View source for United States presidential election, 2012

The '''Presidential Election 2012''' was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012.  By relying on extensive [[early voting]] driven by the [[Democrat]] political machine—which totaled more than 40% of the vote -- [[Barack Obama]] defeated [[Mitt Romney]] despite losing nearly 10 million votes from 2008, carrying fewer states and a smaller proportion of both the electoral vote and the popular vote than he had before.  Thus, Obama's "victory" was smaller in magnitude by four different measures than in 2008.

Obama was leading in the polls by a substantial margin until the first presidential debate, which Romney won by the widest margin ever recorded by Gallup polling.  Afterward Romney surpassed Obama and was leading by 49-48% in both the Rasmussen and Gallup polls on [[Election Day]].

As ''Conservapedia'' anticipated, this election was similar to the election of 1948, when the [[RINO]] [[Thomas Dewey]] was unable to attract grassroots voters despite the unpopularity of [[Harry Truman]] and the deteriorating economy.  A handful of [[swing state]]s selected the winner in both instances.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Issue or Factor
![[Mitt Romney]]
![[Barack Obama]]
!Comment
|-
|Social issues
|Romney has downplayed social issues, but supports defunding [[Planned Parenthood]] and would likely nominate more [[conservative]] judges.
|Obama is vocally [[pro-abortion]], pro-[[same-sex marriage]], and pro-[[homosexual agenda]].
|As with Tom Dewey's loss in 1948, Romney's running away from social issues could cost him the election.
|-
|Economic issues
|Romney favors free enterprise, low taxes, and personal responsibility.
|Obama says he inherited the crisis from [[Republicans]].
|The advantage here is Romney's.
|-
|Leadership
|Romney was head of [[Bain Capital]], was Governor of [[Massachusetts]] and led the 2002 Olympics.
|Obama took advantage of  [[Hurricane Sandy]] to create an impression that he was a competent leader, but, a week after the storm, its effects are still being felt.
|Both candidates have proven leadership skills, but Obama's response to Hurricane Sandy is being celebrated by the liberal press.
|-
|Likability
|Romney's likability rating stands at only 31%, and has been lower.
|Obama's likability rating is at 48%.
|Advantage to Obama.
|-
|Debates
|Romney is a good debater.
|Obama struggles without a teleprompter, but will benefit from liberal moderators.
|Advantage to Romney.
|-
|VPs
|Paul Ryan has youth, energy, and likability, but is part of the Big Government Republican leadership in Congress, which has an ultra-low approval rating; Romney has been criticized for not using Ryan more effectively in the campaign.<ref>{{cite news|title=In GOP recipe, too little Ryan for conservatives' taste|work=Washington Post|page=A1|date=September 25, 2012|author=Felicia Sonmez and David Fahrenthold}}</ref>
|Joe Biden is a gaffe-prone goofball, but is protected by the [[liberal media]].
|Toss-up here, or maybe a slight edge to Ryan.
|-
|Fundraising
|Mitt did not turn out to be as strong a fundraiser as expected, nor were the [[Super PAC]]s effective on his side; some of their comments to the press, like [[Karl Rove]] criticizing [[Todd Akin]], were actually hurtful.
|[[Limousine liberals]] have donated millions to Obama's reelection, and once again the Dems outspend the Republicans.
|Advantage to Obama.
|-
|Gaffes/staying on message
|[[Romney's 47 percent comment|47% of American don't pay income tax and won't vote for me]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/Decoder-Wire/2012/0920/Are-Romney-s-47-percent-comments-beginning-to-move-the-polls-video|title=Are Romney's '47 percent' comments beginning to move the polls?|work=Christian Science Monitor|accessdate=September 25, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/President/2011/1212/Mitt-Romney-gaffes-11-times-the-button-down-candidate-should-have-buttoned-up/My-job-is-not-to-worry-about-those-people|title=Mitt Romney gaffes: 11 times the button-down candidate should have buttoned up|work=Christian Science Monitor|author= Linda Feldmann|accessdate=September 25, 2012}}</ref>/London Olympics not ready comment<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/07/27/politics/romney-london-troubles/index.html|title=Romney trip begins in shambles|work=CNN|author=[[Jim Acosta]]|date=July 27, 2012|accessdate=September 25, 2012}}</ref>
|"[[You didn't build that]]"
|Obama has a media covering up his gaffes any way they can, but Romney has better control of his message. Advantage to Romney.
|}

Following the [[2012 Republican Primaries]] the [[Republican National Convention]] nominated the [[RINO]] [[Mitt Romney]] for president and [[Paul Ryan]] for vice president, and their strategy appears to be to duck and avoid social issues as much as possible.  The selection and Paul Ryan as VP and polling during the first half of the convention showed only a slight bounce in voter support for Romney.

