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2012 Connecticut Republican presidential primary

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2012 Connecticut Republican presidential primary

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25 pledged delegates to the
2012 Republican National Convention
 
Candidate Mitt Romney Ron Paul
Home state Massachusetts Texas
Delegate count 25 0
Popular vote 40,171 8,032
Percentage 67.43% 13.48%

 
Candidate Newt Gingrich Rick Santorum
(withdrawn)
Home state Georgia Pennsylvania
Delegate count 0 0
Popular vote 6,135 4,072
Percentage 10.30% 6.83%

Primary results by county
  Mitt Romney

The 2012 Connecticut Republican presidential primary took place on April 24, 2012.[1] It was a closed primary, open only to Republican electors. 25 of the state's 28 delegates to the 2012 Republican National Convention were decided by the primary outcome, with the other 3 being superdelegates: the state party chairman and the state's two Republican National Committee representatives.

Mitt Romney won the primary by a wide margin, garnering two-thirds of the vote. Only 14.4% of active registered Republicans participated in the primary, the lowest turnout since the primary format was put in place in the state in 1980.[2]

Process

[edit]

After switching from proportional distribution of delegates to a winner-take-all system in 1996,[3] the Connecticut Republican Party voted in September 2011 to award delegates by a hybrid winner-take-all and proportional distribution process beginning with the 2012 primary. Of the 25 regular delegates at stake in the primary, the party called for three delegates to be awarded to the winner of each of the state's five congressional districts on a winner-take-all basis for a total of 15 delegates. The remaining 10 would be distributed proportionally based on the statewide vote total among candidates receiving at least 20% support unless a candidate won a majority of the statewide vote, in which case the candidate would receive all 10 of these delegates.[3][4]

Opinion polling

[edit]
Poll source Date 1st 2nd 3rd Other
Quinnipiac[5]
Margin of error: ±4.7%
Sample size: 429
Mar. 14–19, 2012 Mitt Romney
42%
Rick Santorum
19%
Newt Gingrich
13%
Ron Paul 9%, Won't vote 3%, Don't know/No answer 14%
Public Policy Polling[6]
Margin of error: ±4.9%
Sample size: 400
Sep. 22–25, 2011 Mitt Romney
25%
Rick Perry
18%
Herman Cain
10%
Newt Gingrich 10%, Ron Paul 10%, Michele Bachmann 8%, Jon Huntsman 3%, Rick Santorum 3%, Gary Johnson 1%, someone else/not sure 12%
Mitt Romney
45%
Rick Perry
36%
not sure 19%
Quinnipiac[7]
Margin of error: ±5.4%
Sample size: 332
Sep. 8–13, 2011 Mitt Romney
37%
Rick Perry
19%
Michele Bachmann
8%
Sarah Palin 4%, Herman Cain 3%, Newt Gingrich 3%, Ron Paul 3%, Jon Huntsman 2%, Rick Santorum 1%, Thaddeus McCotter 0%, someone else/undecided 20%
Public Policy Polling[8]
Margin of error: ±7.3%
Sample size: 180
Oct. 27–29, 2010 Mitt Romney
28%
Mike Huckabee
15%
Newt Gingrich
14%
Sarah Palin 11%, Tim Pawlenty 5%, Mike Pence 5%, Mitch Daniels 4%, John Thune 2%, someone else/undecided 18%

Results

[edit]

With Romney's primary day wins in all five congressional districts and a majority of the statewide vote, he was able to claim all 25 of the delegates at stake.

2012 Connecticut Republican presidential primary[9]
Candidate Votes Percentage Delegates
Mitt Romney 40,171 67.43% 25
Ron Paul 8,032 13.48% 0
Newt Gingrich 6,135 10.30% 0
Rick Santorum 4,072 6.83% 0
Uncommitted 1,168 1.96% 0
Unprojected delegates: 0
Total: 59,578 100% 25

Official source reports a turnout of 59,639, with the difference from 59,578 likely due to blank ballots.

Key: Suspended campaign prior to contest

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Presidential Primary Dates" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  2. ^ "Merrill Releases Turnout Figure From 2012 Presidential Preference Primary, Romney Wins All 25 Delegates at Stake" (PDF). Connecticut Secretary of the State. April 25, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 6, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Vigdor, Neil (September 28, 2011). "State GOP moves away from winner-take-all presidential primary". GreenwichTime.com. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
  4. ^ "Connecticut Republican State Central Committee Rules and Bylaws" (PDF). September 27, 2011. Section 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 12, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  5. ^ Quinnipiac
  6. ^ Public Policy Polling
  7. ^ Quinnipiac
  8. ^ Public Policy Polling
  9. ^ "Connecticut Republican Presidential Primary" (PDF). Secretary of the State of Connecticut. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 29, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2012.