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.

Prior to the election, every major news network considered California to be a state Obama would win or a safe blue state. According to Secretary of State Debra Bowen's website, the President won the popular vote with 60.24%, with Mitt Romney in second place at 37.12%, and Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson in third 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 the 2024 presidential election, this is the last presidential election in which the nominee from the Republican Party won Orange County—a longtime, traditional bastion for the national GOP—and Nevada County. With its 55 electoral votes, California was Obama's largest electoral prize in 2012.

Primary elections Democratic primary

The 2012 California Democratic presidential primary took place on June 5, 2012, as part of the 2012 Democratic Party presidential primaries.

! Candidate ! Popular vote ! % ! Delegates

| style="text-align:left;" | Barack Obama (incumbent) | 2,075,905 | 100% | 547.0 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Darcy Richardson (write-in) | 221 | 0.00% | 0.0 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Michael W.R. Meyer, Jr. (write-in) | 129 | 0.00% | 0.0 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Louis Alberto Ramos, Jr. (write-in) | 54 | 0.00% | 0.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Uncommitted | colspan="2" | 62.0 |- ! Total ! 2,076,309 ! 100% ! 609

Republican primary

The 2012 California Republican Party presidential primary took place on June 5, 2012, as part of the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries. 169 delegates were chosen, for a total of 172 delegates at the 2012 Republican National Convention.

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 (10 base at-large delegates plus 0 bonus delegate) 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."

! Candidate ! Popular vote ! % ! Delegates

| style="text-align:left;" | Mitt Romney | 1,530,513 | 79.51% | 169 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Ron Paul | 199,246 | 10.35% | 0 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Rick Santorum (withdrawn) | 102,258 | 5.31% | 0 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Newt Gingrich (withdrawn) | 72,022 | 3.74% | 0 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Charles E. "Buddy" Roemer, III (withdrawn) | 12,520 | 0.65% | 0 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Fred Karger | 8,393 | 0.44% | 0 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Jeremy Hannon (write-in) | 11 | 0.00% | 0 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Donald James Gonzales (write-in) | 5 | 0.00% | 0 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Sheldon Yeu Howard (write-in) | 2 | 0.00% | 0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Uncommitted | colspan="2" | 3 |- ! Total ! 1,924,970 ! 100% ! 172

Green primary

The 2012 California Green Party presidential primary took place on June 5, 2012, as part of the 2012 Green Party presidential primaries.

+ Green Party of California presidential primary, June 5, 2012 Candidate Votes Percentage National delegates Jill Stein9,165 49.36% 35Roseanne Barr 7,399 39.85% 26Kent Meslplay 2,005 10.80% 7Total18,569100%68

Libertarian primary

The 2012 California Libertarian Party presidential primary took place on June 5, 2012, as part of the 2012 Libertarian Party presidential primaries.

The primary was non-binding, and took place after Gary Johnson had already won the Libertarian nomination at the Party's 2012 convention.

+ California Libertarian presidential primary, June 5, 2012 Candidate Votes Percentage Gary Johnson 6,780 50.0% Barbara Joy Waymire 2,118 15.6% Scott Keller 1,208 8.9% R. J. Harris 670 4.9% Bill Still 670 4.9% Roger Gary 559 4.1% James Ogle 558 4.1% Carl Person 523 3.9% Lee Wrights 479 3.5% Total 13,565 100%

Other parties

American Independent The American Independent Party, a far-right and paleoconservative political party that formed when endorsing the candidacy of George Wallace in 1968 held a small presidential primary on June 5. It was won by Edward C. Noonan. However, the party would instead opt to nominate Tom Hoefling for president.

+ California American Independent presidential primary, June 5, 2012 Candidate Votes PercentageEdward C. Noonan16,92638.7% Laurie Roth 16,326 37.4% Mad Max Riekse 10,430 23.9% Raymond Delmond Smith (write-in) 6 0.0% Andrew Abe Diaz (write-in) 4 0.0% Total 43,692 100%

Peace and Freedom + California Peace and Freedom presidential primary, June 5, 2012 Candidate Votes PercentageRoss C. "Rocky" Anderson1,58943.4% Stewart Alexander 1,094 29.9% Stephen Durham 971 26.5% Shelley Upchurch (write-in) 4 0.1% Ronald Clinton Forbes (write-in) 2 0.1% Leon Leo Ray (write-in) 2 0.1% Total 3,662 100%

