The 2012 United States presidential election in Colorado 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. Colorado voters chose nine 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. Obama and Biden carried Colorado with 51.45% of the popular vote to Romney's and Ryan's 46.09%, thus winning the state's nine electoral votes by a 5.36% margin.[2]
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| Turnout | 71.17%  [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 County Results
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As in 2008, the key to Obama's victory was Democratic dominance in the Denver area, sweeping not just the city but also the heavily populated suburban counties around Denver, particularly Adams, Arapahoe, and Jefferson counties; as well as winning Larimer County, home to Fort Collins. Obama also took nearly 70% of the vote in Boulder County, home to Boulder; and won Chaffee County, which he had lost to McCain in 2008. Romney's most populated county wins were in El Paso County, where Colorado Springs is located; and Weld County, a suburb of Denver and home to Greeley.
This election solidified Colorado's transformation from a historically Republican-leaning state into a Democratic-leaning swing state. Obama's 2012 victory in the state, on the heels of his 2008 victory, marked the first time that the Democrats had carried Colorado in two consecutive elections since the landslide re-election of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936, the first time that the state had voted Democratic in a close election since 1948, and the first time since 1964 that a sitting Democratic president carried Colorado.
Colorado served as the tipping-point state for Obama's overall victory in the presidential election; that is, the first state to give a candidate their 270th electoral vote when all states are arranged by their margins of victory. Colorado was also the tipping-point state for Obama's 2008 victory. This marks the second time in history that a president was elected and re-elected by winning the same tipping-point state, after Richard Nixon was carried to victory by Ohio twice in 1968 and 1972.
As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which rural Conejos County, Huerfano County, and Las Animas County have voted for the Democratic candidate. This is also the most recent presidential election where Colorado voted to the right of Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Nevada, Maine and New Hampshire.
Caucuses
editDemocratic caucuses
editIncumbent President Barack Obama ran unopposed in the Colorado Democratic caucuses.
Republican caucuses
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 Colorado results by county Rick Santorum Mitt Romney Newt Gingrich Tie | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Republican caucuses were held on "Republican Party Precinct Caucus Day" (February 7, 2012).[3] Caucus locations opened on 9 PM, February 7, 2012,[4] with 36 delegates at stake; 33 of which are tied to the caucuses while 3 are unpledged RNC delegates.[5] The event occurred alongside the Minnesota Republican caucuses as well the Missouri Republican primary. The race was widely expected to be won by Mitt Romney even on the day of the caucus, but a strong surge by Rick Santorum across all three races that day carried him to a close victory.
| Colorado Republican caucus, February 7, 2012[6] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Projected delegate count | Convention Results [7][8] | ||||
| MSNBC [9] | GP [10] | |||||||
| Rick Santorum | 26,614 | 40.31% | 6 | 6 | 6 | |||
| Mitt Romney | 23,012 | 34.85% | 13 | 14 | 13 | |||
| Newt Gingrich | 8,445 | 12.79% | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Ron Paul | 7,759 | 11.75% | 3 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Rick Perry | 52 | 0.08% | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Jon Huntsman | 46 | 0.07% | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Michele Bachmann | 28 | 0.04% | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Others | 71 | 0.11% | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Unprojected delegates: | 14 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Unpledged delegates: | 0 | 16 | 17 | |||||
| Totals: | 66,027 | 100.00% | 36 | 36 | 36 | |||
| Key: | Withdrew prior to contest |
Conventions
editThere is no formal system of allocating delegates to candidates in any step of the election process. At each meeting the participants decides what the best course of action is.
None of the 36 delegates are legally bound to vote for a candidate.[11]
- 12–13 April: Seven congressional conventions elects 3 National Convention delegates each and also elects delegates for the state convention.
- 14 April: State convention elects 12 National Convention delegates.
