2012 Democratic Party presidential primaries (Shpadoinkle Timeline)

The 2012 Democratic presidential primaries and caucuses were the process by which voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 U.S. presidential election. The elections took place within all fifty U.S. states, the District of Columbia, five U.S. territories, and Democrats Abroad and occurred between January 30 and June 5, 2012.

A total of five major candidates entered the race starting April 12, 2011, when Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders formally announced his bid for the presidency. He was followed by former DNC Chair and Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich, Virginia Senator Jim Webb and New York Governor Michael Bloomberg. Webb withdrew prior to the January 30, 2012 Iowa caucuses.

Kaine decisively won Iowa, with Bloomberg and Sanders in second and third-place, respectively. Kucinich suspended his campaign after a distant fourth-place finish. The race turned out to be more competitive than expected, with Sanders winning New Hampshire, while Kaine subsequently won Nevada and won a landslide victory in South Carolina. Kaine went on to win 8 of the 13 contests on Super Tuesday, with Sanders winning Oklahoma, Minnesota, Vermont, and an important victory in California, giving them both viable paths to the nomination. Bloomberg won American Samoa, but failed to score victories in other states. He suspended his campaign following the Illinois primary and endorsed Tim Kaine the following day. Sanders scored upset victories in Michigan and Wisconsin among other wins in western and midwestern states, while Kaine secured wins in populous states like New York, Florida, and Pennsylvania. On June 5, Dean officially secured a majority of pledged delegates after winning primary contests in New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota. Sanders confirmed on June 17 that he would vote for Kaine over John McCain in the general election and formally endorsed Kaine on July 3 in Richmond, Virginia.

On August 21, 2012, the Democratic National Convention officially nominated Kaine for president and a day later, Wisconsin representative Tammy Baldwin for vice president. On November 6, 2012, Dean defeated incumbent president John McCain in the general election.

Candidates[]

Nominee[]


Candidate	Born	Experience	State	Campaign announced	Pledged delegates	Popular vote	Contests won
Tim Kaine	February 26, 1958 (age 54)	Chair of the Democratic National Committee (2009-2011) 70th Governor or Virginia (2006-2010) 38th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia (2002-2006) 78th Mayor of Richmond (1998-2001) Member of the Richmond City Council (1994-2001)	Virginia	May 4, 2011	2,273	17,887,343 (44.8%)

Withdrew at the convention[]


Candidate	Born	Experience	State	Campaign announced	Lost nomination	Delegates won	Popular vote	Contests won
Bernie Sanders	September 8, 1941 (age 71)	U.S. Senator from Vermont (2007-present) U.S. Representative from VT-AL (1991-2008) 37th Mayor or Burlington, Vermont (1981-1989)	Vermont	April 12, 2011	August 30, 2012 (endorsed Dean)	2,027	17,647,780 (44.2%)	20 (AK, CA, DA, HI, ID, IN, KS, ME, MI, MT, ND, NH, OK, OR, RI, WA, WI, WY, UT, VT)

Withdrew during the primaries[]


Candidate	Born	Experience	State	Campaign announced	Campaign suspended	Delegates won	Popular vote	Contests won
Michael Bloomberg	February 14, 1942 (age 70)	54th Governor of New York (2003-2014) CEO of Bloomberg L.P. (1981-2001, 2017-present) Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget (1973-1975)	New York	August 29, 2011	March 20, 2012 (endorsed Kaine)	317	3,352,878 (8.4%)	1 (AS)
Dennis Kucinich	October 8, 1946 (age 66)	U.S. Representative from OH-10 (1997-2013) Member of the Ohio Senate (1995-1997) 53rd Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio (1977-1979) Member of the Cleveland City Council (1970-1973 & 1983-1985)	Ohio	April 29, 2011	January 3, 2012 (endorsed Kaine)	0	594,986 (1.5%)	0