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2012 United States presidential election in Idaho

 2008
November 6, 2012
2016 
 
Nominee Mitt Romney Barack Obama
Party Republican Democratic
Home state Massachusetts Illinois
Running mate Paul Ryan Joe Biden
Electoral vote 4 0
Popular vote 420,911 212,787
Percentage 64.09% 32.40%

County results
Congressional district results

President before election

Barack Obama
Democratic

Elected President

Barack Obama
Democratic

The 2012 United States presidential election in Idaho 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. Idaho voters chose four 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. Prior to the election, 17 news organizations considered this a state Romney would win, or otherwise considered as a safe red state. Romney and Ryan carried Idaho with 64.09% of the popular vote to Obama's and Biden's 32.40%, thus winning the state's four electoral votes.[1] Romney's victory in Idaho made it his fourth strongest state in the 2012 election after Utah, Wyoming and Oklahoma.[2] He improved on McCain's performance in 2008, expanding his margin from 25.3% to 31.69% and flipping Teton County which had previously voted for Obama.

Caucuses

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Democratic caucuses

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President Obama ran unopposed in the caucuses. The District cast all 31 of its delegate votes at the 2012 Democratic National Convention for Obama.[3]

2012 Idaho Democratic presidential primary[4]
Candidate State convention delegates Percentage Delegates
Barack Obama (incumbent) 1,400 100% 27
Unpledged delegates: 4
Total: 1,400 100% 31

Republican caucuses

[edit]
2012 Idaho Republican presidential caucuses

 2008
March 6, 2012 (2012-03-06)
2016 
 
Candidate Mitt Romney Rick Santorum Ron Paul
Home state Massachusetts Pennsylvania Texas
Delegate count 32 0 0
Popular vote 27,514 8,115 8,086
Percentage 61.6% 18.2% 18.1%

County results
  Mitt Romney
  Rick Santorum
  Ron Paul

The Republican caucuses took place on Super Tuesday, March 6, 2012.[5][6] An advisory primary with no binding effect on delegates, scheduled to be held on Tuesday May 15, 2012, was cancelled by the Idaho Republican Party.[7] Five candidates were on the ballot. In order of filing they are Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and Buddy Roemer. Although Roemer had withdrawn from the Republican race before the Idaho caucus, he still appeared on the ballot.[8]

Idaho has 32 delegates to the Republican national convention, of which 3 are RNC and 29 are AL.[clarification needed] The 3 RNC delegates pledged to go with the results of the Boise Straw Poll.[citation needed] The delegates will be determined by the caucuses results, based on a two-step approach. First, the delegates are primarily awarded winner-take-all by county after a series of votes in which candidates are successively removed from the ballot. Then, if a candidate receives half or more of the county delegates, they will receive all the 32 delegates; if not, the delegates will be split proportionately according to the number of county delegates.[9] Mitt Romney won 61% of the vote, thanks to a large majority of support (80-90% in most counties) in majority Mormon southeastern Idaho, rendering it a winner-take-all contest. Santorum and Paul split the Panhandle, winning five counties each, but came away empty in the delegate count.

Straw polls

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Despite a complete lack of formal polling in the state,[9] there were a total of five straw polls conducted in Idaho, three of which were online. Ron Paul won three of these,[10][11][12] while Mitt Romney won two.[13]

January 2–4 online poll
[edit]

This was the first ever Idaho straw poll.[14] It was conducted entirely online by Kaz Wittig KStar Enterprises. Ron Paul won with over 70% of the vote.[10]

FinishCandidatePercentage
1Ron Paul73.53%
2Rick Santorum8.09%
3Newt Gingrich7.35%
4Mitt Romney5.15%
5Barack Obama3.68%
6Gary Johnson1.47%
7Rick Perry0.74%
8Jon Huntsman0.00%
9Michele Bachmann0.00%
Total100%
January 6 Boise poll
[edit]

This poll used paper ballots and was conducted in Boise. Ron Paul won this poll. Rick Perry's campaign, although still active in the race at this time, did not participate.[11]

FinishCandidatePercentageVotes
1Ron Paul43%173
2Mitt Romney34%135
3Newt Gingrich12%47
4Rick Santorum10%40
5Jon Huntsman1%4
Total100%399
February 2–4 online poll
[edit]

This online straw poll was also produced by Kaz Wittig KStar Enterprises. Mitt Romney won the poll by a small margin.[13]

FinishCandidatePercentage
1Mitt Romney45.39%
2Ron Paul42.70%
3Rick Santorum4.49%
4Newt Gingrich3.82%
5Barack Obama3.15%
6Other0.45%
Total100%
March 1–3 online poll
[edit]