| Convention Results[7][12] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | State | Party leaders | Total |
| Uncommitted | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 17 |
| Mitt Romney | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 13 |
| Rick Santorum | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Total | 21 | 12 | 3 | 36 | ||||||
General election
editBallot access
edit
- Virgil Goode/Jim Clymer, Constitution
- Barack Obama/Joseph Biden, Democratic
- Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan, Republican
- Gary Johnson/James P. Gray, Libertarian
- Jill Stein/Cheri Honkala, Green
- Stewart Alexander/Alex Mendoza, Socialist
- Rocky Anderson/Luis J. Rodriguez, Justice
- Roseanne Barr/Cindy Shehan, Peace and Freedom
- James Harris/Alyson Kennedy, Socialist Workers
- Tom Hoefling/J.D. Ellis, America's
- Gloria La Riva/Filberto Ramirez Jr., Socialism and Liberation
- Merlin Miller/Harry V. Bertram, American Third Position
- Jill Reed/Tom Cary, Twelve Visions Party
- Thomas Robert Stevens/Alden Link, Objectivist
- Shella "Samm" Tittle/Matthew A. Turner, We the People
- Jerry White/Phyllis Scherrer, Socialist Equality
Polling
editIncumbent Barack Obama started off with a wide lead in polls ranging from 1 to 13 points, which continued throughout the early summer of 2012. On August 6, Romney won his first poll, 50% to 45%. Throughout the rest of the summer, and September, with the exception of a few points, Obama won almost every poll but narrowly. In October, Romney gained momentum and the race throughout October was essentially tied, with neither candidate taking a significant lead. The last week before the election, Obama gained momentum and won each of the 4 pre-election polls. The average of the last 3 pre-election polls showed Obama leading Romney 49.7% to 46.3%.[13] The final pre-election poll showed Obama leading Romney 52% to 46%, which was accurate compared to the results. Washington Post rated this race "Toss-Up."[14][15]
Results
edit| 2012 United States presidential election in Colorado | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Running mate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Barack Obama (incumbent) | Joe Biden (incumbent) | 1,323,102 | 51.45% | 9 | |
| Republican | Mitt Romney | Paul Ryan | 1,185,243 | 46.09% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson | Jim Gray | 35,545 | 1.38% | 0 | |
| Green | Jill Stein | Cheri Honkala | 7,508 | 0.29% | 0 | |
| Constitution | Virgil Goode | Jim Clymer | 6,234 | 0.24% | 0 | |
| Peace & Freedom | Roseanne Barr | Cindy Sheehan | 5,059 | 0.20% | 0 | |
| Unaffiliated | Jill Ann Reed | Tom Cary | 2,589 | 0.10% | 0 | |
| Justice | Rocky Anderson | Luis J. Rodriguez | 1,260 | 0.05% | 0 | |
| Others | Others | 1,028 | 0.04% | 0 | ||
| America's Party | Thomas Hoefling | Jonathan D. Ellis | 679 | 0.03% | 0 | |
| Socialism and Liberation | Gloria La Riva | Filberto Ramirez Jr. | 317 | 0.01% | 0 | |
| Socialist | Stewart Alexander | Alex Mendoza | 308 | 0.01% | 0 | |
| American Third Position | Merlin Miller | Harry Bertram | 266 | 0.01% | 0 | |
| Socialist Workers | James Harris | Alyson Kennedy | 192 | 0.01% | 0 | |
| Socialist Equality | Jerry White | Phyllis Scherrer | 189 | 0.01% | 0 | |
| Totals | 2,569,518 | 100.00% | 9 | |||
By county
edit| County | Barack Obama Democratic | Mitt Romney Republican | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 100,649 | 56.90% | 70,972 | 40.12% | 5,272 | 2.98% | 29,677 | 16.78% | 176,893 |
| Alamosa | 3,811 | 56.75% | 2,705 | 40.28% | 199 | 2.97% | 1,106 | 16.47% | 6,715 |
| Arapahoe | 153,905 | 53.90% | 125,588 | 43.99% | 6,023 | 2.11% | 28,317 | 9.91% | 285,516 |
| Archuleta | 2,679 | 39.78% | 3,872 | 57.50% | 183 | 2.72% | -1,193 | -17.72% | 6,734 |
