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).
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.
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.
General election
Results
By county
- 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.
Analysis
While Obama only won 23% of the counties in Illinois, most of the counties he won were heavily populated. His 17-point victory is attributed to his landslide performance in Cook County where he received 73.88% of the vote and victories in the once Republican-favored collar counties (DuPage, Will and Lake). He also performed well in the East St. Louis area. Cook County, which encompasses the Chicago Metropolitan Area, provides a crucial advantage for the Democratic Party. If Cook County's vote were excluded, Romney would have won the state with 1,639,684 to Obama's 1,530,975.
Calhoun and Madison counties voted Republican for the first time since 1984. As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last time a Democrat has won Alexander, Carroll, Fulton, Henderson, Henry, Jo Daviess, Knox, Mercer, Putnam, Warren and Whiteside counties. Also, as a result of this election, Clark, Clay, Effingham, Edwards, Iroquois, Jasper, Massac, Richland, Wabash and Wayne are the only counties in the state that never voted for Obama in his two runs for the presidency or in his landslide election to the Senate.