United States presidential election, 2012
Encyclopedia
The United States presidential election of 2012 is the next United States presidential election
United States presidential election
Elections for President and Vice President of the United States are indirect elections in which voters cast ballots for a slate of electors of the U.S. Electoral College, who in turn directly elect the President and Vice President...

, to be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. It will be the 57th quadrennial presidential election in which presidential electors, who will actually elect the President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 and the Vice President of the United States on December 17, 2012, will be chosen. Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

, who is eligible for a second and final term as President, has announced that he will seek nomination to be the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

's candidate in this election.

The 2012 presidential election will coincide with the United States Senate election
United States Senate elections, 2012
Elections to the United States Senate are to be held on November 6, 2012, with 33 of the 100 seats in the Senate being contested in regular elections whose winners will serve six-year terms from January 3, 2013 until January 3, 2019. Additionally, special elections may be held to fill vacancies...

s where 33 races will be occurring as well as the United States House of Representatives elections
United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections will be held on November 6, 2012. Elections will be held for all 435 seats, representing the 50 U.S. states. Elections will also be held for the delegates from the District of Columbia and five major U.S. territories.The winners of this...

 to elect the members for the 113th Congress. The election will also encompass eleven gubernatorial races
United States gubernatorial elections, 2012
The United States gubernatorial elections of 2012 will be held in eleven states and two territories concurrent with other elections during the United States General election of 2012.- Predictions :...

 as well as many state legislature races.

Electoral College changes

The 2010 Census changed the Electoral College vote apportionment for the Presidential elections from 2012 to 2020 in the states listed below and mapped right.

States won by Democrats
in 2000, 2004, and 2008
  • Illinois −1
  • Massachusetts −1
  • Michigan −1
  • New Jersey −1
  • New York −2
  • Pennsylvania −1
  • Washington +1

States won by Republicans
in 2000, 2004, and 2008
  • Arizona +1
  • Georgia +1
  • Louisiana −1
  • Missouri −1
  • South Carolina +1
  • Texas +4
  • Utah +1

Remaining states
  • Florida +2
  • Iowa −1
  • Nevada +1
  • Ohio −2


Eight States (Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Washington) gained votes, due to reapportionment based on the 2010 Census. Similarly ten States (Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania) lost votes.

In the political climate of 2011, this would give the Democratic Party a net loss of six electoral votes in states won by Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....

, John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...

 and Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 in the past three presidential elections, rendering the party a national total of 242. Conversely, the Republican Party will achieve a net gain of six electoral votes in states won by George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 and John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....

 in the past three presidential elections, rendering the GOP a national total of 181. Votes allocated to remaining states (i.e., those where the majority voted for both Democratic and Republican candidates during the last three presidential elections) remain unchanged from the national total of 115.

In 2011, several states enacted new laws that the Democratic Party attacked as attempts to improve the Republican Party's presidential prospects. Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia made their early voting periods shorter. Florida and Iowa barred all ex-felons from voting. Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin began requiring voters to identify themselves
Voter ID laws (United States)
Voter identification is required to vote in many of the 50 United States and U.S. territories. The first laws requiring identification to vote at the polls were passed in 2003, and as of September 2011, 30 U.S. states require some form of photo or non-photo identification...

 with government-issued IDs before they could cast their ballots. Barack Obama, the NAACP, and the Democratic Party fought against many of the new state laws, and Bill Clinton denounced it, saying, "There has never been in my lifetime, since we got rid of the poll tax and all the Jim Crow burdens
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans...

 on voting, the determined effort to limit the franchise that we see today". He said the moves would effectively disenfranchise core voter blocs that trend liberal, college students, Blacks, and Latinos. Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

magazine criticized the American Legislative Exchange Council
American Legislative Exchange Council
The American Legislative Exchange Council is a politically conservative 501 non-profit Policy Organization, consisting of both state legislators and members of the private sector. ALEC's mission statement describes the organization's purpose as the advancement of free-market principles, limited...

 for lobbying in states to bring about these laws. The Obama campaign fought against the Ohio law, pushing for a petition and statewide referendum to repeal it in time for the 2012 election.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania proposed a bold new plan that would change its representation in the electoral college from a winner-take-all model to a district-by-district model. The Governorship and both houses of its congress were Republican-controlled, and the move was seen as an affront to Obama's re-election.

