virginia, 2012[3] | ||||||
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Party | Candidate | Running mate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
Democratic | Barack Obama (inc.) | Joe Biden | 1,971,820 | 51.16% | 13 | |
Republican | Mitt Romney | Paul Ryan | 1,822,522 | 47.28% | 0 | |
Libertarian | Gary Johnson | Jim Gray | 31,216 | 0.81% | 0 | |
Constitution | Virgil Goode | Jim Clymer | 13,058 | 0.34% | 0 | |
Green | Jill Stein | Cheri Honkala | 8,627 | 0.22% | 0 | |
Write-ins | Write-ins | 7,246 | 0.19% | 0 | ||
Totals | 3,854,489 | 100.00% | 13 | |||
Results by county/city
County/City | Obama | Votes | Romney | Votes | Others | Votes | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Accomack | 47.7% | 7,655 | 51.2% | 8,213 | 1.1% | 183 | 16,051 |
Albemarle | 55.2% | 29,757 | 43.21% | 23,297 | 1.6% | 853 | 53,907 |
Alexandria (city) | 71.1% | 52,199 | 27.58% | 20,249 | 1.3% | 963 | 73,411 |
Alleghany | 47.44% | 3,403 | 50.11% | 3,595 | 2.44% | 175 | 7,173 |
Amelia | 36.0% | 2,490 | 62.63% | 4,331 | 1.35% | 94 | 6,915 |
Amherst | 39.41% | 5,900 | 59.29% | 8,876 | 1.3% | 194 | 14,970 |
Appomattox | 30.91% | 2,453 | 67.29% | 5,340 | 1.79% | 142 | 7,935 |
Arlington | 69.1% | 81,269 | 29.31% | 34,474 | 1.59% | 1,865 | 117,608 |
Augusta | 28.06% | 9,451 | 70.15% | 23,624 | 1.77% | 597 | 33,672 |
Bath | 40.21% | 894 | 57.3% | 1,274 | 2.47% | 55 | 2,223 |
Bedford (city) | 43.67% | 1,225 | 54.43% | 1,527 | 1.93% | 53 | 2,805 |
Bedford | 27.27% | 10,209 | 71.28% | 26,679 | 1.43% | 537 | 37,425 |
Bland | 24.93% | 735 | 72.72% | 2,144 | 2.34% | 69 | 2,948 |
Botetourt | 29.88% | 5,452 | 68.41 | 12,479 | 1.7% | 310 | 18,241 |
Bristol (city) | 33.73% | 2,492 | 64.7% | 4,780 | 1.56% | 115 | 7,387 |
Brunswick | 62.13% | 4,994 | 36.92% | 2,968 | 0.93% | 75 | 8,037 |
Buchanan | 32.07% | 3,094 | 66.72% | 6,436 | 1.2% | 116 | 9,646 |
Buckingham | 50.28% | 3,750 | 47.86% | 3,569 | 1.81% | 135 | 7,454 |
Buena Vista (city) | 36.38% | 919 | 61.91% | 1,564 | 1.7% | 43 | 2,526 |
Campbell | 29.55% | 7,595 | 68.86% | 17,695 | 1.58% | 406 | 25,696 |
Caroline | 53.29% | 7,276 | 45.05% | 6,151 | 1.65% | 225 | 13,652 |
Carroll | 28.52% | 3,685 | 67.62% | 8,736 | 3.84% | 497 | 12,918 |
Charles City | 65.5% | 2,772 | 32.98% | 1,396 | 1.51% | 64 | 4,232 |
Charlotte | 42.43% | 2,503 | 56.13% | 3,311 | 1.42% | 84 | 5,898 |
Charlottesville (city) | 75.74% | 16,510 | 22.22% | 4,844 | 2.03% | 443 | 21,797 |
Chesapeake (city) | 49.85% | 55,052 | 48.81% | 53,900 | 1.33% | 1,473 | 110,425 |
Chesterfield | 45.43% | 77,694 | 53.18% | 90,934 | 1.38% | 2,360 | 170,988 |
