The 2012 United States presidential election in Illinois 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. Illinois voters chose 20 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. The Obama/Biden ticket won Illinois with 57.60% of the popular vote to Romney/Ryan's 40.73%, thus winning the state's twenty electoral votes by a margin of 16.87%.
Obama's victory continued a Democratic winning streak in the state — with the Democratic candidate having carried Illinois through six consecutive elections. However, despite Obama's win in 2008 and popularity in the state due to being its former U.S. Senator, his performance significantly worsened, with his margin of victory decreasing from 25.10% to 16.87% and losing 23 counties to Romney that he had won four years prior. Obama further became the first ever Democrat to win the White House without carrying Gallatin or Macoupin counties, as well as the first since Woodrow Wilson in 1916 to win the White House without carrying Madison County.
As of the 2024 election, this is the last time that a Democrat carried Alexander, Carroll, Fulton, Henderson, Henry, Jo Daviess, Knox, Mercer, Putnam, Warren, and Whiteside counties. It is also the last time a Democrat won more than 15 counties in the state.
Primary elections Democratic primary
The 2012 Illinois Democratic presidential primary was held on March 20, 2012, in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Republican Party's state primaries ahead of the 2012 presidential election. Incumbent president Barack Obama won the primary. Obama was running for reelection without a major opponent.
Obama won all 189 of the state's bound delegates (the state also had 26 superdelegates).
2012 Illinois Democratic presidential primary Candidate Votes Percentage Delegates Barack Obama (incumbent) 652,583 99.98% 189 Randall Terry 134 0.02% 0 Totals 652,717 100.00% 189
Republican primary
The 2012 Illinois Republican presidential primary was held on March 20, 2012, in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Republican Party's state primaries ahead of the 2012 presidential election. For the state-run primaries (Democratic and Republican), turnout was 21.72%, with 1,586,171 votes cast.
+ 2012 Illinois Republican presidential primary Candidate Votes Percentage Projected delegate count NYT CNN FOX Mitt Romney 435,859 46.69% 42 41 42 Rick Santorum 326,778 35.01% 12 10 12 Ron Paul 87,044 9.32% 0 0 0 Newt Gingrich 74,482 7.98% 0 0 0 Rick Perry (withdrawn) 5,568 0.60% 0 0 0 Buddy Roemer (withdrawn) 3,723 0.40% 0 0 0 Unprojected delegates: 0 3 0 Total: 933,454 100.00% 54 54 54
Green
The 2012 Illinois Green Party Convention was held on February 24, and saw a binding presidential preference vote cast, awarding delegates, as part of the Green Party's state primaries ahead of the 2012 presidential election.
Unlike the primaries for the major parties, this primary was run by the Green Party of Illinois itself, rather than by the state.
+ Illinois Green Party Primary, February 24, 2012CandidateVotesPercentageNational delegates Jill Stein 109 71.24% 22Roseanne Barr (write-in) 27 17.65% 5Kent Mesplay 8 5.23% 2Uncommitted 8 5.23% 2Others 1 0.65% 0Total153100%31
General election Predictions SourceRankingAs ofHuffington PostNovember 6, 2012CNNNovember 6, 2012 New York Times November 6, 2012Washington PostNovember 6, 2012RealClearPoliticsNovember 6, 2012Sabato's Crystal BallNovember 5, 2012FiveThirtyEightNovember 6, 2012
Results 2012 United States presidential election in IllinoisPartyCandidateRunning mateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Democratic Barack Obama (Incumbent) Joe Biden (Incumbent) 3,019,512 57.60% 20 Republican Mitt Romney Paul Ryan 2,135,216 40.73% 0 Libertarian Gary Johnson James P. Gray 56,229 1.07% 0 Green Jill Stein Howie Hawkins 30,222 0.58% 0 Write-ins Write-ins 835 0.02% 0 Totals 5,242,014 100.00% 20