Party conventions


  • June 20–22, 2011: Prohibition Party
    Prohibition Party
    The Prohibition Party is a political party in the United States best known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages. It is the oldest existing third party in the US. The party was an integral part of the temperance movement...

     National Convention in Cullman, Alabama
    Cullman, Alabama
    Cullman is a city in Cullman County, State of Alabama. Cullman is located along Interstate 65, about north of Birmingham, and about south of Huntsville. According to the U.S...

     Jack Fellure
    Jack Fellure
    Lowell Jackson "Jack" Fellure is an American perennial political candidate and retired engineer. He is the presidential nominee of the Prohibition Party for the 2012 presidential election.-Campaigns:...

     won the nomination.
  • October 14–16, 2011: 2011 Socialist Party USA
    Socialist Party USA
    The Socialist Party USA is a multi-tendency democratic-socialist party in the United States. The party states that it is the rightful continuation and successor to the tradition of the Socialist Party of America, which had lasted from 1901 to 1972.The party is officially committed to left-wing...

     National Convention held in Los Angeles, Stewart Alexander won the nomination.
  • April 18–21, 2012: 2012 Constitution Party National Convention
    Constitution Party National Convention
    Constitution Party National Convention is held by the United States Constitution Party every two to four years. To date, there have been five.-National Conventions:...

     to be held in Nashville, Tennessee
    Nashville, Tennessee
    Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

  • May 4–6, 2012: 2012 Libertarian National Convention
    2012 Libertarian National Convention
    The United States 2012 Libertarian National Convention, in which delegates of the Libertarian Party will choose the party's nominees for President of the United States and Vice President of the United States in the 2012 national election, is scheduled to be held May 4-6, 2012 in Las Vegas,...

     to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada
    Las Vegas, Nevada
    Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

  • June 2012: Americans Elect
    Americans Elect
    Americans Elect is an organization created to allow American voters to participate in an alternative nominating process to identify a candidate for the 2012 U.S. presidential election through the internet. While Americans Elect will have the status of a party, the candidates will be approved by a...

     National Convention held over the internet
  • July 13-15, 2012: Green National Convention
    Green National Convention
    The Green National Convention is the Presidential nominating convention of the Green Party of the United States . Though the Green National Committee meets annually in a "national meeting", the convention is convened by the GNC once every four years in order to nominate an official candidate in...

     to be held in Baltimore, Maryland
    Baltimore
    Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

  • August 27–30, 2012: 2012 Republican National Convention
    2012 Republican National Convention
    The United States 2012 Republican National Convention, in which delegates of the Republican Party will choose the party's nominees for President of the United States and Vice President of the United States, will be held during the week of August 27, 2012, in Tampa, Florida at the St...

     to be held in Tampa, Florida
    Tâmpa
    Tâmpa may refer to several villages in Romania:* Tâmpa, a village in Băcia Commune, Hunedoara County* Tâmpa, a village in Miercurea Nirajului, Mureş County* Tâmpa, a mountain in Braşov city...

  • September 3–6, 2012: 2012 Democratic National Convention
    2012 Democratic National Convention
    The United States 2012 Democratic National Convention, in which delegates of the Democratic Party will choose the party's nominees for President of the United States and Vice President of the United States in the 2012 national election, is scheduled to be held during the week of September 3,...

     to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina
    Charlotte, North Carolina
    Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...


Candidates

The following are individuals who have either formally announced that they are running for president in 2012 and/or have filed as a candidate with the Federal Election Commission
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...