Clarke | 41.72% | 3,239 | 55.34% | 4,296 | 2.92% | 227 | 7,762 |
Colonial Heights (city) | 29.49% | 2,544 | 68.88% | 5,941 | 1.61% | 139 | 8,624 |
Covington (city) | 56.6% | 1,319 | 41.84% | 975 | 1.55% | 36 | 2,330 |
Craig | 31.12% | 830 | 65.87% | 1,757 | 3.0% | 80 | 2,667 |
Culpeper | 40.99% | 8,285 | 57.29% | 11,580 | 1.71% | 346 | 20,211 |
Cumberland | 47.97% | 2,422 | 50.27% | 2,538 | 1.74% | 88 | 5,048 |
Danville (city) | 60.27% | 12,218 | 38.42% | 7,763 | 1.1% | 223 | 20,204 |
Dickenson | 35.81% | 2,473 | 61.9% | 4,274 | 2.27% | 157 | 6,904 |
Dinwiddie | 48.2% | 6,550 | 50.59% | 6,875 | 1.21% | 164 | 13,589 |
Emporia (city) | 66.5% | 1,793 | 32.86% | 886 | 0.63% | 17 | 2,696 |
Essex | 53.14% | 3,016 | 45.85% | 2,602 | 1.0% | 57 | 5,675 |
Fairfax (city) | 57.19% | 6,651 | 41.06% | 4,775 | 1.75% | 203 | 11,630 |
Fairfax | 59.56% | 315,273 | 39.06% | 206,773 | 1.37% | 7,241 | 529,287 |
Falls Church (city) | 68.92% | 5,015 | 29.5% | 2,147 | 1.57% | 114 | 7,276 |
Fauquier | 39.27% | 13,965 | 59.15% | 21,034 | 1.57% | 558 | 35,557 |
Floyd | 35.74% | 2,732 | 61.13% | 4,673 | 3.13% | 239 | 7,644 |
Fluvanna | 46.22% | 5,893 | 52.38% | 6,678 | 1.4% | 178 | 12,749 |
Franklin (city) | 64.97% | 2,833 | 34.31% | 1,496 | 0.71% | 31 | 4,360 |
Franklin | 34.03% | 9,090 | 62.59% | 16,718 | 3.37% | 899 | 26,707 |
Frederick | 34.86% | 12,690 | 62.8% | 22,858 | 2.32% | 846 | 36,394 |
Fredericksburg (city) | 62.35% | 7,131 | 35.49% | 4,060 | 2.15% | 246 | 11,437 |
Galax (city) | 39.52% | 900 | 58.49% | 1,332 | 1.98% | 45 | 2,277 |
Giles | 36.12% | 2,730 | 61.65% | 4,660 | 2.16% | 163 | 7,558 |
Gloucester | 35.07% | 6,764 | 62.94% | 12,137 | 1.98% | 382 | 19,283 |
Goochland | 35.11% | 4,676 | 63.44% | 8,448 | 1.43% | 191 | 13,315 |
Grayson | 29.04% | 2,068 | 67.42% | 4,801 | 3.54% | 252 | 7,121 |
Greene | 36.46% | 3,290 | 61.72% | 5,569 | 1.82% | 164 | 9,023 |
Greensville | 63.64% | 3,135 | 35.85% | 1,766 | 0.51% | 25 | 4,926 |
Halifax | 46.52% | 7,766 | 52.08% | 8,694 | 1.39% | 232 | 16,692 |
Hampton (city) | 70.63% | 46,966 | 28.03% | 18,640 | 1.33% | 884 | 66,490 |
Hanover | 30.97% | 18,294 | 67.62% | 39,940 | 1.4% | 824 | 59,058 |
Harrisonburg (city) | 55.49% | 8,654 | 42.1% | 6,565 | 2.4% | 375 | 15,593 |
Henrico | 55.22% | 89,594 | 43.42% | 70,449 | 1.35% | 2,198 | 162,241 |
Henry | 41.32% | 10,317 | 56.01% | 13,984 | 2.66% | 662 | 24,963 |
Highland | 32.48% | 459 | 65.39% | 924 | 2.12% | 30 | 1,413 |
Hopewell (city) | 57.34% | 5,179 | 41.4% | 3,739 | 1.25% | 113 | 9,031 |