General election Candidate ballot access Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan, Republican Barack Obama/Joseph Biden, Democratic Gary Johnson/James P. Gray, Libertarian Jill Stein/Cheri Honkala, Green Tom Hoefling/Robert Ornelas, Independent Roseanne Barr/Cindy Sheehan, Peace and Freedom

Write-in candidate access: Virgil Goode/Jim Clymer, Constitution Rocky Anderson/Luis J. Rodriguez, Justice James Harris/Maura DeLuca, Socialist Workers Stewart Alexander/Alejandro Mendoza, Socialist Jerry White/Phyllis Scherrer, Socialist Equality Stephen Durham/Christina Lopez, Freedom Socialist Ron Paul/Andrew Napolitano

Predictions SourceRankingAs ofHuffington PostNovember 6, 2012CNNNovember 6, 2012 The New York Times November 6, 2012The Washington PostNovember 6, 2012RealClearPoliticsNovember 6, 2012Sabato's Crystal BallNovember 5, 2012FiveThirtyEightNovember 6, 2012

Results 2012 United States presidential election in California Party Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votesDemocraticBarack Hussein Obama (incumbent)Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (incumbent)7,854,28560.24%55RepublicanWillard Mitt RomneyPaul Davis Ryan 4,839,958 37.12% 0LibertarianGary JohnsonJim Gray 143,221 1.10% 0GreenJill SteinCheri Honkala 85,638 0.66% 0Peace and FreedomRoseanne BarrCindy Sheehan 53,824 0.41% 0American IndependentThomas HoeflingRobert Ornelas 38,372 0.29% 0IndependentRon Paul (write-in)Andrew Napolitano 21,461 0.16% 0IndependentRocky Anderson (write-in)Luis Rodriguez 992 0.01% 0IndependentVirgil Goode (write-in)Jim Clymer 503 0.00% 0IndependentStewart Alexander (write-in)Alejandro Mendoza 82 0.00% 0IndependentJerry White (write-in) Phyllis Scherrer 79 0.00% 0IndependentJames Harris (write-in)Maura DeLuca 72 0.00% 0Independent Stephen Durham (write-in) Christina López 54 0.00% 0Independent Sheila Tittle (write-in) Matthew Turner 6 0.00% 0 Valid votes 13,038,547 98.76% — Invalid or blank votes 163,611 1.24% —Totals13,202,158100.00%55 Voter turnout 72.35% —

