2012
West Virginia in 2012
The 2012 contest saw West Virginia line up behind Romney, delivering 5 electoral votes to the Republican ticket. Nationally the result broke the other way — Barack Obama (Democratic) won the presidency, leaving West Virginia among the states he did not carry.
It marked the 4th consecutive election in which West Virginia backed the Republican party, a streak reaching back to 2000. The region divided — Kentucky joined West Virginia for the Republican ticket, while Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia did not. Across the 41 presidential elections West Virginia has taken part in, it has most often sided with the Democratic party (22 times). The vote fell within the Modern Polarization — Close elections in a divided country.
In the national count, Barack Obama took 332 of the 538 electoral votes, against Mitt Romney's 206. Barack Obama led the national popular vote with 51.06% of the ballots cast.
West Virginia in nearby cycles
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