2012 United States presidential election in California


The 2012 United States presidential election in California 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. California voters chose 55 electors, the most out of any state, 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.
According to Secretary of State Debra Bowen's website, the President won the popular vote with 60.24 percent, with Mitt Romney in second place at 37.12%, and Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson in third place at 1.10%. The Democrats have won the state in every presidential election after Republican George H. W. Bush won the state in 1988. As of 2016, this is the most recent presidential election in which the nominee from the Republican Party won Orange County and Nevada County.

Primaries

Democratic primary

There was no primary in 2012 for the Democratic party.

Republican primary

The California Republican 2012 primary took place on June 5, 2012. 169 delegates were chosen, for a total of 172 delegates at the national.

Delegate allocation rule

As noted in the Green Papers for California, "159 district delegates are to be bound to presidential contenders based on the primary results in each of the 53 congressional districts: each congressional district is assigned 3 National Convention delegates and the presidential contender receiving the greatest number of votes in that district will receive all 3 of that district's National Convention delegates. 10 at-large delegates are to be bound to the presidential contender receiving the greatest number of votes in the primary statewide. In addition, 3 party leaders, the National Committeeman, the National Committeewoman, and the chairman of the California's Republican Party, will attend the convention as unpledged delegates by virtue of their position."

Results

General election

Candidate Ballot Access:
Write-In Candidate Access:

By county

Final results