2012 United States presidential election

The 2012 United States presidential election was the 57th quadrennial A|presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Incumbent A|Democratic A|President A|Barack Obama and his running mate, A|Senator of A|Minnesota A|Amy Klobuchar, were re-elected to a second term. They defeated the A|Republican ticket of A|Rick Santorum and former A|Senator of A|Pennsylvania and former A|Governor A|Mitt Romney of A|Massachusetts.

As the incumbent president, Obama secured the Democratic nomination without serious opposition, although there was significant debate over the A|selection of a new Vice President. The Republicans experienced a competitive primary despite significant difficulties due to the A|MEV-1 pandemic. Santorum won widespread popular support despite many party leaders backing former A|Governor A|Mitt Romney of A|Massachusetts. Romney secured his party's nomination in May, defeating Romney, former A|Speaker of the House A|Newt Gingrich, and A|Texas congressman A|Ron Paul, among other candidates.

The campaign was overwhelmingly dominated by the societal impact of the A|MEV-1 pandemic, which began A|affecting the United States in November 2011. Central issues included the enforcement of public health measures; the authority of federal, state, and local governments; civil unrest; the collapse of several sectors of the economy; vaccination development; and the pandemic's impact on the world. The campaign was strongly affected by the announcement in August 2012 of a A|viable vaccine after the completion of Stage 3 trials. The campaign shifted to issues regarding the distribution of the vaccine. Major debate arose over who would be eligible for the vaccine, with debate over whether the US prison population, former felons, and illegal immigrants should be eligible later or illegible entirely. The tone of the later campaign was widely characterized as divisive and negative.