2012 United States presidential election in Illinois

2012 United States presidential election in Illinois
November 6, 2012
Turnout69.70%
 
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%
President before election

Barack Obama
Democratic

Elected President

Barack Obama
Democratic

Elections in Illinois
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Secretary of State elections
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Chicago
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2012 U.S. presidential election
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2012

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]

Obama's victory continued a Democratic winning streak in the state — with the Democratic candidate having carried Illinois through 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 25.10% to 16.87% and losing 23 counties to Romney that he had won four years prior. Obama further became the first ever Democrat to win the White House without carrying Gallatin or Macoupin counties, as well as the first since Woodrow Wilson in 1916 to win the White House without carrying Madison County.

Primary elections

Democratic primary

2012 Illinois Democratic presidential primary
March 20, 2012 (2012-03-20)
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).[2]

2012 Illinois Democratic presidential primary[2][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 (2012-03-20)
 
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%
County results
Romney:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%
Santorum:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

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.[4][5] For the state-run primaries (Democratic and Republican), turnout was 21.72%, with 1,586,171 votes cast.[3]

2012 Illinois Republican presidential primary[3]
Candidate Votes Percentage Projected delegate count
NYT CNN
[6] 		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

2012 Illinois Green Party convention
February 24, 2012 (2012-02-24)
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.[7]

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[7][8]
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

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
Huffington Post[9] Safe D November 6, 2012
CNN[10] Safe D November 6, 2012
New York Times[11] Safe D November 6, 2012
Washington Post[12] Safe D November 6, 2012
RealClearPolitics[13] Solid D November 6, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[14] Solid D November 5, 2012
FiveThirtyEight[15] Solid D November 6, 2012

Results

2012 United States presidential election in Illinois[1]
Party Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Democratic Barack Obama (Incumbent) Joe Biden (Incumbent) 3,019,512 57.60% 20
Republican Mitt Romney Paul Ryan 2,135,216 40.73% 0
Libertarian Gary Johnson James P. Gray 56,229 1.07% 0
Green Jill Stein Howie Hawkins 30,222 0.58% 0
Write-ins Write-ins 835 0.02% 0
Totals 5,242,014 100.00% 20

By county

County Barack Obama
Democratic 		Mitt Romney
Republican 		Various candidates
Other parties 		Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # %
Adams 9,648 31.43% 20,416 66.51% 633 2.06% -10,768 -35.08% 30,697
Alexander 1,965 56.13% 1,487 42.47% 49 1.40% 478 13.66% 3,501
Bond 3,020 40.95% 4,095 55.53% 260 3.52% -1,075 -14.58% 7,375
Boone 9,883 46.09% 11,096 51.75% 462 2.16% -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 2.32% -30 -0.18% 16,686
Calhoun 1,080 41.93% 1,440 55.90% 56 2.17% -360 -13.97% 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 -13.40% 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 -23.02% 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 -29.91% 16,481
Coles 9,262 43.21% 11,631 54.26% 544 2.53% -2,369 -11.05% 21,437
Cook 1,488,537 73.88% 495,542 24.59% 30,740 1.53% 992,995 49.29% 2,014,819
Crawford 2,858 33.11% 5,585 64.69% 190 2.20% -2,727 -31.58% 8,633
Cumberland 1,641 30.99% 3,509 66.27% 145 2.74% -1,868 -35.28% 5,295
DeKalb 21,207 51.42% 18,934 45.91% 1,100 2.67% 2,273 5.51% 41,241
DeWitt 2,601 35.30% 4,579 62.15% 188 2.55% -1,978 -26.85% 7,368
Douglas 2,430 30.68% 5,334 67.34% 157 1.98% -2,904 -36.66% 7,921
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 -51.14% 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 -34.37% 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 2.20% -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 -18.00% 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 26.64% 9,120 71.19% 278 2.17% -5,707 -44.55% 12,811
Jackson 13,319 55.26% 9,864 40.92% 921 3.82% 3,455 14.34% 24,104
Jasper 1,436 28.48% 3,514 69.68% 93 1.84% -2,078 -41.20% 5,043
Jefferson 6,089 37.31% 9,811 60.12% 420 2.57% -3,722 -22.81% 16,320
Jersey 3,667 36.67% 6,039 60.38% 295 2.95% -2,372 -23.71% 10,001
Jo Daviess 5,667 49.58% 5,534 48.42% 228 2.00% 133 1.16% 11,429
Johnson 1,572 27.61% 3,963 69.60% 159 2.79% -2,391 -41.99% 5,694
Kane 90,332 49.71% 88,335 48.61% 3,058 1.68% 1,997 1.10% 181,725
Kankakee 21,595 47.30% 23,136 50.68% 923 2.02% -1,541 -3.38% 45,654
Kendall 22,471 47.39% 24,047 50.71% 900 1.90% -1,576 -3.32% 47,418
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 8.34% 287,493
LaSalle 23,073 48.67% 23,256 49.06% 1,076 2.27% -183 -0.39% 47,405
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 2.01% -4,733 -31.39% 15,077
Logan 3,978 32.91% 7,844 64.89% 266 2.20% -3,866 -31.98% 12,088
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 47.95% 60,608 49.32% 3,355 2.73% -1,686 -1.37% 122,885
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 2.11% -11,801 -8.79% 134,237
McLean 31,883 43.40% 39,947 54.37% 1,639 2.23% -8,064 -10.97% 73,469
Menard 2,100 34.14% 3,948 64.18% 103 1.68% -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 62.24% 391 2.23% -4,673 -26.71% 17,494
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 -15.31% 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 39.99% 5,507 57.67% 223 2.34% -1,688 -17.68% 9,549
Piatt 3,090 35.35% 5,413 61.92% 239 2.73% -2,323 -26.57% 8,742
Pike 2,278 31.20% 4,860 66.56% 164 2.24% -2,582 -35.36% 7,302
Pope 650 29.25% 1,512 68.05% 60 2.70% -862 -38.80% 2,222
Pulaski 1,389 46.12% 1,564 51.93% 59 1.95% -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 -32.87% 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 -28.97% 10,720
Sangamon 42,107 44.65% 50,225 53.26% 1,965 2.09% -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 2.44% -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 2.14% -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 2.70% -1,820 -21.88% 8,318
Vermilion 12,878 42.36% 16,892 55.57% 630 2.07% -4,014 -13.21% 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 1.99% 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 -35.90% 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% 4,967 1.79% 15,260 5.49% 278,165
Williamson 10,647 36.40% 17,909 61.22% 698 2.38% -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 3,019,512 57.50% 2,135,216 40.66% 96,704 1.84% 884,296 16.84% 5,251,432