 (FEC), or have formed an exploratory committee
Exploratory Committee
In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to United States Presidential hopefuls, prior to the primaries.Exploratory...

 for a possible presidential run in 2012.

Democratic Party

Formally declared candidates:
  • Barack Obama
    Barack Obama
    Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

    , incumbent President of the United States from Illinois
    Illinois
    Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...


Other candidates
  • Darcy Richardson
    Darcy Richardson
    Darcy G. Richardson is an American author, historian, blogger and politician.In the 2012 presidential election, Richardson is the first candidate that has filed to challenge incumbent Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States in New Hampshire.-Author and...

    , progressive activist from Florida
    Florida
    Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

  • Vermin Supreme
    Vermin Supreme
    Vermin Supreme is an American performance artist and activist who is known for his being a satirical candidate in the United States in various local, State, and national elections. Supreme is known for wearing a boot shaped hat and carrying a large toothbrush. He claims that if elected President...

    , performance artist and perennial candidate from Massachusetts
    Massachusetts
    The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

  • Randall Terry
    Randall Terry
    Randall Almira Terry is an American pro-life activist and candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in 2012. Terry founded the pro-life organization Operation Rescue. The group became particularly prominent beginning in 1987 for blockading the entrances to abortion clinics;...

    , pro-life
    Pro-life
    Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...

     activist from New York

Withdrawn Candidates
  • Warren Mosler
    Warren Mosler
    Warren Mosler is an American economist, president and founder of Mosler Automotive, and co-founder of the Center for Full Employment And Price Stability at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He briefly ran for President of the United States as a member of the Democratic Party in the 2012...

    , businessman from Connecticut
    Connecticut
    Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

    , withdrew April 2010

Republican Party

Formally declared candidates:
  • Michele Bachmann
    Michele Bachmann
    Michele Marie Bachmann is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing , a post she has held since 2007. The district includes several of the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities, such as Woodbury, and Blaine as well as Stillwater and St. Cloud.She is currently a...

    , U.S. Representative from Minnesota
    Minnesota
    Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

  • Herman Cain
    Herman Cain
    Herman Cain is a candidate for the 2012 U.S. Republican Party presidential nomination.Cain has a background as a business executive, syndicated columnist, and radio host from Georgia. He served as chairman and CEO of Godfather's Pizza from 1986 to 1996...

    , former Godfather's Pizza
    Godfather's Pizza
    Godfather's Pizza is a privately owned restaurant chain headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska that operates fast casual Italian franchises. -History:...

     CEO, former National Restaurant Association
    National Restaurant Association
    thumb|National Restaurant Association logoThe National Restaurant Association is a restaurant industry business association in the United States, representing more than 380,000 restaurant locations. It also operates the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation...

     CEO, and businessman from Georgia
    Georgia (U.S. state)
    Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

  • Newt Gingrich
    Newt Gingrich
    Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999....

    , former U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives from Georgia
    Georgia (U.S. state)
    Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

  • Jon Huntsman, Jr.
    Jon Huntsman, Jr.
    Jon Meade Huntsman, Jr. is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 16th Governor of Utah. He also served in the administrations of four United States presidents and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.Huntsman worked as a White House staff assistant for...

    , former U.S. Ambassador to China
    United States Ambassador to China
    The United States Ambassador to China is the chief American diplomat to People's Republic of China . The United States has sent diplomatic representatives to China since 1844, when Caleb Cushing, as Commissioner, negotiated the Treaty of Wanghia. Commissioners represented the United States in...

     and former Governor of Utah
    Utah
    Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

  • Gary Johnson
    Gary Johnson
    Gary Johnson may refer to:*Gary Johnson , former Governor of New Mexico and candidate for President in 2012*Gary Johnson , American politician, Wisconsin State Assembly...

    , former Governor of New Mexico
  • Ron Paul
    Ron Paul
    Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...

    , U.S. Representative from Texas
  • Rick Perry
    Rick Perry
    James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full...

    , Governor of Texas
    Governor of Texas
    The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...

