A head to head comparison of the South Dakota 2012 General Election gives us an idea of the break down of the voters.
Mitt Romney received 210,541 (59%) votes, beating Barack Obama who gained 144,988 (41%) by 65,553 votes in South Dakota.
Mitt Romney won 56 counties whereas Barack Obama won 10 counties in the total of the 66 counties in the State of South Dakota.
2012 General Election Barack Obama Popular Vote Count Contributed by South Dakota (SD)
Presidential General Elections
During the 2012 General elections, over 122M total number of votes were cast. Barack Obama got 62,614,654 (62.6 Million) over Mitt Romney's 59,141,654 (59.1 Million). He won the popular vote by 3,472,979 (3.4 Million). Even though he lost to Mitt Romney in the State of South Dakota, his 144,988 gained votes represents 0.2% of his popular vote victory. The remaining 49 states contributed to the remaining 99.8% popular votes victory.
Top 15 Counties in Primary Elections vs General Elections
All Candidates (General Elections)
These 15 counties play an important role in these Primary elections. If a candidate, can get a sizable majority in the larger counties (Minnehaha, Pennington, Lincoln), it becomes very difficult to win majorities in the smaller counties without voter outreach and increased voter participation in them.
Top 15 Counties Comparison in Primary Elections vs General Elections
General Elections
Barack Obama
General Elections
Mitt Romney
Minnehaha, Pennington, Lincoln, three of the larger counties voted in favor of Romney, giving him a 24k vote advantage. This combined with his steady win at many other counties made him gain an upper hand in the State of South Dakota.
Related References: 2016 South Dakota Primary Election Story, 2016 South Dakota General Election Story, 2020 South Dakota Primary Election Story, 2020 South Dakota General Election Story
 votes, beating Barack Obama who gained
144,988 (41%) by 65,553 votes in South Dakota.
Mitt Romney won 56 counties...){kind=link}