United States presidential elections, 2012

Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic president Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney's Republican bid.

Primary process
Democratic president Obama secured the Democratic nomination with no opposition. Vice President Joe Biden ran as Obama's running mate again.

Romney was consistently competitive in Republican primary polls and defeated former senator Rick Santorum and former speaker of the house Newt Gingrich. Romney chose representative Paul Ryan as his running mate.

Campaign
The campaign largely focused on domestic economic policy and the future of social insurance programs.

The campaign was also marked by a sharp rise in fundraising from both sides.

Election
Obama defeated Romney with a majority both in the Electoral College and the popular vote. Obama didn't hold to states like Indiana and North Carolina that he won in 2008, but he still won all blue wall states alongside Florida and Ohio.