2012 Alabama Republican presidential primary
March 13, 2012 (2012-03-13)
50 delegates to Republican National Convention
(47 pledged, 3 unpledged)
 
Candidate Rick Santorum Newt Gingrich
Home state Pennsylvania Georgia
Delegate count 17 12
Popular vote 215,105 182,276
Percentage 34.55% 29.28%
 
Candidate Mitt Romney Ron Paul
Home state Massachusetts Texas
Delegate count 10 0
Popular vote 180,321 30,937
Percentage 28.97% 4.97%
Results by county. Dark green indicates a county won by Santorum, purple by Gingrich, orange by Romney. Black indicates a county tied between Santorum and Gingrich.

The 2012 Alabama Republican presidential primary took place on March 13, 2012, on the same day as the Mississippi Republican primary and the Hawaii Republican caucuses.[1][2] Rick Santorum was declared the winner.

Significance

The Alabama and Mississippi primaries were seen as a last possible point for the Newt Gingrich campaign to stay afloat in a primary season where he had only won two states up to that point; South Carolina in January and Georgia during Super Tuesday.[3] Alabama and Mississippi were the keystones of his "Southern Strategy".[4][5] Gingrich ignored other upcoming primaries to focus on campaigning in the two neighboring Gulf states.[6]

Results

2012 Alabama Republican presidential primary[7]
Candidate Votes Percentage Projected delegate count
AP
[8]		 CNN
[9]		 FOX
Rick Santorum 215,105 34.55% 22 18 -
Newt Gingrich 182,276 29.28% 14 9 -
Mitt Romney 180,321 28.97% 11 9 -
Ron Paul 30,937 4.97% 0 0 -
Rick Perry (withdrawn) 1,867 0.30% 0 0 -
Michele Bachmann (withdrawn) 1,700 0.27% 0 0 -
Jon Huntsman (withdrawn) 1,049 0.17% 0 0 -
Uncommitted 9,259 1.49% 0 0 -
Unprojected delegates 3 14 50
Total: 622,514 100.00% 50 50 50

Santorum won most of the counties and thus five out of seven congressional districts, especially in the northern parts including Huntsville. Gingrich did the best in the southeast, winning its 2nd congressional district. Romney won in big cities such as Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile. He was able to only win the Mobile metropolitan based 1st congressional district.[1]

The results in Alabama, alongside those of Mississippi, effectively ended any remaining momentum for Gingrich's struggling campaign. Despite the second-place finishes in "must-win" states, Gingrich chose to stay in the race in hopes of facilitating a brokered convention.[10]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Alabama Republican – The Green Papers
  2. ↑ Beyerle, Dana (November 14, 2011). "Republican primary qualifying opens today". The Tuscaloosa News. Halifax Media Group. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Alabama, Mississippi are Newt's next must-win states". savannahnow.com. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Gingrich pursues Southern strategy to break back into 2-man race". mcclatchydc. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  5. ↑ Helfrich, Jesse. "Gingrich's future hangs on successful Southern state strategy". The Hill. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Gingrich Cancels Kansas Events, Focusing On Southern Strategy". NPR. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 11, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ↑ Alabama - AP/Google
  9. ↑ Alabama -CNN
  10. ↑ "Newt to critics: I'm not going anywhere!". New York Daily News. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
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