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2012 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania

none

Field	Value
election_name	2012 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania
country	Pennsylvania
flag_image	Flag of Pennsylvania.svg
type	presidential
ongoing	no
previous_election	2008 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania
previous_year	2008
election_date	November 6, 2012
next_election	2016 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania
next_year	2016
image_size	x200px
image1	President Barack Obama, 2012 portrait crop.jpg
nominee1	Barack Obama
party1	Democratic Party (United States)
home_state1	Illinois
running_mate1	Joe Biden
electoral_vote1	20
popular_vote1	2,990,274
percentage1	51.97%
map_image	{{Switcher
title	President
before_election	Barack Obama
before_party	Democratic Party (United States)
after_election	Barack Obama
after_party	Democratic Party (United States)
image2	Mitt_Romney_by_Gage_Skidmore_6_cropped.jpg
nominee2	Mitt Romney
party2	Republican Party (United States)
home_state2	Massachusetts
running_mate2	Paul Ryan
electoral_vote2	0
popular_vote2	2,680,434
percentage2	46.59%
turnout	67.6% 1.0pp

Main article: 2012 United States presidential election

| [[File:Pennsylvania Presidential Election Results 2012.svg|300px]] | County results | [[File:2012PApresidentcongressionaldistrict.svg|300px]] | Congressional district results | [[File:Pennsylvania Presidential Results 2012 by Municipality.svg|300px]] | Municipality results | [[File:2012 Pennsylvania presidential election by precinct.svg|300px]] | Precinct results Obama Romney Tie The 2012 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania 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. The primary election to select the Democratic and Republican candidates had been held on April 24, 2012. Pennsylvania 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. Pennsylvania's electoral vote number was a reduction from the 2008 delegation, which had 21 electors. This change was due to reapportionment following the 2010 United States census. Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes are allotted on a winner-take-all basis.

Obama received 51.97% of the vote, beating Romney's 46.59%. Also on the ballot were physician Jill Stein of the Green Party and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party, who received 0.37% and 0.87%, respectively. While the state had voted for a Democrat since 1992, it remained competitive, especially after Bush's loss of only 2.5% in 2004. Its competitiveness was attributable to the stark contrast between the state's diverse, urban voters in areas such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh; and rural, blue-collar voters in the rest of the state. However, massive margins in the urban regions of the state and victories in the Philadelphia suburbs, Lehigh Valley, Scranton, and Erie delivered a considerable victory for the president. Obama received over 85% of the vote in Philadelphia County, the highest vote share in its history as of 2024.

Regardless, Romney improved on John McCain's 10.32% loss in the state in 2008. Just like in 2008, Pennsylvania was the most Republican of the three Rust Belt swing states (including Wisconsin and Michigan) in 2012. Five counties that voted for Obama in 2008 voted for Romney in 2012: Berks, Cambria, Carbon, Chester, and Elk. This made Obama the first Democrat to win the presidency without carrying Cambria County since Woodrow Wilson in 1916, and made him the first Democrat to win the White House without carrying Elk County since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940, and the first to do so without carrying Carbon County since John F. Kennedy in 1960.

As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last time that Chester County voted for the Republican candidate, that Luzerne County voted for the Democratic candidate, and that Pennsylvania voted more Democratic than the nation as a whole.

This was the last time a Democratic presidential nominee has won every Northeastern electoral vote. Pennsylvania voted twice for Republican Donald Trump in 2016 and 2024, and Maine's 2nd congressional district voted for Trump in all three of his runs. This was also the last time Pennsylvania voted to the left of Virginia, with Virginia being the only former Confederate state never to have voted for Trump.

Primary elections

Democratic primary

Incumbent Barack Obama ran unopposed on the Democratic primary ballot on April24. In the floor vote taken at the Democratic National Convention, 242 Pennsylvania delegates voted for Obama, while the other 8 of the state's 250 allocated votes were not announced.

Republican primary

Four candidates were on the Republican primary ballot: Mitt Romney, former Senator from Pennsylvania Rick Santorum, U.S. Representative from Texas Ron Paul, and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. He had just lost 3 primaries to Romney, and Romney appeared poised to become the presumptive nominee by achieving a prohibitive lead.

