Minnesota backed Obama for re-election, giving him 52.65% of the vote, while Republican challenger Mitt Romney took 44.96%, a victory margin of 7.69%. With ten Democratic wins in a row, Minnesota has the longest current streak of voting for the Democratic candidate in presidential elections of any state, having not voted Republican since Richard Nixon in 1972. This is the longest streak for the Democrats in history amongst non-Southern states.[2]
However, Romney was able to significantly improve on McCain's performance in Minnesota, as he did nationally. Fourteen counties that voted for Obama in 2008 flipped and voted for the Republican Party in 2012, while many Democratic counties had a margin of victory much narrower than in 2008. Many of these counties had not voted for a Republican in decades, such as Big Stone County, as well as Pine County. Obama thus became the first Democrat to win the White House without carrying Big Stone County since Grover Cleveland in 1892.[3] Obama also became the first ever Democrat to win the White House without carrying Red Lake County, as well as the first to do so without carrying Lincoln, Marshall, Pennington, or Polk Counties since Woodrow Wilson in 1912, the first to do so without carrying Grant or Pine Counties since Woodrow Wilson in 1916. This remains the last election where Minnesota voted to the left of Colorado and Virginia.
There is no formal system of allocating delegates to candidates in any step of the election process. At each meeting the participants decides what the best course of action is. The state convention can vote to bind the 13 at-large delegates to a candidate. The 24 delegates elected at the CD conventions and the 3 automatic (RNC) delegates are not legally bound to vote for a candidate.
17 February - 31 March: BPOU conventions elect delegates to the state convention and the congressional district conventions.
^"Office of the State Of Minnesota Secretary of State". www.sos.state.mn.us. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
^"Will Vermont's 27-Cycle GOP Presidential Streak Ever Be Broken?". Smart Politics. April 30, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
^"Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
^"Presidential Preference by County". Minnesota Secretary of State. Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
^Scheck, Tom (September 30, 2011). "MNGOP keeping Feb. 7 Caucus date". Capitol View. Minnesota Public Radio.
^"Election Reporting System: Statewide Results for Republican Party". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
^ ab"Paul supporters chosen as delegates in three congressional districts". Pierce County Herald. April 15, 2012. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
^Anderson, Pat (April 21, 2012). "Ron Paul gets 20/24 Congressional District delegates. CD4 3, CD2 3, CD8 2, CD1 2 #mngop #mnleg". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
^ ab"Rep. Paul supporters elected to half of Minnesota GOP convention delegation". Pierce County Herald. April 22, 2012. Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
^ ab"Ron Paul Wins Minnesota State Convention". Retrieved May 20, 2012.
^"Republican Party of Minnesota Events". Archived from the original on May 17, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
^"Minnesota Secretary of State". Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
^"Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts". Daily Kos. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
External links
2012 Election Central: 2012 Primary Schedule
The Green Papers: Minnesota Republican Delegation 2012
The Green Papers: Major state elections in chronological order