| Baca | 467 | 22.17% | 1,559 | 74.03% | 80 | 3.80% | -1,092 | -51.86% | 2,106 |
| Bent | 815 | 41.97% | 1,075 | 55.36% | 52 | 2.67% | -260 | -13.39% | 1,942 |
| Boulder | 125,091 | 69.69% | 49,981 | 27.84% | 4,427 | 2.47% | 75,110 | 41.85% | 179,499 |
| Broomfield | 16,966 | 51.62% | 15,008 | 45.67% | 891 | 2.71% | 1,958 | 5.95% | 32,865 |
| Chaffee | 5,086 | 48.61% | 5,070 | 48.46% | 306 | 2.93% | 16 | 0.15% | 10,462 |
| Cheyenne | 172 | 15.74% | 889 | 81.34% | 32 | 2.92% | -717 | -65.60% | 1,093 |
| Clear Creek | 3,119 | 54.31% | 2,430 | 42.31% | 194 | 3.38% | 689 | 12.00% | 5,743 |
| Conejos | 2,213 | 53.96% | 1,835 | 44.75% | 53 | 1.29% | 378 | 9.21% | 4,101 |
| Costilla | 1,340 | 72.95% | 446 | 24.28% | 51 | 2.77% | 894 | 48.67% | 1,837 |
| Crowley | 535 | 35.62% | 924 | 61.52% | 43 | 2.86% | -389 | -25.90% | 1,502 |
| Custer | 868 | 31.97% | 1,788 | 65.86% | 59 | 2.17% | -920 | -33.89% | 2,715 |
| Delta | 4,622 | 29.02% | 10,915 | 68.54% | 388 | 2.44% | -6,293 | -39.52% | 15,925 |
| Denver | 222,018 | 73.41% | 73,111 | 24.18% | 7,289 | 2.41% | 148,907 | 49.23% | 302,418 |
| Dolores | 334 | 26.83% | 859 | 69.00% | 52 | 4.17% | -525 | -42.17% | 1,245 |
| Douglas | 61,094 | 36.35% | 104,397 | 62.11% | 2,593 | 1.54% | -43,303 | -25.76% | 168,084 |
| Eagle | 12,792 | 56.43% | 9,411 | 41.52% | 465 | 2.05% | 3,381 | 14.91% | 22,668 |
| El Paso | 111,819 | 38.54% | 170,952 | 58.91% | 7,404 | 2.55% | -59,133 | -20.37% | 290,175 |
| Elbert | 3,603 | 25.41% | 10,266 | 72.41% | 309 | 2.18% | -6,663 | -47.00% | 14,178 |
| Fremont | 6,704 | 32.84% | 13,174 | 64.53% | 538 | 2.63% | -6,470 | -31.69% | 20,416 |
| Garfield | 11,305 | 46.32% | 12,535 | 51.36% | 568 | 2.32% | -1,230 | -5.04% | 24,408 |
| Gilpin | 1,892 | 56.68% | 1,346 | 40.32% | 100 | 3.00% | 546 | 16.36% | 3,338 |
| Grand | 3,684 | 45.00% | 4,253 | 51.95% | 250 | 3.05% | -569 | -6.95% | 8,187 |
| Gunnison | 5,044 | 58.20% | 3,341 | 38.55% | 282 | 3.25% | 1,703 | 19.65% | 8,667 |
| Hinsdale | 229 | 38.17% | 353 | 58.83% | 18 | 3.00% | -124 | -20.66% | 600 |
| Huerfano | 1,953 | 52.46% | 1,646 | 44.21% | 124 | 3.33% | 307 | 8.25% | 3,723 |
| Jackson | 216 | 25.47% | 600 | 70.75% | 32 | 3.78% | -384 | -45.28% | 848 |
| Jefferson | 159,296 | 51.21% | 144,197 | 46.36% | 7,559 | 2.43% | 15,099 | 4.85% | 311,052 |
| Kiowa | 118 | 14.37% | 677 | 82.46% | 26 | 3.17% | -559 | -68.09% | 821 |
| Kit Carson | 838 | 22.64% | 2,785 | 75.23% | 79 | 2.13% | -1,947 | -52.59% | 3,702 |
| La Plata | 15,489 | 52.85% | 12,794 | 43.65% | 1,025 | 3.50% | 2,695 | 9.20% | 29,308 |
| Lake | 1,839 | 60.49% | 1,098 | 36.12% | 103 | 3.39% | 741 | 24.37% | 3,040 |
| Larimer | 92,747 | 51.47% | 82,376 | 45.72% | 5,057 | 2.81% | 10,371 | 5.75% | 180,180 |
| Las Animas | 3,445 | 50.20% | 3,263 | 47.55% | 154 | 2.25% | 182 | 2.65% | 6,862 |
| Lincoln | 552 | 24.14% | 1,687 | 73.76% | 48 | 2.10% | -1,135 | -49.62% | 2,287 |
| Logan | 2,712 | 29.72% | 6,179 | 67.72% | 233 | 2.56% | -3,467 | -38.00% | 9,124 |
| Mesa | 23,846 | 32.69% | 47,472 | 65.08% | 1,629 | 2.23% | -23,626 | -32.39% | 72,947 |
| Mineral | 291 | 44.77% | 344 | 52.92% | 15 | 2.31% | -53 | -8.15% | 650 |
| Moffat | 1,330 | 21.56% | 4,695 | 76.12% | 143 | 2.32% | -3,365 | -54.56% | 6,168 |
| Montezuma | 4,542 | 36.87% | 7,401 | 60.08% | 375 | 3.05% | -2,859 | -23.21% | 12,318 |
| Montrose | 6,138 | 30.49% | 13,552 | 67.32% | 440 | 2.19% | -7,414 | -36.83% | 20,130 |
| Morgan | 3,912 | 36.30% | 6,602 | 61.26% | 263 | 2.44% | -2,690 | -24.96% | 10,777 |
| Otero | 3,647 | 44.52% | 4,382 | 53.49% | 163 | 1.99% | -735 | -8.97% | 8,192 |
| Ouray | 1,646 | 51.41% | 1,481 | 46.25% | 75 | 2.34% | 165 | 5.16% | 3,202 |
| Park | 3,862 | 41.23% | 5,236 | 55.90% | 268 | 2.87% | -1,374 | -14.67% | 9,366 |
| Phillips | 588 | 25.96% | 1,637 | 72.27% | 40 | 1.77% | -1,049 | -46.31% | 2,265 |