Isle of Wight | 42.06% | 8,761 | 56.66% | 11,802 | 1.27% | 264 | 20,827 |
James City | 43.35% | 17,879 | 55.39% | 22,843 | 1.26% | 518 | 41,240 |
King and Queen | 47.74% | 1,745 | 51.02% | 1,865 | 1.23% | 45 | 3,655 |
King George | 39.53% | 4,477 | 58.31% | 6,604 | 2.15% | 244 | 11,325 |
King William | 37.47% | 3,344 | 61.25% | 5,466 | 1.27% | 113 | 8,923 |
Lancaster | 45.23% | 3,149 | 53.91 | 3,753 | 0.85% | 59 | 6,961 |
Lee | 26.91% | 2,583 | 71.33% | 6,847 | 1.75% | 168 | 9,583 |
Lexington (city) | 55.3% | 1,486 | 42.64% | 1,146 | 2.05% | 55 | 2,687 |
Loudoun | 51.53% | 82,479 | 47.03% | 75,292 | 1.43% | 2,289 | 160,060 |
Louisa | 42.26% | 6,953 | 56.01% | 9,215 | 1.76% | 284 | 16,092 |
Lunenburg | 46.8% | 2,684 | 51.77% | 2,969 | 1.41% | 81 | 5,374 |
Lynchburg (city) | 43.75% | 15,948 | 54.34% | 19,806 | 1.9% | 694 | 36,448 |
Madison | 39.9% | 2,639 | 58.49% | 3,869 | 1.57% | 106 | 6,614 |
Manassas (city) | 55.77% | 8,478 | 42.51% | 6,463 | 1.7% | 259 | 15,200 |
Manassas Park (city) | 61.83% | 2,879 | 36.49% | 1,699 | 1.68% | 78 | 4,656 |
Martinsville (city) | 61.34% | 3,855 | 36.79% | 2,312 | 1.86% | 117 | 6,284 |
Mathews | 33.62% | 1,807 | 64.9% | 3,488 | 1.47% | 79 | 5,374 |
Mecklenburg | 45.9% | 6,921 | 52.88% | 7,973 | 2.26% | 183 | 8,111 |
Middlesex | 38.98% | 2,370 | 59.52% | 3,619 | 1.5% | 91 | 6,080 |
Montgomery | 48.53% | 19,903 | 48.78% | 20,006 | 2.68% | 1,100 | 41,009 |
Nelson | 50.55% | 4,171 | 47.84% | 3,947 | 1.6% | 132 | 8,250 |
New Kent | 32.45% | 3,555 | 66.15% | 7,246 | 1.39% | 152 | 10,953 |
Newport News (city) | 64.32% | 51,100 | 34.27% | 27,230 | 1.4% | 1,114 | 79,444 |
Norfolk (city) | 72.01% | 62,687 | 26.59% | 23,147 | 1.39% | 1,209 | 87,043 |
Northampton | 57.63% | 3,741 | 41.22% | 2,676 | 1.14% | 74 | 6,491 |
Northumberland | 42.22% | 3,191 | 57.02% | 4,310 | 0.75% | 57 | 7,558 |
Norton (city) | 37.93% | 566 | 59.98% | 895 | 2.08% | 31 | 1,492 |
Nottoway | 48.84% | 3,344 | 49.79% | 3,409 | 1.36% | 93 | 6,846 |
Orange | 42.0% | 6,870 | 56.52% | 9,244 | 1.48% | 240 | 16,354 |
Page | 36.4% | 3,724 | 62.02% | 6,344 | 1.56% | 160 | 10,228 |
Patrick | 29.26% | 2,417 | 68.07% | 5,622 | 2.66% | 220 | 8,259 |
Petersburg (city) | 89.78% | 14,283 | 9.59% | 1,527 | 0.62% | 98 | 15,908 |
Pittsylvania | 35.38% | 10,858 | 62.78% | 19,263 | 1.83% | 560 | 30,681 |
Poquoson (city) | 23.62% | 1,679 | 74.75% | 5,312 | 1.62% | 115 | 7,106 |
Portsmouth (city) | 70.77% | 32,501 | 27.99% | 12,858 | 1.23% | 563 | 45,922 |
Powhatan | 26.33% | 4,088 | 72.14% | 11,200 | 1.53% | 237 | 15,525 |
Prince Edward | 55.54% | 5,132 | 42.77% | 3,952 | 1.68% | 155 | 9,239 |