As momentum in the Republican race built for Romney, Santorum suspended his campaign for four days to meet with 'movement conservatives' to strategize. Rather than returning to campaigning the next Monday, Rick and Karen Santorum canceled campaign events scheduled right after Easter weekend to be in the hospital with their youngest daughter.

In deference to the sick child, Romney ceased airing attack ads, replacing them with positive introductory ones.

On April 10, Santorum formally suspended his campaign. On May 7, he endorsed Romney. Santorum and Gingrich both released their delegates to Romney in August, shortly before the Republican National Convention.

Candidate	Votes	Percentage		Projected delegates
Mitt Romney	468,374	57.8%	31	67
Rick Santorum	149,056	18.4%	4	0
Ron Paul	106,148	13.1%	5	5
Newt Gingrich	84,537	10.4%	3	0
Write-in votes	2,819	0.3%
Unprojected delegates	29
Total:	810,934	100%	72	72

General election

Polling

In statewide opinion polling, incumbent Barack Obama consistently led challenger Mitt Romney by a margin of between 2 and 12 percentage points. Analysts rated Pennsylvania as a "likely Democratic" or "Democratic-leaning" state in the presidential race. At the time, Pennsylvania's electoral votes had gone to the Democratic candidate in every presidential election since Bill Clinton won it in 1992.

During the summer, there was significant spending on political advertisements in Pennsylvania, by both the Obama campaign and pro-Romney groups such as Crossroads GPS and Americans for Prosperity. However, because Obama maintained a consistent lead in polling, Pennsylvania came to be considered a "safe state" for Obama, and campaign advertising subsided substantially in August. In total, pro-Romney spending in Pennsylvania was estimated to amount to as much as $12 million, much more than Obama campaign spending. The Obama campaign characterized the pro-Romney spending surge as "an act of sheer desperation", while the Romney campaign argued that they had a realistic chance of winning the state. In the end, Obama carried the state by a modest margin, albeit narrower than his 2008 landslide over Senator John McCain.

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Huffington Post		November 6, 2012
CNN		November 6, 2012
New York Times		November 6, 2012
Washington Post		November 6, 2012
RealClearPolitics		November 6, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball		November 5, 2012
FiveThirtyEight		November 6, 2012

