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.
Romney and Ryan carried Arkansas with 60.57% of the popular vote to Obama's and Biden's 36.88%, winning the state's six electoral votes. While Arkansas had been won by the Democrats as recently as 1996 by native son Bill Clinton, Obama proved to be a poor fit for the state, and his 23.69% margin of loss was the worst defeat for a Democratic presidential candidate in Arkansas since 1972's margin of 38.1%. Obama also was defeated by a larger margin in Arkansas than Walter Mondale in 1984.
As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last election in which Woodruff County voted for the Democratic candidate. This is also the first election since 1984 where either nominee received 60% of the vote. Obama is the only Democrat to ever win two terms without carrying the state at least once.
Primary elections 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 commenced legal proceedings to have delegates in his name seated, but his case was dismissed before the convention.Candidate who won 42 percent in Arkansas Democratic primary sues for his delegates . Fox News. Retrieved May 26, 2012. Eight other unpledged delegates, known as superdelegates, 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.
Arkansas Republican primary, 2012 Candidate Votes Percentage DelegatesMitt Romney104,20068.39%33Ron Paul 20,399 13.39% 0Rick Santorum20,30813.33%0Newt Gingrich7,4534.89%0Unpledged delegates:3Total: 152,360 100%36
Key:Withdrew prior to contest
Results by county (actual votes in parentheses):CountyMitt RomneyRon PaulRick Santorum(withdrawn)Newt Gingrich(withdrawn)CountyMitt RomneyRon PaulRick Santorum(withdrawn)Newt Gingrich(withdrawn)Arkansas68.86% (418)12.69% (77)11.53% (70)6.92% (42)Lee48.00% (12)4.00% (1)36.00% (9)12.00% (3)Ashley70.09% (232)7.25% (24)17.52% (58)5.14% (17)Lincoln72.55% (37)11.76% (6)9.80% (5)5.88% (3)Baxter73.04% (2338)13.71% (439)8.78% (281)4.47% (143)Little River76.42% (162)5.19% (11)12.74% (27)5.66% (12)Benton65.10% (14527)14.69% (3278)15.65% (3493)4.56% (1018)Logan70.36% (869)12.31% (152)12.31% (152)5.02% (62)Boone65.60% (1903)15.41% (447)13.89% (403)5.10% (148)Lonoke65.51% (2758)13.52% (569)15.11% (636)5.87% (247)Bradley73.66% (193)8.02% (21)12.60% (33)5.73% (15)Madison66.34% (889)15.82% (212)14.18% (190)3.66% (49)Calhoun63.11% (65)13.59% (14)19.42% (20)3.88% (4)Marion69.93% (528)13.38% (101)12.05% (91)4.64% (35)Carroll64.44% (1263)15.87% (311)13.67% (268)6.02% (118)Miller73.82% (1824)9.19% (227)12.18% (301)4.82% (119)Chicot79.07% (102)6.20% (8)6.20% (8)8.53% (11)Mississippi76.47% (364)9.45% (45)9.45% (45)4.62% (22)Clark65.55% (725)13.74% (152)13.47% (149)7.23% (80)Monroe65.82% (52)10.13% (8)16.46% (13)7.59% (6)Clay53.64% (59)29.09% (32)13.64% (15)3.64% (4)Montgomery72.04% (456)13.74% (87)9.16% (58)5.06% (32)Cleburne68.10% (2011)11.65% (344)13.48% (398)6.77% (200)Nevada72.84% (59)8.64% (7)16.05% (13)2.47% (2)Cleveland68.82% (287)8.63% (36)16.31% (68)6.24% (26)Newton61.74% (276)15.44% (69)17.45% (78)5.37% (24)Columbia71.67% (1472)10.81% (222)12.27% (252)5.26% (108)Ouachita75.25% (830)7.98% (88)13.24% (146)3.54% (39)Conway61.90% (442)13.87% (99)19.47% (139)4.76% (34)Perry65.91% (292)15.80% (70)14.67% (65)3.61% (16)Craighead70.92% (1678)10.40% (246)13.86% (328)4.82% (114)Phillips68.63% (35)15.69% (8)1.96% (1)13.73% (7)Crawford72.21% (3259)10.26% (463)13.27% (599)4.25% (192)Pike65.05% (134)15.53% (32)14.56% (30)4.85% (10)Crittenden72.18% (288)9.27% (37)10.03% (40)8.52% (34)Poinsett64.44% (241)11.76% (44)16.04% (60)7.75% (29)Cross75.10% (196)6.51% (