== History ==

No incumbent has won reelection in the past 70 years with unemployment above 7.2%; reported unemployment is at 7.9% (and real unemployment much higher).<ref>The [[economy]] grew less than predicted in the first quarter, and "the last time the economy was this slow was in the last year of President [[George H.W. Bush]]’s one term in office" - '''''who then lost reelection'''''. [https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/President/2012/0427/GDP-report-puts-Obama-in-economic-gray-zone.-Will-Republicans-profit]  The September 7 labor report observed, "Just 63.5% of the working-age population was either employed or actively looking for work -- '''''a 30-year low'''''." [https://money.cnn.com/2012/09/07/news/economy/august-jobs-report/index.html]</ref>

==Campaign strategy==
Both campaigns have focused on key [[Swing state|battleground state]]s: Florida, Ohio, Virginia.<ref name=cnnpoll>{{cite news|url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/03/new-polls-in-crucial-battlegrounds/?iref=allsearch|title=New polls in crucial battlegrounds|first=Paul |last=Steinhauser|date=October 3, 2012|accessdate=October 4, 2012}}</ref> A CNN summary of poll of likely voters taken just before the first debate had Obama leading Romney in Florida, 47% to 46%, in Virginia 48% to 46% and in Ohio 52% to 43%.<ref name=cnnpoll/>

Romney made a last-minute effort in [[Pennsylvania]], including both ads and personal appearances, but Obama ultimately won Pennsylvania's electoral votes.  The October 25 Rasmussen poll in Pennsylania had the state 51% for Obama and 46% for Romney, but the last minute effort did not move enough voters to change the outcome.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2012/election_2012_presidential_election/pennsylvania/election_2012_pennsylvania_president|title=Election 2012: Pennsylvania President|accessdate=November 8, 2012}}</ref>

==Fundraising==
The Associated Press reports that the following people are the top donors to Mitt Romney's campaign and his "Restore Our Future" SuperPAC:<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/money-men-top-5-donors-romney-article-1.1187517|title=Money men: Who are the biggest donors to Mitt Romney's presidential campaign?|date=October 19, 2012|accessdate=November 6, 2012|work=New York Daily News}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
!Donor!!Amount
|-
|Sheldon Adelson, 79, owner of the Las Vegas Sands casino empire.
|$34.2 million
|-
| Harold Simmons, 81, owner of Contran Corp.
|$16 million
|-
| Bob J. Perry, 80, a Houston real estate investor
| $15.3 million
|-
| Robert Rowling, 58, head of Dallas-based TRT Holdings
| $4.1 million
|-
|William Koch, 72, an industrialist whose family owns an energy and mining conglomerate
|$3 million
|}

==Debates==
The [[Commission on Presidential Debates]] is sponsoring four debates.<ref name="announce2012">[http://www.debates.org/index.php?page=2012-2 "Commission on Presidential Debates Announces Sites, Dates, and Candidate Selection Criteria for 2012 General Election"], [[Commission on Presidential Debates]].</ref> Although many candidates will appear on the ballot in some states, the Commission is limiting participation in the debates to just candidates that appear on enough states to be mathematically eligible to win the presidency. Candidates also must gain at least 15% support in five national polls as of the date of determination, to be some time after [[Labor Day]] 2012.<ref>[http://www.debates.org/index.php?page=candidate-selection-process "2012 Candidate Selection Criteria"], Commission on Presidential Debates.</ref> The debates are:

*Wednesday October 3: The first presidential debate took place at the [[University of Denver]] in [[Denver|Denver, Colorado]],<ref name="debates">{{cite web |url=http://decoded.nationaljournal.com/2011/10/fall-2012-presidential-debates.php |title=Fall 2012 Presidential Debates Set |work=National Journal |first=Kathy |last=Kiely |date=October 31, 2011| accessdate=October 12, 2012}}</ref> moderated by [[Jim Lehrer]]<ref name="moderators">Blake, Aaron (August 13, 2012) [https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/presidential-debate-moderators-announced-crowley-is-first-woman-in-20-years/2012/08/13/0e327af6-e553-11e1-8f62-58260e3940a0_blog.html "Presidential debate moderators announced: Crowley is first woman in 20 years"], ''[[The Washington Post]]''. Retrieved October 12, 2012.</ref>
*Thursday October 11: The vice-presidential debate took place at [[Centre College]] in [[Danville, Kentucky]],<ref name="debates" /> moderated by [[Martha Raddatz]] of [[ABC News]]<ref name="moderators"/>
*Tuesday October 16: The second presidential debate (with a town-hall meeting format) took place at [[Hofstra University]] in [[Hempstead (village), New York|Hempstead, New York]].<ref name="debates" /> moderated by [[Candy Crowley]] of [[CNN]].<ref name="moderators"/><ref>Little, Morgan (July 25, 2012) [https://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-presidential-debate-formats-announced-feature-town-hall-20120725,0,7862238.story "Presidential debate formats announced, feature town hall"], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Retrieved October 12, 2012.</ref>
*Monday October 22: The third and final presidential debate on foreign policy took place at [[Lynn University]] in [[Boca Raton, Florida]],<ref name="debates" /> moderated by [[Bob Schieffer]] of [[CBS News]].<ref name="moderators"/>

