2012 Democratic Party presidential candidates


During the [2012 Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party presidential primaries|2012 presidential primaries], 51 individuals sought the nomination of the Democratic Party. Incumbent President Barack Obama won the nomination unanimously at the 2012 Democratic National Convention and was re-elected as president in the general election by defeating Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
As expected for the incumbent president, Obama won every primary election, but faced more difficulty than projected. Fifteen additional candidates appeared on primary ballots, and of these, four appeared on more than one ballot. Four qualified for convention delegates including: attorney John Wolfe Jr., prison inmate Keith Russell Judd, perennial candidate Jim Rogers, and anti-abortion activist Randall Terry. Each of these had their delegates stripped prior to the convention due to technicalities.
Thirty-four additional candidates filed with the Federal Election Commission to run for president, but either withdrew from the race before the primaries or did not appear on any primary ballots.

Candidates

The following individuals formally announced their campaigns for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 2012 and/or filed as a candidate for such with the Federal Election Commission.

Challengers

On multiple primary ballots

The following candidates appeared on more than one primary ballot.
CandidateBackgroundCampaign notesBallot access & vote total

John Wolfe Jr.



  • Declared his candidacy in late 2011.
  • Participated in the lesser-known candidates forum.
  • Paid at least $1,000 for ballot access.
  • Won 12 percent of the vote in Louisiana, and qualified for three delegates, which the Louisiana Democratic Party stripped due to his lack of a delegate slate.
  • Had the strongest showing for an Obama challenger with 42 percent of the vote in Arkansas, qualifying for 19 delegates, which the Arkansas Democratic Party stripped due to his lack of a delegate slate.
  • Unsuccessfully sued the Democratic Party to regain the stripped delegates.
    		• NH, MO, LA, AR, TX
    116,639

    Darcy Richardson



  • Announced his candidacy October 26, 2011.
  • Paid $8,125 for ballot access.
  • Had his strongest showing in the Oklahoma primary, where he won 6.36 percent of the total.
  • Suspended his campaign in April 2012 prior to the Texas primary.
    		• NH, MO, OK, LA, TX
    41,730

    Bob Ely



    • Born 1958
    • Entrepreneur from Illinois
    • Interim CEO of PayDQ Services, 2001
    • Owner of The Canton Press-News Journal, 2010–present
  • Created his campaign website and filed with FEC on November 28, 2011.
  • Paid at least $4,500 for ballot access.
  • Had his strongest showing in Louisiana, where he won 6.57 percent of the vote.
    		• NH, LA, OK, TX
    29,947

    Randall Terry


  • Announced his candidacy in January 2011.
  • Paid at least $3,500 for ballot access.
  • Participated in the lesser-known candidates forum.
  • Unsuccessfully attempted to run a campaign advertisement depicting photos of aborted fetuses during Super Bowl XLVI.
  • Had his strongest showing in Oklahoma, where he received 18 percent of the vote, and qualified for seven delegates, which the Oklahoma Democratic Party stripped due to his lack of a delegate slate.
  • Continued his campaign as an Independent and appeared on the general election ballots in Kentucky, Nebraska, and West Virginia, receiving 13,112 votes.
    		• NH, MO, OK
    22,734

    On one primary ballot

    The following candidates appeared on only one primary ballot.
    CandidateBackgroundCampaign notesBallot access & vote total

    Keith Russell Judd

  • Paid $2,500 to appear on the West Virginia ballot.
  • Won 41 percent of the vote in West Virginia for second place, qualifying him for several delegates, which the West Virginia Democratic Party stripped due to his lack of a delegate slate.
  • Filed with the FEC to run as an Independent candidate on October 10, 2012.
    		• WV
    73,138

    Jim Rogers

  • Filed with the FEC to run for president on December 12, 2011.
  • Paid $2,500 to appear on the Oklahoma ballot.
  • Finished third with 13.79 percent in Oklahoma, qualifying him for three delegates, which the Oklahoma Democratic Party stripped due to his lack of a delegate slate.
    		• OK
    15,535

    Ed Cowan

  • Paid $1,000 to appear on the New Hampshire ballot.
  • Participated in the lesser-known candidates forum
  • Finished second among ballot candidates in New Hampshire with 1.56 percent.
    		• NH
    945

    Vermin Supreme

    • Born 1961
    • Performance artist and perennial candidate from Massachusetts
    • Democratic Party presidential candidate, 2004
    • Republican Party presidential candidate, 2008
  • Ran as a satirical candidate.
  • Paid $1,000 to appear on the New Hampshire ballot.
  • Glitter bombed Randall Terry during the lesser-known candidates forum.
  • Finished third among ballot candidates in New Hampshire with 1.37 percent
    		• NH
    833

