2012 United States presidential election in Texas
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The 2012 United States presidential election in Texas took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Texas voters chose 38 electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, against Republican challenger and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan. The largest Republican stronghold in the country, Texas went decisively for Romney, awarding him 57 % of the vote to Obama's 41 %, a margin of 15 %. Like previous Democratic candidates, Obama dominated the Rio Grande Valley, winning upwards of 70% or 80% of the vote in most of these counties, with his best performance in Starr County at 86 % to Romney's 13 %, a 73 % margin. He also won the major urban centers of Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, and San Antonio. However, Republicans swept the vast rural areas and suburbs of Texas by large margins. Romney also came extremely close to carrying Harris County, home to Houston, losing it by just 0 %, or 971 votes. In the process, Romney surpassed George W. Bush's 2004 record of the most votes for a presidential candidate in Texas; his record would in turn be later surpassed in subsequent elections. By receiving 95 % of the vote in King County, Romney also recorded the highest proportion of any county's vote cast for one candidate since Barry Goldwater received between 95 and 96 % of the vote in seven Mississippi counties in Mississippi in 1964 – although this occurred when the African-American majorities in these counties had been almost totally disenfranchised for seven and a half decades. Texas's 38 electoral votes were Romney's largest electoral prize in the election. The state forged a Republican identity in the Reagan Era and had not voted for a Democratic presidential nominee since fellow Southerner Jimmy Carter carried it in 1976. The oil industry is the driving factor of the state's economy, with numerous oil companies such as ExxonMobil being based in the state, and consequently the state has rejected the Democratic Party which has increasingly embraced environmentalist policies. In addition, moderate Republicans' popularity among suburban Texans boosted their support. However, although Romney improved on John McCain's 2008 performance, this election solidified the Texan urban areas' move away from the GOP. Dallas and Harris counties, both of which flipped in 2008, remained in the Democratic column in 2012. As of 2024, this is the last time the Democratic candidate won Jefferson County and the Republican won Fort Bend County, as well as the most recent election in which Texas voted to the right of South Carolina, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Montana.