Results

|- class="vcard" ! style="background-color: lightgrey; width: 2px;" | |-

By county

County	Barack Obama
Democratic	Mitt Romney
Republican	Gary Johnson
Libertarian	Jill Stein
Green	Various candidates
Other parties	Margin	Total votes cast	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	Totals	2,990,274	51.95%	2,680,434	46.57%	49,991	0.87%	21,341	0.37%	13,580	0.24%	309,840	5.38%	5,755,620
	Adams		15,091		35.40%		26,767		62.80%		437		1.03%		162		0.38%		168		0.39%		-11,676		-27.40%		42,625
	Allegheny		352,687		56.54%		262,039		42.01%		5,196		0.83%		2,159		0.35%		1,746		0.28%		90,648		14.53%		623,827
	Armstrong		9,045		30.43%		20,142		67.77%		297		1.00%		118		0.40%		119		0.40%		-11,097		-37.34%		29,721
	Beaver		37,055		45.86%		42,344		52.41%		794		0.98%		281		0.35%		319		0.39%		-5,289		-6.55%		80,793
	Bedford		4,788		22.01%		16,702		76.79%		143		0.66%		64		0.29%		53		0.24%		-11,914		-54.78%		21,750
	Berks		83,011		48.64%		84,702		49.63%		1,832		1.07%		775		0.45%		356		0.21%		-1,691		-0.99%		170,676
	Blair		16,276		32.32%		33,319		66.16%		464		0.92%		182		0.36%		124		0.25%		-17,043		-33.84%		50,365
	Bradford		8,624		36.64%		14,410		61.21%		243		1.03%		149		0.63%		114		0.48%		-5,786		-24.57%		23,540
	Bucks		160,521		49.97%		156,579		48.74%		2,863		0.89%		1,053		0.33%		250		0.08%		3,942		1.23%		321,266
	Butler		28,550		31.83%		59,761		66.62%		819		0.91%		315		0.35%		254		0.28%		-31,211		-34.79%		89,699
	Cambria		24,249		40.06%		35,163		58.10%		712		1.18%		402		0.66%		0		0.00%		-10,914		-18.04%		60,526
	Cameron		724		34.07%		1,359		63.95%		19		0.89%		9		0.42%		14		0.66%		-635		-29.88%		2,125
	Carbon		11,580		45.07%		13,504		52.56%		356		1.39%		141		0.55%		113		0.44%		-1,924		-7.49%		25,694
	Centre		34,176		48.90%		34,001		48.65%		1,049		1.50%		400		0.57%		260		0.37%		175		0.25%		69,886
	Chester		124,311		49.22%		124,840		49.43%		2,082		0.82%		740		0.29%		603		0.24%		-529		-0.21%		252,576
	Clarion		5,056		31.08%		10,828		66.55%		208		1.28%		94		0.58%		84		0.52%		-5,772		-35.47%		16,270
	Clearfield		11,121		34.62%		20,347		63.34%		339		1.06%		160		0.50%		155		0.48%		-9,226		-28.72%		32,122
	Clinton		5,734		43.08%		7,303		54.86%		171		1.28%		57		0.43%		46		0.35%		-1,569		-11.78%		13,311
	Columbia		10,937		42.48%		14,236		55.30%		324		1.26%		126		0.49%		121		0.47%		-3,299		-12.82%		25,744
	Crawford		13,883		39.02%		20,901		58.75%		436		1.23%		168		0.47%		187		0.52%		-7,018		-19.73%		35,575
	Cumberland		44,367		39.90%		64,809		58.29%		1,191		1.07%		447		0.40%		377		0.34%		-20,442		-18.39%		111,191
	Dauphin		64,965		52.26%		57,450		46.22%		1,128		0.91%		465		0.37%		293		0.24%		7,515		6.04%		124,301
	Delaware		171,792		60.16%		110,853		38.82%		2,002		0.70%		917		0.32%		0		0.00%		60,939		21.34%		285,564
	Elk		5,463		41.14%		7,579		57.08%		117		0.88%		79		0.59%		41		0.31%		-2,116		-15.94%		13,279
	Erie		68,036		57.12%		49,025		41.16%		1,087		0.91%		471		0.40%		495		0.42%		19,011		15.96%		119,114
	Fayette		21,971		45.16%		26,018		53.48%		365		0.75%		151		0.31%		144		0.30%		-4,047		-8.32%		48,649
	Forest		896		38.55%		1,383		59.51%		23		0.99%		10		0.43%		12		0.52%		-487		-20.96%		2,324
	Franklin		18,995		30.00%		43,260		68.32%		571		0.90%		252		0.40%		242		0.38%		-24,265		-38.32%		63,320
	Fulton		1,310		21.06%		4,814		77.38%		50		0.80%		21		0.34%		26		0.42%		-3,504		-56.32%		6,221
	Greene		5,852		40.23%		8,428		57.94%		116		0.80%		68		0.47%		82		0.56%		-2,576		-17.71%		14,546
	Huntingdon		5,409		30.57%		11,979		67.71%		135		0.76%		116		0.66%		53		0.30%		-6,570		-37.14%		17,692
	Indiana		14,473		39.71%		21,257		58.33%		385		1.06%		206		0.57%		123		0.34%		-6,784		-18.62%		36,444
