President of the United States
Election Results
Washington vote totals in the national election
| Candidate | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Barack Obama (D) | 1,620,432 | 55.85% |
| Mitt Romney (R) | 1,210,369 | 41.72% |
| Gary Johnson (L) | 37,732 | 1.30% |
| Jill Stein (G) | 18,316 | 0.63% |
| Virgil Goode (C) | 8,071 | 0.28% |
| Rocky Anderson (J) | 4,332 | 0.15% |
| Peta Lindsay (S) | 1,148 | 0.04% |
| James Harris (S) | 1,099 | 0.04% |
* Race percentages are calculated with data from the Secretary of State's Office, which omits write-in votes from its calculations when there are too few to affect the outcome. The Spokane County Auditor's Office may have slightly different percentages than are reflected here because its figures include any write-in votes.
About the Race
The president oversees the executive branch of the U.S. government and serves as commander in chief of the military. The position pays $400,000 per year plus generous benefits both during and after elected service. Terms are four years and presidents are limited to no more than two terms in the White House.
Results on this page represent vote totals within the state of Washington. The winner of this Washington vote receives twelve votes in the electoral college.
Featured Candidates
Barack Obama
- Party:
- Democrat
- Age:
- 63
- City:
- Washington, D.C.
- Occupation:
- President of the United States; lawyer
The 44th president of the United States had no primary challenger, but his toughest opponent may be an economy that hasn’t budged much since he took office in 2009.
Obama was swept into office on a platform of hope and change, but he found jump-starting the economy to be a difficult proposition. An $814 billion stimulus did not drop the unemployment rate, though the White House argued that things would have been much worse without the aid to state workers, tax cuts and infrastructure project funding the stimulus provided.
He fought a bruising battle to overhaul America’s heath care system, only to watch his party lose control of the House of Representatives and trim its majority in the Senate.
On Obama’s watch, Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have wound down. But he is pilloried by the right for being soft on Iran, and by the left for keeping detainees imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay.
He let the Bush-era tax cuts stand, outraging liberals who want the wealthy to pay more. But his attempts to raise taxes on the rich get tarred as “class warfare” by conservatives.
He and his wife, Michelle Obama, have two children. Her served in the U.S. Senate and in the Illinois legislature prior to that. Obama is a lawyer by profession.
Mitt Romney
- Party:
- Republican
- Age:
- 77
- City:
- Boston, MA
- Occupation:
- Venture capitalist; former Massachussetts governor
After a protracted primary battle, Romney won enough delegates to secure the nomination with a May 29 primary victory in Texas. Romney is the son of George Romney, an auto executive who became Michigan’s governor and made an unsuccessful White House run in 1968. The younger Romney says he is committed to seeing someone in the 2012 race “who understands the economy.” Romney has worked in the private sector for much of his career.
He served a single term as governor of Massachusetts, during which he worked with a Democratic legislature. He passed a statewide health insurance overhaul that President Barack Obama has called a model for his own national health care plan.
He has proven to be a fundraising powerhouse who survived a strong initial challenge from Rick Perry, then a surging Newt Gingrich, then a persistent Rick Santorum, only to watch his rivals flame out while he steadily won state contests.
Romney has already made one run for the White House, losing the 2008 GOP nomination to Sen. John McCain.
He has changed his views on issues vital to many conservatives, including abortion rights, gay rights and embryonic stem-cell research. Conservatives following the presidential race have still not settled on Romney, expressing preferences for candidates they see as being farther to the right.
He has been married for more than 40 years and has has five sons and 16 grandchildren.
Complete Coverage
Obama sworn in in brief ceremony
WASHINGTON – In a swift and simple ceremony at the White House, President Barack Obama was sworn in for a second term on Sunday and embarked on another four years leading a nation hobbled by a weak economy and gripped by political division. With his family at his side and his hand on his wife’s family Bible, the 44th president began the new term on an understated note, repeating the oath of office in a private ceremony the day before a more lavish, public re-enactment.
