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.

2012 Alabama Republican presidential primary

← 2008 March 13, 2012 (2012-03-13) 2016 →
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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%
County results District results Santorum:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60% Gingrich:      30–40%      40–50% Romney:      30–40% Tie:      20–30%

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Rick Perry (withdrawn)	1,867	0.30%	0	0	-
Michele Bachmann (withdrawn)	1,700	0.27%	0	0	-
Jon Huntsman (withdrawn)	1,049	0.17%	0	0	-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

• 2012 Republican Party presidential debates and forums
• 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries
• Results of the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries
• Alabama Republican Party