	Jefferson		4,787		26.33%		13,048		71.78%		173		0.95%		89		0.49%		81		0.44%		-8,261		-45.45%		18,178
	Juniata		2,547		26.55%		6,862		71.52%		83		0.87%		43		0.45%		60		0.63%		-4,315		-44.97%		9,595
	Lackawanna		61,838		62.87%		35,085		35.67%		743		0.76%		349		0.35%		336		0.34%		26,753		27.20%		98,351
	Lancaster		88,481		39.62%		130,669		58.50%		2,527		1.13%		759		0.34%		915		0.41%		-42,188		-18.88%		223,351
	Lawrence		17,513		44.69%		21,047		53.71%		334		0.85%		142		0.36%		153		0.39%		-3,534		-9.02%		39,189
	Lebanon		19,900		35.05%		35,872		63.18%		589		1.04%		219		0.39%		197		0.35%		-15,972		-28.13%		56,777
	Lehigh		78,283		53.17%		66,874		45.42%		1,331		0.90%		514		0.35%		222		0.15%		11,409		7.75%		147,224
	Luzerne		64,307		51.51%		58,325		46.72%		1,261		1.01%		546		0.44%		406		0.33%		5,982		4.79%		124,845
	Lycoming		15,203		32.58%		30,658		65.69%		409		0.88%		223		0.48%		176		0.38%		-15,455		-33.11%		46,669
	McKean		5,297		34.95%		9,545		62.99%		178		1.17%		88		0.58%		46		0.30%		-4,248		-28.04%		15,154
	Mercer		24,232		47.48%		25,925		50.79%		487		0.95%		219		0.43%		176		0.34%		-1,693		-3.31%		51,039
	Mifflin		4,273		26.03%		11,939		72.73%		107		0.65%		52		0.32%		45		0.27%		-7,666		-46.70%		16,416
	Monroe		35,221		55.89%		26,867		42.63%		596		0.95%		233		0.37%		106		0.17%		8,354		13.26%		63,023
	Montgomery		233,356		56.52%		174,381		42.24%		3,253		0.79%		1,210		0.29%		669		0.16%		58,975		14.28%		412,869
	Montour		3,053		38.85%		4,652		59.19%		96		1.22%		30		0.38%		28		0.36%		-1,599		-20.34%		7,859
	Northampton		67,606		51.59%		61,446		46.89%		1,188		0.91%		495		0.38%		309		0.24%		6,160		4.70%		131,044
	Northumberland		13,072		39.19%		19,518		58.51%		422		1.27%		200		0.60%		144		0.43%		-6,446		-19.32%		33,356
	Perry		5,685		29.59%		13,120		68.28%		238		1.24%		85		0.44%		87		0.45%		-7,435		-38.69%		19,215
	Philadelphia		588,806		85.24%		96,467		13.97%		2,892		0.42%		2,162		0.31%		449		0.06%		492,339		71.27%		690,776
	Pike		10,210		43.86%		12,786		54.93%		194		0.83%		89		0.38%		0		0.00%		-2,576		-11.07%		23,279
	Potter		1,897		26.06%		5,231		71.86%		78		1.07%		36		0.49%		37		0.51%		-3,334		-45.80%		7,279
	Schuylkill		24,546		42.29%		32,278		55.61%		617		1.06%		286		0.49%		321		0.55%		-7,732		-13.32%		58,048
	Snyder		4,687		31.11%		10,073		66.85%		180		1.19%		62		0.41%		66		0.44%		-5,386		-35.74%		15,068
	Somerset		9,436		27.69%		23,984		70.38%		334		0.98%		188		0.55%		136		0.40%		-14,548		-42.69%		34,078
	Sullivan		1,034		35.06%		1,868		63.34%		30		1.02%		17		0.58%		0		0.00%		-834		-28.28%		2,949
	Susquehanna		6,935		38.28%		10,800		59.62%		202		1.12%		107		0.59%		72		0.40%		-3,865		-21.34%		18,116
	Tioga		5,357		31.34%		11,342		66.35%		195		1.14%		110		0.64%		90		0.53%		-5,985		-35.01%		17,094
	Union		6,109		37.39%		9,896		60.57%		184		1.13%		79		0.48%		69		0.42%		-3,787		-23.18%		16,337
	Venango		7,945		35.70%		13,815		62.07%		299		1.34%		108		0.49%		90		0.40%		-5,870		-26.37%		22,257
	Warren		6,995		40.44%		10,010		57.86%		205		1.19%		89		0.51%		0		0.00%		-3,015		-17.42%		17,299
	Washington		40,345		42.48%		53,230		56.04%		854		0.90%		321		0.34%		228		0.24%		-12,885		-13.56%		94,978
	Wayne		8,396		38.74%		12,896		59.50%		195		0.90%		120		0.55%		67		0.31%		-4,500		-20.76%		21,674
	Westmoreland		63,722		37.58%		103,932		61.29%		1,426		0.84%		492		0.29%		0		0.00%		-40,210		-23.71%		169,572
	Wyoming		5,061		42.45%		6,587		55.26%		152		1.28%		72		0.60%		49		0.42%		-1,526		-12.81%		11,921
	York		73,191		38.52%		113,304		59.63%		1,985		1.04%		749		0.39%		776		0.41%		-40,113		-21.11%		190,005