Gun fight ahead for Obama
WASHINGTON – Conceding “this will be difficult,” President Barack Obama, in an emotion-laden plea to curb gun violence in America, urged a reluctant Congress on Wednesday to require background checks for all gun sales and ban both military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. The president’s sweeping, $500 million plan, coming one month after the school massacre in Connecticut, marks the most comprehensive effort to tighten gun laws in nearly two decades. But his proposals, most of which are opposed by the National Rifle Association, face a doubtful future in a divided Congress where Republicans control the House.
President’s gun control plan gets mixed reactions in region
According to local gun distributors, the only benefit of President Barack Obama’s attempts at gun control is that guns are flying off the shelves. “If he was looking for a way to completely deplete the stock of firearms in the country, he’s succeeded,” one Spokane Valley gun store owner said.
Obama unveils $500 million gun violence package
President Barack Obama is announcing a $500 million package of executive actions and legislative proposals aimed at reducing gun violence a month after a mass shooting in Connecticut killed 20 elementary school children.
Early look at likely gun control proposals
President Barack Obama will unveil proposals Wednesday to curb gun violence, his response to the December massacre of 26 students and teachers at their elementary school in Newtown, Conn. The plan is to be based on recommendations from Vice President Joe Biden, Obama’s point man for producing gun control measures to present to Congress.
Obama re-election now constitutional
OLYMPIA – Forget what the news media told you six weeks ago: Barack Obama was elected to his second term as president Monday. His election was finalized through a process that the Founding Fathers dreamed up in 1787 and has confounded Americans pretty regularly since.
Spin Control: Secessionists miss mark wide right
After spending the Apple Cup as a Cougar fan in the midst of Huskies, it strikes me that would-be secessionists could learn a lot from the annual intrastate rivalry. That’s saying quite a bit about the position on the outer ring of craziness of those petitioning the White House to leave the Union, considering the passion that accompanies the game. For those who have willingly tuned out from presidential politics since Nov. 6, an explanation: Folks disgruntled with the outcome of the election have filed petitions on the White House website to allow their state to secede from the country.
Pollster: Latino voters boosted Inslee
If pollster Matt Barreto is right, then Latino voters in Washington were one of the key factors in Gov.-elect Jay Inslee’s win over Republican candidate Rob McKenna.
Obama, Boehner look to compromise
WASHINGTON – One day after a bruising, mixed-verdict election, President Barack Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner both pledged Wednesday to seek a compromise to avert looming spending cuts and tax increases that threaten to plunge the economy back into recession. Added Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.: “Of course” an agreement is possible.
Republicans wonder where party is headed
WASHINGTON – Having lost the popular vote in five of the last six presidential elections, Republicans plunged Wednesday into an intense period of self-examination, blame-setting and testy debate over whether their party needs serious change or just some minor tweaks. The fallout will help determine whether the GOP might return to heights approximating the Ronald Reagan years or, as some fear, suffer even deeper losses as the nation’s Democratic-leaning Hispanics increase in number.
ELECTION 2012: Key national races
Get the latest developments on the presidential race and control of Congress.
Suspense to the end, Obama, Romney yield to voters
WASHINGTON — Two fierce competitors who’ve given their all, President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney now yield center stage to voters today for an Election Day choice that will frame the contours of government and the nation for years to come.
Obama backs Ref. 74
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Abortion re-enters discussion after awkward remark
WASHINGTON – Just as Mitt Romney and other Republicans had cut into the Democrats’ advantage with female voters, a tea party-backed Senate candidate’s awkward remark – that if rape leads to pregnancy it’s “something God intended” – has propelled the emotional issue of abortion back to the political forefront. It’s put GOP candidates in tight races, from the presidential candidate on down, on the defensive. Divisive social issues are hardly what most GOP candidates want to be discussing in the few days remaining until elections largely hinging on jobs and the economy. Almost immediately after Richard Mourdock’s comment, Republican candidates distanced themselves from the Indiana state treasurer – though by varying degrees.