15 0 50.39% 48.35% | 2,270,395 2,178,391 Start date November 6, 2012 | |
 | ||
Romney—40-50%
Romney—50-60%
Romney—60-70%
Romney—70-80% Obama—50-60%
Obama—60-70%
Obama—70-80% | ||
The 2012 United States presidential election in North Carolina took place on November 6, 2012 as part of the 2012 General Election in which all 50 states plus The District of Columbia participated. North Carolina voters chose 15 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
On election day, Mitt Romney narrowly carried the state of North Carolina, winning 50.39% of the vote to Barack Obama's 48.35%, a margin of 2.04%. North Carolina was one of just two states (along with Indiana) which flipped from voting for Obama in 2008 to voting Republican in 2012. Like Indiana, North Carolina had been a reliably Republican state prior to Obama's 2008 win, having not previously gone Democratic since 1976. Unlike Indiana, however, North Carolina was still considered a competitive swing state in 2012, and both campaigns targeted it heavily, with the Democrats even holding their convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Democratic primary
The 2012 North Carolina Democratic primary was held May 8, 2012. North Carolina awarded 157 delegates proportionally.
No candidate ran against incumbent Pres. Barack Obama in North Carolina's Democratic presidential preference primary. Obama received 766,079 votes, or 79.23% of the vote, with the remainder (200,810 votes, or 20.77%) going to elect delegates with "No Preference."
At the North Carolina Democratic state convention, 152 delegates were awarded to Barack Obama, with 5 delegates remaining unannounced.
Republican primary
The 2012 North Carolina Republican primary was held May 8, 2012. North Carolina awarded 55 delegates proportionally. Ron Paul and Mitt Romney were the only active contenders on the ballot. By the time of the primary, Romney had already been declared the party's presumptive nominee.
Romney won the North Carolina GOP Presidential primary with 65.62% of the vote. Paul (with 11.12% of the vote) narrowly edged out Santorum (with 10.39% of the vote), and Gingrich came in last with only 7.64% of the vote. 5.23% of voters registered "no preference". The awarded delegate count from North Carolina's Republican state convention was Romney with 48 delegates and Paul with 7 delegates.