2012 United States presidential election in Illinois

The 2012 United States presidential election in Illinois 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. Illinois voters chose 20 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. The Obama/Biden ticket won Illinois with 57.60% of the popular vote to Romney/Ryan's 40.73%, thus winning the state's twenty electoral votes by a margin of 16.87%.[1]

2012 United States presidential election in Illinois

November 6, 2012
Turnout	69.70%
Nominee Barack Obama Mitt Romney Party Democratic Republican Home state Illinois Massachusetts Running mate Joe Biden Paul Ryan Electoral vote 20 0 Popular vote 3,019,512 2,135,216 Percentage 57.60% 40.73%
County Results Obama   40-50%   50-60%   60-70%   70-80% Romney   40-50%   50-60%   60-70%   70-80%
President before election Barack Obama Democratic Elected President Barack Obama Democratic

Obama's victory continued a Democratic winning streak in the state - with the Democratic candidate having carried Illinois through the six consecutive elections. However, despite Obama's win in 2008 and popularity in the state due to being its former U.S. Senator, his performance significantly worsened, with his margin of victory decreasing from 25.14% to 16.87% and losing 23 counties to Romney that he had won four years prior. Obama further became the first Democrat since Woodrow Wilson in 1916 to win the White House without carrying Madison County, in the Metro East region.

Election information

The primaries and general elections coincided with those for congress and those for state offices.

Background

Illinois had voted Democratic in the previous five presidential elections. The last Republican ticket to win Illinois in a presidential election was that of George H. W. Bush and Dan Quayle in 1988.

Illinois was the home state of the incumbent president, Barack Obama, who was seeking reelection.

Turnout

For the state-run primaries (Democratic and Republican), turnout was 21.72%, with 1,586,171 votes cast.[2][3] For the general election, turnout was 69.70%, with 5,242,014 votes cast.[2][3]

Democratic primary

2012 Illinois Democratic presidential primary

March 20, 2012
212 Democratic National Convention delegates (189 pledged, 26 unpledged) The number of pledged delegates won is determined by the popular vote
Candidate Barack Obama Home state Illinois Delegate count 189 Popular vote 652,583 Percentage 99.98%
Barack Obama

The 2012 Illinois Democratic presidential primary was held on March 20, 2012 in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Republican Party's state primaries ahead of the 2012 presidential election. Incumbent president Barack Obama won the primary. Obama was running for reelection without a major opponent.

Obama won all 189 of the state's bound delegates (the state also had 26 superdelegates).[4]

2012 Illinois Democratic presidential primary[4][3]
Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Delegates
Barack Obama (incumbent)	652,583	99.98%	189
Randall Terry	134	0.02%	0
Totals	652,717	100.00%	189

Republican primary

2012 Illinois Republican presidential primary

March 20, 2012

Candidate Mitt Romney Rick Santorum Home state Massachusetts Pennsylvania Delegate count 42 12 Popular vote 435,859 326,778 Percentage 46.69% 35.01%   Candidate Ron Paul Newt Gingrich Home state Texas Georgia Delegate count 0 0 Popular vote 87,044 74,482 Percentage 9.32% 7.98%

Illinois results by county   Mitt Romney   Rick Santorum

The 2012 Illinois Republican presidential primary was held on March 20, 2012 in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Republican Party's state primaries ahead of the 2012 presidential election.[5][6]

2012 Illinois Republican presidential primary[7]
Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Projected delegate count
			NYT	CNN [8]	FOX
Mitt Romney	435,859	46.69%	42	41	42
Rick Santorum	326,778	35.01%	12	10	12
Ron Paul	87,044	9.32%	0	0	0
Newt Gingrich	74,482	7.98%	0	0	0
Rick Perry (withdrawn)	5,568	0.60%	0	0	0
Buddy Roemer (withdrawn)	3,723	0.40%	0	0	0
Unprojected delegates:			0	3	0
Total:	933,454	100.00%	54	54	54

