2012_Alabama_Republican_presidential_primary
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.
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50 delegates to Republican National Convention (47 pledged, 3 unpledged) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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County results
District resultsSantorum: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% Gingrich: 30–40% 40–50% Romney: 30–40% Tie: 20–30% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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]
| 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| Rick Perry (withdrawn) | 1,867 | 0.30% | 0 | 0 | - |
| Michele Bachmann (withdrawn) | 1,700 | 0.27% | 0 | 0 | - |
| Jon Huntsman (withdrawn) | 1,049 | 0.17% | 0 | 0 | - |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]
- Beyerle, Dana (November 14, 2011). "Republican primary qualifying opens today". The Tuscaloosa News. Halifax Media Group. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
- "Alabama, Mississippi are Newt's next must-win states". savannahnow.com. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
- "Gingrich pursues Southern strategy to break back into 2-man race". mcclatchydc. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
- Helfrich, Jesse. "Gingrich's future hangs on successful Southern state strategy". The Hill. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
- "Gingrich Cancels Kansas Events, Focusing On Southern Strategy". NPR. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
- "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) - "Newt to critics: I'm not going anywhere!". New York Daily News. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
- The Green Papers: for Alabama
- The Green Papers: Major state elections in chronological order