Prince George | 43.56% | 6,991 | 55.33% | 8,879 | 0.91% | 176 | 16,046 |
Prince William | 57.34% | 103,331 | 41.32% | 74,458 | 1.34% | 2,406 | 180,195 |
Pulaski | 36.04% | 5,292 | 60.76% | 8,920 | 3.19% | 468 | 14,680 |
Radford (city) | 50.6% | 2,732 | 46.67% | 2,520 | 2.72% | 147 | 5,399 |
Rappahannock | 45.44% | 1,980 | 53.04% | 2,311 | 1.51% | 66 | 4,357 |
Richmond (city) | 77.81% | 75,921 | 20.54% | 20,050 | 1.64% | 1,598 | 97,569 |
Richmond | 41.75% | 1,574 | 57.29% | 2,160 | 0.95% | 36 | 3,770 |
Roanoke (city) | 60.1% | 24,134 | 37.33% | 14,991 | 2.57% | 1,030 | 40,155 |
Roanoke | 36.53% | 18,711 | 61.74% | 31,624 | 1.72% | 882 | 51,217 |
Rockbridge | 40.16% | 4,088 | 57.95% | 5,898 | 1.86% | 191 | 10,268 |
Rockingham | 28.86% | 10,065 | 69.36% | 24,186 | 1.74% | 615 | 35,866 |
Russell | 30.75% | 3,718 | 67.67% | 8,180 | 1.57% | 190 | 12,088 |
Salem (city) | 38.64% | 4,760 | 59.25% | 7,299 | 2.1% | 259 | 12,318 |
Scott | 23.96% | 2,395 | 74.44% | 7,439 | 1.58% | 158 | 9,992 |
Shenandoah | 33.39% | 6,469 | 64.71% | 12,538 | 1.89% | 366 | 19,373 |
Smyth | 32.64% | 4,171 | 65.57% | 8,379 | 2.17% | 227 | 12,777 |
Southampton | 47.89% | 4,437 | 51.09% | 4,733 | 1.01% | 94 | 9,264 |
Spotsylvania | 43.4% | 25,165 | 54.92% | 31,844 | 1.66% | 965 | 57,974 |
Stafford | 44.86% | 27,182 | 53.61% | 32,480 | 1.52% | 921 | 60,583 |
Staunton (city) | 51.09% | 5,728 | 47.02% | 5,272 | 1.87% | 210 | 11,210 |
Suffolk (city) | 57.01% | 24,267 | 41.86% | 17,820 | 1.12% | 479 | 42,586 |
Surry | 59.79% | 2,576 | 38.78% | 1,671 | 1.42% | 61 | 4,308 |
Sussex | 61.72% | 3,358 | 37.15% | 2,021 | 1.12% | 61 | 5,440 |
Tazewell | 20.64% | 3,661 | 78.06% | 13,843 | 1.29% | 228 | 17,732 |
Virginia Beach (city) | 47.95% | 94,299 | 50.49% | 99,291 | 1.55% | 3,051 | 196,641 |
Warren | 38.63% | 6,452 | 59.1% | 9,869 | 2.26% | 377 | 16,698 |
Washington | 27.6% | 7,076 | 70.77% | 18,141 | 1.62% | 415 | 25,632 |
Waynesboro (city) | 43.68% | 3,840 | 54.48% | 4,790 | 1.83% | 161 | 8,791 |
Westmoreland | 52.89% | 4,295 | 45.94% | 3,731 | 1.16% | 94 | 8,120 |
Williamsburg (city) | 63.28% | 4,903 | 34.61% | 2,682 | 2.1% | 163 | 7,748 |
Winchester (city) | 49.47% | 5,094 | 48.03% | 4,946 | 2.49% | 256 | 10,296 |
Wise | 25.03% | 3,760 | 73.75% | 11,076 | 1.21% | 182 | 15,018 |
Wythe | 30.61% | 3,783 | 67.35% | 8,324 | 2.1% | 251 | 12,268 |
York | 38.82% | 13,183 | 59.5% | 20,204 | 1.67% | 566 | 33,953 |
Democratic primary
Because Democratic President Barack Obama was unopposed by members of his party in seeking reelection, no Democratic primary was held.
