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| Elections in Iowa |
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The 2012 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses took place on January 3, 2012.
Using the media's generally accepted definition of the Iowa Republican caucus as the non-binding secret polling at caucus sites and using the incomplete data available, the 2012 Iowa Republican caucus was the closest race in Iowa caucus history with only a thirty-four vote margin (about 3⁄100th of a percent) separating former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, who received 29,839 votes (24.56%), and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who received 29,805 votes (24.53%). Representative Ron Paul of Texas ran a close third, receiving 26,036 votes (21.43%).
Trailing were former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (16,163 votes, 13.30%), Texas governor Rick Perry (12,557 votes, 10.33%), and Representative Michele Bachmann (6,046 votes, 4.98%). Former Utah governor and ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, Jr., who skipped campaigning in Iowa to focus on the New Hampshire primary,[1] received 739 votes (0.61%).[2]
In total, 121,501 votes were recorded,[2] setting a record for Iowa Republican caucus turnout;[3] this record was broken in the 2016 election by more than 60,000 votes.[4] However, this total was still far less than the all-time Iowa caucus record in the 2008 Democratic Iowa caucuses, in which 239,000 Democrats voted. The 121,501 votes represent 19.8 percent of active registered Republicans in the state[5] and just 5.4 percent of all Iowans eligible to vote.[6]
However, the vote totals of eight precincts were never counted, so vote totals were not precisely known. The secret polling results at Republican caucus sites were unrelated to the delegate selection process in 2012, although this has been changed for the 2016 election cycle onward.
If the Iowa 2012 Republican caucuses were regarded as the start of the Republican delegate selection process for the 2012 United States presidential election, the real caucus process was the election of Republican delegates to the county conventions, who would eventually determine the delegates at the state convention in June 2012. This would, in turn, determine the Iowa delegates who would attend the Republican National Convention in August 2012.
This process rewarded campaign organizations that could not only get supporters to the caucus sites, but get supporters who would be willing to serve as delegates to county conventions and beyond. As a result, Ron Paul was ultimately able to win 22 of the 28 delegates to the national convention and Mitt Romney won the other six.[2]
The 2011–2012 pre-caucus poll results for Iowa had highly volatile results; Gallup polls showed the leading candidate in Iowa change seven times from May 2011 until the caucuses.[7] The 2012 caucuses also set a new record for political expenditures, with $12 million being spent, two-thirds of it from "super PACs" which dominated the campaigns by running highly negative attack ads.[8]
In the August 13 Ames Straw Poll, a traditional straw poll held in Iowa Republican caucuses, Bachmann narrowly defeated Paul, with Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty trailing in third. Following his disappointing showing, Pawlenty dropped out of the race.[9][10]
Three candidates' debates were held in Iowa over the course the campaign: one on August 11 in Ames ahead of the straw poll; one on December 10, 2011, in Des Moines, and one on December 15 in Sioux City. Several other joint candidates' appearances took place during the caucus campaign outside Iowa.[11]
- ^ Holly Ramer, "Huntsman: Republican race wide open in Iowa's wake" (January 4, 2012). Associated Press.
- ^ a b c "2012 Presidential Primaries, Caucuses, and Conventions: Iowa Republican". The Green Papers. 2012. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
- ^ Boshart, Rod (January 19, 2012). "No 'official' Iowa caucus winner, but Santorum got most votes". Iowa Caucus. Cedar Rapids, Iowa: The Gazette. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
- ^ "Iowa Caucus Results - Election 2016". The New York Times. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
- ^ "Jan. 3, 2012 Iowa Caucus Results". P2012. Democracy in Action. 2012. Archived from the original on May 13, 2012. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
- ^ An estimated 2,250,423 Iowans were eligible to vote. Michael McDonald, "2012 Presidential Nomination Contest Turnout Rates Archived 2012-01-10 at the Wayback Machine" (January 4, 2012). United States Elections Project, George Mason University.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Roeschwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Freewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Peter Hamby, Pawlenty drops out of presidential race" (August 14, 2011). CNN.
- ^ Michael D. Shear and Jeff Zeleny, "Pawlenty Drops Out of Republican Race" (August 14, 2011). New York Times.
- ^ "2011-2012 Primary Debates -- Schedule Archived 2012-01-07 at the Wayback Machine.