17)12.26% (32)6.13% (16)Polk68.32% (1085)12.03% (191)13.29% (211)6.36% (101)Dallas70.87% (253)11.20% (40)13.45% (48)4.48% (16)Pope69.59% (2751)12.32% (487)12.98% (513)5.11% (202)Desha67.16% (45)8.96% (6)16.42% (11)7.46% (5)Prairie60.94% (78)22.66% (29)13.28% (17)3.13% (4)Drew72.56% (423)7.55% (44)14.24% (83)5.66% (33)Pulaski71.27% (9758)13.27% (1817)11.52% (1578)3.94% (539)Faulkner64.50% (5233)15.83% (1284)14.93% (1211)4.75% (385)Randolph67.01% (197)12.59% (37)15.31% (45)5.10% (15)Franklin71.32% (980)9.24% (127)13.46% (185)5.97% (82)Saline66.50% (6782)15.02% (1532)13.93% (1421)4.55% (464)Fulton66.55% (185)14.75% (41)9.71% (27)8.99% (25)Scott70.31% (450)11.25% (72)13.59% (87)4.84% (31)Garland72.83% (5829)13.58% (1087)8.47% (678)5.12% (410)Searcy57.48% (857)20.59% (307)14.55% (217)7.38% (110)Grant69.24% (493)12.92% (92)12.78% (91)5.06% (36)Sebastian70.82% (6331)12.09% (1081)12.40% (1108)4.69% (419)Greene65.83% (422)10.45% (67)17.32% (111)6.40% (41)Sevier71.30% (164)14.35% (33)9.57% (22)4.78% (11)Hempstead71.34% (478)10.45% (70)11.79% (79)6.42% (43)Sharp62.50% (375)16.17% (97)15.83% (95)5.50% (33)Hot Spring67.68% (693)13.87% (142)13.38% (137)5.08% (52)St. Francis76.42% (94)8.13% (10)7.32% (9)8.13% (10)Howard69.68% (193)12.64% (35)12.27% (34)5.42% (15)Stone69.94% (342)12.47% (61)12.47% (61)5.11% (25)Independence68.37% (536)13.14% (103)14.16% (111)4.34% (34)Union73.34% (1642)11.39% (255)10.50% (235)4.78% (107)Izard70.97% (357)16.90% (85)8.15% (41)3.98% (20)Van Buren71.37% (653)11.58% (106)11.37% (104)5.68% (52)Jackson64.55% (122)8.99% (17)20.63% (39)5.82% (11)Washington68.11% (8504)14.93% (1864)12.92% (1613)4.04% (505)Jefferson70.52% (1220)9.71% (168)13.99% (242)5.78% (100)White65.47% (3638)12.13% (674)16.63% (924)5.78% (321)Johnson65.81% (512)13.88% (108)13.24% (103)7.07% (55)Woodruff57.89% (11)10.53% (2)21.05% (4)10.53% (2)Lafayette71.82% (288)9.98% (40)14.71% (59)3.49% (14)Yell68.72% (681)13.22% (131)12.21% (121)5.85% (58)Lawrence66.09% (269)13.02% (53)14.50% (59)6.39% (26)
General election Predictions SourceRankingAs ofHuffington PostNovember 6, 2012CNNNovember 6, 2012 The New York Times November 6, 2012The Washington PostNovember 6, 2012RealClearPoliticsNovember 6, 2012Sabato's Crystal BallNovember 5, 2012FiveThirtyEightNovember 6, 2012
Candidate ballot access Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan, Republican Barack Obama/Joseph Biden, Democratic Gary Johnson/James P. Gray, Libertarian Jill Stein/Cheri Honkala, Green Peta Lindsay/Yari Osorio, Socialism and Liberation
Results 2012 United States presidential election in ArkansasPartyCandidateRunning mateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Republican Mitt Romney Paul Ryan 647,744 60.57% 6 Democratic Barack Obama (incumbent) Joe Biden (incumbent) 394,409 36.88% 0 Libertarian Gary Johnson Jim Gray 16,276 1.52% 0 Green Jill Stein Cheri Honkala 9,305 0.87% 0 Socialism and Liberation Peta Lindsay Yari Osorio 1,734 0.16% 0 Totals 1,069,468 100.00% 6
By county CountyMitt RomneyRepublicanBarack ObamaDemocraticVarious candidatesOther