[16]

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

By congressional district

Obama won 12 of 18 congressional districts.[17]

District Romney Obama Representative
1st 20.25% 78.94% Bobby Rush
2nd 18.53% 80.7% Jesse Jackson Jr.
3rd 42.98% 55.93% Dan Lipinski
4th 17.06% 80.9% Luis Gutierrez
5th 31.81% 66% Mike Quigley
6th 53.31% 45.1% Peter Roskam
7th 11.79% 87.22% Danny K. Davis
8th 40.94% 57.39% Tammy Duckworth
9th 33.29% 65% Jan Schakowsky
10th 41.14% 57.52% Brad Schneider
11th 40.64% 57.82% Bill Foster
12th 48.13% 49.74% William Enyart
13th 48.95% 48.64% Rodney Davis
14th 54.2% 44.18% Randy Hultgren
15th 63.94% 34.06% John Shimkus
16th 52.89% 45.17% Adam Kinzinger
17th 40.64% 57.58% Cheri Bustos
18th 60.66% 37.4% Aaron Schock

Analysis

While Obama only won 23% of the counties in Illinois, most of the counties he won were heavily populated. His 17-point victory is attributed to his landslide performance in Cook County where he received 73.88% of the vote and victories in the once Republican-favored collar counties (DuPage, Will and Lake). He also performed well in the East St. Louis area. Cook County, which encompasses the Chicago Metropolitan Area, provides a crucial advantage for the Democratic Party. If Cook County's vote were excluded, Romney would have won the state with 1,639,684 to Obama's 1,530,975.

As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last time a Democrat has won Alexander, Carroll, Fulton, Henderson, Henry, Jo Daviess, Knox, Mercer, Putnam, Warren and Whiteside counties. Also, as a result of this election, Clark, Clay, Effingham, Edwards, Iroquois, Jasper, Massac, Richland, Wabash and Wayne are the only counties in the state that never voted for Obama in his two runs for the presidency or in his landslide election to the Senate.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Borgsmiller, Rupert T. (Executive Director) (December 12, 2012). Official Canvass of the Illinois 2012 General Election. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Illinois Democratic Delegation 2012". www.thegreenpapers.com. The Green Papers. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Borgsmiller, Rupert T. (Executive Director) (March 20, 2012). Official Canvass of the Illinois 2012 Primary Election. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  4. ^ "Primary and Caucus Printable Calendar". CNN. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  5. ^ "Presidential Primary Dates" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  6. ^ "America's Choice 2012 Election Center: Results - Illinois". CNN. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  7. ^ a b "2012 Illinois Green Primary". February 24, 2012. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  8. ^ "2012 Illinois Green Primary results". Archived from the original on November 16, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ^ "Huffington Post Election Dashboard". HuffPost. Archived from the original on August 13, 2013.
  10. ^ "America's Choice 2012 Election Center: CNN Electoral Map". CNN. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013.
  11. ^ "Election 2012 - The Electoral Map: Building a Path to Victory". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012.
  12. ^ "2012 Presidential Election Results". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 26, 2012.
  13. ^ "RealClearPolitics - 2012 Election Maps - Battle for White House". Archived from the original on June 8, 2011.
  14. ^ "PROJECTION: OBAMA WILL LIKELY WIN SECOND TERM".
  15. ^ "Nate Silver's political calculations predict 2012 election outcome".
  16. ^ "2012 Presidential General Election Data Graphs - Illinois". uselectionatlas.org.
  17. ^ "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts". Daily Kos. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
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