This poll was also produced by Kaz Wittig KStar Enterprises. Ron Paul won by a double-digit margin.[12]

FinishCandidatePercentageVotes
1Ron Paul51.37%525
2Mitt Romney35.03%358
3Gary Johnson3.91%40
4Rick Santorum3.23%33
5Virgil Goode2.84%29
6Buddy Roemer1.96%20
7Newt Gingrich0.98%10
8Barack Obama0.49%5
9Other0.2%2
Total100%1022

Results

[edit]

Results:[15][16]

FinishCandidatePercentageVotesEstimated National Delegates
1Mitt Romney61.6%27,51432
2Rick Santorum18.2%8,1150
3Ron Paul18.1%8,0860
4Newt Gingrich2.1%9400
5Buddy Roemer0.0%

General election

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Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
Huffington Post[17] Safe R November 6, 2012
CNN[18] Safe R November 6, 2012
New York Times[19] Safe R November 6, 2012
Washington Post[20] Safe R November 6, 2012
RealClearPolitics[21] Solid R November 6, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[22] Solid R November 5, 2012
FiveThirtyEight[23] Solid R November 6, 2012

Candidate ballot access

[edit]

Results

[edit]
2012 United States presidential election in Idaho[24]
Party Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican Mitt Romney Paul Ryan 420,911 64.09% 4
Democratic Barack Obama (incumbent) Joe Biden (incumbent) 212,787 32.40% 0
Libertarian Gary Johnson Jim Gray 9,453 1.44% 0
Green Jill Stein Cheri Honkala 4,402 0.67% 0
Justice Rocky Anderson Luis J. Rodriguez 2,499 0.38% 0
Constitution Virgil Goode Jim Clymer 2,222 0.34% 0
Totals 656,742 100.00% 4

By county

[edit]
County Mitt Romney
Republican
Barack Obama
Democratic
Various candidates
Other parties
Margin Total
# % # % # % # %
Ada 97,554 53.53% 77,137 42.33% 7,555 4.14% 20,417 11.20% 182,246
Adams 1,413 68.56% 577 28.00% 71 3.44% 836 40.56% 2,061
Bannock 21,010 59.14% 13,214 37.20% 1,299 3.66% 7,796 21.94% 35,523
Bear Lake 2,489 88.20% 302 10.70% 31 1.10% 2,187 77.50% 2,822
Benewah 2,596 66.82% 1,164 29.96% 125 3.22% 1,432 36.86% 3,885
Bingham 13,440 76.03% 3,822 21.62% 416 2.35% 9,618 54.41% 17,678
Blaine 3,939 38.64% 5,992 58.78% 263 2.58% -2,053 -20.14% 10,194
Boise 2,284 66.28% 1,053 30.56% 109 3.16% 1,231 35.72% 3,446
Bonner 11,367 60.45% 6,500 34.57% 936 4.98% 4,867 25.88% 18,803
Bonneville 32,276 74.68% 9,903 22.91% 1,038 2.41% 22,373 51.77% 43,217
Boundary 3,138 69.06% 1,225 26.96% 181 3.98% 1,913 42.10% 4,544
Butte 1,001 77.84% 258 20.06% 27 2.10% 743 57.78% 1,286
Camas 402 69.55% 159 27.51% 17 2.94% 243 42.04% 578
Canyon 44,369 66.47% 19,866 29.76% 2,512 3.77% 24,503 36.71% 66,747
Caribou 2,608 85.45% 386 12.65% 58 1.90% 2,222 72.80% 3,052
Cassia 7,154 84.84% 1,098 13.02% 180 2.14% 6,056 71.82% 8,432
Clark 235 71.65% 66 20.12% 27 8.23% 169 51.53% 328
Clearwater 2,541 68.75% 1,032 27.92% 123 3.33% 1,509 40.83% 3,696
Custer 1,744 74.06% 530 22.51% 81 3.43% 1,214 51.55% 2,355
Elmore 5,227 65.31% 2,513 31.40% 263 3.29% 2,714 33.91% 8,003
Franklin 5,195 92.77% 325 5.80% 80 1.43% 4,870 86.97% 5,600
Fremont 4,907 84.57% 810 13.96% 85 1.47% 4,097 70.61% 5,802
Gem 5,311 70.90% 1,957 26.12% 223 2.98% 3,354 44.78% 7,491
Gooding 3,696 72.22% 1,287 25.15% 135 2.63% 2,409 47.07% 5,118
Idaho 5,921 75.52% 1,708 21.79% 211 2.69% 4,213 53.73% 7,840
Jefferson 9,895 86.94% 1,303 11.45% 183 1.61% 8,592 75.49% 11,381
Jerome 4,804 71.52% 1,699 25.29% 214 3.19% 3,105 46.23% 6,717
Kootenai 39,381 65.09% 18,851 31.16% 2,273 3.75% 20,530 33.93% 60,505
Latah 7,589 44.32% 8,306 48.51% 1,229 7.17% -717 -4.19% 17,124
Lemhi 3,029 73.70% 960 23.36% 121 2.94% 2,069 50.34% 4,110
Lewis 1,173 72.63% 396 24.52% 46 2.85% 777 48.11% 1,615
Lincoln 1,141 68.61% 469 28.20% 53 3.19% 672 40.41% 1,663
Madison 13,445 93.29% 832 5.77% 135 0.94% 12,613 87.52% 14,412
Minidoka 5,442 78.04% 1,390 19.93% 141 2.03% 4,052 58.11% 6,973
Nez Perce 9,967 58.65% 6,451 37.96% 575 3.39% 3,516 20.69% 16,993
Oneida 1,838 87.98% 217 10.39% 34 1.63% 1,621 77.59% 2,089
Owyhee 2,794 75.03% 833 22.37% 97 2.60% 1,961 52.66% 3,724
Payette 6,004 70.68% 2,271 26.73% 220 2.59% 3,733 43.95% 8,495
Power 1,870 64.39% 982 33.82% 52 1.79% 888 30.57% 2,904
Shoshone 2,699 52.43% 2,277 44.23% 172 3.34% 422 8.20% 5,148
Teton 2,458 54.34% 1,926 42.58% 139 3.08% 532 11.76% 4,523
Twin Falls 19,773 69.70% 7,541 26.58% 1,055 3.72% 12,232 43.12% 28,369
Valley 2,664 54.16% 2,095 42.59% 160 3.25% 569 11.57% 4,919
Washington 3,128 72.22% 1,104 25.49% 99 2.29% 2,024 46.73% 4,331
Totals420,91164.09%212,78732.40%23,0443.51%208,12431.69%656,742
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
Shift by county
Trend by county
Legend
  •   Republican — >15%
  •   Republican — +12.5−15%
  •   Republican — +10−12.5%
  •   Republican — +7.5−10%
  •   Republican — +5−7.5%
  •   Republican — +2.5−5%
  •   Republican — +0−2.5%
  •   Democratic — +0−2.5%
  •   Democratic — +2.5−5%
  •   Democratic — +5−7.5%
  •   Democratic — +7.5-10%
  •   Democratic — +10−12.5%
  •   Democratic — +12.5−15%
  •   Democratic — >15%
County flips
Legend