  • Mitt Romney
    Mitt Romney
    Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...

    , former Governor of Massachusetts
    Governor of Massachusetts
    The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...

  • Rick Santorum
    Rick Santorum
    Richard John "Rick" Santorum is a lawyer and a former United States Senator from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Santorum was the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference -making him the third-ranking Senate Republican from 2001 until his leave in 2007. Santorum is considered both a social...

    , former Senator from Pennsylvania
    Pennsylvania
    The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...


Withdrawn candidates

  • Tim Pawlenty
    Tim Pawlenty
    Timothy James "Tim" Pawlenty , also known affectionately among supporters as T-Paw, is an American politician who served as the 39th Governor of Minnesota . He was a Republican candidate for President of the United States in the 2012 election from May to August 2011...

    , former Governor of Minnesota
    Governor of Minnesota
    The Governor of Minnesota is the chief executive of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty different people have been governors of the state, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. Alexander Ramsey, the first territorial...

     (campaign
    Tim Pawlenty presidential campaign, 2012
    Former Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota began a movement for the 2012 Republican Party nomination for President of the United States shortly after the 2010 midterm elections....

    ), withdrew August 14, 2011 and endorsed Mitt Romney

Other candidates

These candidates are or were running for president, but were not invited to the debates.
  • Perennial candidate
    Perennial candidate
    A perennial candidate is one who frequently runs for public office with a record of success that is infrequent, if existent at all. Perennial candidates are often either members of minority political parties or have political opinions that are not mainstream. They may run without any serious hope...

     Jack Fellure
    Jack Fellure
    Lowell Jackson "Jack" Fellure is an American perennial political candidate and retired engineer. He is the presidential nominee of the Prohibition Party for the 2012 presidential election.-Campaigns:...

     of West Virginia
    West Virginia
    West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

    , withdrew June 22, 2011
  • State Senator
    Pennsylvania State Senate
    The Pennsylvania State Senate has been meeting since 1791. It is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such...

     Stewart Greenleaf
    Stewart Greenleaf
    Stewart J. Greenleaf is a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, representing the 12th District since 1979. His district includes portions of Montgomery and Bucks Counties.-Biography:...

     of Pennsylvania
    Pennsylvania
    The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

  • Political consultant Fred Karger
    Fred Karger
    Fred S. Karger is an American political consultant, gay rights activist and watchdog, former actor, and candidate for the Republican nomination for the 2012 US Presidential election...

     of California
  • Perennial candidate
    Perennial candidate
    A perennial candidate is one who frequently runs for public office with a record of success that is infrequent, if existent at all. Perennial candidates are often either members of minority political parties or have political opinions that are not mainstream. They may run without any serious hope...

     Andy Martin
    Andy Martin
    Andy Martin is a musician, lyricist and writer who lives in London, England.-The 1980s:During the 1980s, he was the singer, lyricist and occasionally drummer for The Apostles, a group that was founded in 1979 by four North London schoolboys, William 'Bill' Corbett, Julian Portinari, Dan Macintyre...

     of Illinois
    Illinois
    Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

  • U.S. Representative Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan
    Michigan
    Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

     (campaign
    Thaddeus McCotter presidential campaign, 2012
    The Thaddeus McCotter presidential campaign of 2012 began when Congressman Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan filed papers with the Federal Election Commission on July 1, 2011, announcing his intentions to run for the Republican Party's 2012 nomination for President of the United States...

    ), withdrew September 22, 2011 and endorsed Mitt Romney
  • Perennial candidate
    Perennial candidate
    A perennial candidate is one who frequently runs for public office with a record of success that is infrequent, if existent at all. Perennial candidates are often either members of minority political parties or have political opinions that are not mainstream. They may run without any serious hope...

