2012 United States presidential election in New York

2012 United States presidential election in New York

← 2008 November 6, 2012 2016 →
Turnout	59.2% 4.2 pp
Nominee Barack Obama Mitt Romney Party Democratic Republican Alliance Working Families Conservative Home state Illinois Massachusetts Running mate Joe Biden Paul Ryan Electoral vote 29 0 Popular vote 4,485,741 2,490,431 Percentage 63.35% 35.17%
County Results Municipality Results Congressional District Results Obama   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   90-100% Romney   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90% Tie
President before election Barack Obama Democratic Elected President Barack Obama Democratic

Elections in New York State
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State government New York gubernatorial elections 1777 1780 1783 1786 1789 1792 1795 1798 1801 1804 1807 1810 1813 1816 1817 1820 1822 1824 1826 1828 1830 1832 1834 1836 1838 1840 1842 1844 1846 1848 1850 1852 1854 1856 1858 1860 1862 1864 1866 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1879 1882 1885 1888 1891 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1942 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 Attorney General elections 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 State Comptroller elections 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 State Senate elections 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 State Assembly elections 99th district, 2006 2008 2016 2018 2020 2022 State elections by year 1811-LtGSE 1844 1846 1847-JSE 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1870–JSE 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1900 1902 1903 1904 1906 1907 1908 1910 1912 1913 1914 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1926 1927 1928 1930 1932 1933 1934 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1942 1943 1944 1946 1949 1950 1952 1953 1954 1956 1958 1959 1960 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1972 1973 1974 2002 2006 2008 2009 2010 2012 2016 2018 2020 2021 2022
New York City Mayoral elections Pre-consolidation: 1886 Post-consolidation: 1917 1921 1925 1929 1932 1933 1937 1941 1945 1950 1953 1957 1961 1965 1969 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 City Council elections Pre-consolidation: 1808 Post-consolidation: 1897 1899 1901 1903 1905 1907 1909 1911 1913 1915 1917 1919 1921 1923 1925 1927 1929 1931 1933 1935 1937 1939 1941 1943 1945 1949 1953 1957 1961 1965 1969 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 Public Advocate elections 1897 1901 1905 1909 1913 1917 1921 1925 1929 1933 1937 1941 1945 1949 1953 1957 1961 1965 1969 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2019 (special) 2019 2021 Comptroller elections 1897 1901 1905 1909 1913 1917 1921 1925 1929 1933 1937 1941 1945 1949 1953 1957 1961 1965 1969 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 Borough president elections 1897 1901 1905 1909 1913 1917 1921 1925 1929 1933 1937 1941 1945 1949 1953 1957 1961 1965 1969 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island
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2012 U.S. presidential election
Timeline General election debates Electors Polling nationwide statewide Parties
Democratic Party
Candidates Primaries Results Nominee Convention
Republican Party
Prelude Candidates Debates and forums Primaries National polling Statewide polling Straw polls Results Nominee VP candidate selection Convention Endorsements
Minor parties Libertarian Party candidates primaries nominee convention Green Party primaries nominee convention Constitution Party nominee convention Justice Party nominee Americans Elect All candidates
Related races
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The 2012 United States presidential election in New York 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. Voters chose 29 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.

Barack Obama carried the state of New York by a landslide margin, winning 63.35% of the vote to Mitt Romney's 35.17%.^[1] As in previous elections, the Democratic ticket easily won, for the most part due to racking up very large margins in New York City (which in and of itself makes up 42.2% of the state's population) and its metropolitan area. The city alone garnered Obama 1,995,241 votes (or 81.19% of the vote in the city). He also managed to win Staten Island (Richmond County), despite failing to carry it in 2008. Putnam County, which McCain won in 2008, was the only county in the NYC metropolitan area that Obama lost to Romney. The rest of his votes mostly came from Albany, Buffalo, Ithaca, Rochester, Syracuse, and their respective metropolitan areas, giving him a solid 28.18% lead over Romney. Obama even won in many rural counties. The Republicans won only in some rural parts of upstate and western New York.

New York was 1 of only 6 states to swing in President Obama's favor from 2008 to 2012, giving him the largest percentage of the vote for any presidential candidate in the state since 1964 and the second largest Democratic vote share in the state in history. Similar to New Jersey, some news outlets, such as the New York Times, have proposed that Obama's improved performance in these states – as opposed to worsened performances in areas like the Rust Belt – was due to his handling of Hurricane Sandy, which made landfall on October 29.^[2] Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg, a Republican-turned-Independent, endorsed Obama due to the federal government's handling of the hurricane.^[3]

As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last time the Democratic nominee won the following counties: Cayuga, Cortland, Franklin, Madison, Niagara, Orange, Oswego, Otsego, Richmond (Staten Island), Seneca, St. Lawrence, Suffolk, Sullivan, Warren, and Washington. This is also the last presidential election in New York in which the Democratic nominee won more counties than the Republican nominee. In subsequent elections, despite Republicans winning more counties, they have been unable to break through the huge Democratic advantage in New York City and its suburbs, ensuring that the state has remained solidly blue.