Green primary

2012 Illinois Green Party convention

February 24, 2012
31 Green National Convention delegates
Candidate Jill Stein Roseanne Barr Kent Mesplay Party Green Green Green Home state Massachusetts Hawaii California Delegate count 22 2 2 Popular vote 109 27 8 Percentage 71.24% 17.65% 5.23%

The 2012 Illinois Green Party Convention was held on February 24, and saw a binding presidential preference vote cast, awarding delegates, as part of the Green Party's state primaries ahead of the 2012 presidential election.[9]

Unlike the primaries for the major parties, this primary was run by the Green Party of Illinois itself, rather than by the state.

Illinois Green Party Primary, February 24, 2012[9][10]
Candidate	Votes	Percentage	National delegates
Jill Stein	109	71.24%	22
Roseanne Barr (write-in)	27	17.65%	5
Kent Mesplay	8	5.23%	2
Uncommitted	8	5.23%	2
Others	1	0.65%	0
Total	153	100%	31

General election

While Obama only won 23% of the counties in Illinois, most of the counties he won were heavily populated. His 17-point victory can be largely attributed to his performance in Cook County, which encompasses the Chicago Metropolitan Area. He also won the once Republican favored collar counties (DuPage, Will and Lake). He also performed well in the East St. Louis area.

Owing to Obama's strength as a hometown candidate, and due to the nationwide rural strength of successor Donald Trump during both his 2016 and 2020 runs, Obama remains the last Democrat as of 2020 to win Alexander County, Carroll County, Fulton County, Henderson County, Henry County, Jo Daviess County, Knox County, Mercer County, Putnam County, Warren County, and Whiteside County.

2012 United States presidential election in Illinois
Party		Candidate	Running mate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Democratic	Barack Hussein Obama (Incumbent)	Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (Incumbent)	3,019,512	57.60%	20
	Republican	Willard Mitt Romney	Paul Davis Ryan	2,135,216	40.73%	0
	Libertarian	Gary Earl Johnson	Jim Gray	56,229	1.07%	0
	Green	Jill Stein	Cheri Honkala	30,222	0.58%	0
	Write-ins	Write-ins		835	0.02%	0
Totals				5,242,014	100.00%	20

