This article contains lists of notable candidates for the United States Republican Party's 2012 presidential nomination.
Candidates
The following individuals filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and/or announced their intentions to seek the 2012 presidential nomination of the Republican Party. In this table, those marked lighter grey were not featured in any televised debates that occurred while their respective campaigns were active; those marked darker grey were excluded from the majority of those same televised debates, but are notable for having debated with at least some of the televised candidates in other forums (usually online). Candidates with an asterisk after their withdrawal date subsequently sought the nomination of another party.
See results of the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries for more details about the outcome of the primaries.
Nominee CandidateBackgroundDeclaredStates/popular vote/delegates wonWithdrewNotesMitt Romney(campaign)Former governor of MassachusettsJune 2, 2011429,947,433(52.13%)2,061N/AThe withdrawal of candidate Rick Santorum on April 10, 2012, eliminated his main challenger and all but guaranteed him the nomination. Newt Gingrich's exit from the race on May 2 left him against Ron Paul and Fred Karger. His win in Texas on May 29 finally accumulated enough delegates to mathematically secure him the nomination. Romney was officially announced as the 2012 Republican presidential nominee on August 28, 2012. He was defeated by incumbent President Barack Obama in the general election on November 6, 2012.
Did not withdraw CandidateBackgroundDeclaredStates/popular vote/delegates wonWithdrewNotesRon Paul(campaign)U.S. Representative from TexasMay 13, 201112,017,957(10.89%)190N/ALeading up to the convention, Ron Paul won bound pluralities of the official delegations from the states of Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, and Oregon (but not the Virgin Islands, despite winning the popular vote there). Due to disputes these were reduced to Iowa, Minnesota, and Nevada; however, he additionally had nomination-from-the-floor-pluralities in the states of Oregon and Alaska, plus the Virgin Islands. Although he wasn't named the 2012 Republican nominee, he did not officially end his campaign or endorse nominee Mitt Romney for president. At the convention, Ron Paul received second place with 8% of the delegates.
Withdrew after the primaries CandidateBackgroundDeclaredStates/popular vote/delegates wonWithdrewNotesFred KargerPolitical consultant and gay rights activist of CaliforniaMarch 23, 2011010,831(0.07%)0June 29, 2012 Karger was not invited to any of the televised debates, but participated in the December WePolls.com online debate along with Gary Johnson and Buddy Roemer. He came in 4th place with 1,893 votes in Puerto Rico, 1,180 votes in Michigan, 10 votes in Iowa, 345 votes in New Hampshire, 377 votes in Maryland, 6,481 votes in his home state of California, and 545 votes in Utah, amounting up to a total of 10,831 votes. He withdrew following a 5th-place finish in the Utah primary, which was the final primary of the 2012 cycle. Karger received no delegate votes at the convention.
Appeared on more than two primary ballots CandidateBackgroundDeclaredStates/popular vote/delegates wonWithdrewNotesNewt Gingrich(campaign)Former U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives from GeorgiaMay 11, 201122,689,771(14.20%)0May 2, 2012After a poor showing in the Delaware primaries, Gingrich's advisers hinted on April 25, 2012, that he would exit the race the following week. He officially ended his campaign on May 2, and endorsed Mitt Romney. Gingrich received no delegate votes at the convention, having released his bound delegates to Romney.Rick Santorum(campaign)Former U.S. senator from PennsylvaniaJune 6, 2011113,816,110(20.43%)9April 10, 2012Santorum suspended his campaign following the hospitalization of his three-year-old daughter Isabella, as well as a strong showing by front runner Mitt Romney in primaries and polls.Montopoli, Brian (April 10, 2012)"Rick Santorum ending bid for GOP nomination", CBS News. Retrieved April 10, 2012.Falcone, Michael; Saenz, Arlette (April 10, 2012) "Rick Santorum Suspends Presidential Campaign", ABC News. Retrieved April 10, 2012. He conceded the race to Romney later that day, though didn't fully endorse him until May 7. Santorum received nine delegate votes at the convention, coming in third behind Romney and Ron Paul, despite having officially released his bound delegates to Romney.Buddy Roemer(campaign)Former governor of LouisianaJune 21, 2011033,212(0.17%)1February 22, 2012*Roemer was not invited to any of the televised debates, but participated in the November LibertyPAC online debate with Gingrich, Johnson, and Santorum, and then also in the December WePolls.com online debate along with Gary Johnson and Fred Karger. He received a total of 30,523 votes from Iowa New Hampshire, Tennessee, Michigan, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, California, and Puerto Rico, where he came in third place. On February 22, he withdrew from the Republican race to pursue nomination as a member of the Reform Party. Roemer received one delegate-vote at the convention.Rick Perry(campaign)Governor of TexasAugust 13, 2011042,251(0.28%)0January 19, 2012After doing poorly in Iowa and New Hampshire, he suspended his campaign, endorsing Newt Gingrich. On April 25, he switched his endorsement to Mitt Romney, after advisers hinted that Gingrich would withdraw from the race. He remained on the ballot in most states prior to Super Tuesday, and received 54,769 votes during the primary season. Perry received no delegate votes at the convention.Jon Huntsman Jr.(campaign)Former Governor of Utah and US Ambassador to ChinaJune 21, 2011083,173(0.44%)1January 16, 2012After coming in third in New Hampshire, he suspended his campaign, endorsing Mitt Romney. He remained on the ballot in most states prior to Super Tuesday, and received 84,724 votes during the primary season, collecting two delegates. Huntsman received one delegate vote at the convention.Michele Bachmann(campaign)U.S. Representative from MinnesotaJune 27, 2011041,401(0.21%)1January 4, 2012After winning the Ames Straw Poll, her candidacy collapsed and after coming sixth in the Iowa caucuses, she suspended her presidential campaign. After months of speculation, Bachmann endorsed Mitt Romney on May 3. She remained on the ballot in most states prior to Super Tuesday, and received 41,401 votes during the primary season, collecting two 'soft' delegates. Bachmann received one delegate vote at the convention.
