President Obama Election 2012 Demographics

Race

President Obama lost the white vote in 2012 by a wider margin than he did in 2008—20 percentage points (59 percent to 39 percent), compared to 12 percentage points (55 percent to 43 percent), respectively.

The percentage of white voters this year dropped to 72% from 74% in 2008.

This year, 43% of white voters were over 45, 14% of them over age 65. 

White men made up only 34% of all voters. In 1976, by contrast, they were 46%. 

Overall, President Obama received 80 percent support from people of color in 2012, just as he did in 2008.

His support among African Americans this year was 93 percent to 6 percent as it was in 2008 (95 percent to 4 percent).

His support among Hispanics (71 percent to 27 percent) improved substantially from its 2008 level (67 percent to 31 percent).

Gender

President Obama carried women by 55 percent to 44 percent, while losing men by 52 percent to 45 percent.

This is a larger gender gap than in 2008, when President Obama carried women by only slightly more (56 percent to 43 percent) while doing quite a bit better among men (actually carrying them, 49 percent to 48 percent).

Ideology

President Obama received 86 percent support from liberals (89 percent in 2008), 56 percent from moderates (60 percent in 2008), and 17 percent from conservatives (20 percent in 2008).

Liberals were 25 percent of voters in 2012, up from 22 percent in 2008.

Conservatives, at 35 percent, were up 1 percentage point from the 2008 level but down a massive 7 percentage points since 2010.

Youth

Young voters comprised 19 percent of voters this year, up from 18 percent in President Obama’s historic campaign of 2008.

Young people ages 18 to 29 years old supported Democrats by a 23-point margin in the 2012 election, 60 percent to 37 percent.

(eNewsParkForest, Juan Williams, WSJ, 11/7/2012)