By county
CountyBarack ObamaDemocraticMitt RomneyRepublicanVarious candidatesOther partiesMarginTotal votescast#%#%#%#%Adams9,64831.43%20,41666.51%6332.06%-10,768-35.08%30,697Alexander1,96556.13%1,48742.47%491.40%47813.66%3,501Bond3,02040.95%4,09555.53%2603.52%-1,075-14.58%7,375Boone9,88346.09%11,09651.75%4622.16%-1,213-5.66%21,441Brown78733.29%1,51364.00%642.71%-726-30.71%2,364Bureau8,13448.75%8,16448.93%3882.32%-30-0.18%16,686Calhoun1,08041.93%1,44055.90%562.17%-360-13.97%2,576Carroll3,66549.49%3,55548.00%1862.51%1101.49%7,406Cass2,05342.09%2,70755.49%1182.42%-654-13.40%4,878Champaign40,83151.94%35,31244.92%2,4663.14%5,5197.02%78,609Christian5,49437.31%8,88560.33%3482.36%-3,391-23.02%14,727Clark2,59132.86%5,14465.23%1511.91%-2,553-32.37%7,886Clay1,58426.81%4,19070.92%1342.27%-2,606-44.11%5,908Clinton5,59633.95%10,52463.86%3612.19%-4,928-29.91%16,481Coles9,26243.21%11,63154.26%5442.53%-2,369-11.05%21,437Cook1,488,53773.88%495,54224.59%30,7401.53%992,99549.29%2,014,819Crawford2,85833.11%5,58564.69%1902.20%-2,727-31.58%8,633Cumberland1,64130.99%3,50966.27%1452.74%-1,868-35.28%5,295DeKalb21,20751.42%18,93445.91%1,1002.67%2,2735.51%41,241DeWitt2,60135.30%4,57962.15%1882.55%-1,978-26.85%7,368Douglas2,43030.68%5,33467.34%1571.98%-2,904-36.66%7,921DuPage199,46049.73%195,04648.63%6,5751.64%4,4141.10%401,081Edgar2,56532.74%5,13265.50%1381.76%-2,567-32.76%7,835Edwards75423.36%2,40574.50%692.14%-1,651-51.14%3,228Effingham3,86123.24%12,50175.25%2511.51%-8,640-52.01%16,613Fayette2,85331.66%5,95166.03%2082.31%-3,098-34.37%9,012Ford1,65627.49%4,22970.20%1392.31%-2,573-42.71%6,024Franklin7,25440.49%10,26757.31%3932.20%-3,013-16.82%17,914Fulton8,32854.04%6,63243.03%4512.93%1,69611.01%15,411Gallatin1,02939.99%1,49257.99%522.02%-463-18.00%2,573Greene2,02335.89%3,45161.22%1632.89%-1,428-25.33%5,637Grundy9,45144.34%11,34353.22%5192.44%-1,892-8.88%21,313Hamilton1,26932.20%2,56665.11%1062.69%-1,297-32.91%3,941Hancock3,65040.06%5,27157.85%1902.09%-1,621-17.79%9,111Hardin74231.85%1,53565.88%532.27%-793-34.03%2,330Henderson1,97855.44%1,54143.19%491.37%43712.25%3,568Henry12,33250.53%11,58347.46%4902.01%7493.07%24,405Iroquois3,41326.64%9,12071.19%2782.17%-5,707-44.55%12,811Jackson13,31955.26%9,86440.92%9213.82%3,45514.34%24,104Jasper1,43628.48%3,51469.68%931.84%-2,078-41.20%5,043Jefferson6,08937.31%9,81160.12%4202.57%-3,722-22.81%16,320Jersey3,66736.67%6,03960.38%2952.95%-2,372-23.71%10,001Jo Daviess5,66749.58%5,53448.42%2282.00%1331.16%11,429Johnson1,57227.61%3,96369.60%1592.79%-2,391-41.99%5,694Kane90,33249.71%88,33548.61%3,0581.68%1,9971.10%181,725Kankakee21,59547.30%23,13650.68%9232.02%-1,541-3.38%45,654Kendall22,47147.39%24,04750.71%9001.90%-1,576-3.32%47,418Knox13,45157.59%9,40840.28%4972.13%4,04317.31%23,356Lake153,75753.48%129,76445.14%3,9721.38%23,9938.34%287,493LaSalle23,07348.67%23,25649.06%1,0762.27%-183-0.39%47,405Lawrence2,01133.58%3,85764.40%1212.02%-1,846-30.82%5,989Lee6,93745.20%8,05952.51%3522.29%-1,122-7.31%15,348Livingston5,02033.30%9,75364.69%3042.01%-4,733-31.39%15,077Logan3,97832.91%7,84464.89%2662.20%-3,866-31.98%12,088Macon22,78046.46%25,30951.62%9411.92%-2,529-5.16%49,030Macoupin9,46444.89%10,94651.92%6733.19%-1,482-7.03%21,083Madison58,92247.95%60,60849.32%3,3552.73%-1,686-1.37%122,885Marion6,22539.35%9,24858.46%3472.19%-3,023-19.11%15,820Marshall2,45541.83%3,29056.06%1242.11%-835-14.23%5,869Mason2,86745.54%3,26551.86%1642.60%-398-6.32%6,296Massac2,09232.21%4,27865.87%1251.92%-2,186-33.66%6,495McDonough5,96747.91%6,14749.36%3402.73%-180-1.45%12,454McHenry59,79744.55%71,59853.34%2,8422.11%-11,801-8.79%134,237McLean31,88343.40%39,94754.37%1,6392.23%-8,064-10.97%73,469Menard2,10034.14%3,94864.18%1031.68%-1,848-30.04%6,151Mercer4,50752.60%3,87645.24%1852.16%6317.36%8,568Monroe6,21535.53%10,88862.24%3912.23%-4,673-26.71%17,494Montgomery5,05841.50%6,77655.60%3542.90%-1,718-14.10%12,188Morgan5,80641.06%7,97256.37%3642.57%-2,166-15.31%14,142Moultrie2,14435.29%3,78462.29%1472.42%-1,640-27.00%6,075Ogle9,51440.72%13,42257.44%4311.84%-3,908-16.72%23,367Peoria40,20951.28%36,77446.90%1,4281.82%3,4354.38%78,411Perry3,81939.99%5,50757.67%2232.34%-1,688-17.68%9,549Piatt3,09035.35%5,41361.92%2392.73%-2,323-26.57%8,742Pike2,27831.20%4,86066.56%1642.24%-2,582-35.36%7,302Pope65029.25%1,51268.05%602.70%-862-38.80%2,222Pulaski1,38946.12%1,56451.93%591.95%-175-5.81%3,012Putnam1,55949.60%1,50247.79%822.61%571.81%3,143Randolph5,75939.89%8,29057.42%3892.69%-2,531-17.53%14,438Richland2,36232.44%4,75665.31%1642.25%-2,394-32.87%7,282Rock Island39,15760.04%24,93438.23%1,1261.73%14,22321.81%65,217Saline3,70134.52%6,80663.49%2131.99%-3,105-28.97%10,720Sangamon42,10744.65%50,22553.26%1,9652.09%-8,118-8.61%94,297Schuyler1,72744.26%2,06953.02%1062.72%-342-8.76%3,902Scott91035.44%1,58761.80%712.76%-677-26.36%2,568Shelby3,34232.01%6,84365.55%2542.44%-3,501-33.54%10,439St. Clair67,28556.15%50,12541.83%2,4172.02%17,16014.32%119,827Stark1,09541.13%1,52857.40%391.47%-433-16.27%2,662Stephenson10,16548.11%10,51249.75%4512.14%-347-1.64%21,128Tazewell24,43839.88%35,33557.66%1,5092.46%-10,897-17.78%61,282Union3,13737.71%4,95759.59%2242.70%-1,820-21.88%8,318Vermilion12,87842.36%16,89255.57%6302.07%-4,014-13.21%30,400Wabash1,59030.97%3,47867.74%661.29%-1,888-36.77%5,134Warren4,04451.73%3,61846.28%1561.99%4265.45%7,818Washington2,45032.95%4,79264.45%1932.60%-2,342-31.50%7,435Wayne1,51419.67%5,98877.80%1952.53%-4,474-58.13%7,697White2,18830.90%4,73166.80%1632.30%-2,543-35.90%7,082Whiteside14,83357.43%10,44840.45%5472.12%4,38516.98%25,828Will144,22951.85%128,96946.36%4,9671.79%15,2605.49%278,165Williamson10,64736.40%17,90961.22%6982.38%-7,262-24.82%29,254Winnebago61,73251.70%55,13846.18%2,5272.12%6,5945.52%119,397Woodford5,57229.42%12,96168.44%4052.14%-7,389-39.02%18,938Totals3,019,51257.50%2,135,21640.66%96,7041.84%884,29616.84%5,251,432
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
Boone (largest city: Belvidere) Bureau (largest city: Princeton) Calhoun (largest village: Hardin) Cass (largest city: Beardstown) Coles (largest city: Charleston) Gallatin (largest city: Shawneetown) Grundy (largest city: Morris) Kankakee (largest city: Kankakee) Kendall (largest village: Oswego) LaSalle (largest city: Ottawa) Macon (largest city: Decatur) Mason (largest city: Havana) Macoupin (largest city: Carlinville) Madison (largest city: Granite City) McDonough (largest city: Macomb) McHenry (largest city: Crystal Lake) McLean (largest city: Bloomington) Montgomery (largest city: Litchfield) Pulaski (largest city: Mounds) Sangamon (largest city: Springfield) Schuyler (largest city: Rushville) Stephenson (largest city: Freeport) Vermilion (largest city: Danville)
By congressional district Obama won 12 of 18 congressional districts.
District Romney Obama Representative 20.25% 78.94%Bobby Rush 18.53% 80.7%Jesse Jackson Jr. 42.98% 55.93%Dan Lipinski 17.06% 80.9%Luis Gutierrez 31.81% 66%Mike Quigley53.31% 45.1%Peter Roskam 11.79% 87.22%Danny K. Davis 40.94% 57.39%Tammy Duckworth 33.29% 65%Jan Schakowsky 41.14% 57.52%Brad Schneider 40.64% 57.82%Bill Foster 48.13% 49.74%William Enyart 48.95% 48.64%Rodney Davis 54.2% 44.18%Randy Hultgren 63.94% 34.06%John Shimkus 52.89% 45.17%Adam Kinzinger 40.64% 57.58%Cheri Bustos 60.66% 37.4%Aaron Schock
Analysis