# 2012 United States presidential election in Utah

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The 2012 United States presidential election in Utah 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. Utah voters chose six 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.
Prior to the election, all leading news organizations making election predictions considered this a state Romney would win, or otherwise considered as a safe red state. Alongside neighboring Wyoming & Idaho, Utah has voted for the Republican ticket in each presidential election starting in 1968 and all but one starting 1952. Utah is the only state to have a majority Mormon population, benefiting Romney, the first Mormon to head a major party presidential ticket. Romney won in a landslide, carrying 72.55% of the vote to Obama's 24.67%, a margin of 47.88% or 488,787 votes, the best raw vote margin in the state's history to date. He won every county in the state by margins of over 15%, except for Grand and Summit County, home to the cities of Moab and Park City, respectively. Romney flipped these counties along with Salt Lake County, where the state's largest city, Salt Lake City, is located.
With a 47.88% margin, Utah would prove to be Romney's strongest state in the 2012 election, and it would also be Romney's largest outperformance of John McCain in 2008, winning the state by almost 20 points more. Romney was elected as a United States Senator from Utah six years later in 2018, having moved there in 2014. Romney's vote share in Utah was also the highest of any presidential nominee in any state since Ronald Reagan's in Utah in 1984, and remains so as of 2024.
As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the most recent time a Republican nominee has received more than 60% of the vote in Utah, as well as the last time a candidate has carried every county. It is also the most recent election in which Salt Lake and Summit Counties have voted for the Republican presidential nominee. Finally, it is the most recent time that Utah has been the most Republican state in the United States.

## Primary elections
### Democratic primary

Due to President Barack Obama running for reelection without serious opposition from the Democratic Party in 2012, no Democratic Primary was held in Utah.

### Republican primary

The 2012 Utah Republican presidential primary took place on 26 June 2012. 37 delegates were chosen, for a total of 40 delegates to go to the national convention, all pledged to the primary winner.
In 2008, Mitt Romney received major support from the Mormon (Latter Day Saints) and other religious population and was able to carry the state with 93.07% of the vote. Romney led the polling in 2012 and won the primary by more than a landslide, and no other candidate could either scrape past 5% of the vote, awarding him all 40 delegates.
2012 Utah Republican presidential primary :
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Delegates |
| Mitt Romney | 220,865 | 93.07% | 40 |
| Ron Paul | 11,209 | 4.72% | 0 |
| Rick Santorum | 3,541 | 1.49% | 0 |
| Newt Gingrich | 1,124 | 0.47% | 0 |
| Fred Karger | 578 | 0.24% | 0 |
| Pledged party leaders: | Pledged party leaders: | Pledged party leaders: | 3 |
| Total: | 237,317 | 100.0% | 40 |
| Key: | Withdrew prior to contest |

## General election
### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| Huffington Post | Safe R | November 6, 2012 |
| CNN | Safe R | November 6, 2012 |
| New York Times | Safe R | November 6, 2012 |
| Washington Post | Safe R | November 6, 2012 |
| RealClearPolitics | Solid R | November 6, 2012 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Solid R | November 5, 2012 |
| FiveThirtyEight | Solid R | November 6, 2012 |

### Candidate ballot access

* Willard Mitt Romney / Paul Davis Ryan, Republican
* Barack Hussein Obama / Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., Democratic
* Ross Carl "Rocky" Anderson / Luis Javier Rodriguez, Justice
* Gary Earl Johnson / James Polin Gray, Libertarian
* Jill Ellen Stein / Cheri Lynn Honkala, Green
* Virgil Hamlin Goode, Jr. / James N. Clymer, Constitution
* Gloria Estela La Riva / Filberto Ramirez Jr., Socialism and Liberation (as stand-ins for Peta Lindsay and Yari Osorio, who may not appear on the Utah ballot due to their Constitutional ineligibility to be president and vice president)
Write-in access:
* Andre Nigel Barnett / Ken Cross, Reform

### Results

2012 United States presidential election in Utah :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Running mate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes |
| | Republican | Mitt Romney | Paul Ryan | 740,600 | 72.55% | 6 |
| | Democratic | Barack Obama (incumbent) | Joe Biden (incumbent) | 251,813 | 24.67% | 0 |
| | Libertarian | Gary Johnson | Jim Gray | 12,572 | 1.23% | 0 |
| | Justice | Rocky Anderson | Luis J. Rodriguez | 5,335 | 0.52% | 0 |
| | Green | Jill Stein | Cheri Honkala | 3,817 | 0.37% | 0 |
| | Constitution | Virgil Goode | Jim Clymer | 2,871 | 0.28% | 0 |
| | Socialism and Liberation | Gloria La Riva | Filberto Ramirez Jr. | 393 | 0.04% | 0 |
| | Others | Others | Others | 3,460 | 0.34% | 0 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 1,020,861 | 100.00% | 6 |