| Pitkin | 6,849 | 67.98% | 3,024 | 30.01% | 202 | 2.01% | 3,825 | 37.97% | 10,075 |
| Prowers | 1,519 | 31.24% | 3,230 | 66.42% | 114 | 2.34% | -1,711 | -35.18% | 4,863 |
| Pueblo | 42,551 | 55.68% | 31,894 | 41.74% | 1,974 | 2.58% | 10,657 | 13.94% | 76,419 |
| Rio Blanco | 568 | 16.86% | 2,724 | 80.85% | 77 | 2.29% | -2,156 | -63.99% | 3,369 |
| Rio Grande | 2,478 | 44.79% | 2,918 | 52.74% | 137 | 2.47% | -440 | -7.95% | 5,533 |
| Routt | 7,547 | 56.67% | 5,469 | 41.07% | 301 | 2.26% | 2,078 | 15.60% | 13,317 |
| Saguache | 1,865 | 63.61% | 964 | 32.88% | 103 | 3.51% | 901 | 30.73% | 2,932 |
| San Juan | 266 | 52.57% | 212 | 41.90% | 28 | 5.53% | 54 | 10.67% | 506 |
| San Miguel | 2,992 | 70.30% | 1,154 | 27.11% | 110 | 2.59% | 1,838 | 43.19% | 4,256 |
| Sedgwick | 419 | 31.32% | 881 | 65.84% | 38 | 2.84% | -462 | -34.52% | 1,338 |
| Summit | 9,347 | 61.04% | 5,571 | 36.38% | 394 | 2.58% | 3,776 | 24.66% | 15,312 |
| Teller | 4,333 | 32.16% | 8,702 | 64.59% | 438 | 3.25% | -4,369 | -32.43% | 13,473 |
| Washington | 468 | 18.06% | 2,076 | 80.12% | 47 | 1.82% | -1,608 | -62.06% | 2,591 |
| Weld | 49,050 | 42.18% | 63,775 | 54.84% | 3,466 | 2.98% | -14,725 | -12.66% | 116,291 |
| Yuma | 987 | 21.56% | 3,490 | 76.25% | 100 | 2.19% | -2,503 | -54.69% | 4,577 |
| Total | 1,323,102 | 51.45% | 1,185,243 | 46.09% | 63,501 | 2.47% | 137,859 | 5.36% | 2,571,846 |
| Democratic Hold Gain from Republican | Republican Hold |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
editBy congressional district
editObama won 4 of 7 congressional districts including one held by a Republican.[16]
| District | Romney | Obama | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 28.83% | 69% | Diana DeGette |
| 2nd | 39.51% | 57.92% | Jared Polis |
| 3rd | 51.8% | 45.77% | Scott Tipton |
| 4th | 58.5% | 39.22% | Cory Gardner |
| 5th | 59.12% | 38.3% | Doug Lamborn |
| 6th | 46.5% | 51.56% | Mike Coffman |
| 7th | 41.26% | 56.09% | Ed Perlmutter |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Election Results 2012" (PDF). sos.state.co.us. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- ^ "2012 General Election". Colorado Department of State. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 10, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Colorado GOP moves up 2012 caucuses to Feb. 7". Denver Post. Associated Press. September 24, 2011. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
- ^ "Republican Delegate Allocation". The Green Papers. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
- ^ "2012 Colorado GOP Presidential Caucus Results". Colorado Republican Party. Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
- ^ a b "National Delegate Results". cologop.org. Colorado Republican Party. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
- ^ The Republic,CO GOP Assembly Archived 2012-04-18 at the Wayback Machine (April 22, 2012)
- ^ "Republican Caucuses " (May 7, 2012). MSNBC.
- ^ "Republican Caucus"
- ^ Trinko, Katrina (February 16, 2012). "Ron Paul's delegate strategy targets the unbound - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
- ^ Bartels, Lynn (April 14, 2012). "Colorado Republicans split delegate votes between Romney, unified Paul and Santorum supporters". denverpost.com. Denver Post. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
- ^ "2012 - Colorado: Romney vs. Obama | RealClearPolitics".
- ^ "Pundit accountability: The official 2012 election prediction thread - The Washington Post". The Washington Post.
- ^ "2012 - Colorado: Romney vs. Obama | RealClearPolitics".
- ^ "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts".
External links
edit- Official website of the Colorado Republican Party
- The Green Papers: for Colorado
- The Green Papers: Major state elections in chronological order