Suspended or withdrew before the primaries, but appeared on at least three primary ballots CandidateBackgroundDeclaredStates/popular vote/delegates wonWithdrewNotesHerman Cain(campaign)Businessman of GeorgiaMay 21, 2011Green, Joshua (May 21, 2011) "Herman Cain Makes It Official", The Atlantic. Retrieved May 21, 2011.013,629(0.07%)0December 3, 2011After a series of scandals, Cain suspended his presidential campaign, and after momentarily reviving it as part of Stephen Colbert's satirical presidential campaign, endorsed Newt Gingrich on January 28, 2012.Elliott, Philip (January 28, 2012). Cain backs Gingrich's presidential bid . Associated Press. Retrieved January 28, 2012. On April 17, 2012, he changed his endorsement to Mitt Romney. He remained on the ballot in a number of states, and has received 13,629 votes during the primary season. Cain received no delegate votes at the convention.Gary Johnson(Campaign)Former Governor of New MexicoApril 21, 201104,364(0.02%)0December 28, 2011*Johnson was in the first televised debate, and in one other televised debate, but was excluded from the other televised debates. He debated online during November with Gingrich, Santorum, and Roemer; he then debated online with Roemer and Karger during December. Johnson withdrew his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination on December 28, endorsing Ron Paul in that contest. Johnson officially declared his candidacy for the 2012 Libertarian Party presidential nomination on the same day, and became the party's nominee on May 5, 2012. He remained on the Republican primary ballot in a number of states and received 4,364 votes during the Republican primary season. As the Libertarian nominee, Johnson received 1,274,136 votes (which was 1% of the votes cast) on the November general election ballot.
Appeared on only two primary ballots L. John Davis Jr., small business owner from Colorado, filed with the FEC on October 1, 2010. He participated in the lesser-known candidates forum ahead of the New Hampshire Primary. Davis appeared on the ballot in New Hampshire and Texas, receiving 3,901 votes in total. Michael J. Meehan, realtor from Missouri, participated in the lesser-known candidates forum ahead of the New Hampshire primary. He appeared on the ballot in New Hampshire and Missouri, receiving 410 votes in total.Mark Callahan, technician from Oregon, filed with the FEC on May 16, 2011. He appeared on the ballot in New Hampshire and Arizona, receiving 378 votes in total.Christopher Hill, airline pilot from Kentucky, filed with the FEC on May 31, 2011. He participated in the lesser-known candidates forum ahead of the New Hampshire primary. Hill appeared on the ballot in New Hampshire and Arizona, receiving 247 votes in total. Randy Crow, business owner and conspiracy theorist from North Carolina, originally filed with the FEC to run as an Independent on May 11, 2010. He switched his affiliation to Republican on November 12, 2010. Crow participated in the lesser-known candidates forum in December 2011, ahead of the New Hampshire primary. He appeared on the ballot in New Hampshire and Louisiana, receiving 198 votes in total. Keith Drummond, a businessman from Texas, filed with the FEC on September 12, 2011. He appeared on the ballot in New Hampshire and Missouri, receiving 195 votes.
Appeared on only one primary ballot
Andy Martin, perennial candidate and birther activist of Illinois, declared his candidacy on December 29, 2010. He received 19 votes in New Hampshire and did not attempt to get his name on any other ballot. On April 25, 2012, Martin dropped his bid for the nomination and announced his intent to remain politically active within the race until the 2012 Republican national convention, at which point he endorsed nominee Mitt Romney.Stewart Greenleaf, Pennsylvania State Senator, signed up for the New Hampshire primary ballot on October 28, 2011. He received 24 votes there and did not attempt to get his name on any other ballot.
Sarah Gonzalez (AZ) Paul Sims (AZ) Al Perry (AZ) Cesar Cisneros (AZ) Kevin Rubash (NH) Donald Benjamin (AZ) Michael Levinson (AZ) Kip Dean (AZ) Ronald Zack (AZ)
Jeff Lawman (NH) Frank Lynch (AZ) Wayne Arnett (AZ) Raymond Perkins (AZ) Matt Welch (AZ) Benjamin Linn (NH) Jim Terr (AZ) Charles Skelley (AZ) Simon Bollander (AZ)
Joe Story (NH) Bear Betzler (NH) Joe Robinson (NH) Linden Swift (NH) Timothy Brewer (NH) Vern Wuensche (NH) Hugh Cort (NH) James Vestermark (NH)
Filed with the FEC, but appeared on no primary ballots