County Flips: {{col-begin}}

Democratic Republican ]]

;Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Berks (largest city: Reading)
Cambria (largest city: Johnstown)
Carbon (largest borough: Lehighton)
Chester (largest city: West Chester)
Elk (largest city: St. Marys)

By congressional district

Despite losing the state overall, Romney won 13 of the 18 congressional districts.

District	Romney	Representative
16.89%	82.26%	Bob Brady
8.95%	90.41%	Chaka Fattah
55.60%	43.05%	Mike Kelly
57.07%	41.51%	Jason Altmire
	Scott Perry
56.95%	41.35%	Glenn Thompson
50.57%	48.12%	Jim Gerlach
50.36%	48.53%	Pat Meehan
49.42%	49.35%	Mike Fitzpatrick
62.82%	35.87%	Bill Shuster
60.11%	38.46%	Tom Marino
53.90%	44.57%	Lou Barletta
57.81%	40.94%	Mark Critz
	Keith Rothfus
32.91%	66.17%	Allyson Schwartz
30.64%	67.99%	Mike Doyle
50.78%	47.87%	Charlie Dent
52.35%	46.25%	Joe Pitts
43.26%	55.38%	Tim Holden
	Matt Cartwright
57.95%	40.99%	Tim Murphy

References

"Voter Registration Statistics". Pennsylvania Department of State.
(2012). "2012 General Primary". Pennsylvania Department of State.
O'Neill, Brian. (October 16, 2011). "Don't let Pa. flunk out of the Electoral College". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
McNulty, Timothy. (September 8, 2012). "Romney campaign not expected to invest much in Pa.". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
(2012). "2012 General Primary". Pennsylvania Department of State.
Tanenbaum, Andrew S. "Electoral-vote.com". CNN.
Woodall, Candy. "Joe Biden wins Pennsylvania: Here's how he reclaimed his home state and the 'blue wall'".
Brownstein, Ronald. (September 16, 2024). "Why these three states are the most consistent tipping point in American politics". CNN.
(2012). "2012 General Primary Write-in Totals". Pennsylvania Department of State.
(2012). "2012 Presidential Primaries, Caucuses, and Conventions: Pennsylvania Democrat". The Green Papers.
(4 April 2012). "Santorum Taking Four-Day Break from Campaign Trail". Fox Television Stations, Inc.
(7 April 2012). "Santorum Cancels Monday Events to Be With Ill Child". The Wall Street Journal.
Walshe, Shushannah. (May 7, 2012). "Rick Santorum Formally Endorses Mitt Romney". ABC News.
Camia, Catalina. (August 24, 2012). "Santorum releases GOP convention delegates". USA Today.
(July 30, 2012). "Primaries & Caucuses: Results: Pennsylvania". CNN.
"Pennsylvania: Romney vs. Obama". RealClearPolitics.
Silver, Nate. "FiveThirtyEight". The New York Times.
"2012 Presidential Election Polls - PA". US Election Atlas.
Levy, Marc. (October 30, 2012). "Romney, Obama campaigns resume Pa. ad campaigns". Philly.com.
Levy, Marc. (November 1, 2012). "Romney, RNC splashing down in Pa. in 11th-hour bid". Deseret News.
"Huffington Post Election Dashboard". [[HuffPost]].
"America's Choice 2012 Election Center: CNN Electoral Map". [[CNN]].
"Election 2012 - The Electoral Map: Building a Path to Victory". [[The New York Times]].
"2012 Presidential Election Results". The Washington Post.
"RealClearPolitics - 2012 Election Maps - Battle for White House".
"PROJECTION: OBAMA WILL LIKELY WIN SECOND TERM".
"Nate Silver's political calculations predict 2012 election outcome".
(November 6, 2012). "Pennsylvania Elections – County Breakdown Results".

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