The United States presidential election of 2012 was held on November 6, 2012. It was the 57th consecutive quadrennial United States presidential election and was a contest between the incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and the Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Former Massachusetts Governor. As the incumbent president, Obama secured the Democratic nomination with no serious opposition. The Republican Party was more fractured; Mitt Romney was consistently competitive in the polls, but faced challenges from a number of more conservative challengers whose popularity each fluctuated, often besting Romney's. Romney effectively secured the nomination by early May as the economy improved, albeit at a persistently laggard rate. The campaign was marked by a sharp rise in fundra