The 2012 United States presidential election in Virginia took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Virginia voters chose 13 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.
Virginia was won by Obama with 51.16% of the vote to Romney's 47.28%, a 3.88% margin of victory. Third parties and write-ins received a cumulative 60,147 votes, representing 1.56% of the vote. In 2008, Obama won the state by 6.30%, becoming the first Democratic presidential nominee to win it since Lyndon B. Johnson's nationwide Democratic landslide of 1964, but it had otherwise been a reliably Republican state prior to this. However, 2008 represented a realignment election for Virginia.
Much of the Democratic gains were attributed to the growth of progressive suburban Northern Virginia, particularly in Fairfax County, Loudoun County, and Prince William County, all of which voted for Obama twice despite becoming Republican strongholds after 1964. The Northern Virginia suburbs are generally dominated by Washington, D.C., the most Democratic region in the country. Obama's increased strength in this heavily populated region more than canceled out his weakness across rural Virginia, which, similar to the rest of Appalachia, swung towards the Republican Party in 2008 due to the Democrats' increasingly environmentalist policies. Obama suffered a historically poor showing even in traditionally Democratic counties of Southwest Virginia, similar to his weak performance in neighboring West Virginia.
Having also won the state in 2008, Obama's 2012 victory made him the first Democrat since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944 to carry Virginia in two consecutive elections. It also marked the first time since 1948 that the state voted Democratic in consecutive elections. The Democratic margin of victory also made 2012 the first time since 1948 that Virginia voted more Democratic than the nation as a whole, albeit by a narrow advantage of 0.02%, thereby making the state the closest to the national results. These were ultimately signs of Virginia's continuing leftward shift, after it had been a mostly reliable state for Republicans on the presidential level since 1952. Also, this election was the first since 1948 that Virginia voted for a different candidate than Indiana did.
As of the 2024 presidential election, this was the last time the Republican nominee won Montgomery County, and the last time the Democratic nominee won the independent city of Covington along with Buckingham, Caroline, Essex, Nelson and Westmoreland counties.
This was the last election that Virginia was considered to be a swing state. Every subsequent Democratic presidential nominee has won the state by more than a 5% margin, as Virginia has transformed into a blue state. In 2016, the Republican nominee won the election without carrying Virginia for the first time since 1924. By 2024, Virginia voted for a Democrat who lost the popular vote, also for the first time since 1924.
Primary elections Democratic primary Because incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama faced no serious opposition from within his party in seeking reelection, no Democratic primary was held.
Republican primary
The Republican primary took place on Super Tuesday, March 6, 2012.
Virginia had 49 delegates to the 2012 Republican National Convention including the unbound superdelegates. 33 delegates were awarded on a winner-take-all basis by congressional district. The other 13 were awarded to the candidate who won a majority statewide, or allocated proportionally if no one got a majority.
Virginia Republican primary, March 6, 2012 Candidate Votes Percentage Delegates Mitt Romney 158,119 59.54% 43 Ron Paul 107,451 40.46% 3 Uncommitted delegates: 3 Total: 265,570 100.00% 49
Ballot access Only Mitt Romney and Ron Paul appeared on the ballot. Other candidates failed to submit the necessary 10,000 signatures (including at least 400 from each of the state's 11 congressional districts) required to get on the ballot by the deadline of 22 December 2011.Anita Kumar, "Gingrich, Perry disqualified from Va. primary ballot" (December 24, 2011).
On 27 December, Rick Perry filed a lawsuit – joined later by Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman and Rick Santorum – in the federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond that challenged provisions that determine who can appear on the primary ballot. Perry and the other candidates argued that the chairman of the Virginia Republican Party and members of State Board of Elections violated their rights by enforcing state requirements as to the number of signatures, the qualifications for signers and the requirement that all petition circulators be "an eligible or registered qualified voter in Virginia." Perry and the other litigants argued that these restrictions "impose a severe burden" on their freedoms of speech and association under the First and Fourteenth Amendment.Martin Weil and Anita Kumar. "" (December 27, 2011). Washington Post.Catalina Camia, "Perry sues to get on Virginia ballot" (December 28, 2011). USA Today.Kevin Liptak, "Candidates join Perry's Virginia lawsuit" (December 31, 2011). CNN.
The case was Perry v. Judd. U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. ruled on 29 December that he would not issue an injunction to stop the printing of ballots before a scheduled hearing on 13 January.Rebecca Kaplan, "Perry Hearing on Virginia Ballot Challenge Set for Jan. 13 " (December 29, 2011). National Journal. The Virginia Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli, representing the state, made a motion to dismiss the case because of a lack of standing.Tom Schoenberg, "Virginia Argues Perry Can't Challenge Ballot" (January 4, 2012). Bloomberg. On 13 January, Judge Gibney Jr. dismissed the lawsuit citing the equitable doctrine of laches ("sleeping on one's rights"), writing, "They knew the rules in Virginia many months ago... In essence, they played the game, lost, and then complained that the rules were unfair."Catalina Camia, "Judge rejects Perry, GOP hopefuls for Va. ballot" (January 13, 2012). USA Today. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed, emphasizing that the candidate plaintiffs' failure to file in a timely fashion required dismissal.
The final results saw Romney win with 59.54% and 43 delegates of the vote to Ron Paul's 40.46% and 3 delegates.
General election Ballot access Barack Hussein Obama / Joseph Robinette Biden. Jr., Democratic Willard Mitt Romney / Paul Davis Ryan, Republican Gary Earl Johnson and James Polin Gray, Libertarian Virgil Hamlin Goode Jr. and James N. Clymer, Constitution Jill Ellen Stein and Cheri Lynn Honkala, Green
Polling
The initial polling in 2010 showed Obama leading with margins from 4 to 11 points. In September 2011, the tide changed, and Romney won every poll conducted from September 2011 to December 2011, except one. In January and February 2012, both candidates were neck and neck with neither having a decisive lead. In March, Obama was able to pull ahead and beat Romney in most polls until about late September 2012. On October 4, Romney won his first poll in a month, 48% to 45%. Throughout October, Romney won every poll but one for nearly three weeks. The latest polls in late October and early November shifted in Obama's favor, and Obama was able to successfully make the race near tied. Although Romney had won the final poll by 2 points, 50% to 48%, the average of the last three polls showed Obama leading 49% to 48%.
Predictions SourceRankingAs ofHuffington PostNovember 6, 2012CNNNovember 6, 2012 New York Times November 6, 2012Washington PostNovember 6, 2012RealClearPoliticsNovember 6, 2012Sabato's Crystal BallNovember 5, 2012FiveThirtyEightNovember 6, 2012
Results United States presidential election in Virginia, 2012PartyCandidateRunning mateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Democratic Barack Obama (incumbent) Joe Biden (incumbent) 1,971,820 51.16% 13 Republican Mitt Romney Paul Ryan 1,822,522 47.28% 0 Libertarian Gary Johnson Jim Gray 31,216 0.81% 0 Constitution Virgil Goode Jim Clymer 13,058 0.34% 0 Green Jill Stein Cheri Honkala 8,627 0.22% 0 Write-ins Write-ins 7,246 0.19% 0 Totals 3,854,489 100.00% 13
By city and county