By county County Barack ObamaDemocratic Mitt RomneyRepublican Various candidatesOther parties Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % Alameda 469,684 78.85% 108,182 18.16% 17,776 2.98% 361,502 60.69% 595,642 Alpine 389 59.57% 236 36.14% 28 4.29% 153 23.43% 653 Amador 6,830 38.70% 10,281 58.25% 538 3.05% -3,451 -19.55% 17,649 Butte 42,669 47.02% 44,479 49.01% 3,604 3.97% -1,810 -1.99% 90,752 Calaveras 8,670 39.80% 12,365 56.76% 751 3.45% -3,695 -16.96% 21,786 Colusa 2,314 38.35% 3,601 59.68% 119 1.97% -1,287 -21.33% 6,034 Contra Costa 290,824 66.36% 136,517 31.15% 10,885 2.48% 154,307 35.21% 438,226 Del Norte 3,791 43.23% 4,614 52.61% 365 4.16% -823 -9.38% 8,770 El Dorado 35,166 39.61% 50,973 57.42% 2,635 2.97% -15,807 -17.81% 88,774 Fresno 129,129 49.89% 124,490 48.10% 5,208 2.01% 4,639 1.79% 258,827 Glenn 3,301 35.84% 5,632 61.14% 278 3.02% -2,331 -25.31% 9,211 Humboldt 34,457 59.96% 18,825 32.76% 4,188 7.29% 15,632 27.20% 57,470 Imperial 25,136 65.18% 12,777 33.13% 652 1.69% 12,359 32.05% 38,565 Inyo 3,422 42.58% 4,340 54.01% 274 3.41% -918 -11.42% 8,036 Kern 89,495 40.41% 126,618 57.17% 5,359 2.42% -37,123 -16.76% 221,472 Kings 12,979 41.31% 17,671 56.24% 768 2.44% -4,692 -14.93% 31,418 Lake 13,163 56.27% 9,200 39.33% 1,028 4.39% 3,963 16.94% 23,391 Lassen 3,053 28.58% 7,296 68.30% 334 3.13% -4,243 -39.72% 10,683 Los Angeles 2,216,903 69.69% 885,333 27.83% 78,831 2.48% 1,331,570 41.86% 3,181,067 Madera 16,018 40.18% 22,852 57.32% 996 2.50% -6,834 -17.14% 39,866 Marin 99,896 74.26% 30,880 22.96% 3,740 2.78% 69,016 51.31% 134,516 Mariposa 3,498 38.87% 5,140 57.11% 362 4.02% -1,642 -18.24% 9,000 Mendocino 23,193 66.23% 9,658 27.58% 2,166 6.19% 13,535 38.65% 35,017 Merced 33,005 53.18% 27,581 44.44% 1,471 2.37% 5,424 8.74% 62,057 Modoc 1,111 27.87% 2,777 69.67% 98 2.46% -1,666 -41.80% 3,986 Mono 2,733 52.75% 2,285 44.10% 163 3.15% 448 8.65% 5,181 Monterey 82,920 67.13% 37,390 30.27% 3,208 2.60% 45,530 36.86% 123,518 Napa 35,870 62.97% 19,526 34.28% 1,572 2.76% 16,344 28.69% 56,968 Nevada 24,663 47.73% 24,986 48.35% 2,027 3.92% -323 -0.63% 51,676 Orange 512,440 45.65% 582,332 51.87% 27,892 2.48% -69,892 -6.23% 1,122,664 Placer 66,818 39.00% 99,921 58.32% 4,583 2.68% -33,103 -19.32% 171,322 Plumas 4,026 40.07% 5,721 56.94% 300 2.99% -1,695 -16.87% 10,047 Riverside 329,063 49.71% 318,127 48.06% 14,717 2.22% 10,936 1.65% 661,907 Sacramento 300,503 58.15% 202,514 39.19% 13,792 2.67% 97,989 18.96% 516,809 San Benito 11,276 59.21% 7,343 38.56% 425 2.23% 3,933 20.65% 19,044 San Bernardino 305,109 52.47% 262,358 45.12% 14,050 2.42% 42,751 7.35% 581,517 San Diego 626,957 52.58% 536,726 45.02% 28,599 2.40% 90,231 7.57% 1,192,282 San Francisco 301,723 83.53% 47,076 13.03% 12,410 3.44% 254,647 70.50% 361,209 San Joaquin 114,121 55.75% 86,071 42.05% 4,505 2.20% 28,050 13.70% 204,697 San Luis Obispo 61,258 48.76% 59,967 47.73% 4,413 3.51% 1,291 1.03% 125,638 San Mateo 206,085 72.13% 72,756 25.46% 6,879 2.41% 133,329 46.66% 285,720 Santa Barbara 94,129 57.63% 64,606 39.56% 4,585 2.81% 29,523 18.08% 163,320 Santa Clara 450,818 70.10% 174,843 27.19% 17,430 2.71% 275,975 42.91% 643,091 Santa Cruz 90,805 75.61% 24,047 20.02% 5,243 4.37% 66,758 55.59% 120,095 Shasta 25,819 33.82% 48,067 62.97% 2,449 3.21% -22,248 -29.15% 76,335 Sierra 653 36.38% 1,056 58.83% 86 4.79% -403 -22.45% 1,795 Siskiyou 8,046 40.41% 11,077 55.64% 787 3.95% -3,031 -15.22% 19,910 Solano 96,783 63.49% 52,092 34.17% 3,569 2.34% 44,691 29.32% 152,444 Sonoma 153,942 71.10% 54,784 25.30% 7,782 3.59% 99,158 45.80% 216,508 Stanislaus 77,724 50.03% 73,459 47.28% 4,186 2.69% 4,265 2.75% 155,369 Sutter 12,192 39.30% 18,122 58.41% 712 2.29% -5,930 -19.11% 31,026 Tehama 7,934 34.53% 14,235 61.95% 808 3.52% -6,301 -27.42% 22,977 Trinity 2,674 47.13% 2,716 47.87% 284 5.01% -42 -0.74% 5,674 Tulare 41,752 41.30% 56,956 56.34% 2,392 2.37% -15,204 -15.04% 101,100 Tuolumne 9,998 40.50% 13,880 56.22% 809 3.28% -3,882 -15.72% 24,687 Ventura 170,929 52.28% 147,958 45.25% 8,087 2.47% 22,971 7.03% 326,974 Yolo 48,715 65.41% 23,368 31.38% 2,392 3.21% 25,347 34.03% 74,475 Yuba 7,711 39.14% 11,275 57.23% 714 3.62% -3,564 -18.09% 19,700Total7,854,28560.24%4,839,95837.12%344,3042.64%3,014,32723.12%13,038,547