2012 United States presidential election in Illinois
election in Illinois
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.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “2012 United States presidential election in Illinois” is election in Illinois. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through United, States and presidential, not as a finished interpretation.
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The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 25, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3586513. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2012, 2008, 1916 and 2024.
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