The 2012 United States presidential election in Massachusetts 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. Massachusetts voters chose 11 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.

Although Romney previously served as Massachusetts's Governor from 2003 to 2007, Massachusetts was considered to be a state Obama would win or a safe blue state. Obama ultimately won Massachusetts with 60.67% of the popular vote to Romney's 37.52%, thus winning the state's 11 electoral votes by a 23.15% margin of victory. This was the first time a presidential candidate lost his home state since Al Gore lost Tennessee in the 2000 election. Romney also became the first Republican candidate to lose his home state since Richard Nixon lost his then-home state of New York to Hubert Humphrey in 1968. Additionally, Romney became the first major party nominee to lose their home state by twenty or more percentage points in 80 years; this would happen again four years later when Donald Trump lost his then-home state of New York by 22 points.

Massachusetts has been a Democratic-leaning state since 1928, and a Democratic stronghold since 1960, with the only Republican to carry the state since then being Ronald Reagan, in 1980 and 1984. The Democratic nominee has won the state by over 20% in every election from 1996 onward and has also swept every county in the state from 1992 onward.

Despite his loss, Romney's 37.52% vote share still stands as of the 2024 presidential election as the highest Republican vote share in Massachusetts since 1988. Romney's 4.20% defeat in Plymouth County was the closest a Republican came to carrying any of Massachusetts' counties between 1988 and 2024 (when Donald Trump lost Bristol County by 1.3%).

The 2012 presidential election marks the most recent cycle that Romney would stand for public office as a resident of Massachusetts. He would be on the ballot again in 2018, but as a candidate for U.S. senator from Utah.

To date, this is the last time that the cities of Agawam and Palmer, and the towns of Acushnet, Blackstone, Chester, Freetown, Huntington, Leicester, Ludlow, Monroe, Monson, New Braintree, Russell, Swansea, Templeton, Wales, Ware, and Winchendon voted Democratic; and the last time the city of North Attleborough and the towns of Boxford, Boylston, Cohasset, Dover, Dunstable, Duxbury, Easton, Foxborough, Georgetown, Hamilton, Hingham, Holden, Hopkinton, Lancaster, Lunenburg, Marshfield, Medfield, Norfolk, North Andover, North Reading, Norwell, Paxton, Princeton, Sandwich, Scituate, Sturbridge, Topsfield, Upton, Walpole, Wenham, West Boylston, Westwood, Wilmington, and Wrentham voted Republican. This is also the most recent election which the towns of Hanover, Kingston, Lynnfield, Northbridge, Pembroke, Raynham, Rutland, Sutton, Tewksbury, Townsend, Uxbridge, Westminster, and Whitman would vote for the national losing candidate.

Primary elections Democratic primary

Incumbent president Barack Obama won the Massachusetts Democratic primary with 81% of the vote. He received no official opposition in the primary, with the other 19% of the vote going to "no preference," write-in candidates, or blank ballots. Through the primary and district caucuses, he won all of the state's 110 pledged delegates, which voted for him at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina (the state also had 26 superdelegates).

Massachusetts Democratic primary, 2012 Candidate Votes Percentage Delegates Barack Obama (incumbent) 127,909 86.50% 110 No preference 16,075 10.87% 0 Write-ins 3,889 2.63% 0 Totals 147,873 100.00% 110

Republican primary

The 2012 Massachusetts Republican presidential primary was held on March 6, 2012. Among the 41 delegates to the Republican National Convention, 38 are awarded proportionately among candidates getting at least 15% of the vote statewide, and another three super delegates are unbound. As expected, Romney won Massachusetts by a landslide. He won the plurality in every town but 10 (Rick Santorum won seven, Ron Paul won two, and no candidate won one), and earned the majority in all but 53.

+ Massachusetts Republican primary, 2012 Candidate Votes Percentage Projected delegate count AP CNNMassachusetts – CNN FOXMitt Romney 266,313 71.89% - 38 38 Rick Santorum 44,564 12.03% - 0 0 Ron Paul 35,219 9.51% - 0 0 Newt Gingrich 16,991 4.59% - 0 0 Jon Huntsman (withdrawn) 2,268 0.61% - 0 0 Rick Perry (withdrawn) 991 0.27% - 0 0 Michele Bachmann (withdrawn) 865 0.23% - 0 0 No preference 1,793 0.48% - 0 0 Blanks 818 0.22% - 0 0 Others 613 0.17% - 0 0 Unprojected delegates: 41 3 3 Total: 370,425 100.00% 41 41 41

Green-Rainbow primary

The 2012 Massachusetts Green-Rainbow presidential primary was held on March 6, 2012.

Massachusetts Green-Rainbow primary, 2012 Candidate Votes Percentage Delegates Jill Stein 1,018 67.06% 8 No preference 232 15.28% 2 Kent Mesplay 89 5.86% 1 Harley Mikkelson 84 5.53% 1 Write-ins 95 6.26% 0 Totals 1,518 100.00% 11

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 MassachusettsPartyCandidateRunning mateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Democratic Barack Obama (incumbent) Joe Biden (incumbent) 1,921,761 60.67% 11 Republican Mitt Romney Paul Ryan 1,188,460 37.52% 0 Libertarian Gary Johnson Jim Gray 30,920 0.98% 0 Green-Rainbow Jill Stein Cheri Honkala 20,691 0.65% 0 Others Others 6,552 0.21% 0 Totals 3,167,767 100.00% 11

By county County Barack ObamaDemocratic Mitt RomneyRepublican Various candidatesOther parties Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % Barnstable 70,822 53.20% 60,446 45.41% 1,847 1.39% 10,376 7.79% 133,115 Berkshire 48,843 75.74% 14,252 22.10% 1,391 2.16% 34,591 53.64% 64,486 Bristol 143,433 59.39% 93,898 38.88% 4,178 1.73% 49,535 20.51% 241,509 Dukes 7,978 72.74% 2,792 25.46% 198 1.80% 5,186 47.28% 10,968 Essex 210,302 57.40% 150,480 41.07% 5,575 1.53% 59,822 16.33% 366,357 Franklin 27,072 71.70% 9,344 24.75% 1,342 3.55% 17,728 46.95% 37,758 Hampden 123,619 61.69% 73,392 36.62% 3,388 1.69% 50,227 25.07% 200,399 Hampshire 57,359 70.27% 21,480 26.32% 2,782 3.41% 35,879 43.95% 81,621 Middlesex 471,804 62.56% 267,321 35.45% 15,045 1.99% 204,483 27.11% 754,170 Nantucket 3,830 62.58% 2,187 35.74% 103 1.68% 1,643 26.84% 6,120 Norfolk 202,714 56.86% 148,393 41.62% 5,416 1.52% 54,321 15.24% 356,523 Plymouth 131,845 51.40% 121,086 47.20% 3,600 1.40% 10,759 4.20% 256,531 Suffolk 223,896 77.45% 59,999 20.75% 5,203 1.80% 163,897 56.70% 289,098 Worcester 198,244 53.71% 163,390 44.27% 7,478 2.02% 34,854 9.44% 369,112Totals1,921,76160.67%1,188,46037.52%57,5461.82%733,30123.15%3,167,767

By municipality MunicipalityBarack Obama DemocraticMitt Romney RepublicanVarious Candidates