     Jimmy McMillan
    Jimmy McMillan
    James "Jimmy" McMillan III is an American political activist, perennial candidate, Vietnam War veteran, and karate expert, as well as a former postal worker and private investigator from Brooklyn, New York. He is best known as the founder of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party, a New York-based...

     of New York
  • Former Governor Buddy Roemer
    Buddy Roemer
    Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III is an American politician who served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana, from 1988 to 1992. He was elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party on March 11, 1991...

     of Louisiana
    Louisiana
    Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

     (campaign
    Buddy Roemer presidential campaign, 2012
    Former Governor of Louisiana and former U.S. Congressman Buddy Roemer of Louisiana began a movement for the 2012 Republican Party nomination for President of the United States shortly following the 2010 midterm elections....

    )
  • Perennial candidate
    Perennial candidate
    A perennial candidate is one who frequently runs for public office with a record of success that is infrequent, if existent at all. Perennial candidates are often either members of minority political parties or have political opinions that are not mainstream. They may run without any serious hope...

     Jonathon Sharkey
    Jonathon Sharkey
    Jonathon Albert "The Impaler" Sharkey is an American professional wrestler and perennial candidate. He resides in Florida and initially attempted to run for President as a Republican in 2012...

     of Florida, withdrew August 17, 2011

Third party and independent

Green Party

  • Kent Mesplay
    Kent Mesplay
    Kent Mesplay is the California delegate to the Green National Committee and unsuccessfully sought the 2004 Green Party Presidential nomination which he lost again in 2008.-Personal:...

    , Green Party activist and air quality inspector from California
  • Jill Stein
    Jill Stein
    Jill Stein is an American physician, activist, co-chair of the Green-Rainbow Party and candidate for President of the United States in 2012. Stein was a candidate for Governor of Massachusetts in the 2002 and the 2010 gubernatorial elections. Stein is a resident of Lexington, Massachusetts and a...

    , Physician from Massachusetts


Withdrawn candidates:
  • Stewart Alexander
    Stewart Alexander (politician)
    Stewart Alexis Alexander is an American democratic socialist politician, presidential nominee for the Socialist Party USA in the 2012 election., and former SPUSA nominee for Vice President of the United States in the 2008 election....

    , see below

Libertarian Party

  • Bill Still
    Bill Still
    William T. "Bill" Still is an American documentary film producer and author of several non-fiction books. He is the creator, producer, and narrator of the documentary films The Money Masters and The Secret of Oz, which focus on the United States monetary system.The Secret of Oz won the Best...

    , monetary reform activist, documentary film maker, and author from Virginia
  • R. Lee Wrights
    R. Lee Wrights
    R. Lee Wrights is an American libertarian activist and the founder and editor of LibertyForAll.net, an online libertarian newsletter.-Background:Wrights graduated from West Forsyth High School in Clemmons, North Carolina in 1976...

    , author, activist, and former Libertarian National Committee
    Libertarian National Committee
    The Libertarian National Committee controls and manages the affairs, properties, and funds of the United States Libertarian Party. It is composed of the party officers, five at-large representatives elected every two years at the national convention, and a theoretical maximum of ten regional...

     member

Prohibition Party

  • Jack Fellure
    Jack Fellure
    Lowell Jackson "Jack" Fellure is an American perennial political candidate and retired engineer. He is the presidential nominee of the Prohibition Party for the 2012 presidential election.-Campaigns:...

     (nominee), Perennial candidate from West Virginia
  • James Hedges
    James Hedges
    James Hedges is a Prohibition activist and the former Tax Assessor for Thompson Township, Fulton County, Pennsylvania. He holds the distinction as the only individual to be elected to public office from the Prohibition Party in the twenty-first century, and the first since 1959...

    , Prohibition activist and former Thompson Township
    Thompson Township, Fulton County, Pennsylvania
    Thompson Township is a township in Fulton County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the township population was 998...

     Tax Assessor from Pennsylvania

Socialist Party USA

  • Stewart Alexander (nominee), activist and 2008
    United States presidential election, 2008
    The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...