Results by county

County	Barack Hussein Obama Democratic		Willard Mitt Romney Republican		Various candidates Other parties		Margin		Total votes cast
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Adams	9,648	31.52%	20,416	66.70%	543	1.77%	-10,768	-35.18%	30,607
Alexander	1,965	56.13%	1,487	42.47%	49	1.40%	478	13.65%	3,501
Bond	3,020	40.95%	4,095	55.53%	260	3.53%	-1,075	-14.58%	7,375
Boone	9,883	46.09%	11,096	51.75%	462	2.15%	-1,213	-5.66%	21,441
Brown	787	33.29%	1,513	64.00%	64	2.71%	-726	-30.71%	2,364
Bureau	8,134	48.75%	8,164	48.93%	388	2.33%	-30	-0.18%	16,686
Calhoun	1,080	41.93%	1,440	55.90%	56	2.17%	-360	-13.98%	2,576
Carroll	3,665	49.49%	3,555	48.00%	186	2.51%	110	1.49%	7,406
Cass	2,053	42.09%	2,707	55.49%	118	2.42%	-654	-13.41%	4,878
Champaign	40,831	51.94%	35,312	44.92%	2,466	3.14%	5,519	7.02%	78,609
Christian	5,494	37.31%	8,885	60.33%	348	2.36%	-3,391	-23.03%	14,727
Clark	2,591	32.86%	5,144	65.23%	151	1.91%	-2,553	-32.37%	7,886
Clay	1,584	26.81%	4,190	70.92%	134	2.27%	-2,606	-44.11%	5,908
Clinton	5,596	33.95%	10,524	63.86%	361	2.19%	-4,928	-29.90%	16,481
Coles	9,262	43.21%	11,631	54.26%	544	2.54%	-2,369	-11.05%	21,437
Cook	1,488,537	74.00%	495,542	24.63%	27,519	1.37%	992,995	49.36%	2,011,598
Crawford	2,858	33.11%	5,585	64.69%	190	2.20%	-2,727	-31.59%	8,633
Cumberland	1,641	30.99%	3,509	66.27%	145	2.74%	-1,868	-35.28%	5,295
DeKalb	21,207	51.61%	18,934	46.08%	951	2.31%	2,273	5.53%	41,092
DeWitt	2,601	35.30%	4,579	62.15%	188	2.55%	-1,978	-26.85%	7,368
Douglas	2,430	30.77%	5,334	67.54%	133	1.68%	-2,904	-36.77%	7,897
DuPage	199,460	49.73%	195,046	48.63%	6,575	1.64%	4,414	1.10%	401,081
Edgar	2,565	32.74%	5,132	65.50%	138	1.76%	-2,567	-32.76%	7,835
Edwards	754	23.36%	2,405	74.50%	69	2.14%	-1,651	-51.15%	3,228
Effingham	3,861	23.24%	12,501	75.25%	251	1.51%	-8,640	-52.01%	16,613
Fayette	2,853	31.66%	5,951	66.03%	208	2.31%	-3,098	-34.38%	9,012
Ford	1,656	27.49%	4,229	70.20%	139	2.31%	-2,573	-42.71%	6,024
Franklin	7,254	40.49%	10,267	57.31%	393	2.19%	-3,013	-16.82%	17,914
Fulton	8,328	54.04%	6,632	43.03%	451	2.93%	1,696	11.01%	15,411
Gallatin	1,029	39.99%	1,492	57.99%	52	2.02%	-463	-17.99%	2,573
Greene	2,023	35.89%	3,451	61.22%	163	2.89%	-1,428	-25.33%	5,637
Grundy	9,451	44.34%	11,343	53.22%	519	2.44%	-1,892	-8.88%	21,313
Hamilton	1,269	32.20%	2,566	65.11%	106	2.69%	-1,297	-32.91%	3,941
Hancock	3,650	40.06%	5,271	57.85%	190	2.09%	-1,621	-17.79%	9,111
Hardin	742	31.85%	1,535	65.88%	53	2.27%	-793	-34.03%	2,330
Henderson	1,978	55.44%	1,541	43.19%	49	1.37%	437	12.25%	3,568
Henry	12,332	50.53%	11,583	47.46%	490	2.01%	749	3.07%	24,405
Iroquois	3,413	26.70%	9,120	71.34%	251	1.96%	-5,707	-44.64%	12,784
Jackson	13,319	55.26%	9,864	40.92%	921	3.82%	3,455	14.33%	24,104
Jasper	1,436	28.48%	3,514	69.68%	93	1.84%	-2,078	-41.21%	5,043
Jefferson	6,089	37.31%	9,811	60.12%	420	2.57%	-3,722	-22.81%	16,320
Jersey	3,667	36.82%	6,039	60.64%	253	2.54%	-2,372	-23.82%	9,959
Jo Daviess	5,667	49.58%	5,534	48.42%	228	1.99%	133	1.16%	11,429
Johnson	1,572	27.72%	3,963	69.87%	137	2.42%	-2,391	-42.15%	5,672
Kane	90,332	49.73%	88,335	48.63%	2,981	1.64%	1,997	1.10%	181,648
Kankakee	21,595	47.30%	23,136	50.68%	923	2.02%	-1,541	-3.38%	45,654
Kendall	22,471	47.40%	24,047	50.72%	892	1.88%	-1,576	-3.32%	47,410
Knox	13,451	57.59%	9,408	40.28%	497	2.13%	4,043	17.31%	23,356
Lake	153,757	53.48%	129,764	45.14%	3,972	1.38%	23,993	8.35%	287,493
LaSalle	23,073	48.82%	23,256	49.21%	930	1.97%	-183	-0.39%	47,259