By congressional district

[edit]

Romney won both congressional districts.[25]

District Obama Romney Representative
1st 32.19% 64.91% Raúl Labrador
2nd 33.07% 64.14% Mike Simpson

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - Idaho". Retrieved January 4, 2013.
  2. "2012 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  3. "Idaho Democratic Delegation 2012". www.thegreenpapers.com. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  4. "District of Columbia Democratic Delegation 2012". www.thegreenpapers.com. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  5. "Idaho Republican Delegation 2012".
  6. "Election and voting information" (PDF).
  7. "Idaho Republican Presidential Nominating Process". The Green Papers. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  8. "Declared 2012 Republican Presidential Candidates". May 27, 2018.
  9. 1 2 Nate Silver (March 4, 2012). "Romney Could Win Majority of Super Tuesday Delegates". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  10. 1 2 "Presidential Race Graph". Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  11. 1 2 http://www.kivitv.com/news/local/136861888.html [permanent dead link]
  12. 1 2 "Presidential Race Graph". Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  13. 1 2 "Presidential Race Graph". Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  14. Bodnar, Marissa. "Idaho GOP Gears Up For 2012 Straw Poll, Caucus". Local News 8. NPG of Idaho, Inc. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  15. "Caucus Results | Idaho GOPIdaho GOP". Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  16. "Idaho County Map". CNN.
  17. "Huffington Post Election Dashboard". HuffPost.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  18. "America's Choice 2012 Election Center: CNN Electoral Map". CNN.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  19. "Election 2012 - The Electoral Map: Building a Path to Victory". The New York Times.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  20. "2012 Presidential Election Results". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 26, 2012.
  21. "RealClearPolitics - 2012 Election Maps - Battle for White House". Archived from the original on June 8, 2011.
  22. "PROJECTION: OBAMA WILL LIKELY WIN SECOND TERM".
  23. "Nate Silver's political calculations predict 2012 election outcome".
  24. "2012 Presidential General Election Results - Idaho". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
  25. "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts". Daily Kos. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
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