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| Elections in Massachusetts |
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 Massachusetts portal |
The 2012 United States presidential election in Massachusetts 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. Massachusetts voters chose 11 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.
Although Romney previously served as Massachusetts's Governor from 2003 to 2007, Massachusetts was considered to be a state Obama would win or a safe blue state. Obama ultimately won Massachusetts with 60.67% of the popular vote to Romney's 37.52%, thus winning the state's 11 electoral votes by a 23.15% margin of victory.[1] This was the first time a presidential candidate lost his home state since Al Gore lost Tennessee in the 2000 election. Romney also became the first Republican candidate to lose his home state since Richard Nixon lost his then-home state of New York to Hubert Humphrey in 1968.
Massachusetts has been a Democratic-leaning state since 1928, and a Democratic stronghold since 1960, with the only Republican to carry the state since then being Ronald Reagan, in 1980 and 1984. The Democratic nominee has won the state by over 20% in every election from 1996 on, and has swept every county in the state from 1992 on.
In 2012, Massachusetts continued its streak of voting solidly Democratic in presidential elections by rejecting its former governor, Mitt Romney. Romney became the first major party nominee to lose their home state by twenty or more percentage points in 80 years, which would happen again four years later when Donald Trump lost his then-home state of New York by 22 points.
Nevertheless, Romney's 37.52% vote share still stands as of the 2024 presidential election as the highest Republican vote share in Massachusetts since 1988. Romney's 4.20% defeat in Plymouth County was the closest a Republican came to carrying any of Massachusetts' counties between 1988 and 2024 (when Donald Trump lost Bristol County by 1.3%).[2]
The 2012 presidential election marks the most recent cycle that Romney would stand for public office as a resident of Massachusetts. He would be on the ballot again in 2018, but as a candidate for U.S. senator from Utah.
To date, this is the last time that the cities of Agawam and Palmer, and the towns of Acushnet, Blackstone, Chester, Freetown, Huntington, Leicester, Ludlow, Monroe, Monson, New Braintree, Russell, Swansea, Templeton, Wales, Ware, and Winchendon voted Democratic, and the last time the city of North Attleborough and the towns of Boxford, Boylston, Cohasset, Dover, Dunstable, Duxbury, Easton, Foxborough, Georgetown, Hamilton, Hingham, Holden, Hopkinton, Lancaster, Lunenburg, Marshfield, Medfield, Norfolk, North Andover, North Reading, Norwell, Paxton, Princeton, Sandwich, Scituate, Sturbridge, Topsfield, Upton, Walpole, Wenham, West Boylston, Westwood, Wilmington, and Wrentham voted Republican.
- ^ "2012 Presidential Election – Massachusetts". Politico. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
- ^ Leip, Dave (November 29, 2024). "2024 Presidential General Election Results - Massachusetts". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved November 29, 2024.