    John D. Haywood
    ,
  • Filed with the FEC to run for president on October 27, 2011.
  • Paid $1,000 to appear on the New Hampshire ballot.
  • Participated in the lesser-known candidates forum
  • Finished fifth among ballot candidates in New Hampshire with 0.7 percent.
    		• NH
    423

    Craig Tax Freeze Freis
  • Paid $1,000 to appear on the New Hampshire ballot.
  • Successfully lobbied the New Hampshire Ballot Law Commission to have his legal middle name of "Tax Freeze" listed on the ballot.
  • Finished sixth among ballot candidates in New Hampshire with 0.66 percent.
    		• NH
    400

    Cornelius O'Connor
    • From Florida
    • Republican Party presidential candidate, 2008
  • Paid $1,000 to appear on the New Hampshire ballot.
  • Finished eighth among ballot candidates in New Hampshire with 0.44 percent.
    		• NH
    266

    Ed O'Donnell
  • Paid $1,000 to appear on the New Hampshire ballot.
  • Participated in the lesser-known candidates forum.
  • Finished eleventh among ballot candidates in New Hampshire with 0.37 percent.
    		• NH
    222

    Bob Greene
    ,
  • Filed with the FEC to run for president on December 13, 2011
  • Paid $1,000 to appear on the New Hampshire ballot.
  • Participated in the lesser-known candidates forum.
  • Finished twelfth among ballot candidates in New Hampshire with 0.35 percent.
    		• NH
    213

    Robert B. Jordan
    ,
    • From California
  • Filed with the FEC to run for president on August 22, 2011.
  • Paid $1,000 to appear on the New Hampshire ballot.
  • Finished thirteenth among ballot candidates in New Hampshire with 0.26 percent.
    		• NH
    155

    Aldous Tyler
    ,
    • Radio host from Wisconsin
    • Host of the WSUM radio show TMI with Aldous Tyler, 2010–present
  • Filed with the FEC to run for president on September 20, 2011.
  • Paid $1,000 to appear on the New Hampshire ballot.
  • Endorsed Darcy Richardson before the New Hampshire primary.
  • Finished fourteenth among ballot candidates in New Hampshire with 0.17 percent.
    		• NH
    106

    FEC-filed candidates

    The following presidential candidates filed with the FEC, but either did not appear on any primary ballots or withdrew before the primary elections.
    CandidateBackgroundCampaign notes

    Jeff Boss

  • Declared his candidacy with the FEC in July 2009.
  • Based his campaign on the claim that he witnessed the National Security Agency orchestrate the September 11 attacks.
  • Amended his FEC filing in March 2012 to change his party affiliation to Independent.
  • Appeared on the general ballot in New Jersey as the "NSA did 9/11" candidate and received 1,024 votes.
    • Harry Braun

    • Born 1948
    • Energy consultant from Arizona
    • Democratic Party presidential candidate, 2004
  • Declared his candidacy with the FEC in August 2011.
  • Based his candidacy on environmental protection and his proposed Democracy Amendment, requiring a majority vote of the electorate for all government action
  • Used his soapbox at the Iowa State Fair to connect environmental concerns with the Down syndrome diagnosis of Sarah Palin's son Trig, prompting a rebuke from the Iowa Democratic Party spokesman
  • Withdrew from the Democratic race in November 2011, claiming the party was ignoring him, and amended the party affiliation on his FEC filing to Independent
    • Warren Mosler

  • Declared his candidacy with the FEC in February 2009.
  • Ran as a Tea Party Democrat
  • Withdrew his candidacy in April 2010 to run for U.S. Senate in Connecticut.
  • Warren Roderick Ashe
  • George Ballard
  • Will Blakley
  • James Carroll
  • Willie Carter,
  • Perry Duwhile Coleman
  • Anthony Joseph Cronin Jr.
  • Darren Dunsmoor
  • Mills Wrenal Godwin
  • Patrice Eloise Hardcastle
  • Raphael Herman
  • Princess Khadajah M. Jacob-Fambro
  • Cody Judy,
  • Dennis Knill,
  • Leah Lax,
  • Kip Lee
  • Mark Levetin
  • James A. Miller
  • Mike Moloney
  • Dave Montgomery
  • Deonia Neveu,
  • Jennifer Ney
  • Dean A. Phillips
  • Jeff Proud,
  • Sarah Rockefeller
  • Philip Rogone
  • Wil Stand
  • Gary Stephens
  • Dr. Damian Stone
  • George Washington Williams
  • Michael Yost

    • Speculated

    The following individuals were the object of presidential speculation in past media reports, but did not signal an interest in running.

    Declined to run

    The following individuals speculated to run for the Democratic Party's 2012 presidential nomination, announced they would not run.