Title: 2012 United States presidential election Content: The 2012 United States presidential election happened on November 6, 2012. Barack Obama, the incumbent president and Democratic candidate, won the election. He defeated Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate, who was the former Governor of Massachusetts. There were also elections for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. By November 6, 2012, 11:30 PM ET (5:30 AM UTC), many broadcast networks said that Obama and Biden won the election. Mitt Romney of the Republican Party conceded the election to Obama around 1 AM ET on November 7. Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party came in third. ==Electoral College changes== Between the 2008 and 2012 elections the Electoral College changed because of the 2010 Census. As a result, several states have lost electoral votes, and several states have gained electoral votes. Here are the states that have gained or lost electoral votes: Gained votes * Texas +4 * Florida +2 * Arizona +1 * Georgia +1 * Nevada +1 * South Carolina +1 * Utah +1 * Washington +1 Lost votes * New York -2 * Ohio -2 * Illinois -1 * Iowa -1 * Louisiana -1 * Massachusetts -1 * Michigan -1 * Missouri -1 * New Jersey -1 * Pennsylvania -1 left|thumb|300px|What the Electoral College look liked in 2012 ==Conventions== The Republicans held their national convention from August 27 to August 30, 2012 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida.Lush, Tamara (May 12, 2010) "Tampa wins bid to host 2012 GOP convention", The Associated Press. Retrieved May 13, 2010. The Democrats held their convention from September 3 to September 6, 2012 at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. == Major candidates == === Democrats=== Barack Obama declared that he was running for re-election in 2012 on April 4, 2011. He had challengers in 7 states, but still managed to win all 57 democratic primaries and therefore the democratic nomination. ==== Nominees ====  Popular vote count is preliminary, and does not include all precincts. ===Projection by state=== When you read "Consensus", it means that many news programs have said they believe Obama/Romney will win a particular state. A projection is when someone expresses their belief in something, in this case about the outcome of the election. An EV is an Electoral vote, from the Electoral college. *Alabama – 9 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection) **Arkansas – 6 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection) **Arizona – 11 EVs, Romney (CNN projection) **California – 55 EVs, Obama (CNN projection) **Connecticut – 7 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection) **Colorado – 9 EVs, Obama (AP projection) **Delaware – 3 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection) **Florida - 29 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection) **Georgia – 16 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection) **Hawaii – 4 EVs, Obama (CNN projection) **Idaho – 4 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection) **Illinois – 20 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection) **Indiana – 11 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection) **Iowa – 6 EVs, Obama (CNN projection) **Kansas – 6 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection) **Kentucky – 8 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection) **Louisiana – 8 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection) **Maine – 4 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection) **Maryland – 10 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection) **Massachusetts – 11 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection) **Michigan – 16 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection) **Minnesota – 10 EVs, Obama (CBS projection) **Mississippi – 6 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection) **Missouri – 10 EVs, Romney (CBS projection) **Montana – 3 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection) **Nebraska – 3 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection) (4th and 5th Electoral votes Consensus projection) **Nevada – 6 EVs, Obama (ABC projection) **New Hampshire – 4 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection) **New Jersey – 14 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection) **New Mexico – 5 EVs, Obama (NBC projection) **New York – 29 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection) **North Carolina – 15 EVs, Romney (CNN projection) **North Dakota – 3 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection) **Ohio - 18 EVs, Obama (CNN projection) **Oklahoma – 7 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection) **Oregon – 7 EVs, Obama (CNN projection) **Pennsylvania – 20 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection) **Rhode Island – 4 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection) **South Carolina – 9 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection) **South Dakota – 3 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection) **Tennessee – 11 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection) **Texas – 38 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection) **Utah – 6 EVs, Romney (CNN projection) **Vermont – 3 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection) **Virginia – 13 EVs, Obama (CNN projection) **Washington, D.C. – 3 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection) **Washington – 12 EVs, Obama (CNN projection) **West Virginia – 5 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection) **Wisconsin – 10 EVs, Obama (Consensus projection) **Wyoming – 3 EVs, Romney (Consensus projection) Note: Florida was not called until November 10 due to an extremely close race.