#### By county

| County | Mitt Romney Republican | Mitt Romney Republican | Barack Obama Democratic | Barack Obama Democratic | Gary Johnson Libertarian | Gary Johnson Libertarian | Various candidates Other parties | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Margin | Total votes cast |
| County | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | Total votes cast |
| Beaver | 2,174 | 84.92% | 346 | 13.52% | 17 | 0.66% | 23 | 0.90% | 1,828 | 71.40% | 2,560 |
| Box Elder | 17,101 | 88.11% | 1,984 | 10.22% | 150 | 0.77% | 173 | 0.89% | 15,117 | 77.89% | 19,408 |
| Cache | 35,039 | 82.85% | 6,244 | 14.76% | 543 | 1.28% | 467 | 1.10% | 28,795 | 68.09% | 42,293 |
| Carbon | 5,090 | 67.27% | 2,275 | 30.06% | 88 | 1.16% | 114 | 1.51% | 2,815 | 37.21% | 7,567 |
| Daggett | 406 | 78.08% | 94 | 18.08% | 16 | 3.08% | 4 | 0.77% | 312 | 60.00% | 520 |
| Davis | 96,861 | 80.00% | 21,889 | 18.08% | 1,217 | 1.01% | 1,102 | 0.91% | 74,972 | 61.92% | 121,069 |
| Duchesne | 5,698 | 89.32% | 581 | 9.11% | 41 | 0.64% | 59 | 0.92% | 5,117 | 80.21% | 6,379 |
| Emery | 3,777 | 84.90% | 569 | 12.79% | 48 | 1.08% | 55 | 1.23% | 3,208 | 72.11% | 4,449 |
| Garfield | 1,832 | 83.96% | 308 | 14.12% | 17 | 0.78% | 25 | 1.15% | 1,524 | 69.84% | 2,182 |
| Grand | 1,996 | 50.53% | 1,727 | 43.72% | 71 | 1.80% | 156 | 3.95% | 269 | 6.81% | 3,950 |
| Iron | 14,200 | 84.47% | 2,148 | 12.78% | 202 | 1.20% | 261 | 1.55% | 12,052 | 71.69% | 16,811 |
| Juab | 3,448 | 85.99% | 451 | 11.25% | 27 | 0.67% | 84 | 2.09% | 2,997 | 74.74% | 4,010 |
| Kane | 2,522 | 74.81% | 744 | 22.07% | 47 | 1.39% | 58 | 1.72% | 1,778 | 52.74% | 3,371 |
| Millard | 4,478 | 88.59% | 431 | 8.53% | 43 | 0.85% | 103 | 2.04% | 4,047 | 80.06% | 5,055 |
| Morgan | 4,114 | 89.49% | 403 | 8.77% | 36 | 0.78% | 44 | 0.95% | 3,711 | 80.72% | 4,597 |
| Piute | 697 | 89.13% | 74 | 9.46% | 5 | 0.64% | 6 | 0.77% | 623 | 79.67% | 782 |
| Rich | 915 | 90.15% | 83 | 8.18% | 6 | 0.59% | 11 | 1.09% | 832 | 81.97% | 1,015 |
| Salt Lake | 223,811 | 58.26% | 146,147 | 38.04% | 5,521 | 1.44% | 8,695 | 2.26% | 77,664 | 20.22% | 384,174 |
| San Juan | 3,074 | 57.92% | 2,139 | 40.31% | 42 | 0.79% | 52 | 0.98% | 935 | 17.61% | 5,307 |
| Sanpete | 8,406 | 88.05% | 980 | 10.27% | 69 | 0.72% | 92 | 0.96% | 7,426 | 77.78% | 9,547 |
| Sevier | 7,207 | 89.32% | 738 | 9.15% | 56 | 0.69% | 68 | 0.84% | 6,469 | 80.17% | 8,069 |
| Summit | 8,884 | 50.49% | 8,072 | 45.87% | 301 | 1.71% | 340 | 1.93% | 812 | 4.62% | 17,597 |
| Tooele | 14,268 | 73.77% | 4,524 | 23.39% | 232 | 1.20% | 318 | 1.64% | 9,744 | 50.38% | 19,342 |
| Uintah | 10,421 | 89.75% | 997 | 8.59% | 71 | 0.61% | 122 | 1.05% | 9,424 | 81.16% | 11,611 |
| Utah | 156,950 | 88.32% | 17,281 | 9.72% | 2,120 | 1.19% | 1,362 | 0.77% | 139,669 | 78.60% | 177,713 |
| Wasatch | 7,220 | 74.90% | 2,191 | 22.73% | 90 | 0.93% | 139 | 1.45% | 5,029 | 52.17% | 9,640 |
| Washington | 44,698 | 82.43% | 8,337 | 15.37% | 541 | 1.00% | 650 | 1.19% | 36,361 | 67.06% | 54,226 |
| Wayne | 1,089 | 82.06% | 215 | 16.20% | 6 | 0.45% | 17 | 1.28% | 874 | 65.86% | 1,327 |
| Weber | 54,224 | 71.08% | 19,841 | 26.01% | 949 | 1.24% | 1,276 | 1.68% | 34,383 | 45.07% | 76,290 |
| Totals | 740,600 | 72.55% | 251,813 | 24.67% | 12,572 | 1.23% | 15,876 | 1.55% | 488,787 | 47.88% | 1,020,861 |

##### Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

* Grand (largest city: Moab)
* Salt Lake (largest city: Salt Lake City)
* Summit (largest city: Park City)

#### By congressional district

Mitt Romney won all 4 congressional districts, including one that elected a Democrat.
| District | Romney | Obama | Representative |
| 1st | 78% | 20% | Rob Bishop |
| 2nd | 68% | 29% | Chris Stewart |
| 3rd | 79% | 20% | Jason Chaffetz |
| 4th | 68% | 30% | Jim Matheson |