Republican primary
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Virginia results by county
Mitt Romney
Ron Paul | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
2012 U.S. Presidential Election |
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Democratic Party |
Republican Party |
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The Republican primary took place on Super Tuesday, March 6, 2012.[4][5]
Virginia has 49 delegates to the 2012 Republican National Convention including three unbound superdelegates. 33 delegates are awarded on a winner-take-all basis by congressional district. The other 13 are awarded to the candidate who wins a majority statewide, or allocated proportionally if no one gets majority.[6]
Virginia Republican primary, March 6, 2012[7][8] | |||
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Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Delegates[9] |
Mitt Romney | 158,119 | 59.54% | 43 |
Ron Paul | 107,451 | 40.46% | 3 |
Unprojected delegates: | 3 | ||
Total: | 265,570 | 100.00% | 49 |
Ballot
Only Mitt Romney and Ron Paul appeared on the ballot. Other candidates failed to submit the necessary 10,000 signatures (including at least 400 from each of the state's 11 congressional districts) required to get on the ballot by the deadline of 22 December 2011.[10]
On 27 December, Rick Perry filed a lawsuit – joined later by Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman and Rick Santorum – in the federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond that challenged provisions that determine who can appear on the primary ballot. Perry and the other candidates argued that the chairman of the Virginia Republican Party and members of State Board of Elections violated their rights by enforcing state requirements as to the number of signatures, the qualifications for signers and the requirement that all petition circulators be "an eligible or registered qualified voter in Virginia." Perry and the other litigants argued that these restrictions "impose a severe burden" on their freedoms of speech and association under the First and Fourteenth Amendment.[11][12][13]
The case was Perry v. Judd. U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr. ruled on 29 December that he would not issue an injunction to stop the printing of ballots before a scheduled hearing on 13 January.[14] The Virginia Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli, representing the state, made a motion to dismiss the case because of a lack of standing.[15] On 13 January, Judge Gibney, Jr. dismissed the lawsuit citing the equitable doctrine of laches ("sleeping on one's rights"), writing, "They knew the rules in Virginia many months ago... In essence, they played the game, lost, and then complained that the rules were unfair."[16] The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed, emphasizing that although the constitutional challenge had merit and was possibly even likely to prevail, the candidate plaintiffs' failure to file in a timely fashion required dismissal.[17]
See also
- Republican Party presidential debates, 2012
- Republican Party presidential primaries, 2012
- Results of the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries
- Virginia Republican Party
References
- ↑ Dr. Michael McDonald (December 31, 2012). "2012 General Election Turnout Rates". George Mason University. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
- ↑ "VA Board of Elections". Retrieved August 3, 2013.
- ↑ http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2012election.pdf
- ↑ "Primary and Caucus Printable Calendar". CNN. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
- ↑ "Presidential Primary Dates" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
- ↑ Nate Silver (March 4, 2012). "Romney Could Win Majority of Super Tuesday Delegates". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- ↑ https://www.voterinfo.sbe.virginia.gov/election/DATA/2012/A64F1220-CC02-4DED-AB71-09E34ED36339/unofficial/1_s.shtml
- ↑ "Virginia Republican". March 6, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
- ↑ "Super Tuesday Delegate Count". DemocraticConventionWatch.com. March 6, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
- ↑ Anita Kumar, "Gingrich, Perry disqualified from Va. primary ballot" (December 24, 2011).
- ↑ Martin Weil and Anita Kumar. "" (December 27, 2011). Washington Post.
- ↑ Catalina Camia, "Perry sues to get on Virginia ballot" (December 28, 2011). USA Today.
- ↑ Kevin Liptak, "Candidates join Perry's Virginia lawsuit" (December 31, 2011). CNN.
- ↑ Rebecca Kaplan, "Perry Hearing on Virginia Ballot Challenge Set for Jan. 13" (December 29, 2011). National Journal.
- ↑ Tom Schoenberg, "Virginia Argues Perry Can't Challenge Ballot" (January 4, 2012). Bloomberg.
- ↑ Catalina Camia, "Judge rejects Perry, GOP hopefuls for Va. ballot" (January 13, 2012). USA Today.
- ↑ Perry v. Judd, Unpublished E.D. Va. (2012).
External links
- The Green Papers: for Virginia
- The Green Papers: Major state elections in chronological order