partiesMarginTotal#%#%#%#%Arkansas3,89760.01%2,45537.80%1422.19%1,44222.21%6,494Ashley4,86761.44%2,85936.09%1952.46%2,00825.35%7,921Baxter13,68870.78%5,17226.74%4792.48%8,51644.04%19,339Benton54,64668.95%22,63628.56%1,9752.49%32,01040.39%79,257Boone11,15972.50%3,77224.51%4602.99%7,38748.00%15,391Bradley2,13458.43%1,44939.68%691.89%68518.76%3,652Calhoun1,45867.07%66030.36%562.58%79836.71%2,174Carroll6,12560.15%3,69636.30%3623.55%2,42923.85%10,183Chicot1,67038.29%2,64960.74%420.96%-979-22.45%4,361Clark4,34351.65%3,81145.32%2553.03%5326.33%8,409Clay3,22563.11%1,73834.01%1472.88%1,48729.10%5,110Cleburne8,69374.64%2,62022.50%3342.87%6,07352.14%11,647Cleveland2,31370.82%84525.87%1083.31%1,46844.95%3,266Columbia5,79061.24%3,55737.62%1081.14%2,23323.62%9,455Conway4,51458.40%3,00538.87%2112.73%1,50919.52%7,730Craighead20,35064.20%10,52733.21%8232.60%9,82330.99%31,700Crawford15,14573.55%4,88123.70%5652.74%10,26449.85%20,591Crittenden6,99841.86%9,48756.75%2311.38%-2,489-14.89%16,716Cross4,26963.90%2,27934.11%1331.99%1,99029.79%6,681Dallas1,66553.99%1,33743.35%822.66%32810.64%3,084Desha1,89642.90%2,44355.27%811.83%-547-12.38%4,420Drew3,88758.60%2,63039.65%1161.75%1,25718.95%6,633Faulkner26,72264.45%13,62132.85%1,1172.69%13,10131.60%41,460Franklin4,63170.81%1,72626.39%1832.80%2,90544.42%6,540Fulton2,94965.21%1,45232.11%1212.68%1,49733.10%4,522Garland26,01463.87%13,80433.89%9102.23%12,21029.98%40,728Grant4,82974.53%1,46822.66%1822.81%3,36151.88%6,479Greene9,07165.92%4,00029.07%6905.01%5,07136.85%13,761Hempstead4,28461.90%2,46835.66%1692.44%1,81626.24%6,921Hot Spring7,09763.03%3,83034.01%3332.96%3,26729.01%11,260Howard2,89264.81%1,47132.97%992.22%1,42131.85%4,462Independence8,72870.40%3,28126.47%3883.13%5,44743.94%12,397Izard3,57567.73%1,52428.87%1793.39%2,05138.86%5,278Jackson3,07257.45%2,09539.18%1803.37%97718.27%5,347Jefferson9,52034.77%17,47063.80%3931.44%-7,950-29.03%27,383Johnson5,06462.53%2,79934.56%2352.90%2,26527.97%8,098Lafayette1,71358.48%1,17340.05%431.47%54018.44%2,929Lawrence3,53663.83%1,78832.27%2163.90%1,74831.55%5,540Lee1,28037.38%2,10761.54%371.08%-827-24.15%3,424Lincoln2,19959.02%1,42538.24%1022.74%77420.77%3,726Little River3,38567.02%1,55230.73%1142.26%1,83336.29%5,051Logan5,07969.28%2,00927.40%2433.31%3,07041.88%7,331Lonoke17,88074.15%5,62523.33%6092.53%12,25550.82%24,114Madison4,26364.91%2,09931.96%2063.14%2,16432.95%6,568Marion4,77467.71%2,03728.89%2403.40%2,73738.82%7,051Miller10,62269.29%4,51829.47%1891.23%6,10439.82%15,329Mississippi6,60349.37%6,46748.35%3052.28%1361.02%13,375Monroe1,58549.07%1,58349.01%621.92%20.06%3,230Montgomery2,36969.59%92027.03%1153.38%1,44942.57%3,404Nevada1,99658.98%1,31438.83%742.19%68220.15%3,384Newton2,50868.51%99327.12%1604.37%1,51541.38%3,661Ouachita5,52153.52%4,63344.92%1611.56%8888.61%10,315Perry2,58165.54%1,18730.14%1704.32%1,39435.40%3,938Phillips2,59832.76%5,20265.60%1301.64%-2,604-32.84%7,930Pike2,84775.16%85122.47%902.38%1,99652.69%3,788Poinsett4,97465.79%2,39031.61%1962.59%2,58434.18%7,560Polk5,95577.08%1,55620.14%2152.78%4,39956.94%7,726Pope14,76372.23%5,12625.08%5502.69%9,63747.15%20,439Prairie2,15368.55%88028.02%1083.44%1,27340.53%3,141Pulaski68,98443.28%87,24854.74%3,1491.98%-18,264-11.46%159,381Randolph3,70162.14%2,04634.35%2093.51%1,65527.79%5,956Saline32,96370.04%12,86927.34%1,2302.61%20,09442.70%47,062Scott2,63172.28%89724.64%1123.08%1,73447.64%3,640Searcy2,69973.06%81422.04%1814.90%1,88551.03%3,694Sebastian29,16967.27%13,09230.19%1,1012.54%16,07737.08%43,362Sevier3,13672.42%1,04224.06%1523.51%2,09448.36%4,330Sharp4,92167.57%2,09228.72%2703.71%2,82938.84%7,283St. Francis3,36840.28%4,91058.72%841.00%-1,542-18.44%8,362Stone3,77670.53%1,35625.33%2224.15%2,42045.20%5,354Union10,69962.29%6,19636.07%2821.64%4,50326.22%17,177Van Buren4,36567.88%1,83228.49%2333.62%2,53339.39%6,430Washington39,68856.33%28,23640.07%2,5363.60%11,45216.25%70,460White20,01175.47%5,76521.74%7382.78%14,24653.73%26,514Woodruff1,22745.70%1,34049.91%1184.39%-113-4.21%2,685Yell4,04267.66%1,72228.82%2103.52%2,32038.83%5,974Totals647,74460.57%394,40936.88%27,3152.55%253,33523.69%1,069,468
By congressional district