     Socialist Party USA
    Socialist Party USA
    The Socialist Party USA is a multi-tendency democratic-socialist party in the United States. The party states that it is the rightful continuation and successor to the tradition of the Socialist Party of America, which had lasted from 1901 to 1972.The party is officially committed to left-wing...

     vice-presidential nominee from California. He was also a candidate for the Green Party's presidential nomination, before he withdrew in July 2011

Independent

  • Roseanne Barr
    Roseanne Barr
    Roseanne Cherrie Barr is an American actress, comedian, writer, television producer and director. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy at clubs before gaining fame for her role in the sitcom Roseanne. The show was a hit and lasted nine seasons, from 1988 to 1997...

    , actress and comedian from Hawaii
  • Robert "Naked Cowboy" Burck
    Naked Cowboy
    Robert John Burck , better known as the Naked Cowboy, is an American street performer whose pitch is on New York City's Times Square...

    , a street performer from New York
  • Terry Jones
    Terry Jones (pastor)
    Terry Jones is the senior pastor of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainsville, Florida, the author of book Islam is of the Devil, and a 2012 Independent presidential candidate.-Biography:...

    , pastor famous for publicly burning Qurans
  • Joe Schriner
    Joe Schriner
    Joe Schriner is an American politician and journalist. He has run as an independent candidate for President of the United States in four consecutive election cycles. He ran in 2000, 2004, 2008, and is running in 2012....

    , a former journalist, author, and perennial candidate
    Perennial candidate
    A perennial candidate is one who frequently runs for public office with a record of success that is infrequent, if existent at all. Perennial candidates are often either members of minority political parties or have political opinions that are not mainstream. They may run without any serious hope...

     from Ohio
  • Robby Wells, former Savannah State University
    Savannah State University
    Savannah State University is a four-year, state-supported, historically black university located in Savannah, Georgia. Savannah State holds the distinction as the oldest public historically black university in Georgia...

     football coach

Prospective candidates

The following are individuals who are or have been the subject of speculation in prominent media sources as being possible presidential contenders in the 2012 election. The speculation may stem from noted media analysts and commentators, or from actions or comments made by the individuals themselveswhich suggest the possibility of a presidential runas reported in reliable media sources.

Constitution Party

  • Virgil Goode
    Virgil Goode
    Virgil Hamlin Goode, Jr. , is an American politician, last serving as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives. He represented the 5th congressional district of Virginia from 1997 to 2009...

    , Former Representative of Virginia
    Virginia
    The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...


Libertarian Party

  • Gary Johnson
    Gary Johnson
    Gary Johnson may refer to:*Gary Johnson , former Governor of New Mexico and candidate for President in 2012*Gary Johnson , American politician, Wisconsin State Assembly...

    , former Governor of New Mexico
  • Ron Paul
    Ron Paul
    Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...

    , U.S. Representative of Texas
    Texas
    Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...


Independent

  • Ron Paul
    Ron Paul
    Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...

    , U.S. Representative of Texas
    Texas
    Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

  • Jesse Ventura
    Jesse Ventura
    James George Janos , better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host...

    , former governor of Minnesota
    Minnesota
    Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...


See also

  • Nationwide opinion polling for the United States presidential election, 2012
    Nationwide opinion polling for the United States presidential election, 2012
    This article is a list of nation-wide public opinion polls that have been conducted relating to the 2012 United States presidential election, presumed to be between incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican as well as third party and independent challengers.The persons named in the...

  • Statewide opinion polling for the United States presidential election, 2012
    Statewide opinion polling for the United States presidential election, 2012
    This article provides a collection of state-wide public opinion polls that are being conducted relating to the 2012 United States presidential election...

  • United States presidential election, 2012 timeline
    United States presidential election, 2012 timeline
    The following is a timeline of major events leading up to the United States presidential election of 2012. The election is the 57th quadrennial United States presidential election and is slated to be held on November 6, 2012.-October 2009:...


External links

  • 2012 Presidential Form 2 Filers at the Federal Election Commission
    Federal Election Commission
    The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...

    (FEC)
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