During the 2012 presidential primaries, 51 individuals sought the nomination of the Democratic Party. Incumbent President Barack Obama won the nomination unanimously at the 2012 Democratic National Convention and was re-elected as president in the general election by defeating Republican nominee Mitt Romney.As expected for the incumbent president, Obama won every primary election, but faced more difficulty than projected. Fifteen additional candidates appeared on primary ballots, and of these, four appeared on more than one ballot. Four qualified for convention delegates including: attorney John Wolfe, Jr., prison inmate Keith Russell Judd, perennial candidate Jim Rogers, and anti-abortion activist Randall Terry. Each of these had their delegates stripped prior to the convention due to technicalities.
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Thirty-four additional candidates filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to run for president, but either withdrew from the race before the primaries or did not appear on any primary ballots.
Candidates
editThe following individuals formally announced their campaigns for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 2012 and/or filed as a candidate for such with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
Incumbent
editCandidate | Background | Campaign notes | Ballot access & vote total |
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President Barack Obama |
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| Appeared on all primary ballots 7,376,659 (90.24 percent overall)[6] |
Challengers
editOn multiple primary ballots
editThe following candidates appeared on more than one primary ballot.
Candidate | Background | Campaign notes | Ballot access & vote total |
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| NH, MO, LA, AR, TX 116,639 (1.43 percent overall)[6] | |
Darcy Richardson |
| NH,[18] MO, OK, LA, TX 41,730 (0.51 percent overall)[6] | |
| NH, LA, OK, TX 29,947 (0.37 percent overall)[6] | ||
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| NH, MO, OK 22,734 (0.28 percent overall)[6] |
On one primary ballot
editThe following candidates appeared on only one primary ballot.
Candidate | Background | Campaign notes | Ballot access & vote total |
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| WV 73,138 (0.89 percent overall)[6] | |
Jim Rogers | OK 15,535 (0.19 percent overall)[6] | ||
Ed Cowan | NH 945 (0.01 percent overall)[6] | ||
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| NH 833 (0.01 percent overall)[6] | |
John D. Haywood |
| NH 423 (0.01 percent overall)[6] | |
Craig Tax Freeze Freis |
| NH 400 (0.00 percent overall)[6] | |
Cornelius O'Connor | NH 266 (0.00 percent overall)[6] | ||
Ed O'Donnell | NH 222 (0.00 percent overall)[6] | ||
Bob Greene |
| NH 213 (0.00 percent overall)[6] | |
Robert B. Jordan |
| NH 155 (0.00 percent overall)[6] | |
| NH 106 (0.00 percent overall)[6] |
FEC-filed candidates
editThe following presidential candidates filed with the FEC, but either did not appear on any primary ballots or withdrew before the primary elections.
Candidate | Background | Campaign notes |
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Jeff Boss |
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Speculated
editThe following individuals were the object of presidential speculation in past media reports, but did not signal an interest in running.
Declined to run
editThe following individuals speculated to run for the Democratic Party's 2012 presidential nomination, announced they would not run.