Lawrence	2,011	33.58%	3,857	64.40%	121	2.02%	-1,846	-30.82%	5,989
Lee	6,937	45.20%	8,059	52.51%	352	2.29%	-1,122	-7.31%	15,348
Livingston	5,020	33.30%	9,753	64.69%	304	2.02%	-4,733	-31.39%	15,077
Logan	3,978	33.00%	7,844	65.08%	231	1.92%	-3,866	-32.08%	12,053
Macon	22,780	46.46%	25,309	51.62%	941	1.92%	-2,529	-5.16%	49,030
Macoupin	9,464	44.89%	10,946	51.92%	673	3.19%	-1,482	-7.03%	21,083
Madison	58,922	48.11%	60,608	49.49%	2,943	2.40%	-1,686	-1.38%	122,473
Marion	6,225	39.35%	9,248	58.46%	347	2.19%	-3,023	-19.11%	15,820
Marshall	2,455	41.83%	3,290	56.06%	124	2.11%	-835	-14.23%	5,869
Mason	2,867	45.54%	3,265	51.86%	164	2.60%	-398	-6.32%	6,296
Massac	2,092	32.21%	4,278	65.87%	125	1.92%	-2,186	-33.66%	6,495
McDonough	5,967	47.91%	6,147	49.36%	340	2.73%	-180	-1.45%	12,454
McHenry	59,797	44.55%	71,598	53.34%	2,842	2.12%	-11,801	-8.79%	134,237
McLean	31,883	43.40%	39,947	54.37%	1,639	2.23%	-8,064	-10.98%	73,469
Menard	2,100	34.14%	3,948	64.18%	103	1.67%	-1,848	-30.04%	6,151
Mercer	4,507	52.60%	3,876	45.24%	185	2.16%	631	7.36%	8,568
Monroe	6,215	35.53%	10,888	62.25%	387	2.21%	-4,673	-26.72%	17,490
Montgomery	5,058	41.50%	6,776	55.60%	354	2.90%	-1,718	-14.10%	12,188
Morgan	5,806	41.06%	7,972	56.37%	364	2.57%	-2,166	-15.32%	14,142
Moultrie	2,144	35.29%	3,784	62.29%	147	2.42%	-1,640	-27.00%	6,075
Ogle	9,514	40.72%	13,422	57.44%	431	1.84%	-3,908	-16.72%	23,367
Peoria	40,209	51.28%	36,774	46.90%	1,428	1.82%	3,435	4.38%	78,411
Perry	3,819	39.85%	5,507	57.46%	258	2.69%	-1,688	-17.61%	9,584
Piatt	3,090	35.49%	5,413	62.17%	204	2.34%	-2,323	-26.68%	8,707
Pike	2,278	31.20%	4,860	66.56%	164	2.25%	-2,582	-35.36%	7,302
Pope	650	29.25%	1,512	68.05%	60	2.70%	-862	-38.79%	2,222
Pulaski	1,389	46.12%	1,564	51.93%	59	1.96%	-175	-5.81%	3,012
Putnam	1,559	49.60%	1,502	47.79%	82	2.61%	57	1.81%	3,143
Randolph	5,759	39.89%	8,290	57.42%	389	2.69%	-2,531	-17.53%	14,438
Richland	2,362	32.44%	4,756	65.31%	164	2.25%	-2,394	-32.88%	7,282
Rock Island	39,157	60.04%	24,934	38.23%	1,126	1.73%	14,223	21.81%	65,217
Saline	3,701	34.52%	6,806	63.49%	213	1.99%	-3,105	-28.96%	10,720
Sangamon	42,107	44.65%	50,225	53.26%	1,965	2.08%	-8,118	-8.61%	94,297
Schuyler	1,727	44.26%	2,069	53.02%	106	2.72%	-342	-8.76%	3,902
Scott	910	35.44%	1,587	61.80%	71	2.76%	-677	-26.36%	2,568
Shelby	3,342	32.01%	6,843	65.55%	254	2.43%	-3,501	-33.54%	10,439
St. Clair	67,285	56.15%	50,125	41.83%	2,417	2.02%	17,160	14.32%	119,827
Stark	1,095	41.13%	1,528	57.40%	39	1.47%	-433	-16.27%	2,662
Stephenson	10,165	48.11%	10,512	49.75%	451	2.13%	-347	-1.64%	21,128
Tazewell	24,438	39.88%	35,335	57.66%	1,509	2.46%	-10,897	-17.78%	61,282
Union	3,137	37.71%	4,957	59.59%	224	2.69%	-1,820	-21.88%	8,318
Vermilion	12,878	42.36%	16,892	55.57%	630	2.07%	-4,014	-13.20%	30,400
Wabash	1,590	30.97%	3,478	67.74%	66	1.29%	-1,888	-36.77%	5,134
Warren	4,044	51.73%	3,618	46.28%	156	2.00%	426	5.45%	7,818
Washington	2,450	32.95%	4,792	64.45%	193	2.60%	-2,342	-31.50%	7,435
Wayne	1,514	19.67%	5,988	77.80%	195	2.53%	-4,474	-58.13%	7,697
White	2,188	30.90%	4,731	66.80%	163	2.30%	-2,543	-35.91%	7,082
Whiteside	14,833	57.43%	10,448	40.45%	547	2.12%	4,385	16.98%	25,828
Will	144,229	51.85%	128,969	46.36%	4,964	1.78%	15,260	5.49%	278,162
Williamson	10,647	36.40%	17,909	61.22%	698	2.39%	-7,262	-24.82%	29,254
Winnebago	61,732	51.70%	55,138	46.18%	2,527	2.12%	6,594	5.52%	119,397
Woodford	5,572	29.42%	12,961	68.44%	405	2.14%	-7,389	-39.02%	18,938
Totals	3,013,423	57.61%	2,125,405	40.63%	92,444	1.76%	888,018	16.98%	5,230,852

