User:United Republic/American Destiny/2012 Election

The United States presidential election of 2012 was the 57th quadrennial American presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. The Democratic nominee, incumbent President Barack Obama, and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, were defeated for a second term, losing to the Republican nominee, former Mitt Romney and his running mate, Representative Paul Ryan of.

Despite being the incumbent president, Obama was challenged by former Alaska Senator, who managed to win the West Virginia primary. The was more fractured; Mitt Romney was consistently competitive in the polls, but faced challenges from a number of more conservative contenders whose popularity each fluctuated, often besting Romney's. Romney effectively secured the nomination by early May as the economy improved, albeit at a persistently laggard rate. The campaign was marked by a sharp rise in fundraising, including from new nominally independent. The campaigns focused heavily on domestic issues: debate centered largely around sound responses to the Great Recession in terms of economic recovery and job creation. Other issues included long-term federal budget issues, the future of social insurance programs, and the. Foreign policy was also discussed including the phase-out of the Iraq War, the size of and spending on the military, preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and appropriate counteractions to terrorism.

Romney defeated Obama, winning both the popular vote and the electoral college, with 299 electoral votes to Obama's 239. Compared with his victory in 2008, Barack Obama lost the states of, , , , , , , , and. Consequently, Obama became the first incumbent since in 1992 to lose reelection. 2012 also marked the first time since that the winning candidate failed to win.