November 6, 2012 2016 → 6 0 60.57% 36.88% | Turnout 66.65% 647,744 394,409 | |
 | ||
Romney—40-50%
Romney—50-60%
Romney—60-70%
Romney—70-80% Obama—40-50%
Obama—50-60%
Obama—60-70% | ||
The 2012 United States presidential election in Arkansas took place on November 6, 2012 as part of the 2012 General Election in which all 50 states plus The District of Columbia participated. Arkansas voters chose six 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.
Contents
Romney and Ryan carried Arkansas with 60.57% of the popular vote to Obama's and Biden's 36.88% of the vote, winning the state's six electoral votes. While Arkansas had been won by the Democrats as recently as 1996 by native son Bill Clinton, Barack Obama proved a poor fit for the state, and his 23.69% loss was the worst defeat for a Democratic presidential candidate in Arkansas since 1972.
The presidential primaries were held May 22, 2012, on the same day as the primaries in Kentucky.
General election
Candidate Ballot Access:
Democratic primary
The Democratic primary had 47 delegates at stake. All 47 delegates were allocated to, and pledged to vote for Barack Obama at the 2012 Democratic National Convention. While John Wolfe Jr. qualified for 19 delegates to the convention by virtue of his performances in Arkansas, State party officials said Wolfe missed two paperwork filing deadlines related to the delegate process, therefore he was not eligible for any delegates. Wolfe has commenced legal proceedings to have delegates in his name seated. Eight other unpledged delegates, known as superdelegates, will also attended the convention and cast their votes as well.
Republican primary
The Republican primary had 33 delegates at stake. Mitt Romney won all 75 counties in Arkansas. As a result, all 33 delegates were allocated to, and pledged to vote for Mitt Romney at the 2012 Republican National Convention.
Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich withdrew from the presidential race on April 10 and May 2, 2012, respectively. Both endorsed Mitt Romney as the nominee.