[11]

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Boone (largest city: Belvidere)
• Bureau (largest city: Princeton)
• Calhoun (largest village: Hardin)
• Cass (largest city: Beardstown)
• Coles (largest city: Charleston)
• Gallatin (largest city: Shawneetown)
• Grundy (largest city: Morris)
• Kankakee (largest city: Kankakee)
• Kendall (largest village: Oswego)
• LaSalle (largest city: Ottawa)
• Macon (largest city: Decatur)
• Mason (largest city: Havana)
• Macoupin (largest city: Carlinville)
• Madison (largest city: Granite City)
• McDonough (largest city: Macomb)
• McHenry (largest city: Crystal Lake)
• McLean (largest city: Bloomington)
• Montgomery (largest city: Litchfield)
• Pulaski (largest city: Mounds)
• Sangamon (largest city: Springfield)
• Schuyler (largest city: Rushville)
• Stephenson (largest city: Freeport)
• Vermilion (largest city: Danville)

See also

• United States presidential elections in Illinois
• Illinois Republican Party
• 2012 Republican Party presidential debates and forums
• 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries
• Results of the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries

References

1. "Illinois Board of Elections". Retrieved January 2, 2013.
2. "Voter Turnout". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
3. "Election Results". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
4. "Illinois Democratic Delegation 2012". www.thegreenpapers.com. The Green Papers. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
5. "Primary and Caucus Printable Calendar". CNN. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
6. "Presidential Primary Dates" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
7. http://www.elections.il.gov/ElectionInformation/VoteTotalsList.aspx?ElectionType=GP&ElectionID=32&SearchType=OfficeSearch&OfficeID=5881&QueryType=Office&
8. Illinois - CNN
9. "2012 Illinois Green Primary". 24 February 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
10. "2012 Illinois Green Primary results". Archived from the original on 2012-11-16.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
11. http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/datagraph.php?fips=17&year=2012&off=0&elect=0&f=0

External links

• The Green Papers: for Illinois
• The Green Papers: Major state elections in chronological order