An independent presidential debate, sponsored by the [[Free and Equal Elections Foundation]] and moderated by former CNN host [[Larry King]], took place on October 23, 2012, at the Hilton Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. President Obama and Governor Romney declined invitations, while Johnson, Goode, Stein and Anderson participated.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2012/10/24/third-party-candidates-finally-get-their-own-presidential-debate/ Third-party candidates finally get their on presidential debate] washingtonpost.com, Groer, Annie</ref> A second independent debate took place on October 30 in Washington, D.C.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/wp/2012/10/24/another-third-party-debate-in-the-works/ Another third-party debate in the works] washingtonpost.com, Hicks, Josh</ref>

== Minor parties ==

With record-low support for either major party candidate, this could be a year when minor parties do unusually well.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Party
!Candidate
!Comments
|-
|[[Constitution Party]]<ref>http://constitutionparty.com/</ref>
|[[Virgil Goode]]<ref>http://www.goodeforpresident2012.com/index.html</ref>
|Popular ex-Congressman from Virginia who had previously won election as a Democrat, Independent, and Republican. Joined the Constitution Party in 2010. Opposes illegal immigration and calls for a reduction in legal immigration as well. Won the Constitution Party nomination for president in April on the first ballot. 
|- 
|[[Green Party]]<ref>http://www.gp.org/index.php</ref>
|[[Jill Stein]]<ref>http://www.jillstein.org/</ref>
|Defeated [[Roseanne Barr]] for the Green Party nomination. Criticizes Obama for allegedly perpetuating the policies of the Bush administration. Supports the Occupy Wall Street protests. Was previously the Green Party candidate in a series of elections in Massachusetts including a Gubernatorial Election against Mitt Romney (among others). 
|- 
|Justice Party<ref>http://www.justicepartyusa.org/</ref>
|[[Rocky Anderson]]<ref>http://www.voterocky.org/</ref>
|Former mayor of [[Salt Lake City]], [[Utah]] (2000–08)
|-
||[[Libertarian Party]]<ref>http://www.lp.org/</ref>
|[[Gary Johnson]]<ref>http://www.garyjohnson2012.com/</ref>
|The former [[Republican]] two-term governor of [[New Mexico]], Johnson favors the fair tax, ending American military actions overseas, legalizing marijuana, expanding legal [[immigration]] and allowing same-sex marriage.  Given Ron Paul's libertarian campaign for the Republican nomination and the exclusion of Johnson from most of the debates, there was little room for Johnson as a Republican this election cycle. He won the Libertarian Party nomination on May 5, 2012.
|-
|Peace and Freedom Party<ref>http://www.peaceandfreedom.org/home/</ref>
|[[Roseanne Barr]]<ref>http://www.roseanneforpresident2012.org/</ref>
|Comedienne and former TV actress
|-
|Party for Socialism and Liberation<ref>http://www.pslweb.org/</ref>
|Peta Lindsay
|Student and anti-war activist (not even constitutionally qualified to serve as president - less than 35 years of age)
|-
|America's Party<ref>http://www.selfgovernment.us/</ref>
|[[Tom Hoefling]]<ref>http://www.tomhoefling.com/</ref>
|
|-
|[[Objectivist]] Party<ref>http://www.objectivistparty.us/</ref>
|Tom Stevens
|
|-
|[[Socialist Workers Party]]<ref>http://www.themilitant.com/index.shtml</ref>
|[[James Harris]]
|
|-
|Socialist Party USA<ref>http://vote-socialist.org/</ref>
|Stewart Alexander<ref>http://www.stewartalexandercares.com/</ref>
|
|-
|American Third Position Party<ref>http://american3rdposition.com/</ref>
|Merlin Miller<ref>http://merlinmiller2012.com/</ref>
|White Nationalist Party
|-
|Grass Roots Party<ref>http://www.ballot-access.org/2012/07/07/grassroots-party-nominates-a-presidential-ticket/</ref>
|Jim Carlson
|
|-
|Freedom Socialist Party<ref name="socialism.com">http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/</ref>
|Stephen Durham
|
|-
|[[Prohibition Party]]<ref name="socialism.com"/>
|[[Jack Fellure]]
|
|-
|Socialist Equality Party<ref>http://www.socialequality.com/</ref>
|Jerry White
|
|-
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

== See also ==

*[[Endorsements 2012]]
*[[Swing States 2012]]
*[[Presidential Election 2012 (disambiguation)]], for other presidential elections
*[[Senate Elections 2012]]
*[[Republican governors]]
*[[Gingrich's campaign mistakes 2012]]
*[[Frank White, Jr.]]


{{DEFAULTSORT:2012, United States presidential election,}}
[[Category:United States Presidential Elections]]
[[Category:United States Presidential Election, 2012]]