2024 election

The 2012 United States Presidential Election was the 57th quadrennial United States presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Republican ticket of businessman and former Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida defeated Incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Biden, who ran for a second term.

The Republicans experienced a competitive primary. Romney was consistently competitive in the polls and won the support of many party leaders, but he faced challenges from a number of more conservative contenders. Romney secured his party's nomination in May, defeating former Senator Rick Santorum, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Texas congressman Ron Paul, Indiana Representative Mike Pence, and businessman Donald Trump among other candidates. As the incumbent president, Obama secured the Democratic nomination without serious opposition.

The campaigns focused heavily on domestic issues, and debate centered largely around sound responses to the Great Recession. Other issues included long-term federal budget issues, the future of social insurance programs, and the Affordable Care Act, Obama's marquee legislative program. Foreign policy was also discussed, including the end of the Iraq War in 2011, military spending, the Iranian nuclear program, and appropriate counteractions to terrorism. The campaign was marked by a sharp rise in fundraising, including from nominally independent Super PACs.

Romney defeated Obama, winning a majority of the Electoral College, while losing in the popular vote. Romney won 276 electoral votes and 49.0% of the popular vote compared to Obama's 262 electoral votes and 51.0%. This was also the first presidential election since 1944 in which neither the Republican nor the Democratic nominee had military experience.

Romney flipped Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Nebraska's 2nd congressional district, breaking the blue wall and defeating Obama in many swing states. Ultimately, of the nine swing states identified by The Washington Post in the 2012 election, Romney won five, winning in Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, and Wisconsin. This was the first election in which a major party nominee lost his home state since Al Gore lost Tennessee in 2000, as Romney lost his home state of Massachusetts.

All four major candidates for president and vice president went on to hold significant public office after this election. Romney served for two terms as president and was succeeded by Marco Rubio in 2017. Rubio also served two terms as vice president, and was elected president by defeating Joe Biden eight years later in 2020. Obama moved back to his home state of Illinois in 2014 and was later elected to the Senate there in 2016, succeeding Mark Kirk. Biden also moved back to his home state, Delaware, and ran for president in 2016 and 2020, but lost to Romney and Rubio in each election.